What were we talking about again?
Recently, I started talking to some friends about beginning a new campaign. Several of them had heard of Dungeons and Dragons, though only two of them have played before. So I'm treating this as a new experience for everyone involved and that means that I need to treat it like my first time DMing again,… Continue reading The Book of the New Sun
Morgan Ironwolf first appeared as line in the 1980 Dungeon Masters Adventure Log as seen below: Character Log example from Dungeon Master's Log Here Morgan Ironwolf appears, alongside other player characters, as an example for the Dungeon Master in how to accurately record an adventure using the log system that TSR was attempting to get… Continue reading The Curious Evolution of Morgan Ironwolf
One of the great problems I find with clerics is that they're largely all the same. A lot of the sameness comes from the way that Dungeons and Dragons presents the class. Little wonder too, as they're trying to provide a class that will be appealing to the greatest number of people across the largest… Continue reading Making Clerics Distinct
One of the things that I love about reading older role-playing game materials - whether they're old books, magazines, or zines - is that so often you can tell that the authors have no pretense at being "right." More often than not, they're likely to begin talking about any topic by hedging what they say… Continue reading The Beauty of Saying, “I Don’t Know.”
Changing Pasture by Anton Mauve Occasionally I find myself slipping off into a bit of minutia when it comes to the worlds I'm playing with in my home games. This morning was just such an occasion. I had been working on a scene my players would be encountering in the countryside when I noted that… Continue reading How Many Cows Are There, Really?
Recently I ran across an article, An ancient exploding comet may explain why glass litters part of Chile, by Freda Kreier and it kind of captured my imagination. The article is a fascinating look at this twisted glass that covers about a 75 kilometer long corridor within the Atacama Desert in Chile. I find myself… Continue reading A Desert of Glass
You've rolled your character, arranged their ability scores to your heart's desire, and picked out their class. You've filled their inventories; picked out their spells, feats, and powers. You even managed to pick out a name before the game began. But who are they, really? Idylls of the King by Gustave Doré What made Boethius… Continue reading Backgrounds, or, Who Even Are You?
Unless you're really into the world of Greyhawk it's unlikely that you've encountered the demi-god Al'Akbar and the True Faith that surrounds his worship. So let's talk a little bit about that. The Palace Guard by Ludwig Deutsch The first mention of Al'Akbar came in the Strategic Review Volume 2, No. 2 from April 1976… Continue reading Let’s Talk about Al’Akbar of the World of Greyhawk
One of the things that I find so fascinating about the world of Greyhawk is how so many people choose to live on the shores of they Nyr Dyv even though it's got terrible storms, sea monsters, disappearing islands (that just as suddenly reappear), pirates, and all manner of unnamed dangers. Yet people keep on… Continue reading Greyhawk: Where We’re All Against the Giants
The world of LJN would have been an interesting footnote in the history of Dungeons and Dragons were it not for TSR attempting to make something more from the line. In 1983 TSR published AC 1: The Shady Dragon Inn. Ostensibly the Shady Dragon Inn was nothing more than a collection of non-player characters (NPCs)… Continue reading Dungeons, and Walmart, and LJN? Part 3, The Shady Dragon Inn
I spent a bit of time today updating the Series Page. I've added the Dyvers Propaganda Posters, Series 1; the LJN exploration series; and a new bumper for Alternative Book Covers. This should make it easier to navigate those topics. If you haven't ever checked out the Series Page I highly recommend checking it out… Continue reading Series Page Updated
I thought Jason was on a hiatus from his blog - we all go through them - as he hadn't posted since June of 2020. It was odd that he hadn't posted in over a year on a blog he had routinely posted on for the last decade, but I kept thinking that he must… Continue reading Goodbye Jason Zavoda, You Will Be Missed
One of the things that I used to do quarterly on Dyvers was provide my readers with a glimpse behind the screen at the health of the blog. I would show how many comments, views, posts, and even if I made any money on the blog. For me, it was a way of being honest… Continue reading A look at 2021 on DNF
The world that LJN helped create had its roots in the standard world of Dungeons and Dragons, but it was its own distinctive thing as well. This world had its own unique world building; so let's take a look at what we know so far: Dwarves build castles inside huge caverns carved into the side… Continue reading Dungeons, and Walmart, and LJN? part 2
The other day I was walking through my local Walmart when I saw this: It's been a long time since we saw Dungeons & Dragons books inside a store like Walmart. Which reminds me of the old LJN Toys that came out in the early 80s. In 1983 LJN Toys, Ltd came out with series… Continue reading Dungeons, and Walmart, and LJN? Part 1, Series 1
Dragons Never Forget 