D’s Feed Favorites 6/18/2008

Woah, what’s this? A boy has invaded the lair of the Geek’s Dream Girl? Yes, it’s true, while e is out of the country, she’s asked a few of her geek-blogging buddies (starting with myself) to help out. So here’s a few links that have popped up in my feeds in the past week, and try to ignore the fact that I’m no Dream Girl!

D&D and RPG Related

• Bummed about the lack of Bards and other 3e classes in the 4e PHB? Until they come out with more books, Andy Collins of WotC has got you covered, offering some simple hacks to classes to recreate your favorite courage-inspiring Arcane Leaders.
• Asmor of Encounter-A-Day has programmed some useful stuff for 4e: a Monster Maker and a Random Encounter generator. And while not 4e specifically, he’s also got a tiny die-roller.
• Somehow, I never knew that there was a D&D wiki. My world is forever changed.
• There’s been lots of power card suggestions since we knew that was going to be the driving part of 4e, but I dig this one in particular, which lets you fill in details, specify a background, and export in different formats.
• Tired of meeting in a tavern to assemble your adventuring group? Check out some alternatives.
• Via Roleplaying Tips- a classic article on setting the mood for horror games by game designer John Tynes. (Warning- one giant bad word!)
• While I’m primarily going to be DMing, I’ve rolled up an Eladrin Warlock for a friend’s campaign to make occasional appearances. I couldn’t come up with a name, so the DM of the game pointed me to this excellent Elvish dictionary.
• What would a week be without something from the Chatty One? He reviewed the new DMG, with all its pros and cons.  He also started a thread commiserating all the tragic, consistent character deaths (starting with his own stories of killing off Paladins.)
• Gnome Stew gives some advice on how to make a published setting your own, and how to do a pilot adventure (both especially timely as many of us prepare to start new campaigns.)
• Vanir of Stupid Ranger relays an anecdote that illustrates the classic Friendly Local Game Store vs. Internet Shopper debate.

General Geekery

• Yehuda assembled a bunch of spoof board game commercials. Some great stuff in there, though the Communist Monopoly is still probably my favorite.
• Hey, here’s something geeky AND about love: Mr. Sulu married his long-time boyfriend.
• Every geek loves Legos, right? Well, then check out the new Death Star set featuring tons of Lego characters, and this flickr set of classic photographs done with Legos.
• Maybe it’s not typical geek stuff, but the Tao of Poker is covering the World Series of Poker, going on now in Vegas. (Pauly’s writing is great, but certainly NSFW.)

Shameless Self Promotion

• Critical Hits is running a contest, seeking your funny gaming quotes. Stop on by, entertain us, and you could win some Amazon cash. Even if you don’t want to enter, come and be amused by the entrants.

Alright, that’s enough of me hogging e’s blog. Hope I provided some entertainment while you pine for the return of the Geek’s Dream Girl. Stay tuned for more Craigslist experiments, helpfully provided by her using blogging magic.