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Tomb of Annihilation Review Part 2: The Adventure

Posted by G.A. Barber on 22/10/2017
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The Tomb of Annihilation is probably one of the most complex reviews I’ve approached to date, because it intersects with a number of topics all at once. These being world building, diversity in gaming, and of course, the adventure itself. This book represents the first major move by Wizards of the Coast (WotC) to expand the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (FRCS) in a deliberate manner in the form of a book that acts both as a source book for the base world of 5e D&D, and as the next installment in their ongoing semi-annual adventure publication schedule. Last post was the baseline establishment, this post will look at the adventure itself. If you missed it, check out part one before proceeding. [1]

Spoilers Ahead!
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Tomb of Annihilation Review Part 1: Chult in 5e

Posted by G.A. Barber on 13/10/2017
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This entire blog was initiated because of the gross injustice done to Chult in the 4e D&D Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. [1] With 5e D&D, a lot of “fixit” work was done to the setting, a bid to reverse almost universally disliked changes. To date, Chult has been a relatively ignored or abused since 2e AD&D; when James Lowder cracked the area open with his Ring of Winter novel and as a co-writer on the Jungles Of Chult Module. So its selection as the location for the redone Tomb of Annihilation module came as a surprise. Given past experience, I approached it with caution. Time to review The Tomb of Annihilation.
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Editions War Part Two: 1e AD&D

Posted by G.A. Barber on 27/09/2017
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Image used for review purposes.

With the release of 1e AD&D, it can be truly said that the Editions War had truly begun, as the nascent gaming community polarized either towards the more complete and ready to play Basic D&D, or embraced the more complex and nuanced 1e AD&D (or simply “AD&D” as it was known at the time). Regardless, TSR supported both simultaneously, and the two games diverged onto very different evolutionary trajectories.
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Editions War Part One: Basic

Posted by G.A. Barber on 29/08/2017
Posted in: Review, Review and Revise, Thoughts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Dungeons & Dragons is the undisputed king of fantasy roleplaying games. It has rivals, but at the end of the day, more people are playing D&D than any other single game. The thing is, not everyone is playing the same edition. And everyone argues about what edition is “the best”, usually using personal metrics to determine it, and deriding everything else. So this will be the first post of a multi-part series where I’ll review each edition using the same metrics, starting with D&D Basic.
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Lands of Mystery Lost

Posted by G.A. Barber on 28/12/2016
Posted in: Thoughts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

DD-LogoRecently, with the release of both The Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide and Volo’s Guide to Monsters, the D&D fanbase has become agitated once again. “What do you allow in your games?” and “I ban this because that.” Discussions have become rampant as the world of Toril, home of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting begins to open up once again after the disastrous 4e effort. But that’s not what I want to talk about today. Today I want to talk about the accidental world that was created in the waning days of 3.5e D&D, a world without a name, but with immense potential, that quietly disappeared in the thunder and crash that was 4e’s release.
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