[Science Fiction Future] Raspberry Pi - $25 Computer - Coming Soon

"The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard. It’s a capable little PC which can be used for many of the things that your desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, word-processing and games. It also plays high-definition video. We want to see it being used by kids all over the world to learn programming."

http://www.raspberrypi.org

It's supposed to be available sometime in February; I definitely want one of these!

Imagine how embarrassed the dudes who wrote Traveller and Shadowrun would feel if they hear about this?

Skill Focus (Education)

I'm sorry about this, but I've been maintaining such a laser-sharp focus on smoking weed my current classes that I've been neglecting this blog, emails, and I can't remember the last time I DM'd or played.

I'm still alive; I still love D&D; and I'm not about to nuke this blog anytime.

Now for some gaming content:

I absolutely HATE the teaser I've seen for the covers of rerelease of the 1st ed. AD&D hardbacks. No soul 100% guaranteed. I already have the books, but even if I didn't there's no way I would ugly up my bookcase with those eyesores when the originals are available.

Which bring me to this: Am I the only person who not only likes, but loves the 1st edition original AD&D Monster Manual cover? Monsters here, monsters there, monsters everywhere! When I was 9 years old it was utterly compelling.

And the part on the back with the goblins fleeing the purple worm? It cracks me up every dang time. I'm giggling just thinking about it...

Dear Mike Mearls & Wizards of the Coast

Do the original LBB Dungeons and Dragons next.

22 Dungeon Levels Are Not Enough - Congradulations to Pete

Today Pete, a player in the group(s) I DM, obtained "The End of the World" achievement trophy (worth 1100 xp), for his PC, 1st level Fighter Orpo, via. the party's cunning use of Levitation and Invisibility spells, reaching the uppermost edge of the mapped & stocked Fortress Eibon megadungeon. (There is still an unplumbed bottom of the mapped and stocked dungeon).

Mind you, he didn't find a staircase or corridor blocked off with "UNDER CONSTRUCTION" signs; he climbed a ladder up to the 11th (upper) level, looked around, and bailed after seeing the 8' brightly coloured snail shell in a corner next to his ladder.

Looks like I need to finish mapping and stocking the next quarter of the dungeon, which currently has 22 levels suitable for PCs of levels 1 through to 7; at this rate the complete megadungeon should have 88(!) levels and be able to handle PCs of up to 20th level.

Why Sleep and Web Get Saving Throws When I DM...

...because you better damn well believe that I run adversary NPC Magic-Users like a goddamn shark. And if they had access to an "I Win" button they would use it.

Magic goes both ways, but even I'm not that cold-blooded.

Besides, my players love throwing sleep spells at opponents with too high a HD for sleep to affect or that otherwise are immune; why not preserve the confusion by giving the monsters a saving throw?

What Fairy Tales Have Taught Me About Demi-Humans & Monsters

Elves, Dwarves, Giants, Goblins, Pixies, Nixies, Dryads and Snyads should definitely not have Type IV names like Elberenthon Autumnleaf or Bordan Stronghammer but they should have hokey, folksy names like "Green Jack," "Weeping Annie," or "Big Ted."

Also, prompted by the AD&D Demi-Human Level Limit discussion over at Rients' joint; my view is that you have to keep in mind that these aren't people we're talking about; they're demi-humans, some of them don't even have souls. By D&D standards they're practically monsters.

And, ultimately, they're also critters from fairy tales. I like fairy tales, and if I was an adventurer I would be terrified of facing something from a fairy tale. I can handle fairy tale beings being badasses. But can I handle them being the most-badass mofos? The Conans, The Gandalfs (okay, he was an angel; in human form), The Gray Mousers, The Rambos, The Darth Vaders, The Snake Pliskins? The Batmans? The James Bonds?

No; they are from fairy tales. Only the children of Adam and Eve are allowed to become the King Arthurs, the Alexander the Greats, the Merlins, the Solomons, the Moses', the Musashis, the Indiana Jones'. I think that in almost every supernatural worldview, there is the idea that there is something that makes human-people and the super-natural spirit people of the woods and mountains fundamentally different. And the greatest legends are about human heroes (and also deities).

Demi-humans get unlimited Thief advancement because it's a crap class, and I'm okay with fairy tale beings betting top-shelf, triple-A level tricksters.

[Fortress Eibon] New Years Day TPK...?

Three members of the Yam City Mercenary Brotherhood were engaged for an expedition into Fortress Eibon by two locally know delvers, Ballard and Ree Kee, along with a magic-user new to the Yam outskirts; none returned from the run and it is presumed that there are no survivors.