Dragonlance D&D Game Blog

You probably already know, but to the few who don't, the latest Reaper Miniatures Kickstarter launched a few days ago, and is already off a great start. For more information, check out the link for Reaper Miniatures Bones 5 on Kickstarter. Previously, I passed on their Kickstarters for one reason only (2 actually): my painting skills are so poor and I don't think I would ever paint everything that comes in the core set in my lifetime. I occasionally picked up a few of the add-on sets in the past if it was something specific and unique that I wanted. On the other hand, this Kickstarter, like everyone of their previous ones offers a great value. With many (but not all) of the various stretch goals adding more value to the basic core pledge, you end up seeing your price per mini going down significantly by the end of the campaign. And on top of that, the add-ons give you some unique options for an additional extra cost, nice if you want larger quantities of something in the...

If you are a terrain addict like me (wait, it's not an addiction, I can quit any time I want), there is a great Kickstarter you should check out: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1744629938/terraincrate-plastic-affordable-fantasy-terrain/description TerrainCrate by Mantic Games is in the last few hours of it's campaign. As you can see, there are offering a metric ton of terrain options, from Dungeon and Battlefield accessories, to add-ons from their popular Dungeon Saga product and a Dark Wizard's Tower pack suitable for any Dungeon or Castle sets you may already have. They've been blowing through stretch goals the whole campain, and look to be on target to raise about half a million. Regardless of what you might be looking for, I'm sure you can find something usable in the many different offering in this Kickstarter. Check them out today!

Dwarven Forge recently launched their latest Kickstarter, Castles terrain. Like their previous campaigns, they have a variety of options to choose from, and have already achieved a number of stretch goals. Like previous Kickstarter campaigns, parts of this new one are easily compatible with previous offerings, like the mixing the new castle offering with the city streets from the previous Kickstarter, or mixing the mountain add-ons with the caverns pieces from the second Kickstarter. If you're interested in seeing just what they have to offer, check out the Kickstarter here . And if you missed out on the previous Kickstarter offerings, you can still pick up some sets here on the Dwarven Forge website .

A couple of months ago there was a pair of competing Kickstarter projects, one from UpWorks and another similar themed one from Miniature Building Authority . Sadly, through no fault of the projects competing against each other, the UpWorks project went belly up . But today I'm happy to report on two Kickstarter projects currently running that are so complementary that backing one almost necessitates backing the other. First up was a nice little Kickstarter project called Tavern Dungeon Decor . This KS gives you a bunch of accessories and dressing for any number of public places, like taverns, temples, or libraries, just to name a few. The KS provides everything from a variety of chairs and tables, to bookshelves, books, plates of hot food, and even a bunch of seated patrons to dress up your city based encounters. What the KS doesn't provide are the walls or rooms for said buildings. And that's where the second KS comes in. This is the latest Dwarven Forge Kickstarter...

I'm sad to report that the Upworks KS that launched a few weeks ago has been cancelled by the project creators, citing personal reasons. Not only has the KS been cancelled, but the company has already sold the Upworks domain (and moved over to Upworksgames.com), in an attempt to recover some of their costs of the project so far. From the updates on the KS page, it doesn't look like Upworks will be starting up anytime soon. In the meantime, the Miniature Building Authority KS is still in full swing, and close to quadrupling their funding goal, with 4 more days to go. If you're looking for some castle pieces for your game, this might be worth checking out.

If you're a fan of miniatures, and terrain, especially 3D terrain like Dwarven Forge, you should go check out the Upworks site now and get ready for their initial Kickstarter, starting Tues noon, Central time. Upworks is the latest project from Jeff Martin , the man behind True Dungeon, and the former president of Dwarven Forge. The site doesn't have a lot of information up yet, just some teaser pictures, but Upworks look to "build" on the quality and modularity of the Dwarven Forge concept by also allowing for vertical, multilevel displays, like a large castle, with walls, towers and roofs. Considering the success of the two Dwarven Forge kickstarters that Jeff helmed, I'm expecting an exciting offering, and plenty of stretch goals and add-ons... and here I thought my gaming budget was safe for a little while! You can follow Upworks on twtitter at @upworksgames , check out their site at: http://upworks.com/

As I get ready for GenCon 2013, I find that this year, unlike most others, I'm not heading off to Indianapolis with a list of must-get items. Now part of this is certainly due to the fact that this year Dungeons and Dragons is between editions, so there's no hot off the presses source book or box set for my favorite RPG, but it's not just the lack of D&D product that's reduced my shopping list to near nothing. I'm starting to wonder, is Kickstarter is to blame. Is it killing off, or at least diminishing, the excitement of the GenCon vendor's room? In the past I would circle around the Reaper Miniatures booth, or gaze longingly at the various Dwarven Forge setups. But thanks to Kickstarter, if I took part in the Reaper Bones KS from a while ago, or the Dwarven Forge Game Tiles KS from earlier this year, I'd have little reason to visit either location. Same for Larry Elmore, an artist I've admired since I read my first Dragonlance book, and who...

This isn't going to be a post about how the subtleties of being a really good DM, or player, have vanished in the modern day. No, this post is actually about the lost art of D&D.  Literally. It turns out that back in the early days of TSR, when they were developing and designing all those great classic books, the company had a policy of not returning art originals back to the artists. Compounding the issue, at some point TSR threw away classic art from a number of highly revered books and modules. But there is the next best thing. Artists Jeff Dee and Diesel LaForce are currently organizing Kickstarter campaigns to recreate art from various books, included the 1e version of Deities and Demigods. If you're interested, here are links to their respective pages where you can sign up to be a patron and get some nifty items for your contributions that would make great art for your gaming room! Jeff Dee Kickstarter page . Diesel LaForce Kickstarter page .