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The Coming Around of a D&D Skeptic

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“It looks fun, but I can’t imagine wanting to play anything other than D&D” --a phrase I found myself saying the other day, and then reflecting on how surprised my one-year-ago self would be to hear any version of myself saying that he wants to play Dungeons & Dragons. Yes, past me, Dungeons & Dragons. Deal with it. This is who you are now. I never thought I would like Dungeons & Dragons. I thought it was just kids playing make-believe and making up rules to go with (or against) the made-up rules of their dungeon master to get through their made-up dungeon with made-up characters with made-up abilities that they made up as they went. “There’s a chasm.” “Oh, well my character can fly.” “There’s a river.” “I’m a boat.” “The dragon attacks you.” “I turn the dragon into a kitten with my Spell of Turning Dragons into Kittens.” The dragon is defeated, and laughter ensues. It’s not a normal game, but people are having fun and that’s cool and all, but it’s no

Lost Mine of Phandelver Part 5: This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Four of Us

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Our adventurers entered the town of Phandolin, unsure of what to expect. The scene before their eyes was that of a town that had been built overtop of an older one. The previous version of Phandolin was rubble and desolate buildings. While the current version was built up along a main road and had one goal in mind, to dig as deep as needed. The party turned their cart over to the Amber Rock Consortium. The reception gnome paid them their fees, and let them know about the layout of the town and the goings on of recent note. Under his breath he informed them that a group of mercenaries called the “Red Brands” had recently taken up “security” of the town. They didn’t do much aside from bullying the townsfolk and getting drunk under the guise of protecting the townsfolk. [ Lost Mine of Phandelver Index ] [ Previous ][ Next ] The gnomish attendant pointed them to the two inns they could find residency, the Sleeping Giant or the Stonehill, even though the Sleeping Giant had been take

Princes of the Apocalypse Session Video

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We're in full swing over on our Twitch channel ! We're airing Princes of the Apocalypse every Tuesday night at 7:30PM!

Watch us play LIVE on Twitch Sundays at 7:30EST!

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Well, something really really exciting happened this weekend. In a whirlwind of excitement, we decided to stream our biannual D&D fest as a pilot. We loved it so much, we decided to open our private game to the world! You can catch us now live every Sunday around 7:30PM EST (give or take a few...) by subscribing right here: http://www.twitch.tv/CastleMac Also, please follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/CastleMacDnD We hope to catch you live! We'll be picking up in the middle of our Curse of Strahd campaign. You can see that weekend here:

Portrait of a Party: Princes of the Apocalypse

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The gentlemen depicted above are the current party we are using for our Princes of the Apocalypse campaign. Sean (of Caecilius Ras fame from our Curse of Strahd campaign) caught the DM bug, and after a successful two-parter (if you can call mercilessly murdering the player characters at the end successful) he decided to dive in on a full fledged campaign. All three miniatures are by Dark Sword Miniatures . At roughly twice the price of your standard Reaper mini (my usual go to), these probably aren't suitable for bulking out your collection... but for splurging on a Player Character, they are, in my opinion, second to none.  On the left, representing the Valor Bard  Broderick Reinwald  is the Balon Greyjoy figure from their George R.R Martin Masterworks line. What a perfect mini! The figure really captured the character of Broderick, and painting the model was an absolute joy. As with all of the Dark Sword minis I've put together, they do have very tiny connection p

Curse of Strahd Part 15: The Puppetmaster and the Toymaker

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Letters From Weiland Dearest Father, I hope someday these letters reach you, hopefully hand-delivered in this journal by yours truly. In my search for Captain Frostclaw, I seemed to have stumbled into a far different land than I have ever heard of. Before you go off berating me for being unable to even read a map, this place is not on any map, nor is the culture like any society we have ever learned about. I doubt even Lanegan, your favorite son, would have been able to avoid a trip to this sullen land. [ Curse of Strahd Index ] [ Previous ][ Next ] This place is horrible Father, as if it were a land bent on bringing your worst nightmares to bear. I stumbled into an tavern called The Blue Water Inn. However, I have failed to see any blue water anywhere around in this desolate land. The inkeep took me in and I was able to secure some warm food for the first time in a couple of days, as Outrider rations were running low. He said he had some people I should talk to, and lo

Miniature Review: Gibbering Mouther

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Continuing on from the Grell post earlier, Gibbering Mouthers are both one of my favorite weird, grotesque, uniquely D&D bad guys! Gibbering Mouthers babble endlessly, driving creatures who can hear them insane. Also, their brains float around inside their mass. Love it! Just like the Grells before, these little beauties come in the Wrath of Ashardalon boardgame. Item Name: Gibbering Mouther (From Wrath of Ashardalon) Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast Line: D&D Board Games Review: Much of what I have to say here is already covered in the Grell review. Bottom line, the Wrath board-game is worth picking up, even for just the miniatures. The game itself is based on 4th edition, which works best as a board game anyway, in my humble opinion. These are clean plastic sculpts that require no assembly. Quite happy with them! I wanted them to look grotesque so I painted them in fleshy tones, and applied spot gloss to make things look sickly wet. Love dropping them on the ta