Dahrqbrü Site Migration

For some time now, I’ve felt compelled to migrate all of the content on the original Dahrqbrü web site over to a new subdirectory of this web site. I was using a free web host for the original web site, as a proof of concept. The site experienced a number of severe technical problems I couldn’t fix with that free service; I’m hoping that moving the old content here will resolve those issues.

Absolutely no lack of ideas for this site and my game. Many of those ideas are moving targets; I’m thinking things through.

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Response From The KCLS

Big thanks to Tony for thinking of me and putting this on my radar!

Although games with the previous group didn’t work out, I still very much want to play D&D. The idea of volunteering to the community is very appealing; I think running a series of one-off adventures for random strangers could be a true adventure and a great way to sharpen my DMing skills.

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Eye In The Sky

Yesterday was all about collecting and breaking down my latest local haul of cardboard. I’ve spent most of today trimming it all down, sorting and storing it. This evening I could actually see walls again–but things still look like a hurricane blew by.

I took a break from giving myself paper cuts and rigged this overhead video setup. If you look closely, you’ll see a plan forming.

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Art Supplies

Running out of brown ink from the few, old Prismacolor markers I have, I drove around locally this morning looking for a small set of Prismacolor markers. I gave up my search after not finding a set at three retail locations and realizing that I’ll be better served by just ordering a much more affordable set of 40 Ohuhu markers online.

The set of 40 Ohuhu alcohol markers cost me just under $27, which included shipping. That would’ve been a few dollars short of the cost for a 12-pack of Prismacolor markers.

I haven’t really had time to wrap my head around the fact that I’ll have many more markers than I was expecting, but I’m really looking forward to getting these new art supplies.

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Homemade Dungeon Tiles

If I’m being honest, playing D&D isn’t my top priority. Since September, I’ve spent nearly all of my free time learning 5th Edition, but I’ve just made the decision to step way back. I need to reevaluate my goals.

Finding myself with more free time than I’d expected, I’ve decided to change up my approach to my little 2.5D tile craft project and treat it like a “real” design project.

Lots of tests with hot glue and various kinds of substrate—the cut up box of Wheat Thins works a lot better for my new stair inserts than the manilla folders I’ve tested.

I need to keep weight and storage in mind. That said, I do really like the double corrugated cardboard for the tiles—it feels substantial.

I’m going to test out some watercolor paint I bought for this project. That should accentuate the hand-crafted feel of these pieces.

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On Being Old Skool

When a D&D podcaster recently made a familiar pop reference, I was reminded just how old skool I actually am. With D&D’s current popularity, it’s hard for me to fully appreciate that the majority of D&D players won’t immediately recognize the guy in this photo.

I think the cultural differences between these two generations of D&D players merits serious consideration.

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House Rule: Flanking

D&D 5e’s optional Flanking rules are probably the most controversial rules I’ve encountered since I started playing catch-up, back in September. I don’t want to bury the lead on this one, so I’ll come straight out and publicly declare, at least for the time being, when using miniatures and tactical maps, I’ve decided to follow Taking20’s lead and adopt a Flanking house rule which simply grants +1 To-Hit for flanking combatants, as opposed to the RAW (below), which grant Advantage.

That’s all you really need to know. Of course, if you want to sound like a complete nerd at your next fantasy fiction convention, by all means, do read on, and then do some Google searches.

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Review: The Incredible World of Doors & Locks (PDF)

The cover image of this PDF supplement caught my eye yesterday as I was absolutely not doing any kind of super secret DM-type research. Seeing it listed on the Dungeon Masters Guild, I immediately watched an awkward but favorable review on the Home Brew Crew’s YouTube channel. I’ve had several good experiences buying supplements on the DM Guild web site, so I figured I’d use up the remainder of last year’s Civ 6 tournament winnings and add The Incredible World Of Doors & Locks to my growing library.

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Combat Tactics: Cover And The Ready Action

As we saw during last week’s Arena Practice, the movement rules for 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons expressly allow combatants to use part of their available movement on their initiative, to attack, and then to use more or all of their remaining movement.

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The Great Battle Map Fiasco of 2020

Back in the time of the dinosaur, the way I learned to play D&D was primarily based in the “theater of the mind”-style of storytelling. Sure, I owned vinyl grid mats, and there were occasions where we’d break out a few minis, but this was fairly infrequent.

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