Gelatinous Cube

Trapped within Early Access no longer, Baldur’s Gate 3 is officially ‘final’ for the PC. The gigantic turn-based role-playing game has been years in the making, and looks to set D&D fans up with the deepest trip through the realm yet.

Baldur’s Gate 3 features 12 playable classes and 11 races, complete with pre-made heroes and the ability to completely craft your own. On top of that, there’s also the Dark Urge, which is kind of a combination of the two previous options, letting players make their own hero, with a unique story and background.

You don’t have to quest alone either, if you’d rather party-up, as Baldur’s Gate 3 features 4-player online co-op. Considering just how big the threat to the Forgotten Realms is, you just might need all the help you can get.

“It’s hard to express how much love went into creating Baldur’s Gate 3. For over six years, more than 400 of us poured our hearts and souls into making this, helped by over 2.5 million early access players who spent countless hours giving us feedback.

The result is a beautiful, rich universe where you can escape from your daily worries, experience adventure and wonder, and have many, many cool and exciting encounters. It’s a place where your identity and choices matter, where surprise lies around every corner, and where your agency is truly rewarded.

I’m super proud of what our team accomplished, and I hope you will have an incredible amount of fun exploring what we prepared for you.”

Swen Vincke, Larian Studios director

With the PC launch in the bag (of holding), Larian will next turn to the PS5 edition. That’ll be out fairly soon as well, and is due in full on September 6th, 2023, though those who buy the PS5 Digital Deluxe Edition can be playing on the 3rd. A Mac version is also looking for a September launch, and there just might be some Baldur’s Gate 3 on the way for other platforms as well. There’s noting official as of yet though, with Larian saying “Additional platform support is TBD.”

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Evil at the gate

Baldur’s Gate has more than a few good memories for most PC gamers who were around in the late 90s. The game was an RPG, based in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, and it was a good one.

Since then, we’ve seen Baldur’s Gate get expansion packs, a sequel, and a re-release. And now it has a comic series as well. Sort of. I don’t think it’s based on the games in any way, but it’s the same locale – that counts for something right?!

The Baldur’s Gate heroes return to the city at last, but their time adventuring in Ravenloft and the frozen northern reaches of the Realms has changed them. Each of them must face great trials ahead before they’ll be ready to embrace their destiny. Minsc, Krydle & Shandie, Delina, Nerys Kathon, and Boo will all take center stage throughout this series. While it does continue Zub’s run on D&D, each story is self-contained and so fans can jump on board anywhere and introduce themselves to this beloved cast of characters.

As you can see, the characters are supposed to take the spotlight here.

IDW seems to really be playing up that aspect for the mini-series, which is a good thing. Licensed stuff can get a little fixated on the “world” sometimes, so a character-focused set of stories is a nice prospect. Presumably too, fans looking for deeper and more well-developed characters should be happy with what writer Jim Zub has on tap.

On the artistic side, the book will get a different artist for each installment. That stable will include the likes of Dean Kotz (Charmed Season 9), Steven Cummings (Wayward), Harvey Tolibao (Green Arrow), Ramon Bachs (X-Men), and Francesco Mortarino (Jupiter’s Circle). Cover art will come from one Max Dunbar (Gears of War), who has actually worked on D&D books before for IDW.

The gate opens once again when Dungeons & Dragons: Evil at Baldur’s Gate #1 hits this April.

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Retailing at $49.99 USD on it’s website, Roll20 integrates the entire Monster Manual. So you, the GM, and your players have access to some of the most iconic creatures in the Dungeons and Dragons world!  

The Monster Manual itself is worth purchasing, but Roll20 makes it incredibly easy to load these monsters into your campaign. You’ll have beholders, mind flayers, dragons, Modrons, slaads, demons and more available instantly.

Each monster has it’s own entry in the D&D 5e Compendium on Roll20

And each listing is complete with detailed information regarding the creature too.  The DM also has instantaneous access to the stat blocks for all of the creatures in the manual. That makes it supremely easy to incorporate these official creatures into your current or new campaign.  There are circular tokens featuring the same artwork from the physical book too. That’s enhances your campaign nicely in the visual department.

If you aren’t familiar with Roll20.net, it’s currently one of the best ways to experience tabletop roleplaying games- remotely! Not everyone is local. Maybe your friends from school moved away, or you took a job in another country. Whatever the reason for your empty gaming table, Roll20 brings players together through audio, video, and visual representations of any TRPG you’re looking to play!

As of last year, they’ve teamed up with Wizards of the Coast.  That deal brought official D&D information to Roll20’s compendium, that features rules, weapons, gear, and general information on how to play the game.

Players are able to create their own unique characters in the system

They can roll for stats, cast spells, produce damage, and continue to customize their character as needed throughout a campaign: all from the comfort of their own home. And all without the hassle of bringing a backpack full of books, note paper, pencils, miniatures, and dice.

Roll20 also has Volo’s Guide to Monsters, which is a more in-depth look at some of the most iconic creature encounters of the D&D realms. The Storm King’s Thunder campaign book is also available for you and your friends to experience!

The cooperation between Roll20 and WoTC makes roleplaying games more accessible to players that might never have been able to find a group in their area to play with.

While the Monster Manual itself is a phenomenal resource, there’s no denying that the cost of the book is, well, rather undesirable.  You can purchase a physical copy of the book for $35 on Amazon, so to pay $49.99 for a digital version seems silly. That’s especially true when you start looking at purchasing all of the other official books for digital use.

The cost adds up. Quick. As a DM, it’s rather daunting to consider just how expensive it is to set up an official campaign on Roll20, in comparison to playing at your own table at home. But for some, the cost is worth the accessibility.

Considering the cost, it is still worth adding this digital book to your Roll20 library.  The level of quick use and integration of monsters needed for your campaign allows for your game to flow smoothly.  Overall, the Monster Manual itself is Brutal Gamer 5/5 rating. But for it’s use specifically on Roll20, the price is just too high to receive a perfect score.  With a 4/5 rating, it’s still worth picking up!

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In the eye of the Beholder

Few RPG’s are as iconic as Dungeons and Dragons. And since Roll20 signed the role-playing giant, they’ve been making the most of it. This latest announcement though, is the icing on the cake.

Over half of Roll20’s users are D&D 5th Edition rule players. That’s a monster (sorry) number, especially considering that the company now boasts some 2 million members. So there’s going to be about 1.4 million RPG fans who are going to be pretty happy to play with the Monster Manual.

But what does the addition of this digital tome mean exactly? Well a hell of a lot actually, and it all sounds pretty sweet. You’ll get a digitized version of the Monster Manual to (virtually) thumb through, complete with “beautiful artistic renderings of the monsters”. Of course, there’ll also be lore aplenty in there, and loads of stats.

That’s far from all however. Don’t forget that there’s an actual game to be played here. And, as such, there’s lots that the Monster Manual adds to Roll20.

Here’s a rundown

In addition, Roll20 DMs and players can use the Compendium tab within the Roll20 tabletop platform to view Monster Manual entries—and even drag & drop monsters into their pre-existing games! The monsters that are added to Roll20 games will automatically place a gorgeous token on the tabletop and create a new Handout in the platform’s Journal, where the full biography, lore, and clickable NPC character sheet can be perused. This makes it much easier for a DM to suddenly add a displacer beast to their ongoing campaign, to the possible despair of their adventurers!

The D&D Monster Manual officially hits Roll20 on February 7th, and will run you $49.95 USD.

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Dungeon crawling, digital style

There’s no company doing quite what Roll20 is doing right now. We profiled the company’s entry-level offering recently, and what they’ve got happening is actually pretty special. If you missed it, click here. The long and the short of it though, is that via Roll20’s online system you can play an old fashioned pen and paper RPG with anyone, anywhere in the world.

Up till now though, they’ve been more indy-leaning with the games that they offered. And while they’re still set to provide those lesser known titles to digital-tabletop gamers, with the Wizards of the Coast license, they’re going to be offering so much more. And that new slate will start with Lost Mine of Phandelver.

The game is a jumping on point for D&D, and goes “hand-in-hand” with the Player’s Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rules Handbook according to Roll20. You can get a copy of that book digitally via the Wizards website (here), and apparently get started with everything in no time flat. Supporting 4-6 players of the level 1 variety, this one is made with ease of use in mind.

Story content is indexed to that end, and battles are all located in a Page Toolbar. Just click ’em and fight ’em out.

In all, here’s what you’ll find in the kit:

• The entire contents of the Lost Mine of Phandelver adventure.
• 5 pregenerated characters that players can choose from, complete with the SRD5-compatible Character Sheet.
• Image handouts that can be shared with players, collectively or individually.
• 7 area maps, using official artwork from Dungeons & Dragons. All locations are pre-linked to story entries which may contain additional DM notes, boxed text, encounters, images, and treasure parcels.
• Tokens for NPCs and monsters in the module, using the official artwork from Dungeons & Dragons.
• Bestiary: includes tokens, character sheets, and descriptions for monsters and enemies that can be encountered throughout the adventure.
• Monster Reference: contains information needed to understand creatures that appear within the module.
• Magic Items: describes the assortment of magic items that can be found within the adventure.

Lost Mine of Phandelver will run you $19.99 USD and is available right now. It’s far from what you’ll find eventually from Roll20 though, since the brand new D&D adventure, Storm King’s Thunder will also be hitting the platform. You can pre-order that right now on the site, and be playing when it releases some time next month.

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“The quest for Forgotten Realms: The Archives was a gruelling, perilous journey,” recalls Oleg Klapovsky, GOG.com’s VP of Business Development and Operations. “The rights were literally scattered across the world, and even with the aid of our trusted companions it took several years of searching and dead ends to round them all up.”

On their quest for the D&D Archives, the GOG.com party encountered the very creators of these magical worlds – legendary Strategic Simulations (SSI) developers, all too eager to share their experiences:

“It’s wonderful to return to the Forgotten Realms” said Paul Murray, SSI Lead Engineer. “Our attention to deep systems for tactical combat, and exploration really shines through. These games excel at recreating the D&D tabletop experience.”

“These games gave players truly deep and innovative RPGs, while allowing me to master design skills I still apply today.” says David Shelley, one of the leading SSI Designers. “Being able to work with those rules and settings, trying to makes the games authentic, was a real joy.”

And it should be a ‘real joy’ for fans of the classic sword and sorcery property as well, as there’s never really been anything like this roundup of games based on D&D Forgotten Realms lore. A trio of packs are what you’ll now find on GOG, each of them filled to the rim with orcs, wizards, and the like.

Here’s how it all breaks down, and what you’ll find in each pack:

• Forgotten Realms: The Archives – Collection One (featuring Eye of the Beholder I, II, III)
• Forgotten Realms: The Archives – Collection Two (featuring Curse of the Azure Bonds, Gateway to the Savage Frontier, Hillsfar, Pools of Darkness, Pool of Radiance, Secret of the Silver Blades, Treasures of the Savage Frontier, D&D: Unlimited Adventures)
• Forgotten Realms: The Archives – Collection Three (featuring Dungeon Hack and Menzoberranzan)

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Whether you’re a complete novice to the Dungeons & Dragons world, an experienced player who is finally looking to take over the Dungeon Master reigns, or an experienced Dungeon Master who wants to stay up to date on the latest innovations, a Dungeon Master’s Guide can be an invaluable tool for keeping your game running smoothly. Including tons of information on everything D&D, it’s a how-to guide that answers every question.

After a short introduction that briefly covers the duties of a Dungeon Master and how to use the book, The Dungeon Master’s Guide splits into three parts: Part 1 is entitled Master of Worlds, Part 2 is Master of Adventures, and Part 3 is called Master of Rules. Master of Worlds is intended to help you figure out your campaign, and creating a world around it. This can be entirely of your own making, or you can pull as much from the existing D&D world as you like. The aptly named Master of Adventures section is a guide to creating the adventures your party will enjoy, from creating NPC’s and dungeons, to the types of treasures your party might encounter. Master of Rules is a guide to mediating the game, with information on  everything from handling mobs to basic combat.

The end of the book contains appendices on Random Dungeons, Monster Lists, Maps, and Dungeon Master Inspiration. Between the three parts and the appendices, it covers all the essentials for coming up with a campaign, running your adventures, and applying and modifying rules to suit your group  – and all of that organized in a way that makes it a simple task to quickly find the information you need.

Each section features colorful Dungeon & Dragons inspired artwork, illustrations of useful items like armor and weapons, and loads of tables that are filled with all of the information you’ll need to run a successful campaign. The book itself is a sturdy hardcover volume, printed on quality paper that should stand the test of time nicely. A compact volume it is not, measuring roughly 9 X 12, and 320 pages. While it may be a bit of a brick to lug around, the reams of useful information it contains make it well worth the added effort. The Dungeon Master’s Guide is a solid investment in making your D&D game the very best it can be.

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“A menagerie of deadly monsters for the world’s greatest role playing game”

Whether you’re just beginning your foray into the Dungeons & Dragons universe, or you’re a Dungeon Master from way back looking to stay current with the latest edition of the game, the Monster Manual for D&D’s 5th edition has a lot to offer to monster aficionados of all types. With over 300 pages of monsters to pore over, it’s bound to be a favorite part of your library.

At first glance, you can immediately see the quality that was dedicated to putting this book together. With a sturdy hard cover and nice thick pages, it’s bound to stand up to the test of time. As you page through the book, one thing that instantly stands out is the artwork. There are tons of illustrations, many in a classic hand painted style, that really help to put a face to your adventures. While some of them may fall a little short of your imagination, for the most part they are inspired creatures that live up to their impressive legacies. From powerful dragons to silly looking owlbears, the skillful illustrations add an extra element of fantasy to your gameplay.

The Monster Manual is far more than its great images, though, providing tons of information for Dungeon Masters old and new. The book starts out with an overview of what you can find in the book, explaining everything from what monsters are to how to use the challenge system, and everything in between. Challenge ratings are new to this version, and they basically tell you how challenging a monster will be. For example, if your party is made up of 4th level characters, monsters with challenge ratings below that should be completely doable, 4th level monsters will be challenging but possible, and those above 4th level will be extremely challenging.

The bulk of the book is (obviously) devoted to the monsters, and you’ll get a ton of information about them. Of course, you’ll get information about things like skills and armor, but you’ll also get a lot of background information and interesting facts as well. It makes for a book that is invaluable for dungeon masters, but also just plain interesting on its own. Following the many pages of monsters are two appendices that cover miscellaneous creatures and nonplayer characters, with an index of stat blocks finishing the book. Overall, it’s a ton of useful information that is easily accessible and oh, so fascinating. It’s a great investment for both D&D pros and hopeful, and a great coffee table book for monster lovers of all stripes.

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Wizards of the Coast delivers an all-in-one experience with the newly released Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set. For those who have ever been curious…for those who have ever wanted to try it out and just didn’t know where to start…for those who just want to try something new for game night…this is one box, containing everything you need to get on your way in the Dungeons & Dragons universe.

While D&D can hardly be considered a board game, the Starter Set is packaged just like one, making for easy storage of all your D&D gear. Within the box, you’ll find everything you need for your game (which, for the uninitiated, looks rather sparse). Dungeons & Dragons has always been a game that relies more on imagination than game pieces, and the starter set reflects that. There are six game dice included – one each of d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20. These are used to determine the course of your adventures, in many different ways.

You’ll also find five character sheets, which can be used to craft the characters each of the players will use in the game. Each sheet gives pretty much everything you need to know about your character – whether you choose to be a wizard, a cleric, a fighter, etc., your character sheet lists your abilities, your proficiency, armor class, speed, and more, along with your background, information about your race, and what happens when you level up. These are intended as sort of a cheat sheet for newcomers, (and can be replaced by your own creations as you become more proficient in the game) but even with so much provided for you it’s still up to you to make your character your own. Each player must give their character a name, describe them physically, and let their personality develop as they play the adventures.

Of course, all of that sounds rather confusing if you really don’t even know how to start, and so two books are also included in the set. The Starter Set Rulebook lays out how how to play the game. Because D&D has always been a game that is run by one player (the Dungeon Master), who guides the others along the adventure, it isn’t necessary for all the players to read through this. However, it does give you a really good idea of what to expect when you get into your game, covering everything from literally how to start and how combat works, to adventuring and spellcasting. It seems like a lot to take in, so it’s best to keep this book handy for your first few sessions, for easy reference.

The other book included in the Starter Set is entitled Lost Mine of Phandelver, and it is a complete adventure, including everything your Dungeon Master will need to know to run a successful adventure. There are maps, descriptions and stats for the creatures you encounter, and a handy index that helps you quickly find answers to any questions that might arise. Most importantly, it contains the first adventure your team will go on, introducing you to The Forgotten Realms and how an adventure should play out in the best way possible – by doing it. The adventure itself is quite engaging, involving a lost mine, greedy goblins, and plenty of scrapes for your crew to get into. It’s also quite lengthy, and should give you many hours of play (and because the choices made affect how it plays out, you can even reuse the adventure multiple times if you like).

The Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set is meant for complete beginners who would like to get started in the game, and so I wanted to gauge how well it translates to those who have never played it before. So I gathered a group of six – five were complete beginners, and one experienced player for reference purposes. We found that the Starter Set really does offer pretty much everything you’ll need to figure the game out (although it really helps if your Dungeon Master puts in a decent amount of time learning the ropes before the game begins). There were a few times when questions arose, even with the books included, but they were fairly infrequent. For those cases, if you don’t have an experienced player to guide you, you can find rules online at DungeonsandDragons.com.

Final Thoughts

The Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set offers the perfect solution for anyone who has every wanted to give the popular role playing game a try, but was intimidated by the learning curve. The set gives you a head start with fully fleshed character sheets and an engaging adventure, and of course your first set of dice to get you started. It’s a great place to begin, and designed with the beginner in mind, it serves well to immerse newcomers in the world of D&D painlessly and with maximum enjoyment.

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