dungeons and dragons

Some of my fondest childhood toy memories revolve around Legos. About the time my brother showed up with a Dungeons & Dragons book, we left the Legos behind. Thanks to the thriving world of role-playing miniatures, that sense of building and creation doesn't have to be consigned to the depths of childhood.

It's always been easy to get your hands on miniature monsters and knights, but creating landscapes for them to play in is another matter. The Castle! Kickstarter from Castle Foundry is looking to provide RPGers with a setting that is just as engaging as their carefully painted minis. … Read more

Let's go back in time. Way back. Keep going. OK, stop. You're in the Ptolemaic Period. It's somewhere around 304 to 30 B.C. You're in Egypt. You're playing Dungeons & Dragons. Except back then, it's more like Pyramids & Petsuchos.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art owns what may be the world's oldest d20 die. It's made out of serpentine and looks to be in remarkably good shape for its age. … Read more

Back in my day, we used paper and pencil for our Dungeons & Dragons games. Our fighters and clerics had to walk uphill both ways in the snow to attack a castle. Kids nowadays don't even have to use real dice anymore. They just wave their fists and let the Dice Gauntlet do all the work.

Sweet orc feet, but the Dice Gauntlet from Geekify is a brilliant idea. It's a leather gauntlet with a digital dice system built right in. You get both the tough "Game of Thrones" look and the convenience of two independent displays that can roll two separate dice at a time.… Read more

This open-source, turn-based strategy game is fun once you learn the basics, although it can be a bit choppy compared to most modern games. The object in Battle for Wesnoth is to build a hero and strategically use your units to attack the enemy and conquer villages as you follow your quest.

The story line is compelling and provides a nice backdrop to the game play which can get confusing once several units on both sides enter into the fray. The two-dimensional graphics are nothing special, and the sounds aren't very advanced, but as a free game with large … Read more

Pocket RPG brings a fun and mindless dual-stick hack-and-slash adventure to the smaller Retina Display on the iPhone.

You start by choosing one of three character classes: Dark Ranger, Blade Master, or Battle Mage, each with a different fighting style and special moves. When you're done choosing according to your playing style, you'll be dropped into the first dungeon and will need to talk to the NPCs scattered about to learn the basics. From there, Pocket RPG is all about mindless hack-and-slash goodness, battling against swarms of enemies, and finding chests full of treasure, weapons, and items. As … Read more

Eau de elf. Essential oil of orc. Chaotic cologne. The one feature that Dungeons & Dragons has always lacked is a sense of smell. It's incredible that nobody has come up with a scratch-and-sniff dungeon adventure. That vast oversight has now been remedied by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's RPG series of perfumes.

The idea is that you build your own scent just like you build a D&D character. Choose your alignment (such as lawful or chaotic), add your class (like cleric or paladin) and top it off with your race (including half-elf or orc). Layer the fragrances together and you get the odor of your D&D alter ego. Ah, the sweet smell of a 20-sided dice.

The perfume descriptions read like wine-tasting notes. The paladin perfume smells like "immaculate white musk, sweet frankincense, bourbon vanilla, white leather, and shining armor." I'm not sure what shining armor smells like, but I'd sure like to find out.… Read more

CARBONDALE, Ill.--It has been many years since I have worn armor, grabbed a battle axe, stormed a castle, and watched my hit points drain away. My childhood came rushing back as I stood just inside the gates of the Jeremy "Boo" Rochman Memorial Park in Carbondale, Ill. I strapped on my breast plate, loosed my broadsword from its hilt, and let out a mighty battle cry... in my mind.

I'm on a detour from the Geek's Guide to Route 66. I veered off the path somewhere around St. Louis and wandered into the welcome arms of Carbondale, where weathered farmers surreptitiously check their iPhones at the local bar. That's my kind of town.

This park on the outskirts along Giant City Road is one of those places you hear called a best-kept secret. It wasn't secret to the dozen kids climbing over the head of a dragon and romping through the castle walls. Wizards battle on green grass, Pegasus rears up from the brush, and gargoyles guard the ramparts. This is Dungeons & Dragons come to life.

There is a sad story behind the magical kingdom, though. Local investment mogul Barrett Rochman built the park as a memorial to his teenage son. Jeremy "Boo" Rochman, an avid Dungeons & Dragons fan, died more than a decade ago in a car accident nearby. According to an article in the Southern Illinoisan, some of the statues in the park are based on painted figures found among Boo's possessions.… Read more

I love soda, but I don't drink it much because I'm not into high-fructose corn syrup. I love Dungeons and Dragons, but I don't play it much because I'm a grown-up with a real job. But I'm excited about a new D&D-themed collection of sodas by Seattle's own Jones Soda Co., which lets consumers personalize sodas with flavors, photos, and messages.

You see, I've always wanted to try an actual Potion of Healing. And now Jones has an array of "Spellcasting Soda," which includes the aforementioned Potion of Healing, … Read more

Pip is a dice-rolling simulator, a handy aid for any sort of game that uses dice--from Yahtzee to Trivial Pursuit to Dungeons & Dragons. Pip lets you roll traditional six-sided dice, along with rest of the holy hexad of polyhedral nerd dice: the d4, d8, d10, d12, and d20.

Pip emphasizes its elegant interface, foregoing the more complex functionality of other dice-rolling apps: you slide out a "tray" on the right side of your screen, then drag and drop your desired dice onto (or off of) a virtual black tabletop one by one. You roll by shaking your … Read more