Newsround - 28th Feb to 6th March

What I learned on the internet this week

Swede Dude Makes 3D Catan out of Toilet Paper and Glue

I rekindled my appreciation of Klaus Teuber's Settlers of Catan this week updating my iPad with the latest version of the app, now called Catan Universe.  It's a cleaner rendition of this classic game and just as frustrating challenging to play.  However, I'm damned if I can work out how to restore all my purchases from Catan HD.  Answers in the doubley doo below please.

Of course this has meant that my YouTube recommendations are full of Catan related videos, which is how I stumbled on YouTuber Projects Electrify Weekend.  Strange considering that I subscribe to many of the DIY Science channels like Applied Science, Great Scott, Integza and of course the mad electrician himself Electroboom.  Something is clearly amiss with the reccomendations algorithm over at YouTube.

I've always lusted after a 3D Catan board and Oliver demonstrates that it's only my own procrastination that is not making this a reality.

D&D Adventurers League Drops the PH+1 Rule

I've kind of known about the D&D Adventurers League for some time but as I am not really into tournament play or "sanctioned events" (I had a couple of fairly horrific experiences playing living Greyhawk back in the day when the RPGA (Role Playing Game Association) had a UK presence.

Now call me cynical but, the current modus operandi of WotC is to release mini source books and big campaigns rather than pocket money adventures which would keep your game going for the next few weeks.  

Recently we've had Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything and Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft drops in May 2021.  Note to the designers please stop using "Guide to Everything" as titles, it looks like you've got a limited vocabulary.

It is entirely possible that rules for some characters may be spread across multiple books encouraging GMs and players alike to buy these wholy unnecessary extra books just for a couple of paragraphs or "official" rules text.

My point is that the rule of PH+1 (ie: characters must only come from the Players Handbook +1 other sourcebook) may well have been preventing the latest cool new character classes from ever seeing the light of day in organised play events.  

In the case of Ravenloft, it's a whole gothic horror subgenre all to itself, which seems to be the saveur du mois (Flavour of the month) these days that could only have been hurting play.

BTW: You can download the back catalogue of Living Forgotten Realms content for D&D 4e if that floats your boat. 

Asmodee Buys Board Game Arena

Well it had to happen sooner or later.  Boardgame publishing behemoth Asmodee has bought the popular virtual table top simulator Board Game Arena (BGA).  Is there nothing this company doesn't own?

Assurances have been made that BGA will continue to be run independently and the good news is that this purchase will ensure that the Asmodee catalogue of games is fully accessible to the games designers.

Thanks to COVID-19 BGA saw 600% growth which must have surely put it in Asmodee's crosshairs.  I for one joined last year and have enjoyed the ease of use and the social aspects of the platform.  Feel free to add me as a friend (Tonybro001) and am always wanting a game of Race for the Galaxy or 7 Wonders.

Hugh Grant Joins Dungeons & Dragons Movie

Hugh Grant

It seems like only last week I was sharing news about the new D&D Movie reboot (Ed: it was) and lo and behold national treasure Hugh Grant has confirmed that he is joining the cast of the Dungeons & Dragons movie to play the as yet unnamed villian role.

A few years ago this might have made me groan with dread as he was still being cast as floppy haired romantic idiots.  However, that was before I watched him in the Guy Ritchies excellent The Gentlemen (2019).  Frankly he blew me away with his portrayal of scheming crime journalist Fletcher.  He can turn on the machiavellian menace when he needs to so I am really looking forward to this movie.

 

 

Gina Carano Firing Controversy

Daughter of the Wolf

You would have to have been living under a rock for the last few weeks not to have read something about Gina Carano being fired from Star Wars: The Mandalorian despite being the most popular character after Grogu (aka Baby Yoda).  Yes she was more popular among fans than Pedro Pascal's title character The Mandalorian (aka Din Djarrin).  

Now I'm not going to get into the whys and wherefores as better pundits than I have covered this in great detail (Overlord DVD, Mike Zeroh, The Quartering, Clownfish TV, That Star Wars Girl and Geeks and Gamers) what I will say is that if you want to show your support for Gina then watch one of her older movies.

• Daughter of the Wolf - a snowy mom rescues kidnapped child thriller co starring Richard Dreyfuss ( Amazon Prime )
  
  
• Scorched Earth - a high stakes sci-fi bounty hunter thriller ( Amazon Prime )
  
  
• Madness in the Method - Jason Mewes method acting movie ( Amazon Prime )
  

Judge Dredd AudioBooks on Audible

As you probably know I am currently running a Judge Dredd Campaign for my Friday night Roleplay Club Dragons Keep and so I am constantly thinking about Judge Dredd. 

What joy then to hear that Penguin Random House have produced a series of Judge Dredd audiobooks based on a range of popular 2000AD characters.  You can checkout their range over at Audible.

Sector 55 Blues - Prog 5 - The Big Wig

Sector 55 Blues is a Judge Dredd Campaign using the Savage Dredd unnofficial Savage Worlds Expansion.  This is an online only game with members from Dragons Keep Roleplay Club.

Judges Cully, Hammer, Teal and Uthred are deep inside the Sewers under Sector 55 RESYK.

We're Going Deeper Underground There's Too Much Panic in This Town

The Judges progress is slow as they negotiate there way through the network of circular sewer tunnels.  As they enter a 20ft wide mainline sewer the flow current of sewage gets significantly stronger and they opt to keep to the small ledges rather than wade through the middle of the pipes.  

As the team approach a large 10ft wide tunnel in the left wall Judge Teal makes the mistake of moving of the ledge and her leg is almost swept away from under her.  She cries out reflexively.

"Wooooahhhh!! mind that last step, it's a doozy"  

The others hear a low gutteral rumbling coming from this side tunnel.  Whatever is in there knows we are coming.  Hammer takes point and moves into the tunnel his torch illuminating an exit into a large cistern some 50ft away.  As the team approach Cully spots a flash of red leap across the gap from left to right.  Uthred takes point and flashes his torch round the walls of the cistern.  A yellow hairy creature about the size of a large cat is cautiously circling the far side of the cistern trying to stay out of Uthred's torchlight.  He bends down on the right corner of the tunnel and coos at the creature in an attempt to entice it towards him.

Hammer stands on the left corner and the unmistakeable short sharp BRRRUPP of 3 GP rounds sprays the creatures blood, hair, skin and viscera across the opposite wall.  A red flash leaps from the right to the left of the entrance and attacks Hammer.  Cully spies two more of the furry follicular foes circling round the cistern behind Hammer but her shot is blocked.  

Uthred swiftly crosses over the 10ft wide tunnel mouth and feels the edge of the cistern under his right foot.  He doesn't have time to screw a hypo round to take the thing alive and smashes down on Hammer's head with this day stick.  The creature falls off into the water like a well tenderised synthi steak.  Cully shouts at Hammer "Move!!" and he sidesteps off the ledge immediately dissapearing beneath the fetid greenish water.  She lets loose a 3 shot burst taking out the first wig and Uthred takes out the second.

As they scan the churning waters large bubbles about the size of footballs  begin to float to the surface.  Cully uses her infrared scope to pierce the surface and spies two heat masses one about human sized and the other a huge 15ft across.  BRRRUPP retorts Cully's Lawgiver as she exercises carefully aimed deadly force.

The tension and the water errupt simultaneously as a massive hairy beast breaks the surface flinging Judge Hammer into the cistern wall like a ragdoll from a hairy frond like appendage.  Uthred shoots and the creature belows in pain moving north to the safety of the 20ft tunnel which feeds the cistern.

The Giant Hair Beast burst forth

Uthred and Cully give chase but the beast moves swiftly as it swims.  Cully opts for an incendiary round but misses showering the opposite wall with burning napalm.  Uthred scans the tunnel with infrared but his sight is clouded by the heat bloom from the burning napalm.  Cully moves past and scans with her scope,  nothing.  

In the darkness ahead the Judges hear the creature roaring as it rends at metal smashes the synthi-crete walls of the sewer behind it.  Walking further up the tunnel Cully sees that the creature has collapsed the tunnel sealing itself off from the world behind.  A slick of blood oozes down the middle of the tunnel.

Small Hair Beast Stat Card    

 

Forensic Judge Quincy's Analysis

Just as the Judges exit the sewers Judge Quincy radios through his report on the scrap of skin from the cat's mouth and the strands of hair from Dwayne Rockson's apartment.  Both test positive for high levels of background radiation and the DNA is a 99.8% match for that of a rabbit.

The Judges decide to return to sector house for fresh uniforms, get Hammer tested for dsyntery and to turn in the samples to Judge Quincy.  

The Forensics lab is a chaotic scene as labcoated technicians try to wrestle hair beasts into cages scattered around the lab.  A dishevelled Quincy is angry and barks at the Judges

"If you've got another of these drokking things I don't want to see it.  They've been coming in all morning.  The Sector's infested!!"   

He waves a bottle of shampoo which the Tek Judges have confirmed is in fact a very powerful tranquilizer. 

Uthred informs Quincy that they've just encountered a big one, 5 times the size of the one he is currently holding.  Quincy's eyes widen "If they grow that big we've only got a couple of days before the Sector is done for.  He waves the Trend Toppers plastic bag at them.

"Whoever's selling them needs to be found and stopped before this gets out of hand!!"

Duncan Spivey and Melvin Why?

The Judges know from the business card that these two budding entrepreneurs are based in Sector 163 near to the great Western Wall that isolates Mega City One from the Cursed Earth.

The Great Western Wall - Mega City One's defense against The Cursed Earth

They quickly head to Day Watch Commander Judge Belloch who tells them to take an H-Wagon over to Sector 163 and call the Day Watch Commander Judge Govan.

It is a 3 hour flight to Sector 163 and by the time they arrive local Judges have already arrested the pair of toupee dealers.

Govan takes them down to the interrogation cubicles where Spivey and Why? are being held for questioning.  

Duncan Spivey

Spivey is a cool customer who tells the Judges that he hasn't got anything to hide and that his lawyer Half Asian Bill Kraken is already en route.  Judge Govan reveals to the team that Bill Kraken has been in the building for 2 hours but they have stalled him with Justice Department forms whilst they waited for the team to arrive.  Spivey tells the Judges that they will get nothing from him even if they do the Nice Judge Nasty Judge routine.  

Hammer decides to pump the other co-owner of Trend Toppers for information.

 

 

Melvin Why?

Melvin Why? is a comletely different character.  He seems to be enjoying his incarceration a little bit too much.  He tells the Judges that Spivey is just a money man and that he is the real brains behind the operation.  He does all the market research and marketing.  

He's out to change the world for the follicly challenged citizen's of Mega City One.

However, Duncan is mixed up with some dangerous individuals.  He knows who sold them the wigs and they have to promise him that they will put him in a cell where this guy can't get to.  They agree and he blurts out the name Rabies Nesbitt.

 

Judge Govan smiles and in his thick scottish accent replies

"Well, well, well, Rabies and I go way back.  I know exactly where to find him and this is the evidence I've been searching for to put him behind bars for a long, long time."

Leading them down to the motorpool where 5 gleaming lawmasters sit waiting.

"It's been a long time since I've been a street judge but today is a good day to get back in the saddle.  Let's ride!!"

Next Prog - Last Orders at the Two Way Pub ->

Back Issues

Prog 1 - Suits You Sir - Mosh 55 rob Zlooty Slute's Suits You and a body is discovered.

Prog 2 - Hair Today Gone Tomorrow - Rock Dwayneson's apartment and carnage at the Yes-A-Bout

Prog 3 - It's Ugly Out There - Fun and Games at the Ugly Pageant 

Prog 4 - Down, Down, Deeper and Down - Entering the sewers under RESYK

Rescuing the Oldest Game I Own - Belisha (1937)

A few years back a good friend (and fellow bargain hunter) bought me a Christmas Gift of two copies of an old card game game at an antiques fair in Covent Garden. 

Sadly, one of them was missing two cards and so I rescued it from oblivion.

Belisha - The "Safety First" Card Game

Published way back in 1937 by Castell Brothers Ltd (1878-1983) under the "Pepys" series of games.  Belisha is a reimplementation of popular card game Rummy.  The name "Belisha" was borrowed from the iconic Belisha Beacon introduced to UK roads in 1934 by then Minister of Transport the Rt.Hon Leslie Hore-Belisha.

Belisha - The Safety First Card Game (1937)

  A Game of Thrill

"All the family can play this new and entertaining game. Young and old alike. will find in it many a new thrill and many a valuable lesson, for 'Belisha' teaches the ever-valuable and all-important doctrine of 'Safety First'. 

Played on the same familiar lines as 'Rummy' with new and ingenious variations. 'Belisha' is a game of many interests. As the game proceeds the players are taken on a tour of England and Scotland from London to Oban: many of the cards bearing beautiful pictures in colour of famous beauty spots.

Belisha Card Game Advertisements

Each card bears in the top left-hand corner a familiar safety first symbol; some cards illustrate the dangers of the road; some show how accidents may be avoided. 

There's a touch of humour, a smattering of geography, a new method of teaching 'Safety First' and a heap of fun. 'Belisha' is a game that should be played in every home, for it has the merits of a family or party game with the added attraction of demonstrating again and again the way to ensure road safety for all."

Safety First, the birth of RoSPA and the Tufty Road Safety Club.

Tufty Club Badge

The "Safety First" campaign can trace its heritage back to 1916 and the founding of the London Safety First Council.  A public meeting was held due to an increase in road traffic accidents involving motor vehicles and the reduction in street lighting to aid "blackout" during WWI.  Their first campaign which encouraged people to walk on the pavement on the side of the road facing oncoming traffic reduced pedestrian deaths by 70%.

In 1941 the NSFA patron the Duke of York became King George VI he wished to continue his patronage and RoSPA was born.

I first encountered RoSPA, like many of my generation, when having to perform my bicycle safety exam as a child in the 1970s.   

The Tufty Road Safety Club had been around since the early 50s and I distinctly remember having to negotiate a mock road course which had been det up in my school playground.  Getting your Tufty Club badge was a seminal achievement back in my day.  

Tufty and his woodland friends have been iconic champions of children's road safety education for decades and featured on many educational board games over the years.

Tufty Road Safety Boardgame (1970s)

A masterpiece of marketing before the advent of  Baby Shark, "do doo, dee doo, dee doo" he was rocking the hit parade with an album of nursery rhymes related to road safety. 

Fun times.

Bicycle Road Safety Training and Belisha Beacons

It's Games Master Appreciation Day

March 4th is Games Master Appreciation Day so show some love to those people who make your game happen.

 
I've been a Games Master on and off for well over 35 years and whilst it is a heck of a lot of work it is one of the most rewarding experiences in the hobby. I do it because:

1. I have stories that are begging to be told.  Sometimes it's a funny idea I dreamed of in the shower, sometimes it is a puzzle I want to put in front of my friends to solve.  Often it's just an interesting story idea that I want my players to enjoy.
   
   
2. I enjoy the collaboration.  I feel that GMs who don't feed off the ideas that their players generate are missing a trick.  Tabletop RPGs are a collaborative experience and that comes down to the plot and the storyline.  Many times I am stunned by the creativity of my players.  They will often come up with alternative ways to resolve encounters that I never imagined or they will ruminate on a possible scenario which is may more interesting than I could dream up.
   
   
3. I enjoy the pressure.  GMing can be hard at times, you are juggling a lot of balls most of the time whilst trying to keep your players engaged. 
   
   
4. I enjoy learning from my mistakes.  Even after 30+ years behing the Dungeonmasters Screen I'll admit that I get it wrong.  I love when my players tell me that I did a good job but even more, I look forward to them telling me when I did something that didn't make sense to them.  This gives me an opportunity to try something different.
   
   
5. I enjoy Seeing players laugh and smile.  At the end of the day this is why we are Games Masters.  It's having fun with your friends and getting them to put their ordinary lives into the background for a few hours and just have some fun. 

Check out some of the other Appreciation Days I have added to my Geeks & Gamers Social Media Calendar.  Have a date you think we should celebrate or a story you want to share with the community then pop a comment in the box below.

Why You Should Join a local Tabletop Roleplaying Group

Online is a necessity at the moment thanks to the current year situation.  The internet allows us to be connected whilst being seperated by thousands of miles.

However, being part of your local Dungeons and Dragons group means much more than just playing your favourite Tabletop Role Playing Games (RPG) game. 

A Typical Friday Night at Dragons Keep

Face to Face is Better in Everyway

When Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson invented Dungeons and Dragons back in 1974 (I was 2 at the time) there was no internet and were always meant to be a social experience played face to face.  Those who have played both online RPGs and real world tabletop RPGs will appreciate that face to face interactions have an immediacy and a subtlety which gets lost on a zoom call.  

We are socially programmed from childhood to pick up and interpret body language and facial expressions as part of non verbal communication.  When you are in a video meeting you tend to treat it like a phone call and so your body language reflects that.  Worse still if you have a poor internet connection you can lose video alltogether or it is reduced to a jittering mess of blocky pixels.

When discussing non-verbal communication I am always reminded of one of my players Sam, who when negotiating with a Pirate Captain, started reaching out and drawing his hand back towards himself.  After 5 or six of these motions I asked him 

"What are you doing?" 

He calmly replied  

"I'm grabbing my pet turtle before he escapes off the edge of the table".  

I was blown away by this interraction and grateful that my players feel are encourage to role play in this way.

Creating the World Through Play

Most new players these days get introduced to roleplay through Dungeons and Dragons or by watching computer game streams such as The Witcher, Mass Effect, Fallout, Legend of Zelda and The Elder Scrolls.  When you play a computer game you are getting one vision or version of that world as programmed by the team who developed it.  There is no ability to break out of the box even in the biggest MMORPG.

Pre-written tabletop modules designed for online play also suffer from this to some degree.  Your Games Master (GM) may have bought the module or encounter packs for their Virtual Table Top (VTT) and you are going to encounter them come hell or highwater.  

When you meet face to face play there is so much more time for your GM to get to know you as players and therefore create personalised elements which make you much more engaged.  You get to chat as friends about what you saw on TV, read, or saw on the internet.  You find out much more about a person in this non-game chit chat time than it is ever possible to do if you only log on to play a session.

I know that I have often included references to things that my friends enjoy outside of gaming to embellish my games and create much more engagement for them as players.

Roleplaying is a Wide and Varied Hobby

There are ancillary aspects to the hobby which are firmly rooted in the real world rather than online.  For example if you are a fan of the creative arts like painting, modelling or crafting you can turn your skills to collecting and painting miniatures, scenery building, map making, prop and puzzle making.

I am a 3D Printing nerd and a journeyman miniature painter and love to show off my creations to my friends and more importantly use them in my games.  There's no substitute in my book for trying to solve a tactile puzzle with your own hands, or viewing a combat using little tiny plastic toy soldiers.  It brings and extra level of immersion which you just can't replicate online.

Yorky Smith in a life or death fight against the monstrous Doom Turtle

Roleplaying Breeds Community Spirit

Being part of a group means you have shared experiences beyond just the game itself.  At Dragons Keep we host several events throughout the year at weekends such as Games Days, Poker Nights, Karting, Movie nights, Barbecues and trips to events such as Dragonmeet or UK Games Expo.

When you are part of a group you also get to chat about each others games and share your collective experience.

Lifelong Friendships

I've been playing at my local group (Dragons Keep) for nearly 20 years.  I've met people from all walks of life, young, old and of every culture and background imagineable.  

We have laughed, cried and argued with each other and shared many adventures both in our games and outside in the biggest game of all...   Life.

Joining Dragons Keep

If you live in South East London we might be the group for you. Our venue is located in Chislehurst, whithin easy reach of Bexley, Bromley, Dartford, Eltham, Greenwich, Lewisham, Orpington and Sidcup. Drop us a line via our Contact Us page and talk to us about your passion.

If you live in another part of the UK then check out our tips on How do I find a tabletop RPG group near me?.