Jaded Gamer Diary - The bad folks

 

Having now worked in a game shop for a few years I have a whole new understanding of the dynamic of the people who go there to play. Not all of it good. Most of it is, lots of great people, some enjoyable folks and plenty of opinions on the games but then there are those who make me shake my head.

The GM that nobody wants to play under. Got a couple of these. They are the ones who think they are gods gift to the gaming world. The experts, the know it all, the wanna be elite. Not to mention abusive and a bully most of the time. Always bragging about how epic their games and never leaving the counter as they vomit forth this self congratulatory monologue. 

Of course their groups consist of another type of gamer.

The Players that nobody wants in their group. Several of these as well. These are the ultra creeps who leer at every woman who walks into the place, the hygiene challenged, also some abusive bullies who focus on tormenting their fellow players. Oh and the fucking experts when it comes to how to play the game. The guys you don't call chuds because that would be insulting to the chuds. You may also find a few GM's that nobody wants looking to play in some games as well. But, to no surprise, they are also Players that nobody wants.

Also lets now forget about the Self Injectors. They see a group playing a game and they immediately walk up and start talking. Usually telling them how to do it better while interrupting the group nonstop. Almost always leads to them asking if they can have a seat at the table to play. Acts insulted when you tell them to fuck off because you're playing a damn game.

I've experienced these in the past. But damn I get a front row seat now.

Dungeons and Dragons 2024 release dates

 

Well release dates for this years Dungeons and Dragons releases have started finally coming out. But not all of them are verified. The first two, which are most likely set in stone, are for the following which have appeared on the Wizards WPN page:

Vecna: Eve of Ruin on May 21^st

The Making of Original D&D: 1970 – 1977 on June 18^th

After that there are some folks sharing some dates supposedly from a newsletter sent out to some people. Not sure who exactly gets those newsletters or why though. But here are the other release dates for new products.

Quests from the Infinite Staircase on July 16^th

Players Handbook “revised version” on September 17th

Dungeon Masters Guide “revised version” on November 12^th

Monster Manual “revised version” on February 18, 2025

Now what is strange about these release dates is one thing. GenCon. Normally they do a big release there and it’s during the first week of August. So one would think they would release the Players Handbook at that venue at least. Unless they are moving away from convention based big releases or they may just have a preview there. Not entirely sure.. 

But then again maybe these release dates are not settled on yet. Especially since they haven’t given a day of release for the PHB just the month. UPDATED: there is a release day for the PHB

Dungeons and Dragons 2024 releases

 

Working at a game shop I try to stay caught up on new releases and what is coming out. Of course the most asked about property is still Dungeons and Dragons. Now while we've seen a list of what they are planning on releasing in 2024 there is nothing about when in 2024 any of the books are coming out. Even the WPN network page that Wizards has set up so shops can keep up to date has nothing slated for release after the much delayed Deck of Many Things. But here's the list we can find.

Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth – 2024

Vecna: Eve of Ruin – 2024

2024 Player’s Handbook – 2024

The Making of Original Dungeons and Dragons: 1970-1976 – 2024

Quests from the Infinite Staircase – 2024

I'm assuming this is the order in which they are going to be released but even that is unknown. As for dates, well the only safe thing I can assume is that the 2024 Player's Handbook will be a GenCon release with DnD Beyond getting it a few days early. 

I am also going to assume that more hard dates will be released at GAMA if not a little before. 

Now why isn't there any mention of the new version of the DM's Guide and Monster Manual? This is a good question and I have two theories. 

One: They are going to stagger the release of the books with the other two coming next year. Since they are claiming that the new editions/versions/whatever will be compatible with 5e spacing out the dates shouldn't be an issue. This could be used as a meter to see what players and GM's think they need in the a new DM's Guide and MM plus give them more time to work on them since they fired several folks.

Two: The one I would almost bet money on. This isn't the new edition/5.5/One/whatever of the Player's Handbook. As we all know, at least those who buy or sell the books, the price for regular print DnD books has gone up recently. This 2024 version is just a little update, maybe some new art or cover, but with the new price point on it. We all know that Player's Handbooks outsell all the others hands down so it would make sense that it is on the verge of selling out of the last print run. So Wizards of Hasbro not wanting to miss out on charging more are upping the price on the new printing. With the actual new edition still being off in the distance as they struggle with an audience that is getting fed up with everything.

All that being said I'm not a DnD fan. I don't buy anything they put out. HOWEVER the Making of Original Dungeons and Dragons book is certainly catching my interest. There have already been so many different project trying to detail out that era I'm wondering if there is anything new to be said about it. But the history of the hobby part of me sure wants to find out. 

Now about those other releases:

Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth revives the classic first-edition adventure, Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. It’s a single-session dungeon-crawl that’ll evoke the feeling of an adventure module from 50 years ago – complete with a tournament scoring system to see how well you fared. 

This doesn't sound like a full fledged hardback book. Could they maybe be testing the water with smaller adventure modules like the days of old?

Vecna: Eve of Ruin We’ve known for a while that a Vecna 5e adventure was on the way, and it’s been confirmed in the form of Vecna: Eve of Ruin. This is a rare campaign – not just because it features all sorts of iconic D&D characters, but because it actually goes up to level 20.

Quests from the Infinite Staircase updates a range of old-school D&D adventures, much like Tales from the Yawning Portal did previously. Several elements apparently tie these individual adventures together, one of which is a cosmic being who’s “completely new to the D&D canon”, according to Wizards.

Those last two sound like standard hardback releases. One and done. 

Hasbro/Wizards doing stupid shit... again

 

Once again Hasbro/WotC is doing stupid shit that people are getting a bit angry over. Although this time it's affecting peoples lives directly. Hasbro seems to be so fucking stupid that they thought the really high sales of 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic would continue on as the new bar to measure sales by. Even after 2022 told them otherwise. So now they are laying people off right at Christmas because (gasp and shock) sales are down. 

Yet all the mother fuckers at the top are still making 5+ million a year. Remember when Nintendo had the WiiU bomb? Yeah it was pretty rough. But the company didn't go through cutting people. Instead the people at the top gave up their bonuses and some of them gave up their pay just so everyone could keep working. But the greed here in the states is WAY to huge for that. 

But I'm hoping that a few more folks see just how shitty Hasbro/WotC is based on how they treat their employees. I mean if they treat the people who make the products they sell like garbage then just imagine of how they think of consumers. We've already seen that, they think of people as little walking wallets to pick from. They are a shit company.

More folks need to finally more away from their crap. Move out of that warm snuggly DnD blanket, creep away from the MtG crack dealers. Move on to other games out there on the market. We saw it happen earlier this year when they stuck their whole damn leg in their mouths with the OGL debacle. Now this. More people need to look around at other options. Maybe to a company that actually treats their customers well. 

The Hobby Is Dying

 

There is a lot to this very simple meme that I agree with. I've seen so many older folks who've been in the hobby for many years doing everything possible to push new people out. Especially those new folks who may have a different idea of what they want from a roleplaying game. This has been going on for decades.

Saw it with Vampire the Masquerade when White Wolf suddenly exploded with their idea of a roleplaying game that leaned into telling stories. Including focusing less on rules (at least with the early first editions) and more on character motivations and goals. All the people who were running ADnD 2e were upset when suddenly there were all these new people who were coming into their sacred spaces. Especially when they had zero interest in doing standard fantasy sessions. Instead of realizing that more variety and styles were growing the community they instead decided to draw lines in the sand.

This continued on through various pops of popularity for other indie games in the years after that. Every single time it was the 'old guard' getting angrier and angrier over these 'new kids' coming in and supposedly ruining everything. 

Now we see the screeching still going on as they twist their nuts into knots over the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons. They scream it's to easy, they coddle the players, it's impossible to die in the games. But yet more people are enjoying this edition than any other edition ever before. I've also seen more 'noobs' turn and look at the old guard and tell them to go fuck themselves. That, I must say, warms my old over worked heart. The dickheads are finally drowned out, those who drew the lines are the ones who lost. Yes there are still some folks who love the old school games. But their numbers are nowhere even close to the number of people who are actively involved playing and running new games while going in new directions.

Finally the asshole grognards are now seeing nothing but a shit load of people flipping them the bird as progress moves forward and leaves them behind. All we can do is laugh as they declare, even to this day, that the hobby is dying. When in fact it's flourishing better than ever before. 

Delivery date for the Deck of Many Things

 Well it looks like there may actually be a delivery date for the delayed "Deck of Many Things" from WotC. After all the complaints that Magic the Gathering players have had for years now all came to roost right in a DnD product that was supposed to be a high quality release. So this post popped up on social media, apparently some folks are getting the new delivery date via Amazon and not WotC proper.

So just into next year. This was also supposed to be one of their big Christmas release sellers. Guess that's not happening now. Hopefully the shops that ordered this turkey can cut back their orders to reflect this. But I doubt the distributors will let them, or at least they'll try not to let them. 

Any bets on the quality still being below what it should be on this 'fixed' release? I'm predicting pringling all around. 

Deck of Many Things update

 

Sort of an updated on the Deck of Many Things that is supposed to be coming out from Wizards of the Coast. Just a few days ago it was announced there were production problems and they were delaying the release to straighten it out, I talked about that on a previous post. Now tonight at work I checked out the WPN page to see if they updated the release date and this is what I saw.

The Deck of Many Things is no longer on the release schedule at all. 

So I imagine this means that the problem was very serious on the quality of the cards. Something that comes as no surprise to Magic the Gathering players who have been complaining about the card quality dropping into the toilet for years. Apparently the top dogs thought they could make a high end product using their low end standards they have been reduced to. Looks like they were quite wrong about that.

So now it's a waiting game to see just how long it will take for this product to actually hit the store shelves now. The digital release is, of course, going to be coming out on time. Wonder how many scrapped stacks of cards we'll be seeing in a landfill soon?

Deck of Many Things is delayed by Wizards

 Looks like the upcoming new shiny from Dungeons and Dragons product from Wizards of the coast is having a few problems. The 100 dollar physical copy of the Deck of Many Things slipcase is being delayed in physical release due to 'manufacturing' issues. Some of those issues appear to be what Magic the Gathering players call pringling, along with some crappy cut cards. Here is the press release from Wizards and a link to a guys review of his preview copy over on YouTube. Wonder how long the delay will be?

Roll a D20: That old well.

Need some inspiration about an old well that's on your game map? Well Roll a D20 and get a hook for an idea and simply add on to it.

1. Treasure: Ancient coins, jewelry, and other valuable items that were thrown into the well as an offering or to hide them from danger.

2. Weapons: Rusty swords, spears, and shields that were lost or discarded by warriors who were defending the village or castle.

3. Bones: The remains of animals or people who fell into the well or were thrown in as a sacrifice.

4. Fossils: Prehistoric shells, bones, and other artifacts that were buried deep in the ground and have been preserved over time.

5. A secret passage: A hidden tunnel that leads to a secret room or underground dungeon.

6. Trapped creatures: Dangerous beasts or monsters that were captured and thrown into the well to keep them away from the village.

7. Poisonous gases: Deadly fumes that can suffocate or poison anyone who ventures too far into the well.

8. Water: Despite being old and abandoned, some wells may still contain water.

9. Tools: Shovels, picks, and other tools that were used to dig the well or to repair it.

10. Ancient artifacts: Pottery, statues, and other relics from a forgotten civilization that was built around the well.

11. The remains of a ritual: The remnants of a ritual that was performed at the well by a group of cultists or a coven of witches.

12. A magical item: A powerful artifact or enchanted object that was thrown into the well to keep it safe from enemies.

13. Runes: Strange symbols etched into the walls of the well that can be deciphered to reveal a hidden message or spell.

14. The source of the well: A mysterious underground spring that is the source of the well's water.

15. A trap: A booby trap that was set by a cunning enemy to catch unsuspecting adventurers who venture too far into the well.

16. A creature's lair: The home of a dangerous creature that has made the well its lair.

17. A tunnel network: A series of tunnels that lead to other parts of the dungeon or castle.

18. A forgotten manuscript: An old book or scroll that contains forgotten knowledge or a powerful spell.

19. A lost relic: A holy relic that was lost or stolen and thrown into the well to keep it out of the wrong hands.

20. A curse: A terrible curse that was placed on the well by a powerful wizard or a vengeful spirit.

Dark Sun 5e fan port

 

Well one thing is for sure. What the fans put together now days is miles better than what WotC is putting out. So check out this Dark Sun port for DnD 5e that clocks in at over 300 pages. 

YOU CAN FIND IT HERE.

Nice to see the people still putting the work into what they love. 

DnD Toaster

 

Yeah well Dungeons and Dragons has gone mainstream for sure now. We can get our own D20 toaster. Really it's exists, you can buy it here. I'll never be able to pick one up but it sure is neat. 

Keys From the Golden Vault

 

At the shop I work at our copies of "Keys From the Golden Vault" have arrived. Beforehand I was saying I wasn't impressed with the design of the hobby shop cover this time around. But once I saw them in person I will admit they do look a lot better close up. Pictures just don't do it justice.

Much as WotC/Hasbro has done to piss everyone off they still manage to put out a good looking product. Not sure how many are going to sell though. We still have several groups who of have either quite DnD altogether or have stopped buying any official product from them.

Time will tell I guess. 

Dragonlance 5e Shadow of the Dragon Queen

 

The latest version of Dragonlance "Shadow of the Dragon Queen" is now out at game shops starting earlier today, or yesterday actually, it's late here and I need sleep. Working at a game shop I got to flip through one a few days early when they arrived and I must say this is a really good looking book. One of the best hobby shop covers in a while, great artwork and maps throughout, easy to read and it even has a pull out map. 

So what do you folks think of it? Anybody have an opinion of the boardgame that comes with the Deluxe edition? Let's hear some opinions. 

Free - Steampunk Weapons & Armor

 

Decided I need to throw some more focus on hobbyists in the gaming community. Those who put stuff out for cheap or free. The folks who put a lot of work in for very little return (if any) because they want to make something that others may enjoy. 

This time I'm going to point you in the direction of this, just release, wonderful little gem for steampunk games. "Steampunk Weapons and Armor" from Kawaii Snarknado. Made for use with DnD 5e settings. It's a great collection of gear ranging from your normal fare up to the more exotic type of things. 

Pick this book up HERE. 

So if you're going to be running a steampunk or similar type of game soon then you really need to at least give this one a look.