Wizards of the Coast grace us with a couple more books this month and that sound you hear is the money being sucked from your wallet. Here they are, straight from the source:

Martial Power

Martial Power is the first of a line of player-friendly supplements offering hundreds of new options for D&D characters. This tome focuses on the martial heroes: characters that rely on their combat talents and keen wits for survival.

This book provides new archetypal builds for the fighter, ranger, rogue, and warlord classes, including new character powers, feats, paragon paths, and epic destinies.

While I appreciate the steady stream of supplemental books, anyone else feeling like these class editions are simply a bunch of things they could have easily fit into the Player’s Handbook? I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here, but come on.

Draconomicon I: Chromatic Dragons

Draconomicon I: Chromatic Dragons describes several varieties of dragons, including red, blue, green, black, and white dragons, as well as three new chromatic dragons.

This sourcebook gives details of each dragon’s powers, tactics, myths, lairs, servitors, and more. In addition, this book provides new information about draconic nations and organizations and how chromatic dragons fit into the D&D game. Wide-ranging story and campaign elements in the book give DMs ready-to-play material that is easily incorporated into a game, including adventure hooks, quests, and pregenerated treasure hoards.

While I’m sure this is just as much of a money grab as the Martial Power book, dragons are at least way cooler. Anything regarding these powerful creatures is cool. I guess if I have to get one of these, this would be the one. But again, all this information could have been in the Monster Manual.

Not sure if these are worth the price, but they’re available now and in all the hardcover splendor you’d expect from Wizards of the Coast. Have at it, my friends.

Glen Percival communes with the gods of the PlayStation in a holy ritual that includes the burning of a 360 every Sunday and forty virgins doing something naughty with all the leftover SIXAXIS controllers they have lying around. Of course, it’s easy to sacrifice a 360 when all you have to do is turn it on and try to play Castle Crashers online.

**BaDum CHA!!!**

I have no joke for the forty virgins part. That’s just me dreaming out loud.

But it all seriousness, our good friend of PSNation Podcast fame has clued us into something that we’re really damn excited about and gives us all another fine reason to be playing our PS3′s. We’ve heard rumors this summer that one of our favorite board games, Zombies!!! may be coming to XBLA and Twilight Creations confirmed not only Microsoft’s machine but Sony’s monster as well.

A perpetual Drunken Gamers Radio favorite and one of my regular gifts to John, the Zombies!!! board game consists of a randomized game board full of zombies trying to kill players on their way to an escape helicopter. It’s simple, fun and perfect for a downloadable game. Here’s hoping we get some of the awesome expansion packs that feature Zombie Chicks and Zombie Dogs. For those unfamiliar with the board game and the subsequent spin offs and expansions, hit up the link to the Twilight Creations web site and see the glory that is Zombies!!! for yourself.

Looks like Big Rooster is the one handling the publishing duties and the game is set to hit in the nebulous “sometime in 2009″. While it would be nice to have a firm release date, it’s good to know the rumors are more than just fanboy desire.

A link to the full story over at PS3 Fanboy can be found here.

Thanks again to Glen and PS3 Fanboy for the heads up!

Everyone knows the only thing you need to make any dish better is cheese, but how do you improve the experience of the chess-esque strategy genre?  Cheese packs on the pounds and greases the pieces to the point of unsafe for handling.  The answer?  Lasers.  Obviously.

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It should be known that I dig most board games and it should also be known that John hates them, almost as much as I hate his girly comic books.  Unfortunately, this leaves us at an impasse.  But being the benevolent and inclusive soul that I am (what a guy!), I have scoured the earth for something that perhaps, just maybe, we can enjoy together.  Hilden, on the other hand, loves everything, which is what makes him so damned endearing!  That said, here’s to hoping we can all find something to love in my latest acquisition, Marvel Heroes: The Strategy Board Game.

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For those that have been bitten by the D&D bug, you’ll be pleased to note the steady releases of supplemental books by Wizards of the Coast. How complex a task this 4E switchover is, I can’t even begin to imagine. But I’ll give them this: they’ve hooked me back in.

Last month, those of you on the D&D inside track already know that the Forgotten Realms supplemental book was released. This month sees the release of the Adventurers Vault. Here’s the word, direct from Wizards of the Coast’s website:

Hundreds of new weapons, tools, and magic items for your D&D character.

This supplement for the Dungeons & Dragons game presents nearly a thousand magic items, weapons, tools, and other useful items for your D&D character. Whether you’re a player looking for a new piece of equipment or a Dungeon Master stocking a dragon’s hoard, this book has exactly what you need.

The book features a mix of classic items updated to the 4th Edition rules and brand-new items never before seen in D&D.

So, there you go. If you’re looking for a shit-ton of new stuff for your next dungeon raid, or simply have a favorite weapon or item that hadn’t been updated to the official new rule set, then this book is for you. I’ve had a chance to page through this bad boy at my local dork shop and it’s the same kind of high standard presentation that you’ve come to expect from the 4th Edition. With a hard cover, glossy pages that really show off some gorgeous artwork, the Adventurers Vault looks like a solid purchase for those looking to add more to their game.

Looks like I’ve got another book on the “Must Buy” list.

Amazon has the Adventurers Vault for around $18.00. You can find it here.

In this blessed time of political convention hysteria and jockeying by the presidential nominees, there are so many things to be thankful for…. not the least of which may be slanderous hypocrisy, name-calling, poor timing, beauty pageants, and strippers. Shameless and adolescent love-for-country, notwithstanding, there are a precious few intellectually intriguing products that ought to be mandatory consumption during this festive season. I offer you, my fellow Americans:
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So I’m awake again.

The trip back from PAX was awesome, with nine hours of flight time beginning at 4:30 in the morning and with a 12-minute layover. Then sleep. Lots of sleep.

Posting was limited at PAX itself due to not having a laptop, and also due to simply being either too busy or too tired to write anything up via iPhone. Between way too little sleep, sixteen hours of tabletop gaming, various panels and booths, and a ridiculous amount of unhealthy food, it was a busy weekend. So anyway, here are some thoughts:

4E D&D: I played a ton of this over the weekend, and my final though is that it really isn’t that bad. The Wizards design guys admitted that they pulled some of the customization from 3.5, as well as narrowing the skill set, but they had reasons for doing so. By making a smaller skill set that covers more situations, one has better odds of actually having a useful skill. The customization was toned down primarily to push D&D away from the concept of min-maxing a character to death. Instead of your Ranger/Monk/Fighter dual-wielding holy flaming Kamas and being unhittable, or your Chain Fighter of ultimate broken doom, you have a few variations within a set class. If this sounds like MMORPG character generation, that’s because it is. This, however, isn’t as hideous as it sounds.
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Rusty Shackleford brings us a sobering article on the passing of a legend.

Article By: Rusty Shackleford

On August 8th of this year Parker Brothers came out and said “Hello fans of our board game, Clue, do you love playing as Colonel Mustard or Miss Scarlet? Do you like spending time looking for wrenches in billiard rooms? Well, if you do then we hate you and think you’re too old and dusty.” OK, maybe they didn’t come out and say that very quote, but to my ears it sounded like that. What Parker Brothers did do was announce that the popular board game Clue was getting a face lift and the old classic game was being kicked to the curb.
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I did a lot of cool things with my friends in high school. We played a lot of games and most of them I have fond memories of. Some have such fond memories attached that it leads me to try and reconnect with them later on in life. However, there was this rather unfortunate period in which my group of friends voyaged down a different road. A board game road. And while I have a natural aversion to more of the mundane board games that make up the Milton Bradley laced days of my childhood, my participation in this particular game can be excused based on a number of factors.

The game in question is called Nightmare and if you can’t tell by the video up there, this one stands apart. Let me tell you about it.

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Chill Sourcebook

Now that I’ve successfully outed my dork self on this site, it’s time to really get into this shit. I love old school pen and paper RPG’s and I love playing them. While that’s not even remotely considered cool among the “I’m too hip to play that” guys I hang out with, it’s still something I have a fascination with and the sad truth is that I don’t get to play them often (make that at all) these days.

It all started with this game right here, Chill.
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