Hasta La Gadget!

John Baichtal of MAKE Magazine shared a hidden gem in Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeons & Dragons website. It turns out writer and illustrator Jason Thompson has been making comic strips of epic proportions for the D&D website. The strips take the form of huge maps based on D&D modules, i.e. booklets that outline preset adventures. Jason annotates the maps with the humorous experiences of a theoretical band of adventurers.

Jason’s drawings are relatively simple, but it’s his writing that makes the maps shine, from mild jokes about traps – “Assassin sticks hand into demon’s mouth to get gem, loses two ring slots” – to terrible player choices – “Leaving the Dining Room, party is attacked by 8 Gargoyle Statues… Shugenja returns to entryway to get his sandals, and is attacked by 4 Dragon Statues” – and even breaks the fourth wall at times – “Cleric of Pholtus and Cleric of Trithereon get in long loud argument about appropriate coverage in women’s armor.”  

I’m sure the people who’ve played through or are playing through these adventures will find his annotations even more hilarious. Plus, just look at how out of control the strips can get!

I’d share all of them here, but as you can see that would be doing a great disservice to Jason’s work. I highly recommend that you check out all of them on the Dungeons & Dragons website. Look for the ones with “Walkthrough Map” in the title, except for the latest strip, Ravenloft. If you like Jason’s work check out his other creations, King of RPGs, Manga: The Complete Guide and much, much more.

[via MAKE via Laughing Squid]

Last year we featured SparkFun’s guide for making an electronic dice gauntlet. The instructions are still available online, but if you have more money than electronics know-how, check out this very similar product from ThinkGeek, which was probably inspired by SparkFun’s DIY project.

Just like the DIY gauntlet, this one can also roll a variety of dice when you flick your arm while wearing it. It can simulate a 2-, 4-, 6-, 8-, 12-, 20- or 100-sided die and even roll two dice at once.

Aside from being furrier than SparkFun’s gauntlet, this version can also be used as a clock, a stopwatch and a timer.

The downside to this gadget is its price. ThinkGeek is selling it for $70 (USD), which might make it unappealing to all but the high rollers.

Gamers collect all kinds of dice and usually hang on to their old dice forever, but I’m pretty sure none of you geeks have a D20 this old. This carved serpentine die was recently acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It dates back to the Ptolemaic Period between 304-30 B.C.

It was originally in the collection of Reverend Chauncey Murch who got it between 1883 and 1906 as a missionary in Egypt. I guess the Egyptians were playing D& D all along and we never knew it. They probably played with real dungeons and everything.

It wouldn’t surprise me if they found some Magic The Gathering tablets as well. Or animal statues that are actually Pokémon. We think we are so original, but the Egyptians seem to have done everything first.

[via io9 and Wired]