Dungeons and Dragons Archives

Descent to Undermountain

June 19, 2014June 12, 2015 Dan Epp 0 Comments 3d roleplaying game, AD&D, Descent to Undermountain, Dungeons and Dragons, Interplay, retrogaming, rpg game

Besides a rich character generation process, Descent to Undermountain also had a decent storyline and pacing. You began the game determining what in AO’s name are you supposed to be doing in Waterdeep. As the game map only showed Khelben’s Tower as a clickable item, it was off to visit the Blackstaff to see if he could enlighten you. It seemed that kobolds were bothering Waterdeep’s merchants, and had been spotted just outside the main entrance to Undermountain.

Interviews

We Interview Chris Avellone From Obsidian Entertainment: Part 2

October 9, 2012April 1, 2014 Honorabili 0 Comments 80s culture, alignment in rpg, alpha protocol, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Anachronox, Baldur's Gate, Bastion’s narration mechanics, Black Isle, Brian Menze, chris avellone, Chris Avellone interview, Chrono Trigger, comic book wednesdays, D&D, Damnation Alley, Dark Sun's Shattered Lands, Dungeons and Dragons, Eternal Dagger, Europa 1400 The Guild, Fable games, Fall From Grace Planescape Torment, Fallout New Vegas, Fallout New Vegas: Lonesome Road, Game design, Game design interview, gaming, gaming interview, GOG, good old games, how to buy project eternity, icewind dale, Ignus Planescape Torment, impulse, inspiration for game design, Jennifer Hale, Josh Sawyer, MMORPG, morality in rpg, mount & blade, Obsidian Entertainment, planescape torment, Pool of Radiance gold box, portal, Project Eternity, Project Eternity interview, Project Eternity NPC, Project Eternity Q&A, Richard Dansky, South Park game, SSI, Star Wars, Steam, system shock 2, The Road movie, Tim Cain, Tom Hall, traditional RPG, ultima underworld, Vhailor Planescape Torment, video games interview, Wasteland, Wizard's Crown

Well, in terms of influential yet obscure, that cuts a lot of games out – I feel a lot of the more common games have had a big influence on my designs (Portal, Chronotrigger, Ultima Underworld). If I were to name some “obscure” ones, I’d probably say System Shock 2 is the top of the list (it’s basically a design doc for how to make a great game), Amnesia: The Dark Descent for introducing a challenge mechanism that could simultaneously terrify you, Bastion’s narration mechanics, and Wasteland for proving to me how you could use game mechanics in the context of a “conventional” RPG to make some truly brilliant levels if you took a step back and thought outside the box.

Intellivision

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons

May 8, 2012March 11, 2014 Video Game Critic 0 Comments advanced dungeons and dragons, classic games, cloudy mountain, Dungeons and Dragons, intellivision, Lord of the Rings, retro gaming, video game reviews

Your journey begins on a sprawling map screen complete with mountain ranges, walls, forests, and your final destination: Cloudy Mountain. It looks like something from Lord of the Rings! As you traverse the wilderness you’ll stumble into a series of monster-infested dungeons. These caverns are randomly generated and contain oddly-shaped rooms – something you don’t see in old games. I love how the dungeons “draw in” as you roam, auto-mapping your progress. While searching for key items, you’ll encounter bats, spiders, rats, snakes, blobs, demons, and dragons.

Arcade Games

Dungeons & Dragons Shadow over Mystara

February 8, 2012April 10, 2014 J.A. Laraque 1 Comment arcade, Capcom, Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara, Dungeons and Dragons, Final Fight, Magic Sword

Personally, I liked this game because it did not eat your quarters as fast as it could have. You could easily beat a level without dying and if you used your items and specials correctly get even further. When you had a complete group, it was the most fun because of the increased enemy count and spells flying everywhere.

Table Top Games

Introduction: Pen and Paper RPG’s

April 4, 2011April 18, 2014 Konstantinos Dimopoulos 4 Comments aftermath, call of cathuly, Dungeon Master, Dungeons and Dragons, Fallout, Game Master, GM, inverted paradox, Keeper, morrowind, pen and paper games, rolemaster, RPG, shadow running forgotten realms, Storyteller, ultima, Vampire, world of darkness

Hence the importance of the rest of the players in the storytelling part. They are free to experience, twist, enrich, play through and ultimately shape the GM’s plot, always following some rules, not unlike those a video game would impose on a gamer. Rules, that determine whether a player kills a monster, is stealthy enough to bypass a drowsy guard or even adequately desirable to organise an orgy. What’s more, and just like in the vast majority of CRPGs, players get to create a character, an in-game persona, typically called the PC or Player Character, as opposed to the NPC or Non Player Character, obviously played by the GM.

Humor

Why I Prefer Video Games Over Board, Card, and Pen & Paper Games

January 7, 2011April 15, 2014 Honorabili 2 Comments amiga, auto assault, Auto Assault Box, Battletech, Battletech Box, board games, card games, Chez Geek, combat monster, commodore 64, consoles, D&D sketch by the Dead Ale Wives, diablo, Dungeon Master, Dungeons and Dragons, fps game, Game Master, Gamesters, gaming addicts, gear based, Guillotine, Hero Quest, hotseat, magic the gathering, MechWarrior, Monopoly, multiplayer games, Multiplayer Online Games, Munchkin, Munchkin Card Game, NES, non-gamer, online cheaters, online games, parenting has gone to shit, pen and paper games, PlanetSide, play any game 24 hours a day, role-play, RPG, RTS game, ruin a friendship, Sega Genesis, Shadowrun, snes, Sorry, StarCraft, Talisman, using a bot, Vampire the Masquerade, Vampire The Masquerade book, video games, World of Warcraft, WoWhead

I grew up playing a ton of board games, card games, and pen-and-paper RPG games but for many years now I’ve been sick of playing them and have favored video games ever since multiplayer and playing online against other people became abundant.

Movies & T.V.

Motivation Monday: Bad video game movies

December 13, 2010June 12, 2015 J.A. Laraque 1 Comment bad video game movies, D&D, Double Dragon, Dungeons and Dragons, Halo, Hollywood, J.A. Laraque, Motivational Monday, obsolete gamer, Street Fighter, street fighter the legend of chun li, Super Mario Bros, video game movies, wing commander, World of Warcraft

It’s like Saved by the Bell Double Dragon style, how can you go wrong? This movie suffers from the fate many video games and even comic book movies do and that is adding in too much to the story. The writers could have tailored a simple save the girl story and with good acting and choreography it could have done well, but they go all Golden Child or Mortal Kombat the series on us and ruin it.

Editorials

Free to Play. If You’re Going to Fail, Get Better At Failing.

November 17, 2010February 5, 2011 Umar Khan 2 Comments America, atari, cataclysm, Champions, Champions Online, Cryptic, DnD, DnD Online, Dungeons and Dragons, Dungeons and Dragons Online, EA, EA Mythic, electronic arts, EQ, eq2, everquest, Everquest 2, Everquest 2 F2P lol, F2P, Far East, FF XIV, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XIV, free to play, Grinding, Lord of the Rings, Lord of the Rings Online, Lotro, Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, MMORPG, Multiplayer Online Games, Mythic, P2P, pay to play, Square Enix, Star Trek, Star Trek Online, Turbine, umar khan, WAR, Warhammer, Warhammer Online, Warhammer: Age of Reckoning, World of Warcraft, wow, Zerg

It seems much more frequently nowadays that many MMORPG companies have been accepting their losses and got off their high horses to adopt the Free to Play model. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Does it really help them bring in a larger player base? It certainly seems to be working for many of these companies but will it be accepted wife spread for future games?

Humor

Dead Alewives Summoner D&D skit

April 9, 2010March 23, 2016 Honorabili 2 Comments beat summoner, D&D, D&D comedy, Dead Alewives, Dead Alewives Summoner D&D skit, Dead Alewives Summoner D&D skit transcript, Dead Alewives Summoner Dungeons & Dragons skit, dork humor, Dungeons and Dragons, fantasy comedy, funny, geek humor, honorabili, humor, nerd humor, Obsolete Funny, obsolete gamer, old gamer, pen & paper RPGs, playing RPGs, playing video games, Satan's Game, Summoner Dead Ale Wives DM, summoner easter egg, summoner ending

Good chance is that if you’re an old gamer like us you grew up both playing video games and a ton of old pen & paper RPGs. So much braindead shit happens when playing RPGs usually. Dead Alewives made a skit which catches the spirit of that stupidity.

Blog

Dungeon Master says: Inmate can’t play Dungeons & Dragons

January 27, 2010April 3, 2014 J.A. Laraque 1 Comment Dungeons and Dragons, everquest, Multiplayer Online Games, prison, World of Warcraft

Gang-related activity that is one of those terms that are used far too often to keep three or more people from gathering, but this is prison and he is a murderer. Maybe they should let them play World of Warcraft. We could give them their own server called the stockades. Could you imagine the AV and Trade channel chat?