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Tag: D&D

Posts related to the classic role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, including movies, novels, and comics.

Open Awesome License

Open Awesome License

TOUCHING MANY BUCKETS: Dungeons & Dragons is making waves with the announcement––and subsequent leak––of the update to its Open Game License, a system that is meant to lay out the relationship between Dungeons & Dragons and the content people create based on its game system. Based on the leaked information…it’s not going well. Thankfully, we have our nerd lawyer to walk us through the ins and outs of what is known so far.

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RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Kamen Themes” (30 December 2022): Where our hosts last discussed this controversy…only two weeks ago.

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FEATURED MUSIC:

  • “Nerd Law” by D. Bethel
Kamen Themes

Kamen Themes

A YEAR IN REVIEW: Since this is the last episode of the year, our hosts decide to look back at the 2022 that was, diving into the controversies, the rabbit holes, and the individual favorites that defined the year for our hosts.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Doctor Ennui” (27 August 2021): Where Andrew first dives deep into the Super Sentai pool.
  • An Optimistic Dystopia” (12 August 2022): Where D. Bethel talks about Stray.
  • Waiting for Helicopter” (30 September 2022): Where our hosts talk about the strange and frustrating actions taken by the new CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery.
  • Aggressive Modulation” (04 November 2022): Where our hosts discuss the growth, the themes, and the impact of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
  • Tweets to Toots” (09 December 2022): Where our hosts talk about how Star Trek: Deep Space Nine establishes itself at the beginning of its first season.

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Patient Zero

Patient Zero

WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew gets caught up in the new ARG run by Paizo for its upcoming Pathfinder book, even getting involved in deciphering the obtuse and mysterious clues; D. Bethel, on the other hand, delights in the incredibly faithful (yet different!) adaptation of The Sandman on Netflix.

TOPICS:

(00:00) Intro – Andrew check-up

(01:40) Andrew’s dive into Paizo ARG conspiracies

(12:38) D. Bethel talks about Netflix’s adaptation of The Sandman.

(35:17) Outro – She-Hulk

(37:32) Outtakes

RELEVANT LINKS:

  • The image Andrew created using the redacted image Paizo posted with a page from one of the company’s books:
Andrew’s attempt at deciphering Paizo’s mystery.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Premature Clapulation” (19 June 2014): Where D. Bethel shares his thoughts about what makes a good adaptation.
  • The F-14 in the Backyard” (12 February 2016): Where our host talk about the ARG run by the creators of Sentinels of the Multiverse.
  • Lovecraftian Minus Tentacles” (7 April 2017): Where Andrew shares his thoughts on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
  • Non-Stop Jason” (13 November 2020): Where our hosts attempt to decipher the conspiracy (or reality) of “Umbrella Labs.” Resident Evil ARG? or legitimate medical supply company?

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Drinking From a Firehose

Drinking From a Firehose

SDCC 2022: San Diego Comic Con actually happened this year after a long period of COVID-based dormancy, and it returned with a fury, dropping all kinds of news and sneak peeks and trailers…of comic book movies and tv more than anything else. Our hosts dissect the announcements that interested them the most.

CHAPTERS:

  • (00:00) Intro
  • (04:29) Quick overview of Marvel Studio’s Phase 5 plans
  • (05:28) She-Hulk: Attorney at Law trailer & Daredevil’s return
  • (12:59) The teaser trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever asks more questions than it answers––as can be expected from a teaser trailer.
  • (19:45) Star Trek: Picard announcements & character posters.
  • (22:47) Star Trek: Strange New Worlds & Star Trek: Lower Decks announcements and…crossover?
  • (27:17) DC announcements? Not so much, aside from a trailer for Shazam: Fury of the Gods.
  • (28:06) The Dungeons & Dragons movie gets a trailer and a controversial poster.
  • (38:43) Outro – RIP David Warner
  • (42:48) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • We Don’t Know $#!&” (29 May 2014): In our first episode, our hosts discuss some controversy surrounding comments made by David Goyer about She-Hulk.
  • Magic Beer” (23 January 2015): Where, when discussing the David E. Kelley’s legal comedy-drama, Boston Legal, our hosts mention how he would be the perfect person to bring a She-Hulk show to life (audio is quoted from this episode).
  • Multiverse Averse” (20 May 2022): Where our hosts discuss their excitement after seeing the first trailer for Disney+’s She Hulk: Attorney at Law.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

  • “Be Prepared” by Tim Rice & Elton John, performed by Jeremy Irons
Moving Furniture

Moving Furniture

A MARVELOUS DEBUT: Our hosts briefly talk about the incredible first impression that the MCU Disney+ show, Ms. Marvel, makes.

FALL OF THE PHOENIX: The tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) world was rocked this last week as more and more people came out on Twitter to discuss the abusive work habits of TTRPG celebrities, Satine Phoenix and Jamison Stone. Our hosts cover the accusations and discuss how this applies to the TTRPG community as a whole.

(00:00) Intro – Ms. Marvel discussion

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Bad Comedy

Bad Comedy

NFTs BREAK BIG: Andrew brings new NFT disaster stories to the show, from Star Trek to Dungeons & Dragons to Batman to $277, it’s all a garbage fire and it doesn’t seem to be going away.

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Shadow Johnson

Shadow Johnson

PIXEL REMASTER REMARKS: The release of Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster is finally upon us and Andrew has a few––very short––thoughts about it.

DOCTOR WHAT?: It was announced that––despite an existing tabletop role-playing game existing––there would be a new Doctor Who roleplaying game based on the fifth edition (5E) of Dungeons and Dragons. And people have opinions.

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RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Aural Improvisation” (6 February 2015): Where Andrew first discussed Cubicle 7’s “bespoke” original tabletop RPG based on Doctor Who.
  • The Badger Abides” (7 February 2020): Where Andrew talks about the work of Evil Hat Games and their tabletop RPGs.
  • Exposure Creates Tolerance” (17 September 2021): Where Andrew talks about the first four games in the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series.

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Flabbercast

Flabbercast

TRAIN SUPLEX: The trailer for the next and last (of the current set) of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series from Square Enix, Final Fantasy VI, has been released and our hosts have some thoughts (and nitpicks).

NFTHAC0: TTRPG Twitter caught on fire when discussion erupted around the possibility that Dungeons & Dragons developer, Wizards of the Coast, might be considering getting into the NFT game.

RESCUE THE RANGERS: A trailer for an upcoming movie based on Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers dropped and it…it…I have no words, for good or for ill. We’ll wait and see.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Milkbloods” (9 April 2021): Where our hosts first discussed the threat of NFTs.
  • Crypto ATM” (8 October 2021): Where our hosts discussed the threat of NFTs for the second time.
  • An Accident of Flavor” (12 November 2021): A third time when our hosts discussed the threat of NFTs (when video game companies first announced their support).

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Meat Pops

Meat Pops

NEWS CRUISE: Andrew and D. Bethel cover a lot of different news stories this week, including the acceptance of NFTs in video games by Steam and the Epic Games Store; the workers of tabletop game developer, Paizo, form a union; developers who worked on Metroid Dread not seeing their names in the credits; Ruby Rose speaking up about their treatment on the set of Batwoman‘s first season; and some announcements made by DC during the DC Fandome event.

UPDATE: Venerated Metroid fansite, Shinesparkers, reached out to Metroid Dread developers, MercurySteam, for clarification on what qualified for crediting in the game, specifically with regard to what constitutes the “25% game dev time” and “significant creative contributions,” stating:

“A significant contribution might mean A LOT of things: from designing a playable character, writing dialogues, lore.. anything substantially important to the game. On the 25% this is something based on our experience. Of course it can be seen differently elsewhere.”

FURTHER UPDATE: Union issues with Paizo and its workers came to an agreement on Thursday, October 21, with Paizo officially recognizing the workers’ union.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Business Exempt” (19 October 2018): Where D. Bethel and Andrew talk about the first major attempt to unionize video game workers.
  • A Casualty of the Rhyme” (22 May 2020): Where our hosts, along with Taylor, talk about Ruby Rose’s sudden departure from Batwoman.
  • Milkbloods” (09 April 2021): When Andrew and D. Bethel first discussed the strange culture of NFTs.

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Books For Days

Books For Days

CAP PUNCHED FIRST: Another day, another attack on fictional characters as a cable news segment pilloried Marvel Comics for making Captain America “woke” in a recent issue, seemingly forgetting that Cap has been punching literal Nazis in his comics since his first issue. Andrew and D. Bethel explore this while also examining the variety of ways texts (movies, comics, books, music, tv shows, etc.) can be read.

PRINT ON DEMAND: After buying some RPG books through DriveThruRPG, Andrew becomes fascinated by the idea––and future applicability––of print on demand services, where a book isn’t printed until a customer orders it. D. Bethel brings his creator experience with POD services to the conversation as well.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Slapcast” (02 July 2021): Where Andrew gave us the run down of the strange TSR Twitter fight.

RELEVANT LINKS:

  • The video Dan referred to with Stan Lee talking about the creation of the X-Men, though it’s one of many similar and slightly different creation stories he has told over the years:

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