ReadyPlayerOne

 I finally made it to my first session of D&D held by Bookwyrms at the Cranford Library. I had spent about a month creating my Elf/Ranger character named Kalina. Kalina means radiant or bright in elvish. I guess I thought since I was a LOTR and Nethack fan I would be more prepared. I had no idea what was going on and I didn't realize I would need my own set of dice. The library gave me a purple set, but I'm also a horrible throw. Should I have practiced rolling the dice ahead of time? Will those craps dice YouTube videos help me? Overall, it was a good experience, with 4 additional more experience players and a Dungeon Master (DM). Everyone was friendly and creative. While I do consider myself a creative type, I was not expecting so much of the game to be generated by players imaginations, nor the co-operative nature of our journey. I give the DM a lot of credit for creating our playing field. She made the game engaging with her descriptions and storytelling. For next sessi...

  Han's at the mini museum has done it once again, in collaboration with Fanroll LLC, they will be releasing Dice with authentic dinosaur fossils, chain mail, and meteorite pieces. The dice are clear with the artifact inside.  They are offering an oversized D20 dice with 15th century chain mail or part of the Campo del Cielo Meteorite. They are offering a full set of dice with dinosaur fossils.

 The Ultimate Solo DM: Combining "The Solo Adventurer’s Toolbox" with Google Gemini A "Virtual DM" setup can be created by combining the structured tables of The Solo Adventurer’s Toolbox with the multimodal power of Google Gemini. This setup is both mechanically sound and narratively rich. This is how to build the ultimate solo setup. 1. The Toolbox Handles the "What" The Solo Adventurer’s Toolbox is known for its Oracle system and random generators. Use the physical book or PDF for: The Oracle: Ask questions such as "Is the door locked?" and roll the d20. Dungeon/Wilderness Generation: Roll for room types, monster encounters, and loot. Mechanical Integrity: Use the book’s Monster Tactics tables to ensure combat remains challenging and fair. 2. Gemini Handles the "How" Feed the data into Google Gemini to bring it to life once the Toolbox tells you what is in the room (e.g., "A library" with a "Hostile NPC"). Immersi...

  The Solo Adventurer's Toolbox is another resource to help play D&D with out a Dungeon Master. The 167 page pdf guide was written by Paul Bilmer for D&D 5th edition compatible games.  At first glance it has a lot of great tips and suggestions to advance game play.  You are given a series of yes/no questions to determine  where your character is going.  Several tables are provided where you will roll and determine mode of transportation, terrain, weather, type of settlement. Then more complex tables for wilderness, urban, and dungeon encounters. Chapter 7 explains how to generate quests. Overall this seems like an easy and useful tool.  Keep in mind early editions of D&D came with solo players instructions so newbies could learn to play or practice.  I will definitely be giving this a try.  Results to follow in a future post. 

I do appreciate Facebook advertising. While I don't think they are listening to me, I know for sure they are viewing my online searches. Today a Facebook add recommended the online game Elvenar. This is a game created by InnoGames in 2015. It's a city building game in a mythical fantasy world where you can choose to be either a Human or Elf. The advertising had me at "build peacefully without constant attacks." The Elves from Lord of the Rings are my favorite mythical race and Rivendell has been my dream build for years. The Elvenar build has been much easier than the Lego build.  I just started playing today and was greeted by Hellroon, who is both in charge of construction and a tutor of the game. I began construction on my residence, a street and workshop. I also have to research and train to learn to build different things. There is a cost for everything and buildings don't just appear automatically. There is a build time, that can be expediated for additional...