Countdown to 2026 - #6 - Dungeons & Dragons - December 26 (June 12)

Countdown

June 2025... and I decided it can't be all about doom and gloom. Let's talk about something fun! How about Dungeons & Dragons? Or... how I managed to spend more on D&D than ever before 🤔

D&D - Forgotten Realms Adventures (2e 1990)

RPG Book Review + Forgotten Realms

Welcome to the Forgotten Realms. Back in 1990 TSR released Forgotten Realms Adventures, a hardcover book to help players and DMs update from (A)D&D to AD&D 2nd edition.

Content wise it's a little thin, but it was the very first TSR / D&D / RPG product I ever bought. For me, it's the book that started it all.

D&D - Cloak & Dagger (2e 2000)

RPG Book Review + Forgotten Realms

Let's add another D&D product review.

This isn't the Marvel based TV show, but the TSR Dungeons & Dragons book from 2000, and it details some (hidden) factions in the Forgotten Realms setting.

D&D - How Not to get Eaten by Owlbears (xe 2024)

RPG Book Review

TSR, WOTC, and now HASBRO all seem to struggle a bit when it comes to marketing, and sometimes they release books that simply make no sense.

Take, for example, How Not to get Eaten by Owlbears.

RPG Book Scores Explained

RPG Book Review

This is part of my 'recovery effort' of the materials on the old NightLive website.

Years ago I did review a number of TSR / WOTC products, so I've dusted off the old review scheme. You'll run into some TSR / WOTC / Hasbro reviews from now on...

Here's my default review / scoring scheme.

2022

Wrapping up 2022, and Welcome to 2023!

The image to the left takes you to the home screen which lists all major topics.

To search this blog you have to use the desktop version of this blog.

This link will show all 2022 posts.

My perspective on 2022, and my hopes for 2023...

Wallpaper - Choose Your Weapon

Wallpaper

Played any Dungeons & Dragons lately? Here's a suitable wallpaper.

(Click image to enlarge.)

More wallpapers...

D&D - 5e in NL - Toch een inleiding? (Dutch)

RPG + 5e in NL + Dutch

Wat moet je weten voordat je de regels in duikt?

Weet je, eigenlijk zijn de regels helemaal niet belangrijk... In principe zou je ook zonder regels kunnen spelen... uiteindelijk is het allemaal alleen maar 'make believe'. En toch hebben we regels, maar waarom dan?

Site & Blog Updates

English

Made some updates to the layout of the site. Minor stuff but I think it looks just a tad slicker. Also removed some stuff from the topics list and modified the landing pages.

Dutch

De layout van de site is een klein beetje aangepast, en de Nederlandstalige D&D pagina's hebben een update gehad. Ook heb ik de labels wat opgeschoond en de landing pages aangepast.

6e... Dungeons & Dragons Coming Full Circle

Column / RPG.

6E is upon us. Or One D&D, although there's still little to be found on the WOTC page. Nevertheless... we go full cycle again.

1st edition players didn't need their 2nd edition... 2nd edition didn't need 3e. Nobody needed 4e 😁 though everyone (except 4e players) liked 5e. And now, we get 6e... 5.5e... 5.1e... I mean, One D&D. No, wait, 5e24. 5.5e. Whatever. (It's official now. 5e and 5.5e.)

I think the guys of Penny Arcade said it so well twelve years ago...

Put your favorites in a box, Mister Geek

Column

No matter how you categorize series, movies, books, you will always find examples that do not fit in. That refuse to respect certain borders. That are... different.

Fanfiction

Writing + Column

What is your opinion on fanfiction / fanfiction authors? I don't mind, but I've never written a fan fiction, I once tried (to write) a little Farscape but it just wasn't my thing. (Farscape is, but fanfiction is not.) I prefer to work on original stuff. Does that mean fanfiction is bad?

Fortuitous Space Battles

Column.

As you may have noticed I do like (some) military SF, and it’s fine if that borders on not all too realistic Space Opera. However, regardless of the believably of the generic concept I still like to see some consistency. Or at least stick to certain mechanics and principles.

3D printing a LED driver enclosure - 2 - Work in progress

3D Printing + Domotics + DIY

Long ago 😅 I said I was planning to design my own enclosure for a led driver and led controller. Of course, reality interfered and lots of other things got in the way.

Still, I made some progress. And hit a couple of snags on the way...

D&D Forgotten Realms Maps Comparison

RPG

Comparing different versions of a map of a fantasy world?!?

Pretty useless, this, but hey! I always wanted to do this, so when I had a little moment of nothing better to do (actually, lots of other important things to do, but I just wanted to do something useless, for once 😅)...

Dungeons & Dragons - 20 years later... (Dutch)

RPG + 5e in NL + Dutch

Na een jaar of 20 (!) nauwelijks gespeeld te hebben was het afgelopen week zo ver: ik heb (eindelijk) weer een keertje Dungeons & Dragons gespeeld.

Dat was wel even wennen, maar eerlijk gezegd: voor herhaling vatbaar! Volgende week weer!

Raymond E Feist - Riftwars

Review.

Dark Fantasy, sometimes a bit predictable with a so so ending, but overall enjoyable and worth a re-visit.

The majority of Feist's works are part of The Riftwar Cycle, and feature the worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan. Human magicians and other creatures on the two planets are able to create rifts between these worlds and end up fighting each other. Yeah. That happens