The most elite Dungeonmaster tool EVER!
You thought you had the best gaming table ever? think again buttercup
Wyrmwood is a small Massachusetts-based company that offers artisan quality gaming accessories to gamers who value craftsmanship. Founded by Douglas Costello, Ian Costello, and Edward Maranville, Wyrmwood exists to bring your tabletop experience to the next level.
You’ll need to see this:
No you didn’t miss out, their kickstarter is still live, but it ain’t cheap! It looks like the set up comes in sections that you can customize and piece together as you like.
This fulfills every nook and cranny of my nerd-desire to run a game of Dungeons & Dragons! These folks have already blasted past a quarter of a million bucks and I can see why.
This is Wyrmwood’s sixth Kickstarter and on the surface it appears as if they have followed through. I didn’t dig overly deep I’ll admit it.
So if you have a stack of cash and know anyone who games… *ahem – cough* I’ll send you my address when they deliver these babies!
New Concept in Digital RPGs?
Well, Almost.
When I first saw this project called Dungeon Mini pop up n my feed I got a little excited, but it wasn’t what I was hoping for.
The game has a lot of potential. I couldn’t put my finger on what was so familiar, then it hit me… this is a little like a GAUNTLET remake, then I got happier.
They tout it as new technology, and unique usage, but really Pokemon, Lego, and a number of other companies are grabbing on to this style of app and have been doing it for some time. Not everyone wraps it in D&D skins though.
The Kickstarter
After watching the video and checking the Kickstarter project HERE, I began to lose my excitement. What I was really hoping for was something like surface scapes old video (See below) but what this is delivering is a bit like fruit ninja with a D&D skin.
The goal is $88K – ambitious. The company has canceled a couple projects, not funded a few, but had one or two successes.
The video and project page are professionally done, I am curious to see if they will fund this. It looks fun, but where is our turn based tabletop RPG?
I think if they backed out on animation and a few real time action things, they might be able to deliver more than just 40 dungeon rooms.
I love them for trying, I love that they are gamers. The project is based in France and they do have titles on Steam.
What I was hoping for was more of this:
Winter Eternal – for Lands of Lunacy
Winter Eternal
Went live, and immediately funded just a few hours into launch! It has now exceeded 200% of the mark and is growing. This was a quick running project for a single session module that may be driopped in the MIDDLE of your current adventure for level 3 players!
BACK IT NOW!
It is the first official module for Lands of Lunacy and the clock is ticking!
It is expected that you will have the Lands of Lunacy Setting Guide when you play this adventure. fitting it in without the setting is easy enough, if you skip over all the fun challenges of playing the Lands of Lunacy.
Have no fear, there are bundles where you can get your copy WITH the Winter Eternal adventure if you need one. This adventure puts the cleric (Or divine character) in the driver’s seat. While not necessary, it is more fun with a cleric!
This is going out as a FULL COLOR adventure module on premium paper! yeah, you want this at your table.
Back it now!! This is a short run Kickstarter, it won’t last long! and you can get it for a Fiver!
Dungeon Mastering like a MASTER!
Immerse your players in the game
The Dungeon Masters I have met all have their own unique way of immersing players into their game. One of the common themes I come across is Music or Sounds. Well, here’s what I do.
I admit, some electronics at the table can be helpful, other times it can be a curse. Music really helps set the mood at my home games. The best tool I have found for doing this is Pandora. Trying to do this a convention gaming can be counterproductive unless you have your own private room in which to game.
Pandora allows you to stream music through your devices web browser or app and automatically selects related music based on criteria like “thumbs up (or down)”, what tracks you skipped, and algorithm seeds based on genre, artist, or song. After some time, you can really get a solid line up going that requires little or no attention and provides an immersive mood. Often it’s a mood no one realizes exists until the music stops.
I started my gaming station on October 14th 2012 with the Skyrim soundtrack, it has since expanded significantly. Often it adds music from the hobbit films, Morrowwind, Game of Thrones etc. The general selection is rather focused now to definite background feeling music. Click here to check it out if you like. i am in no way affiliated with Pandora, nor do I have any ‘perk’ to recommending the service. I use it to enhance my games.
The free version does have commercials so you can either get through them, or sign up (Pay) to remove them.
You can also arrange ambient stations for settings like temples, forests, or other settings with a little effort. I admit to not being quite that involved in my music selection, but my interest in it has been growing each time I meet a DM who has a similar practice.
Game on, cue up some music!
What do you do to help immerse your players in the game?
Let us know in the comments below.
Dice so small the DM can’t see them
Neither can anyone else without some help.
Ok this is a novelty, and something that just came up as a way to test the limits of some production equipment, but it’s undeniably cool. I posted this story on Facebook recently and have been trying to put my head around just how tiny .3 mm is.
It’s tiny, like teeny tiny. Whip out a ruler and try to put your head around the half-grain of sand that is this die. See those MM marks? 1/3 of one of those is the face of this D6.
You can still buy these from the company that makes them I believe, but to what end? They also sell other tiny things, Japan wins again when it comes to small and micro. I love that this is possible, and it continues to roll around my brain that there has to be a use for such things.
Of all the game collectors on my friends lists, I don’t know of any that have this.
What is the most unique dice in your collection?
You don’t need to wait for FRIDAY to start your EVERCON weekend!
Excited about Evercon 2017?
You should be, it’s going to be the best one yet!
You don’t need to wait for Friday!
THURSDAY January 5th from 1-3PM Evercon special guest Lloyd Metcalf will be at Barnes & Noble in Wausau signing his books while talking about writing and illustrating adventures!
You can not only get an early jump on the con, but you will be able to enjoy more focused attention from one of the special guests! Lloyd has working as an illustrator for many emerging game companies and is finding his way as owner of Fail Squad Games into the annals of gaming notoriety.
So come on over the Wausau on Thursday to Barnes & Noble and join in the fun of the PRE-CON party!
If you are going to Evercon the following weekend, Lloyd is hosting a number of events that you can reserve your seat for NOW!
Lloyd Metcalf / Fail Squad Games will be presenting the following events along with a vendor booth at Evercon 2017 this year!
Critical Fumble: Learning to fail with style
A round table discussion / presentation by Lloyd Metcalf of Fail Squad Games. The journey to becoming an RPG illustrator and game designer, or any creative endeavor is not always a level well-paved road that is easy to travel. Addressing failure, minding the gaps and embracing the screw-ups creates new paths to achievement for anyone chasing a dream.
Lloyd had to face the reality that failure was not only likely, but inevitable with his dream of becoming a fantasy artist and game producer. Understanding how to grow from failure became a critical piece of the journey. Many artists, writers, and creative people make failure or the fear of failure, an intimidating barrier to progress. Learn to flip that fear and turn it into a tool of self-improvement. Discuss some of the lessons learned along the way with Fail Squad Games, art, design, production process from idea to being published with distributors around the globe.
The Witch’s Trial:
You settle in for a quiet night’s rest in a warm cozy bed. Tremendous rats, madness, voices, and chaos spin your world into madness! Where are you? WHO are you? Can you even survive the Lands of Lunacy to ever find your way back to your safe warm bed?
Welcome to the Lands of Lunacy setting, a universe created from chaos and consisting of limitless dimensions connected to limitless planes. Herein, domineering lords rule over domains interconnected by webs of lunar gates surrounded by the utter madness of the Chaos Void. The price of entry may be your sanity, or even your life. The rewards are immeasurable, and every domain brings new possibilities, rewards, and challenges.
You may never be the same.
You may never return.
FSG On Sale!
-
Lands of Lunacy 5E
$13.00
-
Winter Eternal 5E
$15.00