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Dungeons and Dragons owner Hasbro buys up D&D Beyond
Wizards of the Coast owner Hasbro is buying D&D Beyond, one of the most popular digital toolsets for playing Dungeons and Dragons.
Amazon launches a full season of 'Starfinder' RPG episodes on Alexa
Each episode is expected to last 90 minutes, depending on your playing style.
The best board games with an app-based twist
Board games are a timeless way to socialize and bring loved ones together over the holiday season. If you're tired of the classics (please, no more Monopoly), it might be time to freshen up your collection with a hybrid board game. We know, we know -- this can be a touchy subject. Some love the hobby because of its physical components and therefore don't want a smartphone or tablet anywhere near the table. If you fall into this camp, we completely understand. App-supported board games can be wonderful though. Some offer sound bites that tell you where an invisible enemy is on the board. Others serve as a research terminal that lets you feel like an ace detective. Apps can be used to update games too, with additional quests, missions and modes. A few of our favorites have even added single-player campaigns to previously multiplayer-only games. If you're open to the idea and want a few recommendations, check out our Engadget-approved short list below. We take no responsibility for any festive family feuds that occur as a result.
New 'Dungeons & Dragons' site manages the rules so you can just play
Dungeons & Dragons, the quintessential pen-and-paper game, is more popular than ever, thanks to Twitch channels like Geek and Sundry and podcasts like The Adventure Zone. But it's one thing to listen or watch a presentation crafted by seasoned gamers and another to actually run your own adventure. Players may get frustrated by the hundreds of pages of rules and quit before they've even had their first goblin encounter. Wizards of the Coast and social gaming firm Curse aim to fix this with the launch of D&D Beyond, a website and app intended to take care of all the fine print and number crunching, leaving dungeon masters and players free to focus on crafting a good story.
'D&D Beyond' takes the pen and paper out of tabletop RPGs
Despite all the newfangled ways one can play Dungeons and Dragons, there's something special about playing it the old fashioned way -- in person with a bunch of friends and a geometrical mess of dice. Still, if you want to modernize your tabletop adventure just a little, you'll have the option soon. Wizards of the Coast just announced that it's working with Curse to create an official digital toolset designed to replace the pen and paper character sheets of yore.
Unboxing and playing the 'League of Legends' board game
Mechs vs Minions is League of Legends fanfiction presented in the style of Dungeons & Dragons or Descent, with just a hint of Fireball Island thrown in for good measure. It's a cooperative, programmable, card-wielding board game set in the League universe, starring League characters, but nothing about it feels shoehorned into a tabletop format. This could easily be a standalone game on the shelf at Target, no outside video game connection required.
Official 'Dungeons and Dragons' content now available on Roll20
Roll20's online tabletop gaming system has been a haven for veterans of pen-and-paper RPGs for awhile now, but for fans of the original role-playing adventure game, it just got a lot better. Wizards of the Coast is now selling officially licensed Dungeons and Dragons modules on Roll20 -- starting with the fifth edition starter set adventure, 'The Lost Mine of Phandelver'.
Getting out of the garage and into VR with 'Dungeons and Dragons'
When I was a kid, my best friend's garage was a magical place. My friends and I would gather around a dirty table on cold winter nights, huddled between unused sports equipment and the family's spare TV, to kill monsters with dice. It was where we played Dungeons & Dragons. Then I grew up; my friends grew up. We all got jobs and moved away. Now all the old building does is hold cars. Over the years, our group has tried to recreate our adventures over the phone, through online chat programs and even over Skype, but nothing ever felt right. Tabletop gaming is a social activity that demands a sense of presence, which makes playing Dungeons & Dragons across state lines really hard. Recently, a company called AltspaceVR invited me to try an option I hadn't considered before: Playing D&D in virtual reality. Believe it or not, it might actually work.
Off the Grid: The Witcher Adventure Game and Star Wars Imperial Assault
Like most sci-fi shows on Fox, Off the Grid is getting canceled (we're all saying goodbye, actually). In this series finale of the board and card game series I had hoped to evolve over time, we're keeping our spirits high with a look at two recent, fantastic releases from publisher Fantasy Flight Games: The Witcher Adventure Game and Star Wars: Imperial Assault.
The Daily Grind: Which tabletop setting would make a great MMO?
Tabletop RPG properties haven't fared too well as MMORPGs. Yeah, Dungeons and Dragons Online has lasted for eight years and as far as anyone knows, Neverwinter is profitable. But then you have Champions Online and Pathfinder, which aren't exactly setting the world on fire. And we all know how World of Darkness went. I must be a glutton for punishment, though, since there are a couple of other tabletop settings I'd love to explore as MMOs. Chief among them is 7th Sea. What about you, Massively readers? Which tabletop property do you think would make a great MMO? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Obsidian rolls critical success, acquires Pathfinder RPG license
Good news for tabletop roleplaying fans who enjoy using a controller as much as rolling a 20-sided die: Obsidian, developers of South Park: The Stick of Truth and the upcoming Pillars of Eternity, have entered into a licensing agreement with publisher Paizo Inc. to produce games based on the Pathfinder tabletop RPG. Don't rush to the Arms & Equipment chapter to start preparing for an epic quest just yet though, as the first game will be an adaptation of the Pathfinder Adventure card game, where one to four players take on the role of classic fantasy RPG archetypes like fighter, rogue, wizard and cleric as they work together to defeat enemies. An associated press release notes that the game is in development for tablets, but does not specify which, nor does it give an expected release window. Pathfinder Online, the Pathfinder-based MMO, will stay with developer Goblin Works. [Image: Paizo]
BioWare announces Shadow Realms, a D&D-inspired co-op dungeon crawler
BioWare has just announced a brand-new IP for the studio: Shadow Realms, a "4v1 story-driven online action RPG" that was inspired by the team's love of tabletop Dungeons & Dragons. Shadow Realms isn't a full-fledged MMO, but will put players in the shoes of contemporary Earth heroes who will jump between our world of technology and another of magic. The twist for the game is that a team of four heroes will be opposed by one player who will assume the role of a dungeon master-like Shadowlord. "With Shadow Realms, we decided that the Shadowlord should interact with and see the gameplay world in a similar way to the hero players –- albeit with better tactical knowledge," BioWare wrote. "Their objective is to stop the group of heroes by haunting them, setting traps, casting spells, summoning monsters, and controlling any monster in the level." The game will grow with episodic storytelling, offer "deep combat customization," and feature six classes. Shadow Realms is set to go into closed beta this fall.
The Daily Grind: What tabletop RPG mechanics should MMOs adopt?
Massively reader Couillon recently wrote in to the Massively Speaking podcast to ask us about tabletop games and their influence on the MMO genre. He proposed that MMORPGs could benefit from a tabletop-inspired "roleplay bonus" for actually -- gasp -- roleplaying a character. "I realize this might require more thought during character creation than most players are willing to spend," Couillon wrote dryly, but I think it's a topic worth considering as MMOs are looking for ways to redefine themselves in a post-WoW era. Justin and I discussed several P&P RPG systems that we'd love to see more widely implemented in our favorite MMOs, like advantage/disadvantage mechanics and non-combat skills like persuasion and knowledge. What do you folks think? What classic or creative features from tabletop games should MMOs adopt? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Prodigy blends tabletop and PC gaming, clears funding in 3 days
Fan of games like the Skylanders series and Disney Infinity, but hoping for something a bit less cartoony? Or maybe you just really need some new 60mm scale figures for your tabletop warchest? Prodigy from Hanakai Studio might be able to help you out. The game, which combines small-form figures with an electronic board and PC, was successfully funded on Kickstarter today, reaching its $100,000 goal in fewer than three days. Prodigy takes place in a darker world than similar games, and is squarely focused on turn-based squad battles. Players place the figure of their choice onto a grid-like surface, which registers the character and displays it onscreen. You attack by placing a card onto the surface, or combine cards for special attacks or abilities. A piercing attack, for example, is activated when a player lays down an Attack and Focus card. You can see the game in action by checking out the pitch video above, or checking out the Prodigy Kickstarter page. Hanakai has not announced any stretch goals for the funding campaign, but there are still plenty of higher reward tiers available. Got a spare $5,000 lying around? You can design your own character to be placed into the game. For $10,000, you can design the character, help conceptualize its figure, and meet the development team in Paris. Ah, Paris. The city of Sorcerer Kings. Prodigy is expected to finish development by the end of 2015. [Image: Hanakai Studio]
Neverwinter spoofs game-within-a-game
Neverwinter has jumped the gun on April Fools' Day with its "preview" of Respen's Marvelous Game. The idea is that Neverwinter will add a game-within-a-game, allowing characters in the MMO to sit down and engage in some good ol' fashion tabletop D&D: "Respen's Marvelous Game takes place atop a table, with your character being transformed into a miniature statuette. This new event will challenge you on a whole new level. Now you will know what it is like to be on the other side of a tabletop game!" Of course, this is just a joke. Or is it? Cryptic teased the possibility of earning a green slime companion and said that it will be revealing more details tomorrow.
PopCap vets team up in Fixer Studios, fixing up Spellbinder spiritual successor
Three former PopCap developers formed a new mobile gaming studio "inspired by the game-jam spirit," Fixer Studios. At its core, the studio consists of its three founders: Avery Alix, Eric Olson and Christopher Langmuir. The developer's first game is Sinister Dexter for iOS and Android, a spiritual successor to the 1977 pen-and-paper game Spellbinder. While the studio is being formally announced now, both Alix and Olson's LinkedIn profiles indicate that it was first founded in June 2013. The "collaborative cloud" studio includes a rotating roster of 30 industry veterans. Fixer Studios opted for a "dynamic staffing system to manage production," according to its website. Team members will join up and drop out based on their "availability, interest and expertise," forcing team leads to delegate tasks and "mission critical activities" as needed to keep development on track. [Image: Fixer Studios]
Ubisoft unveils Assassin's Creed: Arena board game
Ubisoft recently announced a tabletop board game based on its Assassin's Creed series. Titled Assassin's Creed: Arena, the game is intended for up to four players and has a relatively complex set of rules, which explains the age 15+ recommendation by Ubisoft. Players use cards to hide, move or attack guards and other players as one of four templars in Assassin's Creed: Arena, guiding their player token across rooftops on a grid-like board. The game ends when one player achieves 15 victory points from assassinations or when there are no more event cards to play. A few, but not all of the game's rules can be viewed on Ubisoft's announcement blog. Assassin's Creed: Arena is the latest creation from Cryptozoic Entertainment, the tabletop game developers behind projects like Batman: Arkham City Escape and games based on the Hawken, The Walking Dead and Street Fighter properties. It will launch February 26 for $50. [Image: Ubisoft]
The Witcher travels to cardboard land with Fantasy Flight board game
A board game based on The Witcher property is coming courtesy of a partnership between CD Projekt RED - developers of the Witcher games - and Fantasy Flight Games. Gameplay details are light, but according to the game's official site, players will assume the role of one of four heroes: Geralt of Rivia, Dandelion, Triss Merigold and Yarpen Zigrin. Each hero has a unique set of skills and their own deck of what are called "Development Cards," though what these cards do is unknown. The site also emphasizes storytelling and adventuring, as players will have to tackle various quests which range from simple monster hunts to exposing a traitor in the royal court. Sure, The Witcher Adventure Game is a board game, which means it won't have the pretty graphics that The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings was known for, but who needs those when we have our imaginaaaations?
Here's a 20-minute video explaining how Mega Man The Board Game works
Jasco Games has put together a new video explaining how its Mega Man board game operates. The 20-minute video takes viewers through basic turns in the game, which is officially licensed from Capcom. Mega Man The Board Game reached its $70,000 goal on Kickstarter rather quickly back in mid-December 2013, and earned more than $160,000 in its first 24 hours on the crowdfunding platform. The board game has 10 days left in its campaign to reach stretch goals like Time Man and Oil Man 12-card pack add-ons. The project is sitting at $294,712 in funding. Standard versions of the game, which start at $70, are expected to ship in October.
Storyboard: Working without /random
Two weeks ago, you might recall, I ranted about using random rolls as a mechanic of resolution when roleplaying in MMOs. For those of you who can't be bothered to go back and read the whole thing now (which I totally understand; you probably have holiday games burning a hole in your pocket), the core point was that random rolls don't actually tie to anything for resolution and wind up coming off as an obvious and unfun kludge for the sake of random resolution. "Well, if you're so smart, why don't you come up with alternatives?" And I did. Readers also had some wonderful suggestions and feedback in the comments last week, which make the article even more worth reading, so really, go ahead and take a look at it. This week, I'm taking a look at how you're going to resolve conflicts in roleplaying without relying on what amounts to a coin flip. And as you may have expected, they're all taking tips from tabletop games.
