Ugeek Magazine #2 - Utah Geek Magazine

From the Editor
What’s your “origin story”?
Since we’re celebrating the release of the new Dungeons &
Dragons game in this issue, I thought it would be fun to
reminisce about our early days with the game and what keeps
us playing years, or even decades, later,
The My Dungeons & Dragons “origin story” begins in junior
high in the early 90’s. I came across my big brother’s D&D
Basic rules and got, perhaps, a little too into it (as I am prone
to do with new hobbies). My parents were still caught up in
the controversy surrounding D&D in the 80’s so they made me
stop playing only a few months later. I of course played plenty
of video games growing up, and even dabbled in Magic: The
Gathering for a while until I realized how incredibly expensive
it was, but that short time with the iconic game planted a seed
that lay dormant for well over a decade.
That seed began to grow when my new neighbor invited me
to join his new campaign just after I moved into his
neighborhood. That campaign lasted only a few sessions, but
the seed had sprouted and I needed more, so I branched out
looking for other opportunities. I was able to find the local
Living Greyhawk campaign which I played for the last year or
so until it ended.
After LG and 3.5E we moved on to 4E. Say what you will
about the system, but we still had fun. We’ve now made the
switch to 5E and I have no reason to believe I’ll ever stop
playing. I’ve played other systems as well, and no system is
perfect, but that’s not the point. What’s important is getting
together with your friends, meeting new ones, having fun, and
telling stories. That’s why I game, and that’s why I love it.
So who was the neighbor who got be back into D&D, and
who was the local LG organizer? Dennis Lundstrom, cofounder of the very magazine you are reading, and Don
Brown, who I still game with to this day, and who wrote the
Dungeon Master article on page 6.
- Adrian Broadhead,
Executive Editor
On the Cover:
Cover:
Shot on location at Game Night Games in Sugar House Utah by Adrian
Broadhead and Dennis Lundstrom. Custom painted metal figurines by Bear
Putnam.
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Publisher & CEO
Dennis Lundstrom
Executive Editor
Adrian Broadhead
Contributing Writers
Don K. Brown
David J. West
Carter Reid
Daniel Swenson
Deborah Moore
Zac Johnson
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However, we or our contributors, hold the
copyright to the content. Reproduction without our
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Page 4
Raising Geeks
A parent’s guide to raising children in geek culture
The Road Trip
By Deborah Moore
The holidays are a time when people travel to see their family
and friends. While they may seem like a necessary evil, they can be
fun, whether you’re driving to the next town, the next state, or
flying to another country. So how, exactly, does a geeky parent
keep the peace in the car? Just use your geeky sense of fun and
you can have a trip that’s just as memorable as the destination,
and in a good way!
Word Games
Dragon Words and is geared toward older children and
grownups. It is a game I created and involves an average
knowledge of spelling and of fantastical characters. You don’t have
to be an “Encyclopedia of Things that Never Were,” just use the
creatures you are already familiar with.
It starts off with you choosing one of the following fantastical
creatures: Dragon, Unicorn, Witch or Wizard. You say your
creature out loud, and then think of another creature that begins
with third letter in your first creature’s name.
For example, if you started out with Dragon, your second
creature would need to start with the third letter in that word,
which is A. Say you choose Aphrodite as your second creature, you
could then say aloud “Dragon is the starting word. The clue is ‘the
goddess of love’.” No need to say what letter the second creature
starts with because spelling is part of the game. Whoever guesses
Aphrodite first goes next.
The second person now has his starting word, Aphrodite, so his
second word would need to begin with an H. If he wanted to use
the word Harpy he could then say, “Aphrodite is the word, and the
clue is ‘winged female monster’.” Whoever guesses correctly
would then choose a creature that begins with the letter R and play
continues. The clues don’t have to be that obvious, just adjust the
difficulty based on your family. The importance is to have enough
challenge to keep everyone interested, but not so hard that
everyone gets frustrated. There’s something blissful about the
silence that comes from everyone being deep in thought.
In the end, who could ask for more than a trip mixed with quiet
contemplating, discussion and bouts of silliness? I know I will be
using this and my other methods during my family travel this
Holiday season, even if our only trips are just to the store or to
catch a movie.
For more tips, trick, and games, be
sure to read the rest of this article on
our website at bit.ly/UGM-TheRoadTrip
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Page 5
By Don K. Brown
Running a role playing game can be challenging in any game
system. Rules are intricate across systems and they all have
layers of complexity. Running the game, whether it is
Dungeons & Dragons or Star Wars Edge of the Empire, takes a
lot of work. Add to that the challenges of managing the players
and the campaign, and any game master can quickly feel
overwhelmed. I’ve developed a few ideas to help you, the
tireless GM, make the managing of the group easier so you can
run the game and allow everyone to have fun. I call them The 7
Attributes of Awesome GMs.
# 1: Regular Game Sessions and Attendance
Establishing and keeping a regularly recurring day and time is
important to a successful gaming group. This practice literally
trains your group to know and expect when the game happens.
Choose a day and time and stick with it. Do not try to work
around four to six (or more) different schedules by changing
play days and times. Choose the day and time and write it in
stone. You shall find that your group shall come to expect that
cherished gaming time and often plan for it. Bouncing your
game sessions from one day to another at irregular times does
not allow for your group to establish a habit of being there.
And come to grips with the fact that even your most devoted
player will miss a session or two. Do not cancel the game. Only
cancel when the conflict is yours, or you are missing a critical
mass of players. Nothing kills a game quickly like a stream of
cancelled games for one or two players. Allow the game to go
on.
# 2: Paraphrase and Summarize
When it comes to sharing in-game
information, take advice from William
Shakespeare when he said, “brevity is the
soul of wit.” Players gain in-game
information by
two methods: what you explicitly tell
them and what they
can pry out of you after you're done telling them what you
want them to know.
It's best to be concise in your initial descriptions. Highlight
what's most important to the scene or encounter, skipping
extraneous world- or scene-building descriptions. It is tempting
to become a sage on the stage and use eloquent prose to bring
an encounter or role playing scene to life. Often that work is
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wasted on the weary ears of players who are more concerned
with the havoc they're about to wreak on the scene than the
fine details of the frescos or the origin of the ornate desk that
sits in the corner of the room. When GMs are overly
descriptive, players take a passive role. Players hate being
passive. Their eyes gloss over and they start playing on their
phones.
# 3: Let the Players Tell It
Invite players to
summarize an
encounter, discussion
with an in-game
persona or other story
element of the game.
Game masters are
encouraged to
summarize a previous
game session. But, ask
the players questions
to help them dust off
their in-game knowledge, engage them with the story and
facilitate their involvement in the game. Then, keep that going
through the game session. This habit allows for players to tell
the story with you. This is the essence of group story telling –
getting all players involved by asking relevant in-game
questions.
# 4: Know Thy Players
Players come in many attitudes and dispositions. You must
take the time to understand their motivations, playing styles
and reasons for playing. One way to do this is to get them to
make and communicate decisions about in-game choices.
Engage them with the game’s content and accommodate them
in a reasonable manner. Another way is to just ask them,
“What can we do to make this
campaign more fun for you.”
# 5: Say, “Yes”
A game will run into problems when
the sense of wonder and surprise is
leeched from the game because a GM
says “you can’t” or “there’s no rule for
that” or just plain “no.” This usually occurs because GMs try to
limit rather than expand their game. Keep the sense of wonder
Page 6
and flexibility in mind when deciding what you'll allow players to
do in-game. The philosophy of saying yes is at its most powerful
during actual play. In a world where wizards can cast fireballs, a
pilot can fly a ship through interstellar space and where a savage
werewolf threatens innocents in a darkened alley, there is very
little a GM should say "no" to. Sure, the blatantly impossible
might be out (most the time), and a GM is going to have to use
some judgment when it comes to the improbable, but everything
else should be in the realm of, "sure, and here's what you have to
do."
issues is supported, and where house rulings come out of
consensus and reason rather than a sense of arbitrary dictation
or snap frustration over a debate. The respect that comes
through an honest sense of friendship is the glue that keeps a
gaming group going. After all, you're playing this game to have
fun, not to create more drama.
# 7: Be Fair
Always game with people you like. Not
people you tolerate. Not people who tend to
annoy you but share your interest and
passion for gaming. Nothing will ruin a
campaign faster than having to deal with
people you don't like.
Keep things fair. This goes for treasure distribution, stage time,
and even character death. The fair and right thing to do is make
sure that each player has an equal chance to affect the game.
The rules go a long way toward doing that, and this is a chief
responsibility of the GM. The game is supposed to be fun.
You're not creating some tense piece of post-modern
performance ritual, and you are not creating a world that
actually exists somewhere. You're creating instances of fun.
Anything in your game that fights the fun by any means should
be discarded immediately.
The most rewarding gaming experiences are long-term
campaigns with close relationships. This group of people will be
spending a good deal of time together for months, if not years,
and conflicts are bound to occur. Even our best friends,
significant others, and siblings annoy us from time to time. Don't
sweat the small stuff. Don't let petty rules arguments turn into
long and pointless debates. Give your friends the benefit of the
doubt, and be both patient and generous. Foster an environment
where playful ribbing is encouraged, where exploration of rules
When you create a sense of fairness with the players, the
players will reciprocate with you and with one another. Player
paranoia becomes healthy suspicion, stress becomes dramatic
tension, and your gaming sessions become enjoyable without
being apprehensive. It might seem like a small thing, but I've
seen a number of game groups disintegrate without a
moment's notice because a GM discarded the sense of fairness.
When the GM is fair, players will trust him or her and are more
likely to have fun.
# 6: Love the Ones You’re With
Gweedo’s
Comics
www.gweedoscomics.com
42 N. Main Street #2
Layton, Utah
atari2600@comcast.net
(801)719-6631
Comics, Toys,
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After hours or Holidays:
(385)319-2517
Mon - Sat 11AM to 7PM
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Davis Conference Center
Layton, UT
A Convention for Gamers, Designers, and Families
www.saltcon.com
by David J. West
The story so far:
In the City of Tolburn, young Kenaz has been using his gift
of out of body travel to gain information and sell such to the
highest bidder, this has attracted unwanted attention…
Chapter 2. You Can’t Please Everyone
When you follow an enchanting woman through a dark
and murky wood, you usually have a good reason,
especially if you know she’s a witch who just recently
drugged you. I however, had no such reason and followed
her closer than a knife in a sheath.
Aeoni, the witch in question, beautiful as the night is
dark, knew exactly where she was leading us. The absence
of a footpath suggested that she always took a different
route. A small meadow opened, clearing the delirious
forest and I could finally see the stars.
Raw, chaotic animal calls broke the silence of our trek.
“What was that?” I asked, restraining my terror as best I
could.
Aeoni smiled at my sudden nearness. “Nothing to worry
about.”
“I’m worried.”
Something shook through the brush in the gloom.
“A guardian of The Sisterhood.”
Shrouded in darkness, a dozen glittering green eyes
wavered at the edge of the woods and I pressed closer. No
way in the nine hells that was a single guardian. Aeoni
whistled and the myriad savage eyes vanished.
“We are here,” she said, pointing at an enormous tree
large around as any city-watch tower yet separate from the
rest of the forest. A crooked almost diagonal slit of a
doorway, black as a snuffed lamp wick, beckoned in the
dead center.
I felt unseen eyes upon us as we entered the darkness.
http://david-j-west.blogspot.com
Inside the hollow lair a variety of tokens, fetishes and
herbs hung about. What is it with witches and herbs? A
small fire coiled in a central pit making shadows dance
lasciviously upon ragged walls. Smoky tendrils escaped
between exposed branches like a thief.
“I have brought Kenaz.” Aeoni proclaimed to the
darkness. A soft grunt was the only response.
A sextet of honey-comb candles granted weak light. As
my eyes adjusted to the dimness I saw a withered crone
upon a seat of thatch. Behind and beside her a dozen
sisters materialized from the gloom.
The lower half of the crones face stuck out from her cowl
while the top half remained in shadow. She almost looked
dead and for a brief moment I thought she was until the
most painful ragged voice this side of a torturers
convention crawled its way out of her cavern of a mouth.
“Thou art Kenaz, known as the Mind Walker.”
“Yes?”
Coughing, she stretched forth a gnarled old hand. “I am
the Mother Superior of The Sisterhood of Vavath. We wish
to employ you.”
“If the price is right.”
She smirked. Never a good sign. People only smirk when
you mention price because they have so much gold it’s
meaningless or they have no intention of paying you. Either
way, it makes for sour conversation.
She continued her offending rasp. “Something was
stolen. We wish the Reliliqy returned. Thou knowest where
it be?”
Not really a question I felt like answering honestly. I have
lots of fingers in lots of pies. “No, but I’ve an idea. Perhaps
enough to be worth putting me on retainer. I must admit
that others are interested in that same article.” I may as
well try and round up the asking price on the chance she
has too much gold.
“There is no time to trifle with the likes of the Sunsari
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Page 8
warlocks.”
How did she know who my clients were?
“We need the Reliliqy by tomorrow’s risen moon.”
“I already told Aeoni.” I looked at her. Aeoni shook her
head violently. “I told her I gather information. I never carry
out the task itself. I deal in secrets, not operations.”
Whether the old crone coughed, laughed; or gagged I
wasn’t sure. My senses screamed as the sisters surrounded
me in the gloom, closing in with their prized obsidian knives.
They always used natural weapons and tools. To the witches,
forging things of metal a vile habit of men and witches don’t
particularly like men.
“Thou act as if a choice was thine. Thou will accomplish this
feat shortly or thou shall not see the day beyond. Give me thy
hand.”
I backed away but was quickly snatched up by no less than
ten of the witches. Aeoni was not among them but did it
matter anymore? Held firmly by three sisters on each side, my
right arm was extended palm up to the crone. She drew the
largest obsidian knife I had ever seen. It may as well have
been a short sword. I expected a death blow. I thought to run
and my spirit stepped out.
My body went limp in their arms as my spirit was floating a
dozen paces away. Sometimes my out of body impulse is too
strong and I momentarily forget that it doesn’t do much good
to run away from yourself.
“Vavath, blessed be her name, has told us of thy tricks and
deeds. We are quite aware of thy abilities and indeed that
thou are likely yet present looking down upon us in thy soul
form. Know this! I consecrate to divine Vavath thy body and
do hereby make covenant with thou!” She raised the knife
and I expected the worst, the loss of a limb but no, she poked
a terribly small laceration across my palm. This was nothing, I
cut myself worse cooking. Turning my limp hand, she dripped
blood into a brazier in the central fire pit. The flames flared to
life as if alchemist fuel flowed through my veins.
The witches all strained backward as the once tiny flame
burst into a pillar of monstrous proportions and something—
something crouched within the diabolic burning! Something
unscorched and horrid. It looked like a worm, but a worm
larger than any man born under heaven or beneath the nine
hells. Its jaws unhinged and roared in coagulating silence. The
flames instantly died as the monster rapidly shrunk down to
the size of a mere slug. If I wasn’t already floating a dozen
paces away, I would have been. The demonic worm radiated
slick fear.
The Mother Superior reached into the now flameless
brazier. The fat gross worm writhed in her fingers. It was
white and thick yet smaller than a wood grub. She dropped it
upon my palm where it swam in the pool of blood, before
rearing and diving into my wounded hand.
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I screamed silently and jumped back in my body, fighting to
escape the witches hold.
“The worm shall remind thee to complete the task. If thou
fail, it will feast upon thy brain in days. Be forewarned, naught
but The Sisterhood of Vavath know the proper spells to
remove it. Thy only choice is to succeed and have us extract
the worm.”
“Sounds fair,” I said with a snort.
“Laugh now, but thou won’t when it sups. Go and do as
Vavath has commanded.” The witches directed me out.
Aeoni waited outside on the trail back to the city. “I am
sorry Kenaz, but you must do as The Sisterhood ask.”
“Anyone ever survive this worm?”
She looked away.
That’s enough answer for this dead man. I left the woods of
Vavath with a terrible itch tugging inside my wrist.
Back in the city, I took the long way around the recently
burned stables. I put my hand on the rear ladder to my flat
when a gravelly voice taunted from the shadows. “You been
out awhile.”
It was Sharkun, an underboss for The Torch, one of the
worst gangsters in Tolburn. Sharkun, and his stupid hat
blended with the shadows as if he was born to them. “Been
looking for you.”
“That makes me feel warm inside.”
Sharkun grinned before his face returned to the usual
defiling scowl. “Warm huh? Your family is gonna feel a whole
lot warmer if you don’t get the Reliliqy for The Torch.”
“What? Is your hat on too tight?”
“Listen!” he said. “Your brother Casimir, idiot that he is,
owes The Torch ten thousand crowns. And you handing over
the Reliliqy is what can make things square for everyone.”
“Not for me.”
“The Torch is a man you pay if you want to see sunrise.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Ha! The Torch burns your brother, mother, your mother’s
brother and every other loving son of your dead father. Got
it? He wants the Reliliqy and he wants it shortly!” With that
Sharkun and his stupid hat stalked off. The Torch did not get
his name for keeping the street lights on in Tolburn at night.
This was a problem.
If I had an ounce more strength after everything I had
already been through tonight I might have—well I might have
done something. But for now all I could muster was the
strength to crawl up the ladder and fall upon my pallet. I
needed at least a few hours’ sleep.
Page 9
Awake, after an hour of sleep. Why? Stars shone through
my ragged curtains and someone abruptly blocked them as he
passed the window.
“You’re awake. Sorry, should’ve knocked, I suppose.”
Next time:
Chapter 3. The Enemy of My Enemy
“And, who are you?” I asked the polite darkness.
“I’ll get a light,” said the stranger.
“It’s next to the—”
He ignored me and clapped his hands together causing a
pomegranate sized amulet hanging from his neck to glow and
shine an uncomfortable amount of blue light in my face. “I am
Jadair. I will be your handler with the Sunsari clan.”
Shielding my eyes I answered, “I’ve already told Cathcart-”
“He’s dead. I am the only warlock you will discuss the
matter with now.”
“Can you turn that light down?” I said, trying to steal any
fragment of time. He certainly looked like a warlock, coifed
hair, silken cloak and breeches and the type of sharp arrogant
face that said he kicked puppies. Any weapon that might have
been laying close at hand was not so mysteriously removed.
About the Author
David has been writing as long as he can remember,
winning a number of secretive awards too prestigious for you
to have heard of. He lives in Utah with his wife and children.
Among his other published works are Heroes of the Fallen,
Bless the Child, Whispers of the
Goddess, the sci-fi horror collections
of Space Eldritch 1 & 2, and Weird
Tales of Horror.
You can visit him online at:
http://david-j-west.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/David_JWest
http://davidjwest.tumblr.com/
“Kenaz, I need you less than you need me.”
“I doubt it.”
“You very much need to get me the Reliliqy,” he said, taking
a parchment and quill from a satchel.
Standing to assert myself, I said, “I’m contracted to get
information. Not retrieval. How many times do I have to tell
collectors, I only deal in information?”
“Not much longer at all,” said Jadair carelessly. He struck
like a scorpion, piercing me with a writing quill. The scratch
burned like frostbite. “That there is all your need in the
world.”
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I took a clumsy swing at him but fell to my knees.
“That was Y’more extract. You have two days before you
will be incapacitated and dead. Cathcart lasted only a day and
half. Get me the Reliliqy and I will get you the antidote.”
My vision blurred and any words I said came erupted inside
out.
“Fetch the Reliliqy and I will find you, rest assured Kenaz,
you won’t need to find me.” And with that the irritating blue
light and smug Jadair himself disappeared.
I did not wake until dawn. I had been poisoned, my family
threatened with roasting and a terrible itch already in the
center of my forearm. There truly is no pleasing everyone, and
to even attempt the impossible, I was going to need to call on
friends, lovers, and enemies and hope they don’t think this is
all a joke.
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Epic
Puzzles & Games
www.epicpug.com
Three Locations:
West Valley City
Lehi &
Ephraim
Page 10
Review by: Daniel Swenson
I and some other members of the Dungeon Crawlers
Radio staff had the opportunity to beta test the new
Dungeons & Dragons game. Thousands participated in the
worldwide beta test and everyone had an impact on the end
result. Now that it’s out, many of us geeks are excited to see
what Wizards of the Coast has done with this decades old
icon of a game. I had the opportunity to read over a copy of
the new Player's Handbook, and for this review, I am going
to assume that you all know at least a little bit about D&D,
because that’s what the book does, too.
The Look
I’ll say it flat out: I love the art in this book. Since it’s a
Player’s Handbook, most of the art focuses on the playable
characters. It includes character portraits for different races
and classes, a small sampling of famous characters (a certain
Drow ranger, for instance), and some illustrations that I
swear are from existing D&D minis.
This book does a much better job than previous editions
for representing a wider range of character traits, such as
more female characters, more heroes of color, etc. It’s not
perfect by any means, but I appreciate that there’s a much
wider range of inspirational art for showing truly what the
range of characters should be.
proficiency bonus used for attack rolls, skill checks,
saving throws, etc. Every class also gets an ability score
improvement every few levels, which you can swap out for
feats instead.
Classes are each built with different abilities at certain
levels, similar to the 3E model, and very different from the
power-based advancement of 4E. There are a few features
that classes share with each other, such as martial-style
classes getting options for their fighting style, and spellcasting classes using similar mechanics for preparing their
spells. There are no alignment restrictions, multi-classing
restrictions by class, or other similar rules that were often
house-ruled away.
It seems like Wizards developed a basic framework and
then used it to design each of the classes. Nearly all the
classes start out pretty vanilla, and then get their subclasses
with customization options at 3rd level, except for the ones
that have a much broader concept shift depending on those
options. There’s also patterns to those subclasses
themselves.
I like the interior graphic design as well. It has a modern
layout and “feel” similar to 4E that uses space and headings
well, combined with some of the more “spellbook”
background and flourishes prevalent throughout 3E. There is
almost no wasted space, right up to the tiny font size used in
the index at the end.
Races
The available races in the Player’s Handbook are just
about what you would have expected: dwarves, halflings,
elves, and humans as base classes, each with their own suboptions such as the different flavors of elves. Also included
are more uncommon racial options: dragonborn, tieflings,
gnomes, half-orcs, and half-elves. (Bonus: non-gross
backstory for Half-Orcs.) Most of the uncommon races have
fewer options than the core races, since their niche often
comes pre-defined. Each of the entries contains snippets
from different D&D worlds, a good way to connect each one
to the different D&D worlds of possibility.
Classes
There are 12 base classes, each one having multiple subclasses, some of which are very different from the main class
(e.g. the spell-casting fighter). Each class gets a standard
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The playable classes are: Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid,
Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock,
and Wizard. A detailed listing of each class and their
associated subclasses is available in the full review available
online at UtahGeekMagazine.com
Backgrounds & Inspiration
Backgrounds are a version of the “3rd pillar” of character
creation, giving another foundation beyond race and class.
Mechanically, they provide a social benefit, an extra training
of two skills, and one or more tools. These aren’t just for
color, either. The Inspiration mechanic allows the players to
Page 12
gain Advantage on a future role if they role-play one of these
in an exceptional way. This seems like D&D is finally
embracing bonuses for “role”-playing your. Inspiration is not
tied in to any other areas that I can tell, so if you don’t like
that kind of thing, it seems pretty easy to remove or tweak.
Backgrounds open up a number possible campaign
concepts. For instance, you could say that everyone must
take the Soldier background, and everyone starts in the
military, or everyone takes the Sailor/Pirate background. Or
you could just as easily run the all-wizard (academy) or allbard (traveling band) campaign, with backgrounds providing
that extra bit of differentiation.
Equipment
No surprises here, the “gold-metric system” makes a
comeback with its 10:1 exchange rates, except for electrum,
which sits in the middle of gold and silver. Some aspects are
cleaned up a bit (there is only one kind of shield, for
instance) while others use similar tags to describe weapons
you’re probably used to by now.
Feats
Feats are greatly simplified and expanded, and optionally
replace your ability score improvements that you receive
every 4 levels. Previous editions required multiple feats in
order to be good at particular abilities, such as two-weapon
fighting, often overlapping with feats granted by classes.
Now you just take a feat called “dual wielder” and it grants
you three useful abilities for fighting with two-weapons all at
once. There are 30 feats in all, and most are satisfying as
character-defining options, but some are still weak.
Combat
Combat works on the same basic principles it has for a
long time: see bad guys, roll initiative, go in order, and take
actions. Your turn consists of a move and an action. During
your move, you move your speed, which you can split up
(e.g. move, attack, move again). Your action will usually be
an attack or a spell, but could also be a dash, disengage,
dodge, help [another], hide, ready, search, or use an object.
During either your move or your action, you also get one
free “interact with something” opportunity, which could be
drawing or sheathing a weapon, or opening or closing a
door. Finally, you may also have a bonus action during your
turn, and a reaction out of turn, either of which can be
granted by other abilities or conditions. This mechanic keeps
the essence of the standard/move/minor mechanic while
being a bit more manageable.
Spellcasting
Spellcasters prepare a number of spells at the start of a
day as determined by their class. This forms their “menu” of
options that they can cast during that day. Some classes just
know a smaller set of spells and ignore preparation entirely.
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Each class has a certain number of spell slots that they can
use to cast their spells, but these spell slots are not fixed to a
particular spell after a long rest. A 1st level spell takes a 1st
level spell slot, and that’s it. No more figuring out how many
fireballs to memorize in a given day. You just choose fireball,
and as long as you have 3rd level slots or higher, you can
keep throwing them as often as you have slots. You can even
expend higher level slots on some lower level spells for
greater effect. This is almost unbelievable to me because
solves so many of my issues with spellcasting in other
editions.
Playing it Safe
The organization and content of the book will be much
more accessible to readers who have already played D&D
before. It purposely leaves some gaps and encourages you to
fill them in based on your experiences playing the game. It
features a wide breadth of choices, which may be great for
veteran players, but they may be overwhelming for a new
player. The refined spellcasting system definitely takes risks,
and is better for it. And Eldritch Knights, Dragonborn, and
Wild Mages all push some boundaries of what some
consider “base” D&D. There are places I wish it had taken
some more chances, such as not using the six saving throws
to their fullest, and having the barbarian’s rage at exactly 1
minute long, but those are probably pretty minor.
This is supposed to be the D&D Greatest Hits album, and
I’d say it succeeds. The front cover of the book stakes the
claim as “the world’s greatest roleplaying game.” This book
is deceptively packed with generations of D&D melded into
one coherent game. It knows its audience: D&D players. It
doesn’t push a lot of boundaries, and leaves plenty of room
to adapt and cross-pollinate with other game systems to
make your best game. It is a game that I am excited to play,
and I hope to run a campaign as soon as possible. And for
that alone, I recommend it.
Wizards of the Coast provided a complimentary copy of
the book for review purposes.
Be sure to visit our website to see the
full version of this review.
http://bit.ly/UGM-DandD5e
Special thanks to Daniel Swenson
from Dungeon Crawlers Radio. Check
out their weekly podcast at
www.dungeoncrawlersradio.com. Also,
be sure to join in with UGeek on the
third Thursday of every month.
Page 13
O
ne of my earliest memories as a child was of me
running up and down the halls of my
father’s work pretending to be Iceman from the
Saturday morning cartoon series, Spider-Man and
His Amazing Friends.
Though we are not going to be able to run faster than a
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or call Dennis at 801.839.4581
3DPlusMe uses their scanning process to capture a 3D image of
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Their 3D scanning station recently premiered at San
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By Dennis Lundstrom
www.UtahGeekMagazine.com
Page 14
Reprinted with permission
By Zac Johnson
1: In the game Battleship, what is the smallest
ship?
A) PT boat
C) U-Boat
B) Destroyer
D) Cruiser
2: What is this device called?
A) Degivice
B) D-Terminal
C) Digi Tamer D) Digital Access
3: Who is the King of all Saiyans?
A) Vegeta
C) Paragus
B) Broly
D) Goku
6: In the show Medabots, who was the main
character?
A) Metabee
C) Hikaru Agata
B) Ikki Tenryō
D) Kabuto
7: In Warhammer 40k, who shattered Khain,
the Bloody Handed God?
A) Slaanesh
C) Tzeentch
B) Nurgle
D) Khorne
8: Of the following Pokemon, which one is
considered "uber" tier?
A) Charizard
C) Typhlosion
B) Pignite
D) Blazekin
4: In Pirates of the Spanish Main, which of the 9: Who tried to wish that the Saiyans were
following is not a faction?
defeated before they reached Earth?
A) Chinese
C) French
B) Vikings
D) German
5:How many Pokemon are there currently?
A) 556
C) 719
B) 691
D) 834
Answers at www.UtahGeekMagazine.com
Submit your own Quiz Questions at www.UtahGeekMagazine.com/Contribute
A) Bulma
C) Piccolo
B) Oolong
D) Napa
10: What is the true name of the Pharoah in
Yugioh known as Yami Yugi?
A) Tutankhaman
C) Tristan
B) Bakura
D) Atem