MetalJim reveals what he’s been doing down in his hole as Groundhog Day draws near…

…being the start of d21’s weeklong celebration of Groundhog Day (Friday, February 2nd), the main theme being repetition, a la the classic Harold Ramis/Bill Murray movie.

…being the start of d21’s weeklong celebration of Groundhog Day (Friday, February 2nd), the main theme being repetition, a la the classic Harold Ramis/Bill Murray movie.

Why are humanoids different from the other monster types? This has caused a lot of confusion in the game when adding class levels to a creature. If humanoid is the base type of all character types normally considered Player Characters, and Non-player characters follow the same rules in almost all situations, then why would we [...]

Containing MetalJim’s review of a new board game called Imperial. It’s like Diplomacy , but with stock ownership…

I picked up Complete Scoundrel the day after it was released. It is the first time in a long time that I have picked up a new D&D book without thoroughly researching it. Here’s what I thought of it…

Last week I got to take a quick look through Random’s brand-new copy of Complete Scoundrel, the just-released D&D 3.5 source book for all things skill-like. (As I write this, it’s currently un-reviewed on Amazon, and I’m a bit incredulous to see that WotC doesn’t provide Amazon the resources or permission to enable Look Inside… [...]

Taking a break from D&D, I start looking at other options in the RPG market. The focus this week is the FATE system as implimented in the Spirit of the Century Game

This week I’d like to talk about the most confusing combat rule in the current edition - Grappling. From what I understand this rule is the most ignored or changed rule in the game. Heck, even the WotC guys that write articles on the D&D website and answer questions on the community boards hate the [...]

In which MetalJim still isn’t quite finished with the single player campaign…

Following fellow contributor Rhelik’s lead , I will offer a few comments on where I want to go with this column in 2007, and also ask for help and feedback from my readers.

Rhelik shares some insight into the gaming industry and why games cost what they do.

Rhelik plans out his goals for d21 and 2007.

Last week I wrote about how board gaming as an intellectual contest might be one of the qualities that makes it special. This week I want to touch on a rather different feature of our hobby, one that should be familiar to everyone who plays – the idea that these games help to satisfy our need to [...]

Here is how I learned that the writing of the story is meaningless if it is not shared. Taking the spotlight for a characters inner monolog can be for the benefit of the other players not just for gratuitous showboating like I always thought.

The year 1983 was a big time in my life. All the music I loved hit during the New Wave, I was introduced to MTV for the first time, I started Junior High School and met my current best friends for the first time, I was re-introduced to comics by these new friends, and I [...]

In which MetalJim discusses one of the “Holy Grails” of eBay boardgame hunters, the Avalon Hill classic Dune .

Back on a board game kick… and copping my own poor imitation of Yehuda style. (Yehudesque?)

What makes these games we play so special? What makes us, the folks who play these games, special such that these are the games we love to play?

It’s easy to overlook or forget, but I think the real defining feature [...]

Pirates of the Spanish Main was one of the coolest ideas and nicest looking games to come out. Too bad it’s such a disapointing game. Here’s the breakdown…

I’ve been asking myself lately why I’ve become so jaded and disillusioned with the gaming industry these days. After all, most of the good stuff I’ve been after for years is now being published in Dungeon Magazine, by third party vendors, and featuring authors I thought would never produce material for D&D again. You have [...]