Gigaboot.dk

Wizards announce D&D 5th edition

2012-01-15T10:48:00.001-08:00

As you may have read in the New York Times, it’s an exciting time for Dungeons & Dragons. We are happy to announce today that we are developing the next iteration of D&D, and will be looking to the legions of D&D fans to help shape the future of the game along with us.

Our mission is to ensure that D&D enters its next 40 years as a vibrant, growing, and exciting game. By listening to the needs of the D&D community, we can meet this goal. As part of our increased efforts to engage with the player-base, we launched a series of weekly articles in early 2011, including Rule of Three and Legends & Lore, to give you a voice in our work. We’ve listened to both praise and criticism from all D&D fans, regardless of their edition of choice, and we’ll continue to do so.

That is why we are excited to share with you that starting in Spring 2012, we will be taking this process one step further and conducting ongoing open playtests with the gaming community to gather feedback on the new iteration of the game as we develop it. With your feedback and involvement, we can make D&D better than ever. We seek to build a foundation for the long-term health and growth of D&D, one rooted in the vital traits that make D&D unique and special. We want a game that rises above differences of play styles, campaign settings, and editions, one that takes the fundamental essence of D&D and brings it to the forefront of the game. In short, we want a game that is as simple or complex as you please, its action focused on combat, intrigue, and exploration as you desire. We want a game that is unmistakably D&D, but one that can easily become your D&D, the game that you want to run and play.

D&D is more than just a set of rules for fantasy gaming. It launched an entire gaming genre and played a pivotal role in creating the entirety of the gaming industry, both analog and digital. The game has lived and thrived because it has awoken a spark of creation, visions of daring adventure, wondrous vistas, and untold horrors that pull us all together as a community of RPG fans. It is the countless players and DMs who have brought it to life over the years. The game is at its best when it is yours.

For that reason, we want your participation. The goals we have set for ourselves are by no means trivial or easy. By involving you in this process, we can build a set of D&D rules that incorporate the wants and desires of D&D gamers around the world. We want to create a flexible game, rich with options for players and DMs to embrace or reject as they see fit, a game that brings D&D fans together rather than serves as one more category to splinter us apart.

We have begun obtaining feedback from a limited Friends & Family playtest consisting of internal employees and their gaming groups and soon we will be expanding that group to consist of members from our existing body of playtesters. Then at the D&D Experience convention in late January, Wizards of the Coast will conduct a special playtest of ideas currently in development. The D&D Experience will be moving to Gen Con in 2013, so as a convention special this year, we will be offering show attendees a first-look at a draft of the new set of rules. Then beginning sometime in the spring, we will begin open playtesting. Through our web site, we will release a growing set of rules, classes, monsters and other materials for your study and feedback. We seek to reach as many people as possible, from the gamer who just started with D&D last week to the gaming group that has been together since the early-1970s. For this process to work, we want to give a voice to all D&D fans and players of all previous editions of the game.

The next year is going to be an exciting one. There is a lot of work to be done, and I’m hoping you have the time, energy, and inclination to pitch in. We sure hope you do, as we seek to make gaming history by shaping the future of D&D, together. If you would like to sign up today to be notified when the playtest is beginning and how you can participate, click here:

I think it is encouraging that Wizards still think that it makes sense to release a new edition of D&D, however, I keep remaining a little skeptic about this, because of the dwindling number of users/followers of traditional role playing games. Perhaps it is time to realize that RPGs as we knew them are dead, and the future is in computer games or online games.

Of course, I hope that I am wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time. I would be thrilled if we saw a reboot of interest in RPGs across the board so to speak, because it is a lot of fun to play and because it offers users a chance to use their minds as opposed to put it on stand by and jut have it bombarded with digital input.

It does fill with a sense of hope though. As I prepare to leave the world of Dragonlance a tiny flicker of hope presents itself. Do we dare hope that someone will breathe new life into Dragonlance? I guess it matters little anymore.

Update: Wired has an article on the new edition. There is a lot comments worth reading, which really surprised me.

The end is nigh

2012-01-14T09:39:00.001-08:00

I know it sounds pretty gloomy, but it is not meant that way at all. As you probably gathered from my last post, I am putting this blog hiatus, probably forever, but since I have had so much fun writing this thing, I thought I would go through my old stuff and publish it here. Who knows, maybe someone can actually use it for something.

Anyway, I posted a piece I started some years ago about thieves guilds, which I intended to use in my Daltigoth campaign. The idea was that the guilds were an important part of the conflicts on Anasalon, all vying for control and power among all the players in the conflict.

I imagined that the conflict would be a little bit more intricate than what we have normally seen in Dragonlance. I felt that having a more politically charged campaign would be a perfect lead up to a regional war would the players better feeling for why things happened and who was the primary movers and shakers. I envisioned a conflict brought on by greed and the search for monetary and political power and so much a conflict driven by Takhisis’s desire to return to the world. Of course there would be godly interests behind many of the powers that participated in the struggle, however, they were not the main focal point of the campaign. An added benefit was that it would allow me to introduce the other gods, and have them act according to their own interests. Alas, it never came to fruition, but that doesn’t mean that nobody can use the idea.

I have uploaded most of the stuff I ever wrote, or rather, I have uploaded must of the stuff that is worth uploading. I have a lot written in Danish, but I doubt I will ever translate it, and I see little point in uploading Danish texts.

I noticed that Wizards are going to create a new version of D&D, so I will take a look at that when the time is right.

Thieves guilds of Ansalon

2012-01-14T03:49:00.001-08:00

Most of the major cities of Ansalon have at least one thing in common – they all have one or more thieves’ guilds. These guilds operate on the wrong side of the law but in spite of this, some of them serve an important purpose when it comes to the every day life in the city.

Unlike other organizations such as the Wizards of High Sorcery, these guilds are independent of each other, meaning that there is no centralized governing body. Some of the guilds maintain some sort of contact with their fellow thieves whereas others jealously guard their territory. History has documented covert battles between rivaling thieves’ guilds and even infighting and power struggles have occurred.

Some of the older guilds practice a strict hierarchical system of government, which appears to ensure a certain measurement of stability. Some guild masters have even assumed legitimate positions of power such as Talbard van Ashen of Daltigoth who is one of the directing oligarchs. In Palanthas the guild is mostly involved in the covert warfare between the merchant houses, always finding rich rewards for a job well done.

In the smaller towns scattered across Ansalon, the guilds are usually very small and fairly insignificant in relation to the power structure. Many thieves residing in these small towns have been banned from the bigger cities for various reasons, thus, they fear for their own safety. Great deals of these thieves are rather paranoid and usually work under a false name.

The Guild of Palanthas

The Palanthas guild is headed by the master Dantrag Nenshen who has been the guild master for almost two decades. During his rule, the guild has experienced prosperity like never before, but at a cost.

When the trade wars started the guild was hired to by both sides as spies and there was work enough for anybody who wanted it. However, as the conflict escalated the jobs became more and more dangerous. The defining moment happened when a group of master thieves were hired to break into the manor of Mordread Gemerald. This was the first time a head of a merchant house was targeted but the operation was deemed fairly safe nevertheless. When the party did not return the guild master assumed that they had fled town with their bounty, however, the next night he found out what had happened to them. The mutilated bodies of the master thieves were found in the inner chambers of the guild with a small note attached to it: “Thus is the fate of ye who are found in forbidden realms”. Since that night, the guild has not officially accepted any contracts directly involving the headquarters of the merchant houses.

The biggest problem for the guild is that Dantrag Nenshen might find himself in a position where he has to pick sides in the trade war. He is reluctant to do this but given the power of the houses he may not have a choice. If Nenshen picks one house over the other, he will certainly incur the wrath of the opposing house and most likely the destruction of the guild. Therefore, he attempts to tread a narrow path of neutrality. He is currently considering denying both of the houses the services of the guild but he fears that this may result in an unending enmity of both houses.

At the same time, Dantrag Nenshen fears for his own safety. Reliable intelligence suggests that one or more of the merchant houses plan on replacing him with someone loyal to their cause. Dantrag has not succumbed to paranoia yet, but he has tightened security and he is never seen in public without armed escorts. He has employed the services of several medium ranked mages to ensure his safety, but he does not feel secure behind their magical wards and protective spells.

Besides being involved in the trade wars, the guild has various operations in Palanthas. The thieves control a large part of the gambling facilities as well as many taverns and inns. They also run contraband, which is dangerous, because the merchants lose money in account of this practice. The guild is also involved in blackmail and prostitution as well as smuggling – a practice greatly appreciated by the local mages. The guild can provide pretty much anything for the right price. Lastly, the thieves’ guild is associated with the assassins’ guild.

The Guild of Daltigoth

The guild in Daltigoth is the second largest in Ansalon. It is also the youngest guild, given that the Free City of Daltigoth, in its present state, has only been around for a few years. Ever since the last bloody battle of Daltigoth, when the ogres were slaughtered, the influence of the guild has slowly but steadily increased.

The reason why the guild has been so successful is due to the acceptance of its existence by the ruling oligarchs. The guild master, Talbard van Ashen, has even managed to merit an invitation to join the directing oligarchs, thus, becoming one of the rulers of the free city. The lords of Daltigoth believe the guild is a necessary part of the city’s structure. This does not mean that the city guard does not try to catch the thieves, but rather that the lords have a use for the rogues.

One thing that limits the power and influence of the guild is the internal power struggle that plagues the organization. Despite being a directing oligarch, Talbard van Ashen is constantly being challenged by ambitious thieves who crave his position of power. Due to his position as a directing oligarch, Talbard will most likely be forced to resign as guild master within a year or so. Since his membership of the guild is a secret he feels the stress is beginning to wear him down and he cannot resist the challengers for the guild leadership forever. Talbard’s own ambition leads him in the direction of the position of the Lord Mayor of Daltigoth. Currently, he is reluctant to challenge Richard Baglortin because he feels he cannot match the backing the Lord Mayor receives from the city’s leading mages, including the arch mage Mordread Gemerald.

Here we go again

2011-12-18T06:50:00.001-08:00

So, it has been a very long time since I blogged, and to be honest, it has been on purpose. See, a couple of months ago I had my DM over for a visit, and when I say “over” I mean he was back from the US for a couple of days.

Well we hung out like old times and I quickly came to realize that everything we had together in terms of role playing games was gone. We have both gone our separate ways and we no longer share the same common frame of reference.

And that’s when I dawned on me, I think I am finally done with RPGs. I mean, I have no one to play with, and even if I did I wonder if I would actually do it. Perhaps I have lived in the past for many years now, hoping for the return of something that is irrevocably dead.

Without getting too whiney or sentimental, I am putting this blog on hiatus. I will not delete the contents, but the domain name is going to die in about six months, since I am not going to renew it. The Gigaboot name was a joke with my old friend based on a campaign in Glantri, but since that is all in the past and can never be restored I will let it slip away.

Paizo Dragonlance sale

2011-08-28T05:46:00.001-07:00

Paizo has a sale on all their Dragonlance stuff. Check it out here.

Currently reading

2011-07-24T05:41:00.001-07:00

Well, I have finally gotten my filthy hands on a variety of Dragonlance rulebooks for the 3.5 D&D system, and I have also read them faster than you can say Black robed wizard. So what does an RPG geek do?

I have stated looking into Warhammer 40K. My sister’s boyfriend works for Games Workshop, so he got me a couple of novels, so I have started reading the Eisenhorn trilogy. The Warhammer universe is pretty new to me, and I have never played the game either, which is pretty nice, since I am discovering everything for the first time.

As far as I can tell, the timeline is not quite as developed as the Dragonlance world, but it has a lot of really cool aspects, such as Space Marines, Daemonhosts etc.

For the time being, I am sticking to the books I have burrowed, but I just might have found myself a new addiction.

Just got Holy Orders of the Stars

2011-06-04T04:33:00.001-07:00

Well, actually I got it the other day, but the weather here has been so good that I haven’t really been online.

So anyway, I am on a quest to buy all the Dragonlance books that Margaret Weis Publishing did a couple of years ago and next in line was Holy Orders of the Stars. I found it on Amazon and paid a whopping £ 1.94. Yes sir, it was that cheap. Shipping and handling made a little more expensive, but all in all I paid around £ 7.

As usual, the quality of the book is astounding. The work is top notch and the authors have bridged a lot of different aspects of Dragonlance, and turned otherwise confusing elements into a coherent representation of the pantheon and religion of Krynn.

If I had a gaming group, this book would be very useful. Hat tip to the authors.

Just got Dragonlance campaign setting

2011-03-26T15:35:00.001-07:00

Amazon finally sent me my copy of the Dragonlance Campaign setting. Actually, it didn’t take them that long, but since I have been a little impatient, I felt like it took forever. Anyway, I paid £ 5 for a brand spanking new copy, so that was a really good price.

The last couple of weeks I have been exploring the 5th Age setting. Originally I really disliked what they did with Dragonlance after Dragons of Summer Flame, but since the world more or less returned to normal, I figured I would give it a shot. And I am glad I did, even if it is about five years too late.

I am still not a fan of the way the world was stolen, but I think the setting might actually have benefitted from the reset. It seems that there is a lot more opportunity now to create themes that are not adhering to a strict Dragonlance code, and since the two major deities are gone, it is much easier to explore the rest of the pantheon. I particularly like how the gods are not quite as grouped as they were before.

My plan is to update some of my later writings, so they fit the Age of Mortals, and use these for the basis of my new campaign with the gang. Hopefully we will start in May, but things have gone wrong before. I will post whatever I write here on the blog, so if that ever happens feel free to tell me what you think.

The Hobbit starts filming

2011-03-22T05:06:00.001-07:00

Via TheOneRing.net

In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit…

Wellington, NZ, March 21, 2011—Production has commenced in Wellington, New Zealand, on “The Hobbit,” filmmaker Peter Jackson’s two film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s widely read masterpiece.

“The Hobbit” is set in Middle-earth 60 years before Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings,” which Jackson and his filmmaking team brought to the big screen in the blockbuster trilogy that culminated with the Oscar-winning “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”

The two films, with screenplays by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson, will be shot consecutively in digital 3D using the latest camera and stereo technology. Filming will take place at Stone Street Studios, Wellington, and on location around New Zealand.

“The Hobbit” follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.

Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever … Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

Martin Freeman takes the title role as Bilbo Baggins and Ian McKellen returns in the role of Gandalf the Grey. The Dwarves are played by Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield), Ken Stott (Balin), Graham McTavish (Dwalin), William Kircher (Bifur) James Nesbitt (Bofur), Stephen Hunter (Bombur), Rob Kazinsky (Fili), Aidan Turner (Kili), Peter Hambleton (Gloin), John Callen (Oin), Jed Brophy (Nori), Mark Hadlow (Dori) and Adam Brown (Ori). Reprising their roles from “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy are Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Andy Serkis as Gollum and Elijah Wood as Frodo. Jeffrey Thomas and Mike Mizrahi also join the cast as Dwarf Kings Thror and Thrain, respectively. Further casting announcements are expected.

“The Hobbit” is produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, alongside Carolynne Cunningham. Executive producers are Ken Kamins and Zane Weiner, with Philippa Boyens as co-producer. The Oscar-winning, critically acclaimed “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, also from the production team of Jackson and Walsh, grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box office. In 2003, “The Return of the King” swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the 11 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture – the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The trilogy’s production was also unprecedented at the time.

Read more here

Very nice indeed :-)

New Chronicles cover

2011-03-16T00:35:00.001-07:00

I was surfing Amazon the other day in search for Dragonlance books, when noticed a new cover for the Dragonlance Chronicles. As far as I can tell, this is the cover for the omnibus edition, which apparently is being rereleased.

It seems that there is still money to made off of Dragonlance, and that gives hope. Maybe one day Wizards will start producing new material. Or even better, maybe Margaret Weis will be able to acquire the license. One can always hope

Opening the goodie box

2011-03-14T07:09:00.001-07:00

I was close to popping a hernia yesterday when I brought in my big box of D&D. For a while now, I have been contemplating bring the whole library back into the house, and yesterday was the day when I finally did it. So, as of today my office now holds all my old D&D material plus other assorted goodies.

the idea is that I will start gaming again with my old group, and based on those sessions I might be able to actually start posting to the blog again.

Getting the band back together

2011-01-10T03:32:00.001-08:00

The funny thing about this blog, is that I always proclaim the death about D&D and yet it seems like I keep blogging about it. The other day I wrote about how I am no longer part of any groups, and D&D is kind of dead for me and blah blah blah.

So anyway, I am talking to this friend of mine, who used to be in my old group, and he actually suggests that we start playing again. I send a few emails, and before I know it, we have established the old group and are planning a weekend trip to a summerhouse to get some serious gaming done. How about that.

Right now we are trying to decide if we should play Dragonlance or Vampire. I am hoping for D&D Dragonlance although Vampire sounds pretty tasty too.

Happy belated New Year

2011-01-03T02:19:00.001-08:00

As any reader of this blog, and I know there are next to none, will no doubt have noticed, I have pretty much stopped blogging here. In fact, I have been considering dropping this blog for good, and use the domain for something else. As it is, I can’t really get myself to drop it, so for now it will remain here, and occasionally I will hopefully write a post or two.

As we have entered 2011, I feel that it is time to have make a status of the gaming situation for me, so here we go.

New Dragonlance gaming material to look forward to: 0
New Dragonlance novels to look forward to: 0
Active Role Playing gaming groups: 0
Active board game groups: 1
Number of home brew pages: 0

All of a sudden it makes a lot of sense why I have nothing to blog about here. Alas.

New gaming group

2010-11-24T13:10:00.001-08:00

Well sort of.

Recently I was invited to join a Dune gaming group, so it looks like I have made a switch from roleplaying games to board games. Whether this is a new trend or what remains to be seen, but I have just bought the Dune Trilogy, so maybe I will get into this for real.

Long time no see

2010-11-12T13:59:00.001-08:00

It has been a while since my last blog post and as always I feel like I should apologize for my lack of activity. However, this time I think I will refrain from that and instead dwell a little at the fact the I have not written anything, even though I promised myself that I would do it.

First of all, I have been invited to join a group who plays the board game Dune. I was actually invited by the director of development at my work, so of course I was a little skeptical. It turned out to be a lot of fun, and tomorrow I get to go pick up the first three Dune books that I ordered from Amazon.

the fact of the matter is, that I am growing a little weary with the whole RPG scene, or rather the lack of a scene. Nothing is really happening in terms of game releases that hold my interest, and the Dragonlance novel line seems to be as dead as disco. Had I been younger and less burdened by my job, I would probably have written a lot of stuff myself, just as I intended to do two months ago. However, now it seems like I can’t really think of much to write, and I rarely experience the creative streak that spawned my interest in Dragonlance and this blog.

Honestly, I don’t know what to do now. Heck, I don’t even know if I will maintain this blog any longer. I suppose I could use the space for something else. on the other hand, I don’t feel quite ready to leave Dragonlance for good, so maybe my passion will be rekindled some day.

‘The Hobbit’ has a greenlight, now what?

2010-10-18T11:59:00.001-07:00

TORn staffer Garfeimao has some thoughts on what comes next for fans as “The Hobbit” moves into its new status as a full-fledged in-production film. She writes:

So now we have the greenlight, what comes next?

When the Hobbit was first announced two years ago, it didn’t take long for fans to start fantasy-casting the project. At the time, no one really understood the scope of how long it actually takes to get a project of this size and magnitude off the ground. And under normal circumstances, it was only supposed to take a year, which we now know stretched into more. With the greenlight on the project now, the casting can begin in earnest, or at least, once the Actor’s Equity situation is resolved one way or another. That should be the last hurdle in the way of this project getting off the ground and moving forward. But what really does come next?

I would expect the next tangible announcement to be a resolution to the Actor’s Equity question in New Zealand. Without this resolution, there is no certainty of where the films will be shot or if any actors under consideration will risk censure from their respective Unions or Guilds. My guess, and I’ll emphasize that this is a guess, is that the resolution is very near simply based on the fact that the studios felt confident in announcing the greenlight without the resolution finalized. Heck, the studios didn’t even wait for the MGM bankruptcy situation to get underway. I do not want to conjecture which direction this Actor’s Equity resolution will fall on, but it does need to happen in order to clear the way for casting to begin.

Continue at Source: TheOneRing.Net

This is very good news indeed, although it will take a couple of years before the movies are released.

Nothing new

2010-10-18T10:40:00.001-07:00

So, I decided to go ahead and compile all my old Dragonlance writings into one big file, and guess what – it has happened yet. I guess I could try to come up with all kinds of dumb reasons why I never got beyond the introduction, but I am going to spare myself the indignity.The project is not really dead as I see it, but for me, it is important that I sit write when I feel the urge to do so. Right now I do not.

It’s not that I have abandoned Dragonlance, I am actually reading the annotated Legends these days, but I am doing so many other things at work and around the house, so whatever creativity I possessed is pretty much gone. Perhaps the lack of a real gaming group has something to do with this.

Anyway, I have decided to take some time off around Christmas, so hopefully I will be able to post something by then.

Why Can’t I Own a Canadian

2010-09-23T03:52:00.001-07:00

My wife just sent me the letter quoted below, and give the historical battle between religion and Gamers, I thought it would be funny to post it here.

Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a radio personality who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. Recently, she said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22 and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura penned by a east coast resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other specific laws and how to follow them:

When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15:19- 24. The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? - Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted fan,
Jim

Source: Humanists of Utah

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hollows Trailer

2010-09-23T02:29:00.001-07:00

I thought this was worth sharing.

New project

2010-08-24T23:28:00.001-07:00

So, true to my geeky self, I have started a new project. Actually, I have started an old project, which I originally began back in 1995 and never really finished.

I have decided to pack all my old writing into one single file and create my own Dragonlance compendium. The project included a friend of mine, who has now left these shores, so I will take the liberty of rewriting some of his stuff as I see fit.

At this point, I am deciding whether the War of Souls should be part of the setting, since we originally started to write this compendium, because we didn’t like the War of Souls. However, there are so many cool changes in Dragonlance, that I think I will try to incorporate these in order to move the setting forward.

Needless to say, this is a pretty big project, and if I ever finish it, it will take me a long time. However, instead of complaining about a dead world, I will try to put my money where my mouth is and actually make a contribution to it.

Gaming session – Live

2010-08-20T12:39:00.001-07:00

I am finally sitting down with my group getting ready to play a round of Dungeons & Dragons. We are playing in the Mystara setting, so not Dragonlance this time.

Right now we are trying to find our characters and remember the rules, so I have a little time to write a blog post. Luckily I keep my character online, so I could find my wizard right away. You can see my wizard here.

Check out the table. Gone are the character sheets replaced by software applications. The flowers are not our idea by the way.

Done for now

2010-08-15T13:10:00.001-07:00

Well, I finalized my blog redesign for now. I was looking around for a couple of extra social networks to add, but I decided to stick with Twitter, Picasa and Google Friend Connect.

I played around with StumpleUpon, but I could not find any way to syndicate the feed, so I have abandoned the idea for now. I might look in to it at a later point. I am considering a new de.-icio.us account to share various links, but I think I might be able to do that using Twitter. Time will tell.

As for some content, I have been working a little bit on a few ideas lately, so with a little luck I might one day start to upload things that are relevant to the D&D game, instead of complaining about how there is no more support for Drangonlance.

Blog redesign almost done

2010-08-08T03:03:00.001-07:00

As I have talked about on numerous occasions, I have been looking into redesigning my blog. I don’t think it will make much if a difference in terms of how many people read it, but I like the idea of using a customized template, which hopefully gives the blog a more personal feel.

There are many templates out there on the Internet, but I decided to use Google own tool for the mew template. The template allows me to easily change colors, backgrounds and all other stuff, and I find that important because change to the template makes the blog seem more alive, hopefully.

Currently, I am looking into setting up a social page, which will house all my social stuff such as Twitter. I have no followers on Twitter, so it makes sense to move that feed to a separate page. I might also add Stumple Upon or Del.icio.us to that page, as I tend to stumble across quite a few links that I like to share on my blog.

Finally, I am considering adding the Google friend module to my blog. I think it might be a good way of getting to know more people in the community and hopefully make a new friend or two, who share my passion for Dragonlance.

Since it is raining cats and dogs today, and my daily run might be somewhat limited, I hope that I will get around to finishing up the blog redesign today. Stranger things have happened.

Mother F*cker!!

2010-08-05T13:11:00.001-07:00

I went to my bookstore today to pick up The Gargoyle King. I had my daughter with me so she could see all the cool books, but in all the excitement I picked up The Fire Rose in stead. It wasn’t until we were on the train home, that my daughter told me: “Daddy, you already have that book at home”.

Anyway, I started Dragons of the Highlord Skies, so I guess I can wait until I get a chance to exchange the book.

Summer classics

2010-07-27T01:55:00.001-07:00

So, I just finished the Dark Disciple trilogy the other day, and of course I started yearning for another Dragonlance fix right away. The sad thing of course, is that there are no new books to read, so I had to go to my stash and see if there was anything that tickled my fancy.

I am a big fan of the Lost Chronicles series, and since I recently read Dragons of the Dwarven Depths I decided to read Dragons of the Hourglass Mage for the third time in a year. It dawned on me, that Hourglass Mage is my fast becoming my summer book, meaning I have to read every summer. I am not really sure why that is the case, but when I look at my reading habits, I can tell that Chronicles are my winter/Christmas books, Legends are summer books as well and I always read The Legend of Huma after finishing either Chronicles and Legends.

As it is, I have a few days off this summer, so I am planning one last trip to my book pusher, so I can get my sticky hands on the last book in the Ogre Titans series The Gargoyle King. I have already read the spoilers over at the Dragonlance Forums, so there won’t be many surprises for me, but true to my collective nature, I have to have the last book of the last Dragonlance trilogy. I am a huge Richard A. Knaak fan, so I am sure it will be a pleasurable read nonetheless.

As for future books, I think I need to broaden my horizon just a tiny bit, in order to still have a steady flow of books coming into my office. However, principles of software development does not have any black robed wizards or dragons in them, so maybe I should look for a new fantasy series.

I guess I could also get around to actually redesign this blog as I have been talking about for eons and eons.

Recommendations are more than welcome.