Bugsy : While it may appear that we chose this topic to get out of talking about this year’s cancellation of Free Slurpee Day , this is actually something we’ve been meaning to cover since first starting the blog, and Andy’s finally given in to my whining agreed to go with it this week: video games. Or, if you prefer, “electronic gaming” - I know that some people go for this more inclusive term that removes implied platform limitations. We both grew up around various consoles and systems, and (unsurprisingly) have developed a few strong opinions over the years. The COVID-19 pandemic has also given us each an excuse opportunity to delve a bit more into the medium recently, and we thought this would be a good time to discuss the way electronic gaming fits into our lives as working adults and how they influence our approaches to tabletop gaming and storytelling in general. Andy : If you asked my mother (my mom thinks I’m cool!), she’d probably inform you that my first experience with el

Last week, we lost a man near and dear to a great many nerds. Sir Ian Holm passed away and left for the Undying Lands, and it shall be a sadder Hobbit Day this September. It is an utter shame and loss to us all that he couldn’t grow to Bilbo's ripe age of 131. Bilbo bookends the whole trilogy for us. Before we even start the epic journey through Middle Earth, we have Bilbo’s birthday, and we end (almost) with his trip to the Undying Lands. Bilbo is, in a way, our journey through Lord of the Rings. We’re borne into the series in fellowship with his birthday. We’re excited to see Frodo and his friends make it to the Last Homely House, and we’re jealous that Frodo has the Ring and not us. Finally, our journey ends with all of us on the ship to the Undying Lands with him. End of the story. How lucky we were to have such an excellent actor help us on this quest! This week we’re taking a look at one of the more dangerous events of Bilbo’s burglar career. If you’ve read the Hobbit or watc

Freddie Prinze Jr. considered joining my new online D&D campaign this week. No, really. I’m serious! Okay, he was probably just being polite. He was really polite about it, though. You see, one of my old friends/new players had an exchange with him on Twitter a few days ago. Freddie Prinze Jr . had retweeted a post about naming a barbarian. Jeremy (my friend) responded to the tweet with appreciation, noting that he was about to play a barbarian, himself. Freddie Prinze Jr. gave the advice to “Taunt and flaunt, bro. Taunt and flaunt.” When I heard about the exchange, I had Jeremy extend an offer to join our game. I figured “why not,” although I was sure he wouldn’t seriously consider it or even respond... or would he? The offer was politely declined with an explanation that the timing would not work out. Apparently, Freddie handles the cooking in the family and not Sarah ? Or maybe they take turns. Someone needs to make sure the kids eat, at any rate. This is a fact that I'm

How do you describe a goblin to an 8 year old? Recently, I began reading The Hobbit at bedtime to my eldest kid. We're a few chapters in, not far past the section on the trolls. The topic of goblins has come up as the troop has just raided the trolls’ cave and found the goblin slaying sword Orchrist (note that orc bit later.) "What are goblins, dad?" We of course aren't quite to the point where a good description is given. We will get there at some point, likely just as we are meant to. His interest was piqued though, and so I had to give some sort of response. I could jump ahead in the book and find a Tolkienian description of them. I could go grab one of my many Monster Manuals and find a picture and a description. The latest D&D description is as follows: Goblins are small, black-hearted humanoids that lair in despoiled dungeons and other dismal settings. Individually weak, they gather in large numbers to torment other creatures. This description is what I wo

With much of the country in lock-down or self-isolation, tabletop gaming grinds to a halt. Right? Traditional board and card games may be difficult to manage without being isolated with your players. However, while you can't sit across the table with your chums, there are still many ways you can participate in "tabletop" role playing games. Please check out some of the following resources and keep your storytelling active in these trying times. Keeping the "table" in tabletop If you're considering moving your regular game to a virtual setting, you likely already have a communication tool in mind. There are a wide number of ways to communicate out there from voice only Discord channels to full video chats. We won't get into those options here as you likely already have your preference. Options for handling the table potion of the game are fewer, but alternatives do exist. A few popular ones are: Fantasy Grounds , Rolisteam , and Roll 20 . These pl