Post DDXP News

The 2012 Dungeons and Dragon Experience (DDXP) ended this past Sunday and as was expected the news coming out of DDXP about DnDNext has spurred a lot of conversation. Besides a long weekend of being able to playtest the new version of the game Wizards held several seminars where the goals and aspirations of the new version were discussed. These sessions included extended Q&A sessions as well, so these sessions weren't just a lecture.

NDA = Non-Disclosure Agreement

As mentioned previously Dungeons and Dragons Experience (DDXP) is being held this coming weekend in Fort Wayne IN. As the name might imply Wizards puts a lot of emphasis on this convention and this year is no exception. With the recent announcement about the development of the new version of DnD, aka DnD 5E, aka DnDNext, Wizards has targeted DDXP as the place to where the announced playtests will begin. Wizards is also making almost the entire development team available to provide support and to participate in a series of seminars and discussions as well.

Wizards to Re-Release DnD 1.0 Books

My intention was to get back to doing a weekly post here, but even though had I posted last night I thought this deserved a mention. This morning Wizards announced (here) that they will be putting out a limited release of the original first edition Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual. The scheduled release date is April 17, 2012, but be warned they do carry a premium price tag - $34.95 per book. A percentage of the money is designated to support the creation of a memorial to Gary Gygax in Lake Geneva WI, although if you prefer you can always donate directly through the Gygax Memorial Fund website.

DnD News

The latest update for the DnD tools was pushed yesterday (announcement here). There isn't much new information to be included in the updated Character Builder (CB) this month, but the list of corrections (here) seemed pretty healthy. Some of these corrections seem pretty esoteric, so if you do come across anything that looks hinky I would say go ahead and submit a bug report as I feel pretty confidant that it will get looked at. I was working up a 15th level Bard a few weeks ago and came across one of the power cards that was obviously missing to-hit and damage information ... but then I neglected to save the character so I didn't forward the problem.

New DnD Version Announced

I made some minor speculation in my previous post about the likelihood of a new version of DnD with the assumption that this would happen at some point in the future. I guess this past Monday would qualify as "some point in the future". Over this past weekend several DnD bloggers had stated that on Monday they would be blogging about a big announcement from Wizards and the twitterverse lit up with speculation as to what the announcement might be. A new computer game? A movie or cartoon TV show? Some announcement concerning the usage of PDF's? Most of the speculation was not around a new release because it just didn't seem like the timing was right.

DnD: A Retrospective and Some Speculation

I haven't blogged much during the second half of 2011 due to a variety of issues, but I want to try and pick it up again here in 2012. Our Sunday night DnD group is still going strong. Scott had adapted some older Ravenloft modules for 4E usage and we are having a blast. I will blog more about our Sunday night capers in a future post, but in the meantime you can follow our walk through Ravenloft here.

Amazon, Borders, and Barnes & Noble

As I have always freely admitted I buy too many books. I don't get crazy with it - I consider my options, get the best price, and I read everything I buy. I like to go in a bookstore, walk around, poke through the stacks, read the cover blurbs, and every once in awhile I'll just take a chance on something that looks interesting. Sometimes I make a mistake, but for the most part I'm happy with my purchases.

Summer Delves

It's been 2+ months since my last post. Mark is running our Sunday night games (read more here), plus I am back to full-time IT work, so my schedule has been a little topsy-turvy. It's nice getting a regular check again - I was finally replaced my ~9 year old desktop pc - but as I had mentioned previously with a schedule shift and not otherwise engaged in any DnD activities, I just have not been in a writing mood.

Post-Rapture Blog Post

It's been a few weeks since my last post. I've started a new job and am taking the train downtown to Chicago (and back) everyday so my schedule is obviously in transition. Mark is doing a great job blogging our Sunday night DnD sessions (here). I am not participating in DnD Encounters this summer, but if you want to keep up with these sessions I suggest following them here. Scott is preparing a 4E Ravenloft adventure for us that we will attempt when Mark's dungeon is completed and I am hoping that later this summer I can get him to put together some notes on updating pre-4e Ravenloft modules to 4e. Maybe some of my Gencon attending friends will be kind enough to provide a trip report in August as well.

Character Builder Update ... Not So Fast There Partner

Wizards is releasing The Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond boxed set tomorrow (05/17). There was a DDI CB update scheduled for tomorrow as well, one that would coordinate the latest tool updates and fixes with the release of the new material from the boxed set. As of last month Wizards finally gotten caught up by being able to provide updates to the CB tool in coordination with releases of new products and after several false starts appeared to finally be back on something resembling an actual release schedule.