Tag: gaming

Daggerheart vs D&D Discoursing

There’s been a lot of discourse about Critical Role leading into campaign 4 as they geared up for their announcement. People were so sure the company would be switching gears and using Daggerheart as their system instead of D&D. The people of the internet were gasp wrong.

Not to brag (as Ashley Johnson often says on her Beacon talk show, Weird Kids) but I had a feeling they would be sticking with D&D and using Daggerheart for more mini side campaigns. I’m pretty stoked about what we’ve seen of the new setting so far and the new players that will be joining the table. That’s not what I’m writing about today though. While thinking about the fandom, this announcement, and my relationship to Daggerheart, I had a bit of an epiphany. 

I’ve tried so hard to get into Daggerheart and have not loved it as much as other people have, and I think I figured out why. The biggest supporters of the game that I see online seem to think that its job is to crush D&D and Wizards of the Coast and become the King of TTRPGs. I think this association with the fanbase has unfortunately soured me on the game somewhat. But here’s the problem – I think they missed the point. 

Matt and co have always said that with everything they do on this channel, the biggest motivation is to have fun. If this ever stops being fun for them, they have said they will pack their bags and walk away. They play D&D because it is fun for them. They made Daggerheart because there were things D&D didn’t quite do, so they made a system that did. That doesn’t mean that Daggerheart is supposed to replace the other toys they’ve been playing with though. It’s just another toy in the toybox. 

Another reason one shouldn’t assume they would have moved away from D&D is this: there was no way for them to know how much of a home run success they would have with Daggerheart. They are constantly in disbelief at how much we flock to support them. And while I don’t have exact numbers, I think it’s safe to say Candela didn’t do as well as Daggerheart did – although I’m sure it did well enough. (Side note: I really hope this Fall we get more Candela because I have a mighty need for some spooky stories). 

The last thing that should have indicated we were probably sticking with the old system (and why I’m actually very excited about this fact) is the new roster of people they’ve pulled into the company. You mean to tell me they got Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins to build a homebrew world with Brennan Lee Mulligan and you’re NOT excited to see what they have in store for us?! I know this is a recent development after months of y’all being fired up for Exandria in Daggerheart, but I for one am thrilled to see what they’ve got brewing. 

In conclusion, I wish the fans would sit back, touch grass, and let the team cook. It looks like we are in for some epically ambitious storytelling told by some of the best people in the business. I think they deserve a chance to win us over. 

Ska Festivals & Shenanigans

Hello friends! It’s been awhile and I have so many things I want to share with you.

What have you been up to?

Well…. there’s the health stuff, for starters. Migraines are still being a (literal) pain, but I’m currently doing Botox treatments and am playing the waiting game to see how they respond to that. In more fun news, I went to a ska festival last weekend! It was 3 days of music and catching up with friends, and I had an absolute blast. For those not in the know, Supernova Ska Fest takes place in Hampton, VA. It’s usually a cross between bands I love, bands on my bucket list, and bands I never heard of before. There’s acts from all over the world who come to participate. This year they had Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, Bad Manners, Out of Control Army, Adhesivo, Stranger Cole, Hollie Cook, and Sister Nancy – and that’s just the international acts. I cannot properly convey how much fun I had. It was even worth feeling buried in things to do for the next week after I got back. 

Am I a music blog again?

Maybe! I at least want to dip my toe back into it. I used to do way more writing about music on this site, and Supernova inspired me to try to get back to those roots. Maybe next year I’ll try doing write-ups on the bands as they’re announced. 

What games have you been playing?

I’ve actually been doing a ton of gaming lately. My ADHD doesn’t hold focus on any one thing, but I started FFXV and even posted some short clips on TikTok. I also bounce between being obsessed with FFXIV and dropping completely off it. Lately I’ve been focusing on Baldur’s Gate 3 (like a lot of us I am obsessed, although still in Act 1) and Palia, a cozy online game currently still in beta. I also recently downloaded Marvel Snap on Steam and really like it. The dailies give you a reason to do a few matches in a row, but don’t feel too demanding. And finally, I’m getting back on an Idle Champions kick. They added a couple characters from BG3 and sucked me back in. Maybe I’ll do some individual posts of these games if the mood hits me.

What about streaming? Still doing that at all?

I’ve been on a very long hiatus due to both health and other life stuff. I tried to come back for my affiliate anniversary Sept 20th and had major tech issues. Still, it was nice catching up with everyone before things imploded. I’m hoping I’ll be able to find time to fix whatever the problem was, but I also might need to wait till I get a new headset. The other one gets really uncomfortable. Even after only 2 hours I had a little migraine forming. I currently have a kofi goal to get some stream upgrades. I also have a birthday and Christmas to look forward to. Maybe a guardian angel will smile on me for the holidays.

It’s too soon for Christmas! Don’t skip Halloween!

You’re right, we cannot forget the best month of the year – Spooky Month! I’m building a list of new horror movies to check out and have actual plans on Halloween night. Bringing it back around, it happens to be a ska show. I’m really hyped to get into some good spooky fun this year 

Well, that’s all from me for now. I’m gonna try to get back into the swing of things again, but I’m not forcing myself to write every week like I had been. I’d like to be consistent, but I also have to accept that my body might not always cooperate with me. Now, share your favorite horror movies in the comments and pass the pumpkin coffee over.

I Love Tabletop (and going on vacation)

It’s been about a week since my last post, very largely due to the fact I went on vacation. Of course stupid forgot her camera, but I will say Boston is a wonderful town to visit when you have friends to give you the grand tour. That’s how you make Boston Common more than just a park and the Cheers bar a place you force your friend to stop so you can be a tourist for 5 seconds and get a picture on your phone.

While I was on vacation, something really awesome to the nerd community happened – Wil Wheaton’s Indiegogo campaign went over the million dollar mark! It is rare I am this excited to see a project be funded so strongly. Now granted, I was on vacation and cut off from the world for a bit, but doing a cursory search on the interwebz shows me that this news has not been published nearly as much as when Amanda Palmer had similar success with her Kickstarter. I know nerds can be loud when they want to be, so it bums me out that people don’t recognize how huge a deal this is. It’s not like Wheaton had the power of Neil Gaiman to help spread the word about this. He just had a community of nerds scrambling together to make their corner of the internet a little better. Don’t get me wrong, I have no ill feelings toward Palmer or Gaiman. On the contrary, Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors and I’ve enjoyed Palmer’s music since The Dresden Dolls were a thing. I’m just a little disappointed this didn’t seem to get the same press…

Thanks for being patient with this filler post. Things go back to normal now that I’m back. I’ll probably have a real post for you in a day or two but undecided if it’s going to be music or tv related as of yet. In the meantime, feel free to comment on anything I had to say here. (Especially if I’m wrong and was just living in a hole for a week). I welcome anyone to tell me to “shut the f— up in the nicest way possible. Until next time, PLAY MORE GAMES.