Month: March 2019

Goodreads Review – The Dragonet Prophecy (Wings of Fire #1)

The Dragonet Prophecy (Wings of Fire, #1)The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This will always be a special book for me, as the first novel my 7yo asked me to read to her. We do a chapter every night!

The Dragonet Prophecy (Wings of Fire #1) is a masterclass in fantasy world-building and character development. Our five young heroes may be familiar if you enjoy certain friendship-based action-adventure cartoons. They each belong to a different dragon tribe, such as SeaWings or NightWings, each with their own unique characteristics and abilities. Yet they’ve also been imprisoned and sheltered from the outside war, knowing little of the waging dragon war going on around them.
Their bond with each other is tested and explored in fun ways, though this novel primarily focuses on Clay the MudWing and Tsunami the SeaWing. We’re eventually introduced to more characters and events in a world ruled by, and ravaged by warring dragon tribes, though it’s a bummer that our heroes spend much of the story under someone’s thumb and reacting to events rather than making choices on their own.
The Dragonet Prophecy tells a satisfying story while expertly teasing future events – the perfect starter book for a grand YA series.

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DMs Guild Review – Secrets of Valeguard Spire

A short DM supplement for the PC headquarters in the Chronicles of Sorrow.

A review copy of “Secrets of Valeguard Spire” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work via Patreon.

Designed by:  Blaise Wigglesworth

“Secrets of Valeguard Spire” sounds like the title of an intriguing D&D adventure, but it’s actually an extremely short DM supplement based on the author’s level 1 adventure, “Sorrow’s Ruin” (which is excellent).

Specifically “Secrets of Valeguard Spire” expands upon an interesting element that’s added at the end of “Sorrow’s Ruin” – an inter-dimensional keep that the PCs gain as a base of operations. The supplement adds fun new abilities that are granted to every PC who joins up with the Valeguards, but would be better served in the next full adventure in this campaign, rather than as a tiny stand-alone supplement.

Continue reading “DMs Guild Review – Secrets of Valeguard Spire”

Kingdom Hearts 3 Has a Nostlagia Problem [Pixelkin]

Read the full opinion piece at Pixelkin

A YA-friendly, easy-to-play action-adventure that explores and celebrates Disney animated movies should be a winning formula. It certainly was in 2002 when the original Kingdom Hearts launched on the PlayStation 2. The popularity of the series and decade plus drought of a main-line game created a huge amount of anticipation for Kingdom Hearts 3.

Unfortunately, Kingdom Hearts 3 feels like a PS2 game in all the worst ways.

Read the full opinion piece at Pixelkin

Tomb of Annihilation Session 28 Recap

The party explored deeper inside the ancient ziggurat of Orolunga, battling gargoyles, escaping mummies, leaping over crumbling hallways, and letting sleeping wyverns lie.

Streamed, recorded and uploaded every week. Subscribe for our weekly adventures. Join us live on Fridays at 7pm Pacific/10pm Eastern!

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Previously on Tomb of Annihilation

Starring:
Mannix, level 4 Human Inquisitive Rogue
Khaless, level 4 Half-Drow Assassin Rogue
Gillian, level 4 Triton Bard of Whispers
George, level 4 Tortle Battle Master Fighter/Rogue
Therin, level 4 Hill Dwarf Druid of the Moon

The party explored deeper inside the ancient ziggurat of Orolunga, battling gargoyles, escaping mummies, leaping over crumbling hallways, and letting sleeping wyverns lie.

NOTE: My version of Orolunga is partially based on the Viper’s Pit dungeon designed by JVC Parry on the DMs Guild.

Continue reading “Tomb of Annihilation Session 28 Recap”

Let’s Play – XCOM 2: War of the Chosen Episode 22: Warlock Showdown

The Warlock is our second Chosen Stronghold mission, and it goes much better than the first.

XCOM 2
DLC: War of the Chosen, Tactical Legacy Pack, Resistance Warrior Pack
Mods: Commander’s Choice
Difficulty: Veteran

Episode 22: Warlock Showdown

M32: Operation Sky Slap – Assault Chosen Stronghold

  • Maj. Miri ‘The Monk’ Greycastle (Ranger)
  • Magus Dommel ‘Talus’ Stonereach (Psi Operative)
  • Lt. Felgolos ‘Flying’ Misfortune (Sharpshooter)
  • Sgt. Bryseis ‘Daemon’ Esterborn (Greandier)
  • Maj. Saran ‘Decker’ Amus (Specialist)
  • Cap. Falkirk ‘Runner’ Anderson (Skirmisher)

Weekly video game adventures. Streamed live Mondays and Fridays.

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Crafting Annihilation 03/28

Behind-the-scenes DM-only live stream of building and preparing our ongoing Tomb of Annihilation series.

Streamed live every Thursday.

Viper’s Pit Dungeon: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/190918/The-Vipers-Pit&affiliate_id=878416

Support the channel via Patreon.

RogueWatson Reviews – Keyforge: Call of the Archons

[I uploaded this last week for Early Access Patrons, then totally forgot to make it public, oops.]

Review of Keyforge: Call of the Archons, by Fantasy Flight Games.

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Support the channel via Patreon.

DMs Guild Review – Adaptable NPCs

70 unique NPC statblocks and 8 drop-in dungeons.

A review copy of “Adaptable NPCs” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work via Patreon.

Designed by:  Trevor Armstrong

While fiendish demons, exotic alien threats, and gargantuan monsters can be a lot of fun, more often than not it’s the humanoid NPCs you’ll be utilizing most as a DM. “Adaptable NPCs” provides dozens of unique ideas drawn from video game RPGs and older editions of D&D to create memorable and powerful friends and foes alike.

Continue reading “DMs Guild Review – Adaptable NPCs”

Let’s Play – XCOM 2: War of the Chosen Episode 21: Robot Zombie Warfare

A uniquely chaotic Sitrep features a huge showdown between The Lost and robotic ADVENT forces in the ruins of Berlin.

XCOM 2
DLC: War of the Chosen, Tactical Legacy Pack, Resistance Warrior Pack
Mods: Commander’s Choice
Difficulty: Veteran

Episode 21: Robot Zombie Warfare

M30: Operation Shambling Savior – Neutralize Field Commander

  • Cap. Falkirk ‘Runner’ Anderson (Skirmisher)
  • Col. Gillian ‘Triton’ Flounderson (Specialist)
  • Col. Georgiano ‘George’ Tortle (Ranger)
  • Maj. Xandala ‘Summerwise’ Cimber (Reaper)
  • Sgt. Korinn ‘Draconic’ Dragonborn (Grenadier)
  • Lt. Tymerious ‘T.I.M.’ Marbrand (Specialist)

M31: Operation Dying Scepter – Sabotage the Alien Facility

  • Maj. Mauta ‘Shadowrun’ Kulia (Sharpshooter)
  • Magus Dommel ‘Talus’ Stonereach (Psi Operative)
  • Col. Georgiano ‘George’ Tortle (Ranger)
  • Maj. Xandala ‘Summerwise’ Cimber (Reaper)
  • Lt. Kazin ‘Mind-Zei’ Eldric (Templar)
  • Cap. Undril ‘The Order’ Silvertusk (Specialist)

Weekly video game adventures. Streamed live Mondays and Fridays.

Support the channel via Patreon.

Wargroove Review [Pixelkin]

Read the full review at Pixelkin

Tactical strategy games have seen a resurgence in recent years, with excellent reboots and sequels for series like XCOM and Fire Emblem. But it’s pixel-perfect indie studio Chucklefish that has taken up the mantle of re-imagining the Advance War series (which had inspired Fire Emblem’s initial localization outside Japan).

Indie games have long filled the void of classic genres and gameplay styles left behind by bigger studios. Wargroove is the perfect example of an indie studio rebooting a beloved series while infusing their own story, with several modern improvements and an astonishing amount of content.

Read the full review at Pixelkin