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Tag: Wizards of the Coast

Ear Covid

Ear Covid

AD&D (ANDREW, DUNGEONS, & DRAGONS): Andrew, after years away, gets drawn into a Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Planescape adventure and shares his thoughts on how the game looks after having avoided it for so long.

TOPICS:

(00:00) Intro – The dangers of COVID broadcasting
(01:35) Andrew’s new D&D adventure adventure
(51:02) Outro – Jon Stewart returns to The Daily Show
(55:16) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • The Space Dog and Bacchus Show” (21 August 2014): Where Andrew first experiments with Dungeons & Dragons‘ 5th Edition open beta, DnDNext.
  • Some Solid Copy” (31 July 2015): Where our hosts discuss Jon Stewart’s departure from The Daily Show.
  • Choose Your Weapon” (31 July 2020): Where Andrew discusses the documentary, Secret of Blackmoor: The True History of Dungeons & Dragons.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Sausageria

Sausageria

INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE: Andrew delights us with his tales of sausage-stuffing.

2023’s THING OF THE YEAR: Our hosts reflect on what they believe would define 2023 for them. Andrew reflects on the many trials that faced Dungeons & Dragons while D. Bethel gets sentimental with Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny.

TOPICS:

(00:00) Intro – Andrew’s sausage party
(05:51) Andrew’s 2023 TotY: The Ongoing Trials of Dungeons & Dragons
(11:56) D. Bethel’s 2023 TotY: Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny
(19:11) Outro – More evidence of Willow erasure
(21:03) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Kamen Themes” (30 December 2022): Where our hosts reflect on what stood out to them most in 2022.
  • Open Awesome License” (13 January 2023): Where Andrew discusses the drama surrounding Dungeons & Dragons and its Open Game License.
  • Dungeons & Grandmas” (19 May 2023): Where our hosts discuss the film, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
  • Comma Dong” (11 August 2023): Where the use of “AI-enhanced” art was found to be used in an official Dungeons & Dragons book was discussed.
  • Smoke Time” (25 August 2023): Where D. Bethel shares his thoughts on Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Jellyfish Panthers

Jellyfish Panthers

A-NEWS BOUCHE: It’s been a busy few months, so our hosts felt that it was time to get away on a cruise, albeit a news cruise. They talk about the recent legal woes with Microsoft’s attempted acquisition of Activision Blizzard, recap all of the Wizards of the Coast’s woes, and all the strange Twitter drama as of late.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Hammering With a Screwdriver” (19 August 2016): Where D. Bethel discusses the first episode of Batman: The Telltale Series.
  • Nature’s Velcro” (3 July 2020): Where Andrew relays his time with Owlcat’s Pathfinder: Kingmaker.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Do the Laugh

Do the Laugh

OGL DISASTER REPORT: Andrew catches us up (briefly) on the ongoing Wizards of the Coast Open Game License drama.

WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew realizes his dream tabletop game exists but spread across a television show and a video game as he discusses his first time through season 1 of The Walking Dead and his time with State of Decay 2. D. Bethel keeps the post-apocalyptic survival theme going as he finds a lot to enjoy in the premiere episode of HBO’s The Last of Us.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Madmacguffin

Madmacguffin

OUT OF THE WAY, PECK: After 34 years, Disney decided to create a sequel series to the Lucasfilm cult classic fantasy film, Willow, exclusively for Disney+. D. Bethel is a devout fan of that original film; Andrew couldn’t care less. So, they’re going into this series from two very different contexts, but come to very similar conclusions: it’s okay.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • A Week for Days” (23 September 2022): Where our hosts discuss the first trailer for the Disney+ Willow series.
  • Tweets to Toots” (9 December 2022): Where our hosts discuss the first two episodes of the Disney+ Willow series.
  • Open Awesome License” (13 January 2023): Where Andrew broke down the controversy around the possible new Open Game License that Wizards of the Coast is working on.

RELEVANT LINKS:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

  • “Money For Nothing” by Dire Straits excerpted
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.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

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

INFO:

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.

RELEVANT LINKS:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Dulce Et Utile

Dulce Et Utile

THE DELONGATED MAN: Actor Hartley Sawyer has been fired from his role as Ralph Dibney––the civilian name for The Elongated Man––after racist and misogynist tweets he made years ago once again resurfaced. Andrew and D. Bethel discuss accountability in the world of social media and the permanence of internet publishing.

WotC RESHUFFLES: Magic: The Gathering publisher, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) announces it will be retiring old cards with clear racist imagery and implications from circulation.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “A Casualty of the Rhyme” (22 May 2020): Where Andrew and D. Bethel––guided by resident DC expert, Taylor Katcher––talk about the news of Ruby Rose leaving Batwoman after the first season.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Episode 157 – Licking Controllers

Episode 157 – Licking Controllers

Wendy Crewson and Tom Hanks in a promotional still from Mazes and Monsters. Source: CBS

GAMES AT PAX WEST: We sent our man on the scene, Andrew, to PAX West while our Man in California, D. Bethel, watched on the internet. Now, they talk about the games they saw. Andrew muses over gameplay quirks in Stone Story RPG and Aground, while D. reacts to the strong sprites ethic in Get in the Car, Loser! and Star Renegades. Also, Andrew reflects on a series of panels he saw at the event, all of which focus on not just tabletop role-playing games, but specifically––and surprisingly––just Dungeons & Dragons.

Dan can’t get over these sprites! GIF from Star Renegades. Source: Massive Damage, Inc.

Also, D. Bethel will be exhibiting at the 2018 Crocker Con in Sacramento! It is on Thursday, September 13th, from 6-9:30pm at the Crocker Art Museum in Downtown Sacramento. For more info, click here, or check out the Facebook Event page.

The poster for this year’s Crocker Con event. Art by Melissa Pagluica.

INFO:

For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap.

FEATURED MUSIC:

-“Disco Medusae” by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
-“District Four” by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
*Tracks are licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Shortcast 42 – Atlantis Is Full of Dead People

Shortcast 42 – Atlantis Is Full of Dead People

ANNOUNCEMENEWSBLASTCAST: Instead of focusing on their respective Weeks in Geek or having an extended conversation, Andrew and D. decide to cover a lot of news that dropped this week including the trailer to season 2 of Marvel/Netflix’s Jessica Jones, 20th Century Fox’s Deadpool 2 trailer, the reveal of the video-game-based-on-a-tabletop-game-based-on-a-tabletop-card-game, Sentinels of Freedom, the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons lorebook, Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, and the passing of John Mahoney.

RELATED EPISODES:

RELEVANT LINKS:

  • Jessica Jones season two trailer:

  • Deadpool 2 trailer:

Evidence for Shatterstar’s appearance in this movie:

EXHIBIT A – WEIRD FACE MASK THING

EXHIBIT B: TWO BLADES ON ONE SWORD

  • The best/saddest tribute to John Mahoney’s death:

INFO:

For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap.

FEATURED MUSIC:

-“District Four” by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
-“Disco Medusae” by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)*
*Tracks are licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/