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Extra Life's partnership with Wizards of the Coast has been incredible over the years. This year, Wizards of the Coast managed the incredible feat of managing to raise over $1 million USD! They surpassed that momentous mark this year through the combined might of their D&D Super Team holding fundraising events throughout the year and the incredible efforts of their Magic: The Gathering team. A huge thank you to Wizards of the Coast and all the employees and creators who helped make this achievement possible! The D&D Super Team has managed to raise a a colossal sum of over $250,000 USD and is expected to hit $275,000 USD by the time the dust settles at the end of 2019. They reached that incredible number by kicking off a three month campaign with the Founders & Legends Day celebration on July 27, which featured Luke Gygax talking about the origins of tabletop roleplaying as well as several D&D one-shot games. With numerous streams and smaller events in between, along with the hard work of D&D players, DMs, and fans working to support their local hospitals, their last major fundraising push happened from October 31 through November 3 with Gamehole Con and on November 9 with Seattle Children's Hospital Game Day. Seattle Children's Hospital Game Day had Wizards of the Coast playing Dungeon Mayhem, the company's D&D-themed card game, and full-tabletop sessions for new players and kids. The other half of Wizards of the Coast's fundraising efforts belonged to Magic: The Gathering. The Magic community really rallied around Wizards this year between more people pitching in on Game Day and the debut of Ponies: The Galloping. Three official Magic: The Gathering cards featuring four of the most beloved ponies from My Little Pony debuted as part of a special collection benefiting Extra Life. The limited edition cards went on sale on October 22 along with a series of matching playmats, sales of which also benefited Extra Life. The playmats and cards sold out incredibly quickly, with the entire offering disappearing almost immediately. During the same time period, Magic: The Gathering auctioned off a series of coveted foil card sheets fresh from their printers. The sheets were sold for thousands of dollars per piece, giving die hard Magic fans a chance to own an irreplaceable piece of the game. In total between the Magic community and the My Little Pony crossover, Magic: The Gathering managed to raise over $875,000 USD #ForTheKids! However, 2019 isn't over quite yet! Those who still want to contribute to Wizards of the Coast's Extra Life mission can purchase one or more of the special modules that the D&D team has put together for Extra Life over the years. Past adventures and supplements include: Lost Laboratory of Kwalish, Volo’s Waterdeep Enchiridion, Tortle Package, One Grung Above, and The Lost Kenku. This year, the Wizards of the Coast team has outdone them selves and offered not one, not two, but THREE additional adventures and supplements that can be used to spice up your tabletop gaming sessions: Adventure with Muk offers an adventure into the Dankwood with the plucky Muk and his best friend Birdsquirrel on a quest to find an incredible treasure. Adventure with Muk is meant for all ages and can even be printed out and used as a coloring book! Infernal Machine Rebuild is a short adventure in a ruined clock tower that involves traveling to different times and planes of existence in order to reconstruct the legendary Infernal Machine of Lum the Mad, a fantastical contraption of great power... and great danger. Locathah Rising gives players a short adventure for 9th level characters and the rules for creating locathah characters, a race of fish people that make friends out of sea otters. They're great - and this is the only official way to get these fun, fishy dudes in your games! Remember, every purchase of each of these adventures benefits the kids, with all proceeds going to Extra Life! It's never too late to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! Donations for 2019 are accepted year-round! View full article -
Extra Life's partnership with Wizards of the Coast has been incredible over the years. This year, Wizards of the Coast managed the incredible feat of managing to raise over $1 million USD! They surpassed that momentous mark this year through the combined might of their D&D Super Team holding fundraising events throughout the year and the incredible efforts of their Magic: The Gathering team. A huge thank you to Wizards of the Coast and all the employees and creators who helped make this achievement possible! The D&D Super Team has managed to raise a a colossal sum of over $250,000 USD and is expected to hit $275,000 USD by the time the dust settles at the end of 2019. They reached that incredible number by kicking off a three month campaign with the Founders & Legends Day celebration on July 27, which featured Luke Gygax talking about the origins of tabletop roleplaying as well as several D&D one-shot games. With numerous streams and smaller events in between, along with the hard work of D&D players, DMs, and fans working to support their local hospitals, their last major fundraising push happened from October 31 through November 3 with Gamehole Con and on November 9 with Seattle Children's Hospital Game Day. Seattle Children's Hospital Game Day had Wizards of the Coast playing Dungeon Mayhem, the company's D&D-themed card game, and full-tabletop sessions for new players and kids. The other half of Wizards of the Coast's fundraising efforts belonged to Magic: The Gathering. The Magic community really rallied around Wizards this year between more people pitching in on Game Day and the debut of Ponies: The Galloping. Three official Magic: The Gathering cards featuring four of the most beloved ponies from My Little Pony debuted as part of a special collection benefiting Extra Life. The limited edition cards went on sale on October 22 along with a series of matching playmats, sales of which also benefited Extra Life. The playmats and cards sold out incredibly quickly, with the entire offering disappearing almost immediately. During the same time period, Magic: The Gathering auctioned off a series of coveted foil card sheets fresh from their printers. The sheets were sold for thousands of dollars per piece, giving die hard Magic fans a chance to own an irreplaceable piece of the game. In total between the Magic community and the My Little Pony crossover, Magic: The Gathering managed to raise over $875,000 USD #ForTheKids! However, 2019 isn't over quite yet! Those who still want to contribute to Wizards of the Coast's Extra Life mission can purchase one or more of the special modules that the D&D team has put together for Extra Life over the years. Past adventures and supplements include: Lost Laboratory of Kwalish, Volo’s Waterdeep Enchiridion, Tortle Package, One Grung Above, and The Lost Kenku. This year, the Wizards of the Coast team has outdone them selves and offered not one, not two, but THREE additional adventures and supplements that can be used to spice up your tabletop gaming sessions: Adventure with Muk offers an adventure into the Dankwood with the plucky Muk and his best friend Birdsquirrel on a quest to find an incredible treasure. Adventure with Muk is meant for all ages and can even be printed out and used as a coloring book! Infernal Machine Rebuild is a short adventure in a ruined clock tower that involves traveling to different times and planes of existence in order to reconstruct the legendary Infernal Machine of Lum the Mad, a fantastical contraption of great power... and great danger. Locathah Rising gives players a short adventure for 9th level characters and the rules for creating locathah characters, a race of fish people that make friends out of sea otters. They're great - and this is the only official way to get these fun, fishy dudes in your games! Remember, every purchase of each of these adventures benefits the kids, with all proceeds going to Extra Life! It's never too late to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! Donations for 2019 are accepted year-round! -
No Streaming Required | 6 Easy Ways To Raise Money #ForTheKids
Jack Gardner posted an article in Fundraising
With the rise of digital streaming platforms, the Extra Lifers who participate in fundraising efforts on Game Day and beyond have become incredibly visible and shaped the way that people think about Extra Life. However, Extra Life is more than just streaming! We have a large and passionate community that exists in spaces that are left out of the streaming world by choice or technical limitations. If you're looking to up your fundraising game without streaming, here are several ideas that will make your efforts to help your kids in your community successful. Make the First Donation to Your Page This first point might raise a few eyebrows. When it comes to fundraising, momentum is important. Participants who already have a donation, even if it is from themselves, are more easily able to attract future donations. In fact, making the initial donation yourself before any fundraising effort is so effective that, according to our friends at DonorDrive who have crunched the numbers, people who self-donate are likely to raise 10 times more than those who don't. Join D&D Adventurers League This should be of interest to the tabletop gamers in our community: Participating in Extra Life fundraising can help you earn rewards at the table in Dungeons & Dragons' Adventurers League! Adventurers League helps new people to learn how to play D&D while providing high-quality, regulated adventures for players of all skill levels. Since Wizards of the Coast began working with Extra Life several years ago, many local Adventurers League events have offered ways to earn in-game items or a re-roll of the dice via charitable donations. This year, Adventurers League is offering extended Liars Night (the name of their month-long Halloween event) festivities to everyone who has donated to a fundraising page on the Extra Life website, bought a re-roll ticket that benefited Extra Life, or otherwise helped in local fundraising efforts. This will extend the spooky celebration through November 7th, allowing more time for players to fight Wandering Monsters through Game Day and beyond. Defeating those monsters earns in-game candy corn that can be used for unique, holiday-related items. Download the Apps A reminder to download the apps might cause some to roll their eyes. However, if everyone in the Extra Life community downloaded and made the attempt to use the Mobile Fundraising Apps, Extra Life would be able to raise another $1 million USD for the kids! Set Up a $1 Donation Playlist One of the most creative unstreamed fundraising efforts we have encountered is a sponsored cross-country road trips. This involves an Extra Lifer soliciting $1 USD donations per song suggestion to construct a playlist of music they must listen to during their journey. Community member Rich Moser recently put this tactic to the test on a journey from Pittsburgh to Phoenix. "People could choose songs, ANY song, by donating $1 per song," explained Rich. "If my math is right, I raised $614 by doing this! [There were] so many great and terrible songs that I had to keep the playlist playing for a day or so after we got here in order to complete it!" If you want to take a gander at Rich's playlist, here’s the link (be warned some songs are NSFW). Launch a Facebook Fundraiser One of the features on Facebook that has gained traction over the years has been giving users on the social media site the ability to create fundraisers for causes near and dear to their hearts. This feature has raised over $1 billion USD since it was launched back in 2015. Due to a recent update to Extra Life's website, it has never been easier to create a Facebook Fundraiser. Through your account page on Extra Life's main website, you will have a small button that streamlines the fundraiser creation process with clear prompts to help you connect your Extra Life account with your Facebook. Once the process is complete, any donations to your Facebook fundraiser will be reflected in your fundraising total on Extra Life! On average, people who create Facebook Fundraisers raise $150 USD from the effort. If everyone in the Extra Life community created one, our fundraising totals for 2019 would be mind-boggling! Host a Classic Game Night If streaming isn't your thing, consider throwing a game night for your friends or community. Game nights are a classic way to get people engaged with your fundraising efforts, especially if it's a laid back, less formal event. Dust off the Rock Band or Guitar Hero controllers, grab a few board games, your tabletop dice, whatever will help everyone have a great time. The flexibility of fundraising during an occasion like this depends on your imagination. Ideas to raise money for the kids range from a $10 donation to attend the festivities to micro-donations to turn the tide of various games from Super Smash Bros. to Monopoly. The key is for everyone to walk away having had fun and armed with the knowledge that they helped kids in their communities. What are the most fun fundraising ideas with no streaming required that you have come up with? Share with us in the comments! Don't forget to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! -
With the rise of digital streaming platforms, the Extra Lifers who participate in fundraising efforts on Game Day and beyond have become incredibly visible and shaped the way that people think about Extra Life. However, Extra Life is more than just streaming! We have a large and passionate community that exists in spaces that are left out of the streaming world by choice or technical limitations. If you're looking to up your fundraising game without streaming, here are several ideas that will make your efforts to help your kids in your community successful. Make the First Donation to Your Page This first point might raise a few eyebrows. When it comes to fundraising, momentum is important. Participants who already have a donation, even if it is from themselves, are more easily able to attract future donations. In fact, making the initial donation yourself before any fundraising effort is so effective that, according to our friends at DonorDrive who have crunched the numbers, people who self-donate are likely to raise 10 times more than those who don't. Join D&D Adventurers League This should be of interest to the tabletop gamers in our community: Participating in Extra Life fundraising can help you earn rewards at the table in Dungeons & Dragons' Adventurers League! Adventurers League helps new people to learn how to play D&D while providing high-quality, regulated adventures for players of all skill levels. Since Wizards of the Coast began working with Extra Life several years ago, many local Adventurers League events have offered ways to earn in-game items or a re-roll of the dice via charitable donations. This year, Adventurers League is offering extended Liars Night (the name of their month-long Halloween event) festivities to everyone who has donated to a fundraising page on the Extra Life website, bought a re-roll ticket that benefited Extra Life, or otherwise helped in local fundraising efforts. This will extend the spooky celebration through November 7th, allowing more time for players to fight Wandering Monsters through Game Day and beyond. Defeating those monsters earns in-game candy corn that can be used for unique, holiday-related items. Download the Apps A reminder to download the apps might cause some to roll their eyes. However, if everyone in the Extra Life community downloaded and made the attempt to use the Mobile Fundraising Apps, Extra Life would be able to raise another $1 million USD for the kids! Set Up a $1 Donation Playlist One of the most creative unstreamed fundraising efforts we have encountered is a sponsored cross-country road trips. This involves an Extra Lifer soliciting $1 USD donations per song suggestion to construct a playlist of music they must listen to during their journey. Community member Rich Moser recently put this tactic to the test on a journey from Pittsburgh to Phoenix. "People could choose songs, ANY song, by donating $1 per song," explained Rich. "If my math is right, I raised $614 by doing this! [There were] so many great and terrible songs that I had to keep the playlist playing for a day or so after we got here in order to complete it!" If you want to take a gander at Rich's playlist, here’s the link (be warned some songs are NSFW). Launch a Facebook Fundraiser One of the features on Facebook that has gained traction over the years has been giving users on the social media site the ability to create fundraisers for causes near and dear to their hearts. This feature has raised over $1 billion USD since it was launched back in 2015. Due to a recent update to Extra Life's website, it has never been easier to create a Facebook Fundraiser. Through your account page on Extra Life's main website, you will have a small button that streamlines the fundraiser creation process with clear prompts to help you connect your Extra Life account with your Facebook. Once the process is complete, any donations to your Facebook fundraiser will be reflected in your fundraising total on Extra Life! On average, people who create Facebook Fundraisers raise $150 USD from the effort. If everyone in the Extra Life community created one, our fundraising totals for 2019 would be mind-boggling! Host a Classic Game Night If streaming isn't your thing, consider throwing a game night for your friends or community. Game nights are a classic way to get people engaged with your fundraising efforts, especially if it's a laid back, less formal event. Dust off the Rock Band or Guitar Hero controllers, grab a few board games, your tabletop dice, whatever will help everyone have a great time. The flexibility of fundraising during an occasion like this depends on your imagination. Ideas to raise money for the kids range from a $10 donation to attend the festivities to micro-donations to turn the tide of various games from Super Smash Bros. to Monopoly. The key is for everyone to walk away having had fun and armed with the knowledge that they helped kids in their communities. What are the most fun fundraising ideas with no streaming required that you have come up with? Share with us in the comments! Don't forget to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! View full article
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The showdown with the undead special agent below South Gate Prison turns deadly. The gang reunites with old friends and encounters an enigmatic priest who invites them to a place none of them have ever heard of before: Spire, City of the Returning God. We Wanted Adventurers is a liveplay Dungeons & Dragons podcast that follows a motley trio of unlikely heroes as they bumble into adventures both big and small across the fantastical continent of Nevarrone. For the uninitiated, a liveplay podcast features an unscripted recording of a traditional tabletop roleplaying game, with all of the goofs and drama that comes with the territory. If you've never listened to the show before, here's a handy playlist to get you caught up. "Rynos Theme" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ You can download or listen to the podcast over on Soundcloud, Spotify, our hosting site, and iTunes. You can follow the show on Twitter for updates. Let us know what you think of the show! We know that some parts of it are a bit bumpy, but I hope it doesn't get in the way of your enjoyment as we all learn and grow together. Thank you for listening! New episodes of We Wanted Adventurers will be released every Wednesday Don't forget to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! -
The showdown with the undead special agent below South Gate Prison turns deadly. The gang reunites with old friends and encounters an enigmatic priest who invites them to a place none of them have ever heard of before: Spire, City of the Returning God. We Wanted Adventurers is a liveplay Dungeons & Dragons podcast that follows a motley trio of unlikely heroes as they bumble into adventures both big and small across the fantastical continent of Nevarrone. For the uninitiated, a liveplay podcast features an unscripted recording of a traditional tabletop roleplaying game, with all of the goofs and drama that comes with the territory. If you've never listened to the show before, here's a handy playlist to get you caught up. "Rynos Theme" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ You can download or listen to the podcast over on Soundcloud, Spotify, our hosting site, and iTunes. You can follow the show on Twitter for updates. Let us know what you think of the show! We know that some parts of it are a bit bumpy, but I hope it doesn't get in the way of your enjoyment as we all learn and grow together. Thank you for listening! New episodes of We Wanted Adventurers will be released every Wednesday Don't forget to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! View full article
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We Wanted Adventurers Ep. 49: Everything Happens for a Reason - Chapter 5
Jack Gardner posted an article in Podcast
The gang begins a joint operation with the newly freed thieves, pirates, and murderers to break out of prison and find the hidden chamber which their former leader, Syd Sylvane, has been taken for questioning. We Wanted Adventurers is a liveplay Dungeons & Dragons podcast that follows a motley trio of unlikely heroes as they bumble into adventures both big and small across the fantastical continent of Nevarrone. For the uninitiated, a liveplay podcast features an unscripted recording of a traditional tabletop roleplaying game, with all of the goofs and drama that comes with the territory. If you've never listened to the show before, here's a handy playlist to get you caught up. "One of Them" "Werq" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ You can download or listen to the podcast over on Soundcloud, our hosting site, and iTunes. You can follow the show on Twitter for updates. Let us know what you think of the show! We know that some parts of it are a bit bumpy, but I hope it doesn't get in the way of your enjoyment as we all learn and grow together. Thank you for listening! New episodes of We Wanted Adventurers will be released every Wednesday Don't forget to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! -
The gang begins a joint operation with the newly freed thieves, pirates, and murderers to break out of prison and find the hidden chamber which their former leader, Syd Sylvane, has been taken for questioning. We Wanted Adventurers is a liveplay Dungeons & Dragons podcast that follows a motley trio of unlikely heroes as they bumble into adventures both big and small across the fantastical continent of Nevarrone. For the uninitiated, a liveplay podcast features an unscripted recording of a traditional tabletop roleplaying game, with all of the goofs and drama that comes with the territory. If you've never listened to the show before, here's a handy playlist to get you caught up. "One of Them" "Werq" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ You can download or listen to the podcast over on Soundcloud, our hosting site, and iTunes. You can follow the show on Twitter for updates. Let us know what you think of the show! We know that some parts of it are a bit bumpy, but I hope it doesn't get in the way of your enjoyment as we all learn and grow together. Thank you for listening! New episodes of We Wanted Adventurers will be released every Wednesday Don't forget to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! View full article
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Tabletop RPGs can be a wonderful and imaginative way to create unforgettable memories with friends. Everyone involved helps to create an adventure together and that process can be some of the most fun games have to offer. However, sometimes it can be hard to know where to start if you are a new Dungeon Master, the player tasked with shaping and running the game. Even experienced DMs can find themselves at a loss on how to spice up their existing campaigns or where to turn for inspiration for new ones. The good news is that Wizards of the Coast has been putting together fantastic adventure modules for decades and there are some great ones out there that either use the current game system, 5th edition, or can be easily adapted to it. We’ve gathered together some of the greatest modules to use as a spur for your creativity whether you are just starting out or are a veteran looking for some fresh ideas. Keep on the Shadowfell I’ll come right out and say it: Keep on the Shadowfell is one of the best introductory adventures for Dungeons & Dragons. It has everything players and DMs could ask for. It was designed to be a flexible module that introduces new players to the town of Winterhaven. The small village houses a number of colorful characters, some of whom have mysterious motivations. More importantly, Winterhaven has problems with the local kobold population and a mysterious, dark power that has arisen in the ruined chambers of the long-abandoned Shadowfell Keep. A lot of thought went into Winterhaven. It has unique supporting characters that make the town come alive, some with little to nothing to do with the adventure itself. They provide the town with a sense of life and vigor that can sometimes be missing from adventuring towns. Even if you are a veteran role-player, there’s a lot that can be learned from how the town has been crafted and the characters who live there. That same care extends to some of the villains in the adventure who, if played right, can provide some unforgettable moments. While Winterhaven stands out as a compelling location, the small dungeon of Shadowfell Keep provides a great, easily digested dungeon delving experience for players while giving DMs enough pieces to keep things spicy. Players who want to improvise and explore the relationship between the townsfolk and the various factions both in and around the town will find that there are plenty of intriguing relationships that can be made into fun diversions. By the time the adventure concludes, if everything goes well, players might want to use Winterhaven as a base of operations while adventuring into the wilderness. Keep on the Shadowfell provides plenty of potential plot threads that could link to other modules or awesome homebrew content. The main downside of Keep on the Shadowfell is that it exists as a 4th edition D&D adventure. That means DMs will have to do some work if they want to directly adapt the adventure to their campaign. However, it serves as a great template for designing future towns and introductory campaigns of your own. It actually served as the basis of the Verne, the town central to the plot of the Dragonguard that only just concluded. It’ll take a bit of work to get it up and running, but Keep on the Shadowfell is an absolute must if you are looking for direction on how to begin a D&D campaign right. Tomb of Annihilation A fantastic, self-contained adventure, Tomb of Annihilation is one of the special adventures made for 5th edition that can be rolled into most campaigns with ease or serve as the setting for an entire campaign in its own right. The adventure serves as an excellent excuse to get players out of the comfortable environments of traditional fantasy and into tropical settings filled with dinosaurs and a need to track resources for survival. Experience stands out as one of the big downsides to Tomb of Annihilation. DMs looking to run a campaign with it should probably have a few adventures under their belts before trying it out. The book provides so much information that newer players might find it to be daunting to run. For the experienced or bold newbie, Tomb of Annihilation makes for a really cool trek into the unknown. Magic cities, devilish curses, zombie dinosaurs, and more hide in the forests and remote reaches of Chult, the island nation where the campaign takes place. Compared to Keep on the Shadowfell, Tomb of Annihilation is massive, designed to take players from level 1 to level 11. The adventure allows for higher level characters to be rolled into it, giving it a degree of versatility for DMs looking to roll less vulnerable characters into the action. The other big downside to Tomb of Annihilation lies in its central hook. Something on Chult has disrupted the effectiveness of resurrection magic and the players have been hired to uncover and put a stop to whatever might be causing the problem. This means that players who die will have to create new characters, something that can be off-putting to players who aren’t prepared for perma death in Dungeons & Dragons. Tomb of Annihilation contains many intriguing scenarios that a DM attempting to homebrew will find interesting and helpful. If everyone is on the same page and down for a campaign where lethality and danger take center stage, Tomb of Annihilation presents a fantastic change of pace and a unique opportunity that can’t be found anywhere else in 5th edition. Death Ascendant Ravenloft has a long history in Dungeons & Dragons. The setting first appeared in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons back in 1983 in an adventure simply titled Ravenloft. It gained popularity for its emphasis on a creepy, horror-focused atmosphere. This stood in stark contrast of the traditional fantasy D&D had offered players up until that point. Beginning in 2nd Edition, Ravenloft became a full campaign setting, full of factions and unnatural powers. The setting draws heavily from Gothic horror, drawing players into a pocket dimension full of macabre domains ruled by cruel and twisted overlords. These rulers have all been trapped in the realm by strange and inscrutable wills known only as The Dark Powers that use the drama and pain inflicted on the unfortunate souls for their own unknowable purposes. Over the decades many adventures have released set within Ravenloft. In fact, one of the most popular adventure modules Wizards of the Coast have released for 5th edition is Curse of Strahd, which make use of the Ravenloft setting. This means that a lot of people who have played through Curse of Strahd might be thirsting after some more horror-oriented content. Enter Death Ascendant. The adventure originally released in 1996 as a module for 2nd edition D&D. The adventure kicks off with the players in pursuit of a band of assassins from an organization called Ebon Fold. The dastardly villains have been slaughtering everyone in their path, leaving strange, desiccated husks in their wake. The party happens upon a lone survivor gifted with the ability to see glimpses of the future. The path takes players to the city of Nartok where several secretive organizations have made a play for power at the expense of the people living under their influences. Players have to uncover the secrets of the city and figure out how to put a stop to the mysterious machinations of the city’s three major factions. By simply adding a plot hook at the end of Curse of Strahd, players could find themselves embroiled in another fantastic Ravenloft adventure. Unfortunately, players looking to do that will have to put in a not insignificant amount of work. Converting from 4th edition like for Keep on the Shadowfell doesn’t stand out as a particularly cumbersome challenge. However, the deep combat system and complicated rules mean that DMs might struggle to find equivalent stat blocks for enemies. The result is that a shoddy attempt to convert Death Ascendant could result in incredibly unbalanced encounters, making it either too difficult or too easy. Despite the difficulty, the Yojimbo-like scenario with multiple factions, vile magic, and hidden secrets could prove to be an amazing inspiration for a homebrew adventure. Since it’s an older adventure, PDC copies are available online for about $5 USD with soft cover books going for $10. The Tortle Package At first blush, The Tortle Package seems like it was designed as a supplement for Tomb of Annihilation. It offers a lot in a relatively concise bundle for players either looking to start out a campaign in a remote and uncharted area or for people who want to take a short break from their main campaign. Not only that, but it introduces tortles to D&D 5e. If you aren’t familiar with tortles, they are basically humanoid turtle people. Think Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They’re fantastic and offer some fantastic roleplaying opportunities for players who have been everything else in-game up until this point. The Tortle Package isn’t really an adventure per say. Instead, it’s better to think of it as an adventure tool kit. It includes a lot of information about a region called The Snout of Omgar as well as a dungeon called Dangwaru, the Typhoon Palace. On top of that, there’s a great small village and many points of interest for curious players to explore. All of the pieces are provided for players to make a fantastic adventure of their own in The Snout of Omgar. In addition to being an affordable and fun addition to almost any campaign, sales of The Tortle Package also support Extra Life! Wizards of the Coast has generously created a series of modules over the years as special promotional materials for their Extra Life fundraising efforts. For giving players the ability to run around as literal Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles while also helping real world kids, The Tortle Package gets a big ol’ stamp of approval. What are some of your favorite modules you use to inject some excitement into a campaign? Let us know in the comments! Don't forget to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! View full article
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Tabletop RPGs can be a wonderful and imaginative way to create unforgettable memories with friends. Everyone involved helps to create an adventure together and that process can be some of the most fun games have to offer. However, sometimes it can be hard to know where to start if you are a new Dungeon Master, the player tasked with shaping and running the game. Even experienced DMs can find themselves at a loss on how to spice up their existing campaigns or where to turn for inspiration for new ones. The good news is that Wizards of the Coast has been putting together fantastic adventure modules for decades and there are some great ones out there that either use the current game system, 5th edition, or can be easily adapted to it. We’ve gathered together some of the greatest modules to use as a spur for your creativity whether you are just starting out or are a veteran looking for some fresh ideas. Keep on the Shadowfell I’ll come right out and say it: Keep on the Shadowfell is one of the best introductory adventures for Dungeons & Dragons. It has everything players and DMs could ask for. It was designed to be a flexible module that introduces new players to the town of Winterhaven. The small village houses a number of colorful characters, some of whom have mysterious motivations. More importantly, Winterhaven has problems with the local kobold population and a mysterious, dark power that has arisen in the ruined chambers of the long-abandoned Shadowfell Keep. A lot of thought went into Winterhaven. It has unique supporting characters that make the town come alive, some with little to nothing to do with the adventure itself. They provide the town with a sense of life and vigor that can sometimes be missing from adventuring towns. Even if you are a veteran role-player, there’s a lot that can be learned from how the town has been crafted and the characters who live there. That same care extends to some of the villains in the adventure who, if played right, can provide some unforgettable moments. While Winterhaven stands out as a compelling location, the small dungeon of Shadowfell Keep provides a great, easily digested dungeon delving experience for players while giving DMs enough pieces to keep things spicy. Players who want to improvise and explore the relationship between the townsfolk and the various factions both in and around the town will find that there are plenty of intriguing relationships that can be made into fun diversions. By the time the adventure concludes, if everything goes well, players might want to use Winterhaven as a base of operations while adventuring into the wilderness. Keep on the Shadowfell provides plenty of potential plot threads that could link to other modules or awesome homebrew content. The main downside of Keep on the Shadowfell is that it exists as a 4th edition D&D adventure. That means DMs will have to do some work if they want to directly adapt the adventure to their campaign. However, it serves as a great template for designing future towns and introductory campaigns of your own. It actually served as the basis of the Verne, the town central to the plot of the Dragonguard that only just concluded. It’ll take a bit of work to get it up and running, but Keep on the Shadowfell is an absolute must if you are looking for direction on how to begin a D&D campaign right. Tomb of Annihilation A fantastic, self-contained adventure, Tomb of Annihilation is one of the special adventures made for 5th edition that can be rolled into most campaigns with ease or serve as the setting for an entire campaign in its own right. The adventure serves as an excellent excuse to get players out of the comfortable environments of traditional fantasy and into tropical settings filled with dinosaurs and a need to track resources for survival. Experience stands out as one of the big downsides to Tomb of Annihilation. DMs looking to run a campaign with it should probably have a few adventures under their belts before trying it out. The book provides so much information that newer players might find it to be daunting to run. For the experienced or bold newbie, Tomb of Annihilation makes for a really cool trek into the unknown. Magic cities, devilish curses, zombie dinosaurs, and more hide in the forests and remote reaches of Chult, the island nation where the campaign takes place. Compared to Keep on the Shadowfell, Tomb of Annihilation is massive, designed to take players from level 1 to level 11. The adventure allows for higher level characters to be rolled into it, giving it a degree of versatility for DMs looking to roll less vulnerable characters into the action. The other big downside to Tomb of Annihilation lies in its central hook. Something on Chult has disrupted the effectiveness of resurrection magic and the players have been hired to uncover and put a stop to whatever might be causing the problem. This means that players who die will have to create new characters, something that can be off-putting to players who aren’t prepared for perma death in Dungeons & Dragons. Tomb of Annihilation contains many intriguing scenarios that a DM attempting to homebrew will find interesting and helpful. If everyone is on the same page and down for a campaign where lethality and danger take center stage, Tomb of Annihilation presents a fantastic change of pace and a unique opportunity that can’t be found anywhere else in 5th edition. Death Ascendant Ravenloft has a long history in Dungeons & Dragons. The setting first appeared in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons back in 1983 in an adventure simply titled Ravenloft. It gained popularity for its emphasis on a creepy, horror-focused atmosphere. This stood in stark contrast of the traditional fantasy D&D had offered players up until that point. Beginning in 2nd Edition, Ravenloft became a full campaign setting, full of factions and unnatural powers. The setting draws heavily from Gothic horror, drawing players into a pocket dimension full of macabre domains ruled by cruel and twisted overlords. These rulers have all been trapped in the realm by strange and inscrutable wills known only as The Dark Powers that use the drama and pain inflicted on the unfortunate souls for their own unknowable purposes. Over the decades many adventures have released set within Ravenloft. In fact, one of the most popular adventure modules Wizards of the Coast have released for 5th edition is Curse of Strahd, which make use of the Ravenloft setting. This means that a lot of people who have played through Curse of Strahd might be thirsting after some more horror-oriented content. Enter Death Ascendant. The adventure originally released in 1996 as a module for 2nd edition D&D. The adventure kicks off with the players in pursuit of a band of assassins from an organization called Ebon Fold. The dastardly villains have been slaughtering everyone in their path, leaving strange, desiccated husks in their wake. The party happens upon a lone survivor gifted with the ability to see glimpses of the future. The path takes players to the city of Nartok where several secretive organizations have made a play for power at the expense of the people living under their influences. Players have to uncover the secrets of the city and figure out how to put a stop to the mysterious machinations of the city’s three major factions. By simply adding a plot hook at the end of Curse of Strahd, players could find themselves embroiled in another fantastic Ravenloft adventure. Unfortunately, players looking to do that will have to put in a not insignificant amount of work. Converting from 4th edition like for Keep on the Shadowfell doesn’t stand out as a particularly cumbersome challenge. However, the deep combat system and complicated rules mean that DMs might struggle to find equivalent stat blocks for enemies. The result is that a shoddy attempt to convert Death Ascendant could result in incredibly unbalanced encounters, making it either too difficult or too easy. Despite the difficulty, the Yojimbo-like scenario with multiple factions, vile magic, and hidden secrets could prove to be an amazing inspiration for a homebrew adventure. Since it’s an older adventure, PDC copies are available online for about $5 USD with soft cover books going for $10. The Tortle Package At first blush, The Tortle Package seems like it was designed as a supplement for Tomb of Annihilation. It offers a lot in a relatively concise bundle for players either looking to start out a campaign in a remote and uncharted area or for people who want to take a short break from their main campaign. Not only that, but it introduces tortles to D&D 5e. If you aren’t familiar with tortles, they are basically humanoid turtle people. Think Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They’re fantastic and offer some fantastic roleplaying opportunities for players who have been everything else in-game up until this point. The Tortle Package isn’t really an adventure per say. Instead, it’s better to think of it as an adventure tool kit. It includes a lot of information about a region called The Snout of Omgar as well as a dungeon called Dangwaru, the Typhoon Palace. On top of that, there’s a great small village and many points of interest for curious players to explore. All of the pieces are provided for players to make a fantastic adventure of their own in The Snout of Omgar. In addition to being an affordable and fun addition to almost any campaign, sales of The Tortle Package also support Extra Life! Wizards of the Coast has generously created a series of modules over the years as special promotional materials for their Extra Life fundraising efforts. For giving players the ability to run around as literal Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles while also helping real world kids, The Tortle Package gets a big ol’ stamp of approval. What are some of your favorite modules you use to inject some excitement into a campaign? Let us know in the comments! Don't forget to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! -
Stranger Things remains fresh in the collective pop culture consciousness after three seasons full of unwitting people unraveling the secrets hiding beneath the veneer of their small town lives. While the characters have faced down supernatural threats, they’re also (for the most part) normal people. They laugh, cry, and play games, just like the rest of us. They’re grounded in a world very much like our own, and that can make them seem divorced from the fantastical settings typically associated with tabletop role-playing games. That being said, there are plenty of fantastic options out there if you want to have a night or even a campaign full of adventures inspired by Stranger Things! For the uninitiated, Stranger Things tells the story of people, primarily kids, living in Hawkins, Indiana during the 1980s. Things initially get strange following the disappearance of Will Byers and the sudden appearance of young girl with apparent supernatural abilities. Without going into spoiler territory, monsters and strange portals play prominent roles throughout the series, not unlike the tabletop role-playing experiences many remember fondly. The first season takes place in 1983, with subsequent seasons taking place about a year after one another. After several years of things being strange, things never really go back to normal. Dungeons & Dragons has been an integral part of the series from the beginning. The kids on the show find it to be a fun way to blow off steam and work through their various issues. However, that’s not the only connection D&D has to the show; one of the legendary tabletop’s most iconic monsters even comes directly from the game itself. However, many associate D&D with magic, elves, and dark lords marching armies of evil against the realms of good, things that seem far removed from the sleepy town of Hawkins, Indiana. Thankfully, there are several great options at your disposal if you are itching to inject your role-playing sessions with Stranger Things. These range from official Wizards of the Coast adventure sets to free modules designed to capture the spirit of Stranger Things. So, let’s get down to it; where should you turn if you want some Stranger Things in your tabletop sessions? Stranger Things D&D Starter Set Let’s start by looking in on the official Stranger Things D&D Starter Set. This short adventure comes in a box designed to recall the original red box release of Dungeons & Dragons back in 1983, the same version the kids played in the show. Such is the ubiquity of D&D that many people who have never rolled a 20-sided die will recognize the reference in the design of the box itself. Much like the red box release, the Stranger Things D&D Starter Set comes with all of the tools necessary to start rolling out of the box. Inside, players will find a rule book for 5th edition D&D, an adventure book, and dice. There are also five pre-made Stranger Things character sheets and two miniatures of the show’s Demogorgon. The adventure itself will probably be the main draw for fans of the show. Wizards of the Coast describes it as an adventure created by the in-fiction character Mike Wheeler for his friends. The game technically takes place in the Stranger Things universe with players taking up the character sheets of the kids from the show, but the game itself is set in the universe of D&D. The adventure is titled Hunt for the Thessalhydra and seems to be based on the adventure the kids were playing on-screen during Season 1. All characters begin at level 3 and the adventure has been designed to be a short, entertaining romp to get them to level 4. The length seems short when compared to many of the other published Dungeons & Dragons adventurers, but that might be perfect for beginners or for shaking up the routine of regularly scheduled gameplay sessions. Perhaps one of the most interesting elements about this particular boxed set is how it was designed to bring players into the minds of the characters from the show. Each season puts the kids through an awful lot of trauma, trauma that never seems to be fully addressed in the show itself. However, Hunt for the Thessalhydra offers a unique window into the way the kids view what has happened to them. According to Mike Mearls, the lead designer of D&D at Wizards of the Coast, that was the intent. In an interview with Inverse, the legendary designer described the need the team felt to design something that felt “like there was something that originated in the world of Stranger Things. Something the characters interacted with, an artifact from the world.” Since this adventurer supposedly exists within the world of Stranger Things and was written by one of those kids, what sorts of things would they put into that game to help them through dark and troubling times? Mearls answers that the writer of the adventure, Stan Brown, really tried to dig into what kids looking to heal would put into a D&D adventure: “Mike is drawing inspiration from what just happened to him in real life. We send the players into Mike’s take on the Upside Down and that’s where you confront the Demogorgon. […] He’s trying to capture it as a monster that players can fight. You can imagine thinking of this as the adventure that the kids played, maybe this is them working through some of those fears. They’re afraid of this thing, so in the adventure, they meet it and defeat it.” Kids on Bikes If you are looking for a fleshed out tabletop RPG geared exactly toward people interested in role-playing after the adventures of the characters from Stranger Things, Kids on Bikes was basically made for you. The game puts players in a small town that the party works together to create. Each group comes up with rumors about their town and work together to develop the bonds between their characters. Much like the full cast of Stranger Things, players can take on the roles of kids, teens, or adults. The collaborative world-building makes each campaign unique and draws out the creativity from everyone playing. Once play starts, the group will work together to solve the strange mysteries going on in their town. This largely revolves around role-playing with a sprinkling of simple rules. While plunging into the unknown and creepy depths of the story, players might discover a character with some sort of special power. When those characters come into play, everyone in the group collectively controls the character and their power making that individual a unique and unpredictable element in each game. Unlike a Dungeons & Dragons adventure, Kids on Bikes isn’t meant to be empowering. Instead, players are pitted against overwhelming odds, monsters and forces far beyond mortal ken. It’s a game that relies on players to know when to run and how to play to their strengths. Much like Stranger Things, the ideal timeframe for Kids on Bikes takes place during the 80s, though it can take place during earlier decades, too. The main rule of thumb for Kids on Bikes is to create a setting and characters where cell phones can’t be used to easily snag disturbing evidence of monsters. Using GPS to track threats won’t be an option. Historical records aren’t just a Google search away. These things or comparable information might all be possible with tools available in the town, but they shouldn’t be easy to obtain. If you’re interested in seeing the game in action from start to finish, check out this playtest from Hyper RPG. Stranger Dread If neither Kids on Bikes nor Wizards of the Coast’s official Stranger Things box scratch that itch for paranormal horror, Ian Fraizer might have just what you’re looking for. Fraizer, the lead developer on Mass Effect: Andromeda, put together an adventure in 2016 called Stranger Dread. The journey into darkness takes about 2-4 hours to complete and was designed to be a chilling horror experience. Stranger Dread makes use of the Dread rule system. Dread makes a shorthand version of its rules available for free and sells the full books for $12 USD or $24 USD depending on whether one wants the PDF or the physical book. The system of rules itself will be pretty different from what most tabletop role-players are used to: Instead of using dice, players must take one or more blocks out of a Jenga tower as they take actions. When the tower falls, something unfortunate happens to the character unlucky enough to cause it to tumble. This mechanic ties the tension and horror of the scenario to a tangible object that steadily grows more unstable as the game progresses. The scenario of Stranger Dread takes place in the town of Mt. Pleasant, Illinois circa 1984. A 12-year-old boy named Cory Settler disappears from the local fair on July 12. Players take on one of six playable roles and begin searching for their missing friend. The story quickly becomes a descent into shadowy government conspiracies and an even darker evil lurking at the heart of Mt. Pleasant. Much like the collaborative Kids on Bikes, players work together to create the fiction of the town and the relationships their characters have with one another. There are some directions and abilities between the different roles, but beyond that Stranger Dread seems to be a very flexible adventure. Fraizer designed the adventure to be very friendly for newcomers to run as well as experienced tabletop gamers, so if you’re looking to satiate that hunger for more Stranger Things, Stranger Dread might be just the game experience for you and your friends. Plus, it’s free, so give it a look and see if it is your cup of tea. Don't forget to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! View full article
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Get Your Stranger Things Fix from These Three Tabletop Games
Jack Gardner posted an article in Features
Stranger Things remains fresh in the collective pop culture consciousness after three seasons full of unwitting people unraveling the secrets hiding beneath the veneer of their small town lives. While the characters have faced down supernatural threats, they’re also (for the most part) normal people. They laugh, cry, and play games, just like the rest of us. They’re grounded in a world very much like our own, and that can make them seem divorced from the fantastical settings typically associated with tabletop role-playing games. That being said, there are plenty of fantastic options out there if you want to have a night or even a campaign full of adventures inspired by Stranger Things! For the uninitiated, Stranger Things tells the story of people, primarily kids, living in Hawkins, Indiana during the 1980s. Things initially get strange following the disappearance of Will Byers and the sudden appearance of young girl with apparent supernatural abilities. Without going into spoiler territory, monsters and strange portals play prominent roles throughout the series, not unlike the tabletop role-playing experiences many remember fondly. The first season takes place in 1983, with subsequent seasons taking place about a year after one another. After several years of things being strange, things never really go back to normal. Dungeons & Dragons has been an integral part of the series from the beginning. The kids on the show find it to be a fun way to blow off steam and work through their various issues. However, that’s not the only connection D&D has to the show; one of the legendary tabletop’s most iconic monsters even comes directly from the game itself. However, many associate D&D with magic, elves, and dark lords marching armies of evil against the realms of good, things that seem far removed from the sleepy town of Hawkins, Indiana. Thankfully, there are several great options at your disposal if you are itching to inject your role-playing sessions with Stranger Things. These range from official Wizards of the Coast adventure sets to free modules designed to capture the spirit of Stranger Things. So, let’s get down to it; where should you turn if you want some Stranger Things in your tabletop sessions? Stranger Things D&D Starter Set Let’s start by looking in on the official Stranger Things D&D Starter Set. This short adventure comes in a box designed to recall the original red box release of Dungeons & Dragons back in 1983, the same version the kids played in the show. Such is the ubiquity of D&D that many people who have never rolled a 20-sided die will recognize the reference in the design of the box itself. Much like the red box release, the Stranger Things D&D Starter Set comes with all of the tools necessary to start rolling out of the box. Inside, players will find a rule book for 5th edition D&D, an adventure book, and dice. There are also five pre-made Stranger Things character sheets and two miniatures of the show’s Demogorgon. The adventure itself will probably be the main draw for fans of the show. Wizards of the Coast describes it as an adventure created by the in-fiction character Mike Wheeler for his friends. The game technically takes place in the Stranger Things universe with players taking up the character sheets of the kids from the show, but the game itself is set in the universe of D&D. The adventure is titled Hunt for the Thessalhydra and seems to be based on the adventure the kids were playing on-screen during Season 1. All characters begin at level 3 and the adventure has been designed to be a short, entertaining romp to get them to level 4. The length seems short when compared to many of the other published Dungeons & Dragons adventurers, but that might be perfect for beginners or for shaking up the routine of regularly scheduled gameplay sessions. Perhaps one of the most interesting elements about this particular boxed set is how it was designed to bring players into the minds of the characters from the show. Each season puts the kids through an awful lot of trauma, trauma that never seems to be fully addressed in the show itself. However, Hunt for the Thessalhydra offers a unique window into the way the kids view what has happened to them. According to Mike Mearls, the lead designer of D&D at Wizards of the Coast, that was the intent. In an interview with Inverse, the legendary designer described the need the team felt to design something that felt “like there was something that originated in the world of Stranger Things. Something the characters interacted with, an artifact from the world.” Since this adventurer supposedly exists within the world of Stranger Things and was written by one of those kids, what sorts of things would they put into that game to help them through dark and troubling times? Mearls answers that the writer of the adventure, Stan Brown, really tried to dig into what kids looking to heal would put into a D&D adventure: “Mike is drawing inspiration from what just happened to him in real life. We send the players into Mike’s take on the Upside Down and that’s where you confront the Demogorgon. […] He’s trying to capture it as a monster that players can fight. You can imagine thinking of this as the adventure that the kids played, maybe this is them working through some of those fears. They’re afraid of this thing, so in the adventure, they meet it and defeat it.” Kids on Bikes If you are looking for a fleshed out tabletop RPG geared exactly toward people interested in role-playing after the adventures of the characters from Stranger Things, Kids on Bikes was basically made for you. The game puts players in a small town that the party works together to create. Each group comes up with rumors about their town and work together to develop the bonds between their characters. Much like the full cast of Stranger Things, players can take on the roles of kids, teens, or adults. The collaborative world-building makes each campaign unique and draws out the creativity from everyone playing. Once play starts, the group will work together to solve the strange mysteries going on in their town. This largely revolves around role-playing with a sprinkling of simple rules. While plunging into the unknown and creepy depths of the story, players might discover a character with some sort of special power. When those characters come into play, everyone in the group collectively controls the character and their power making that individual a unique and unpredictable element in each game. Unlike a Dungeons & Dragons adventure, Kids on Bikes isn’t meant to be empowering. Instead, players are pitted against overwhelming odds, monsters and forces far beyond mortal ken. It’s a game that relies on players to know when to run and how to play to their strengths. Much like Stranger Things, the ideal timeframe for Kids on Bikes takes place during the 80s, though it can take place during earlier decades, too. The main rule of thumb for Kids on Bikes is to create a setting and characters where cell phones can’t be used to easily snag disturbing evidence of monsters. Using GPS to track threats won’t be an option. Historical records aren’t just a Google search away. These things or comparable information might all be possible with tools available in the town, but they shouldn’t be easy to obtain. If you’re interested in seeing the game in action from start to finish, check out this playtest from Hyper RPG. Stranger Dread If neither Kids on Bikes nor Wizards of the Coast’s official Stranger Things box scratch that itch for paranormal horror, Ian Fraizer might have just what you’re looking for. Fraizer, the lead developer on Mass Effect: Andromeda, put together an adventure in 2016 called Stranger Dread. The journey into darkness takes about 2-4 hours to complete and was designed to be a chilling horror experience. Stranger Dread makes use of the Dread rule system. Dread makes a shorthand version of its rules available for free and sells the full books for $12 USD or $24 USD depending on whether one wants the PDF or the physical book. The system of rules itself will be pretty different from what most tabletop role-players are used to: Instead of using dice, players must take one or more blocks out of a Jenga tower as they take actions. When the tower falls, something unfortunate happens to the character unlucky enough to cause it to tumble. This mechanic ties the tension and horror of the scenario to a tangible object that steadily grows more unstable as the game progresses. The scenario of Stranger Dread takes place in the town of Mt. Pleasant, Illinois circa 1984. A 12-year-old boy named Cory Settler disappears from the local fair on July 12. Players take on one of six playable roles and begin searching for their missing friend. The story quickly becomes a descent into shadowy government conspiracies and an even darker evil lurking at the heart of Mt. Pleasant. Much like the collaborative Kids on Bikes, players work together to create the fiction of the town and the relationships their characters have with one another. There are some directions and abilities between the different roles, but beyond that Stranger Dread seems to be a very flexible adventure. Fraizer designed the adventure to be very friendly for newcomers to run as well as experienced tabletop gamers, so if you’re looking to satiate that hunger for more Stranger Things, Stranger Dread might be just the game experience for you and your friends. Plus, it’s free, so give it a look and see if it is your cup of tea. Don't forget to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! -
One year ago to the day, I put together a short campaign with Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition called Dragonguard as a part of Extra Life Tabletop Appreciation Weekend. Since then, there have been 23 episodes spanning 27 hours of shenanigans from the tabletop to your ear holes. The final two episodes have finally been edited and sit ready for your listening pleasure. Join us one last time as we enter the finale of the Dragonguard campaign. Join Naomi Lugo (Nomsooni the druid), Marcus Stewart (Scratch Mangy the ranger), and Kyle Gaddo (Barphus the bard) as they don the armor of the illustrious Dragonguard, sworn to defend and protect the realm of Alterra from the dragons at its doorstep. Jack Gardner serves as the Dungeon Master, guiding our heroes through their journey. Dispatched to the small town of Verne, the party began investigating rumors of draconic activity in the area. Learning of a kobold encampment deep within the Morrithil Wastes, they made their way into the vast swampland only to find a largely abandoned village built in the shadow of an ominous dragon skeleton. Encountering a number of old and infirm kobolds in the heart of the town, our heroes learned of an impending attack led by the vengeful dragon, Fallowfell. In an effort to convince Sir Rothurt, Verne's leader, to take the threat seriously, the party made an attempt to rescue his recently kidnapped son, Charles. Risking life and limb, they were able to save Charles only to be met with the awful revelation that Fallowfell had allies in the town itself. Now, Nomsooni, Barphus, and Scratch attempt to consolidate their power in the areas outside of Verne only to find themselves in ever-deepening danger from draconic evils, cunning opportunists, mystical threats, and (of course) themselves. The danger only increases when the party consult the wise oracle they had rescued from the dragon's forces, uncovering its secret identity and perhaps a means of thwarting its plans. After a catastrophic turn of events, the party finds themselves transported to another world where they are offered the chance to decide the fate of the world, as well as their own futures. If you want to get a sense of how great a time tabletop roleplaying can be, you're invited to enjoy the adventure along with us. Here's to the amazing things the gaming community accomplished over the past year and to the even greater things we will all do together in the years to come! You can listen to the new episodes below or start at the beginning with this handy SoundCloud playlist. "Furious Freak" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Shadowlands 1 - Horizon" "Super Power Cool Dude" "Bittersweet" "Dreamer" "Furious Freak" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thank you to everyone who joined us on this crazy adventure. We hope you enjoyed the ride! You can download or listen to the podcast over on Soundcloud, our hosting site, and iTunes. A YouTube version is available as well. Don't forget to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! View full article
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Tabletop Appreciation Weekend - Dragonguard Campaign Finale
Jack Gardner posted an article in Podcast
One year ago to the day, I put together a short campaign with Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition called Dragonguard as a part of Extra Life Tabletop Appreciation Weekend. Since then, there have been 23 episodes spanning 27 hours of shenanigans from the tabletop to your ear holes. The final two episodes have finally been edited and sit ready for your listening pleasure. Join us one last time as we enter the finale of the Dragonguard campaign. Join Naomi Lugo (Nomsooni the druid), Marcus Stewart (Scratch Mangy the ranger), and Kyle Gaddo (Barphus the bard) as they don the armor of the illustrious Dragonguard, sworn to defend and protect the realm of Alterra from the dragons at its doorstep. Jack Gardner serves as the Dungeon Master, guiding our heroes through their journey. Dispatched to the small town of Verne, the party began investigating rumors of draconic activity in the area. Learning of a kobold encampment deep within the Morrithil Wastes, they made their way into the vast swampland only to find a largely abandoned village built in the shadow of an ominous dragon skeleton. Encountering a number of old and infirm kobolds in the heart of the town, our heroes learned of an impending attack led by the vengeful dragon, Fallowfell. In an effort to convince Sir Rothurt, Verne's leader, to take the threat seriously, the party made an attempt to rescue his recently kidnapped son, Charles. Risking life and limb, they were able to save Charles only to be met with the awful revelation that Fallowfell had allies in the town itself. Now, Nomsooni, Barphus, and Scratch attempt to consolidate their power in the areas outside of Verne only to find themselves in ever-deepening danger from draconic evils, cunning opportunists, mystical threats, and (of course) themselves. The danger only increases when the party consult the wise oracle they had rescued from the dragon's forces, uncovering its secret identity and perhaps a means of thwarting its plans. After a catastrophic turn of events, the party finds themselves transported to another world where they are offered the chance to decide the fate of the world, as well as their own futures. If you want to get a sense of how great a time tabletop roleplaying can be, you're invited to enjoy the adventure along with us. Here's to the amazing things the gaming community accomplished over the past year and to the even greater things we will all do together in the years to come! You can listen to the new episodes below or start at the beginning with this handy SoundCloud playlist. "Furious Freak" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ "Shadowlands 1 - Horizon" "Super Power Cool Dude" "Bittersweet" "Dreamer" "Furious Freak" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Thank you to everyone who joined us on this crazy adventure. We hope you enjoyed the ride! You can download or listen to the podcast over on Soundcloud, our hosting site, and iTunes. A YouTube version is available as well. Don't forget to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! -
The prison break operation begins in earnest. Sean discovers an important secret about the prison while schmoozing with one of the guards. Pribi runs into an old enemy now in chains. Arakiel contemplates breaking from the plan in order to break through the walls of the prison itself. We Wanted Adventurers is a liveplay Dungeons & Dragons podcast that follows a motley trio of unlikely heroes as they bumble into adventures both big and small across the fantastical continent of Nevarrone. For the uninitiated, a liveplay podcast features an unscripted recording of a traditional tabletop roleplaying game, with all of the goofs and drama that comes with the territory. If you've never listened to the show before, here's a handy playlist to get you caught up. You can download or listen to the podcast over on Soundcloud, our hosting site, and iTunes. You can follow the show on Twitter for updates. Let us know what you think of the show! We know that some parts of it are a bit bumpy, but I hope it doesn't get in the way of your enjoyment as we all learn and grow together. Thank you for listening! New episodes of We Wanted Adventurers will be released every Wednesday One of the common misconceptions about Extra Life is that someone can only participate if they play video games. Not true! Extra Life supports and encourages all kinds of play. To that end, we have been supporting Tabletop Appreciation Weekend for the past few years. This year, the event takes place August 24-25th and will be a time for players to gather together and play board games for the kids. Learn more about Extra Life Tabletop Appreciation Weekend and be sure to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! -
The prison break operation begins in earnest. Sean discovers an important secret about the prison while schmoozing with one of the guards. Pribi runs into an old enemy now in chains. Arakiel contemplates breaking from the plan in order to break through the walls of the prison itself. We Wanted Adventurers is a liveplay Dungeons & Dragons podcast that follows a motley trio of unlikely heroes as they bumble into adventures both big and small across the fantastical continent of Nevarrone. For the uninitiated, a liveplay podcast features an unscripted recording of a traditional tabletop roleplaying game, with all of the goofs and drama that comes with the territory. If you've never listened to the show before, here's a handy playlist to get you caught up. You can download or listen to the podcast over on Soundcloud, our hosting site, and iTunes. You can follow the show on Twitter for updates. Let us know what you think of the show! We know that some parts of it are a bit bumpy, but I hope it doesn't get in the way of your enjoyment as we all learn and grow together. Thank you for listening! New episodes of We Wanted Adventurers will be released every Wednesday One of the common misconceptions about Extra Life is that someone can only participate if they play video games. Not true! Extra Life supports and encourages all kinds of play. To that end, we have been supporting Tabletop Appreciation Weekend for the past few years. This year, the event takes place August 24-25th and will be a time for players to gather together and play board games for the kids. Learn more about Extra Life Tabletop Appreciation Weekend and be sure to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! View full article
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The Four Kings manage to make it through the body of the enigmatic creature blocking their path only to find themselves facing down a new and deadly danger. Nyaz finally unveils his entire plan for the heist and, most importantly, their escape contingency. We Wanted Adventurers is a liveplay Dungeons & Dragons podcast that follows a motley trio of unlikely heroes as they bumble into adventures both big and small across the fantastical continent of Nevarrone. For the uninitiated, a liveplay podcast features an unscripted recording of a traditional tabletop roleplaying game, with all of the goofs and drama that comes with the territory. If you've never listened to the show before, here's a handy playlist to get you caught up. "Interloper" "Loopster" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ You can download or listen to the podcast over on Soundcloud, our hosting site, and iTunes. You can follow the show on Twitter for updates. Let us know what you think of the show! We know that some parts of it are a bit bumpy, but I hope it doesn't get in the way of your enjoyment as we all learn and grow together. Thank you for listening! New episodes of We Wanted Adventurers will be released every Wednesday One of the common misconceptions about Extra Life is that someone can only participate if they play video games. Not true! Extra Life supports and encourages all kinds of play. To that end, we have been supporting Tabletop Appreciation Weekend for the past few years. This year, the event takes place August 24-25th and will be a time for players to gather together and play board games for the kids. Learn more about Extra Life Tabletop Appreciation Weekend and be sure to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! -
The Four Kings manage to make it through the body of the enigmatic creature blocking their path only to find themselves facing down a new and deadly danger. Nyaz finally unveils his entire plan for the heist and, most importantly, their escape contingency. We Wanted Adventurers is a liveplay Dungeons & Dragons podcast that follows a motley trio of unlikely heroes as they bumble into adventures both big and small across the fantastical continent of Nevarrone. For the uninitiated, a liveplay podcast features an unscripted recording of a traditional tabletop roleplaying game, with all of the goofs and drama that comes with the territory. If you've never listened to the show before, here's a handy playlist to get you caught up. "Interloper" "Loopster" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ You can download or listen to the podcast over on Soundcloud, our hosting site, and iTunes. You can follow the show on Twitter for updates. Let us know what you think of the show! We know that some parts of it are a bit bumpy, but I hope it doesn't get in the way of your enjoyment as we all learn and grow together. Thank you for listening! New episodes of We Wanted Adventurers will be released every Wednesday One of the common misconceptions about Extra Life is that someone can only participate if they play video games. Not true! Extra Life supports and encourages all kinds of play. To that end, we have been supporting Tabletop Appreciation Weekend for the past few years. This year, the event takes place August 24-25th and will be a time for players to gather together and play board games for the kids. Learn more about Extra Life Tabletop Appreciation Weekend and be sure to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! View full article
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As Arakiel, Pribi, Sean, and Nyaz make their way through South Gate's sewer system, they encounter a magical darkness. With some trepidation, they enter, passing into a warped and twisted realm. Will they survive their encounter with the Demon of the Deep? We Wanted Adventurers is a liveplay Dungeons & Dragons podcast that follows a motley trio of unlikely heroes as they bumble into adventures both big and small across the fantastical continent of Nevarrone. For the uninitiated, a liveplay podcast features an unscripted recording of a traditional tabletop roleplaying game, with all of the goofs and drama that comes with the territory. If you've never listened to the show before, here's a handy playlist to get you caught up. You can download or listen to the podcast over on Soundcloud, our hosting site, and iTunes. You can follow the show on Twitter for updates. Let us know what you think of the show! We know that some parts of it are a bit bumpy, but I hope it doesn't get in the way of your enjoyment as we all learn and grow together. Thank you for listening! New episodes of We Wanted Adventurers will be released every Wednesday One of the common misconceptions about Extra Life is that someone can only participate if they play video games. Not true! Extra Life supports and encourages all kinds of play. To that end, we have been supporting Tabletop Appreciation Weekend for the past few years. This year, the event takes place August 24-25th and will be a time for players to gather together and play board games for the kids. Learn more about Extra Life Tabletop Appreciation Weekend and be sure to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! -
As Arakiel, Pribi, Sean, and Nyaz make their way through South Gate's sewer system, they encounter a magical darkness. With some trepidation, they enter, passing into a warped and twisted realm. Will they survive their encounter with the Demon of the Deep? We Wanted Adventurers is a liveplay Dungeons & Dragons podcast that follows a motley trio of unlikely heroes as they bumble into adventures both big and small across the fantastical continent of Nevarrone. For the uninitiated, a liveplay podcast features an unscripted recording of a traditional tabletop roleplaying game, with all of the goofs and drama that comes with the territory. If you've never listened to the show before, here's a handy playlist to get you caught up. You can download or listen to the podcast over on Soundcloud, our hosting site, and iTunes. You can follow the show on Twitter for updates. Let us know what you think of the show! We know that some parts of it are a bit bumpy, but I hope it doesn't get in the way of your enjoyment as we all learn and grow together. Thank you for listening! New episodes of We Wanted Adventurers will be released every Wednesday One of the common misconceptions about Extra Life is that someone can only participate if they play video games. Not true! Extra Life supports and encourages all kinds of play. To that end, we have been supporting Tabletop Appreciation Weekend for the past few years. This year, the event takes place August 24-25th and will be a time for players to gather together and play board games for the kids. Learn more about Extra Life Tabletop Appreciation Weekend and be sure to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! View full article
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Pribi, Arakiel, and Sean are left to ruminate on their deeds while accompanying Nyaz the thief on the first leg of their heist mission, a journey that takes them into the uncanny darkness of South Gate's sewer system. We Wanted Adventurers is a liveplay Dungeons & Dragons podcast that follows a motley trio of unlikely heroes as they bumble into adventures both big and small across the fantastical continent of Nevarrone. For the uninitiated, a liveplay podcast features an unscripted recording of a traditional tabletop roleplaying game, with all of the goofs and drama that comes with the territory. If you've never listened to the show before, here's a handy playlist to get you caught up. You can download or listen to the podcast over on Soundcloud, our hosting site, and iTunes. You can follow the show on Twitter for updates. Let us know what you think of the show! We know that some parts of it are a bit bumpy, but I hope it doesn't get in the way of your enjoyment as we all learn and grow together. Thank you for listening! New episodes of We Wanted Adventurers will be released every Wednesday One of the common misconceptions about Extra Life is that someone can only participate if they play video games. Not true! Extra Life supports and encourages all kinds of play. To that end, we have been supporting Tabletop Appreciation Weekend for the past few years. This year, the event takes place August 24-25th and will be a time for players to gather together and play board games for the kids. Learn more about Extra Life Tabletop Appreciation Weekend and be sure to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! -
Pribi, Arakiel, and Sean are left to ruminate on their deeds while accompanying Nyaz the thief on the first leg of their heist mission, a journey that takes them into the uncanny darkness of South Gate's sewer system. We Wanted Adventurers is a liveplay Dungeons & Dragons podcast that follows a motley trio of unlikely heroes as they bumble into adventures both big and small across the fantastical continent of Nevarrone. For the uninitiated, a liveplay podcast features an unscripted recording of a traditional tabletop roleplaying game, with all of the goofs and drama that comes with the territory. If you've never listened to the show before, here's a handy playlist to get you caught up. You can download or listen to the podcast over on Soundcloud, our hosting site, and iTunes. You can follow the show on Twitter for updates. Let us know what you think of the show! We know that some parts of it are a bit bumpy, but I hope it doesn't get in the way of your enjoyment as we all learn and grow together. Thank you for listening! New episodes of We Wanted Adventurers will be released every Wednesday One of the common misconceptions about Extra Life is that someone can only participate if they play video games. Not true! Extra Life supports and encourages all kinds of play. To that end, we have been supporting Tabletop Appreciation Weekend for the past few years. This year, the event takes place August 24-25th and will be a time for players to gather together and play board games for the kids. Learn more about Extra Life Tabletop Appreciation Weekend and be sure to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! View full article
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Dungeons & Dragons. D&D. The game of adventurers and storytellers alike. This week, we dive into a cursory overview of the game and talk about what makes it so special. This is the first tabletop game we've featured on the show, one that paved the way for other tabletop gaming experiences as well as some of the most beloved video games ever created. We are very excited to finally talk about a game that has meant so much to us. Is Dungeons & Dragons one of the best games of all-time? Each week on The Best Games Period, we will be tackling a video game, old or new, that at least one of us believes deserves to stand as one of the greatest games of all time. We'll dive into its history, development, and gameplay, while trying to argue for or against the game of the week. Sometimes we will be in harmonious agreement, other times we might be fighting a bitter battle to the very end. However each episode shakes out, we hope that everyone who listens will find the show entertaining and informative. Outro music: Bomberman Hero 'Post Hyper Room' by Chris Belair (https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03943) You can download or listen to the podcast over on Soundcloud, our hosting site, and iTunes. A YouTube version is available, as well! If you want to have your opinion heard on air, share your opinion in the comments, follow the show on Twitter, and participate in the weekly polls: @BestGamesPeriod New episodes of The Best Games Period will be released every Monday One of the common misconceptions about Extra Life is that someone can only participate if they play video games. Not true! Extra Life supports and encourages all kinds of play. To that end, we have been supporting Tabletop Appreciation Weekend for the past few years. This year, the event takes place August 24-25th and will be a time for players to gather together and play board games for the kids. Learn more about Extra Life Tabletop Appreciation Weekend and be sure to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! -
Dungeons & Dragons. D&D. The game of adventurers and storytellers alike. This week, we dive into a cursory overview of the game and talk about what makes it so special. This is the first tabletop game we've featured on the show, one that paved the way for other tabletop gaming experiences as well as some of the most beloved video games ever created. We are very excited to finally talk about a game that has meant so much to us. Is Dungeons & Dragons one of the best games of all-time? Each week on The Best Games Period, we will be tackling a video game, old or new, that at least one of us believes deserves to stand as one of the greatest games of all time. We'll dive into its history, development, and gameplay, while trying to argue for or against the game of the week. Sometimes we will be in harmonious agreement, other times we might be fighting a bitter battle to the very end. However each episode shakes out, we hope that everyone who listens will find the show entertaining and informative. Outro music: Bomberman Hero 'Post Hyper Room' by Chris Belair (https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03943) You can download or listen to the podcast over on Soundcloud, our hosting site, and iTunes. A YouTube version is available, as well! If you want to have your opinion heard on air, share your opinion in the comments, follow the show on Twitter, and participate in the weekly polls: @BestGamesPeriod New episodes of The Best Games Period will be released every Monday One of the common misconceptions about Extra Life is that someone can only participate if they play video games. Not true! Extra Life supports and encourages all kinds of play. To that end, we have been supporting Tabletop Appreciation Weekend for the past few years. This year, the event takes place August 24-25th and will be a time for players to gather together and play board games for the kids. Learn more about Extra Life Tabletop Appreciation Weekend and be sure to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! View full article
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Extra Life has had a busy couple of weeks between keeping on top of RTX, VidCon, and most recently San Diego Comic-Con. We were able to set up our booth just outside of the Esports Gaming Lounge in the Marriot Marquis Ballroom. This positioning gave us the opportunity to reach out to the hundreds of visitors visiting the lounge area to participate in open gaming and organized play. The event was sponsored by State Farm, HyperX, Team Liquid, and Mixer with production by Greenlit Content and Rekt Global. The streamed events from the Esports Gaming Lounge averaged about 16,000 viewers per day. As you might imagine, the team had their hands full keeping on top of everything. Thankfully, we had the assistance of the San Diego Extra Life guild and their local Children's Miracle Network Hospital, Rady Children's Hospital. From the start of the event until it wrapped up, their hard work brought in almost 400 new participants for Extra Life 2019! The cast and showrunners of SYFY's Van Helsing also stopped by to say hello and learn a bit more about what Extra Life does. It was pretty surreal seeing and talking Extra Life with actors like Aleks Paunovic and Jennifer Cheon as well as showrunner Jonathan Walker. It was crazy exciting! Extra Life had a stream going for the duration of Comic-Con that went from 10am - 5pm each day. In total, with the help of our guild members, Extra Life managed to raise over $10,000 USD in donations from the stream alone. Not only that, but we raised a bit shy of $2,000 USD from Mixer Embers, or chat donations, during the stream. Some of the event's biggest donors were State Farm, who generously donated $5000 USD and Team ShackNews who gave $1,337 USD all going to help sick and injured kids across the United States and Canada. All told, we managed to raise over $12,000 while streaming at San Diego Comic-Con and we very much consider that a win. Extra Life's Senior Manager Lou Adducci and Extra Life Ambassador Comicstorian both went onto the official Dungeons & Dragons San Diego Comic-Con livestream to talk about tabletop gaming and Extra Life. The official Dungeons & Dragons Extra Life team set a goal of $300,000 USD for its members, and they have already raised over $26,000 USD! It's a great segment that you can watch for yourself. It contains some really interesting stories about Comicstorian playing D&D in the army and how integral the game is to the kids in Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Lou also did a great job talking about what Extra Life does for the kids and what our plans are in the lead up to this year's Game Day. A huge thank you to the San Diego Extra Life guild who turned out in force with the support of Rady Children's Hospital. It was awesome seeing you pull together hundreds of strangers by telling them about how they can play games and help kids through Extra Life. We couldn't have done San Diego Comic-Con without you all. You're amazing. One of the common misconceptions about Extra Life is that someone can only participate if they play video games. Not true! Extra Life supports and encourages all kinds of play. To that end, we have been supporting Tabletop Appreciation Weekend for the past few years. This year, the event takes place August 24-25th and will be a time for players to gather together and play board games for the kids. If that sounds intriguing, learn more about Extra Life Tabletop Appreciation Weekend and be sure to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games! View full article
