Dungeons & Dragons-mongers Wizards of the Coast have come up with an uber-casual version of the venerable role playing game that just might make it worthwhile signing up for privacy-siphoning office time-sink that is Facebook.

Dungeons & Dragons: Tiny Adventures is a Facebook app that lets you create a character, equip them with potions and weapons and them set them off on a (hey!) Tiny Adventure.

Your character will send you regular updates from your chosen quest, and because FB is a Social Networking site you can ask your friends to buff them up by throwing potions and other kit your way. Success in the various game events is determined by dice rolls modified by your initial choices.

The game server is down at the moment due to heavy demand, but should soon rise again, stronger and more powerful than ever.

D&D Tiny Adventures [Facebook via Tor]

The game that launched a thousand role-playing games toady celebrates its latest incarnation as Wizards of the Coast announces the release of the Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Rulebooks. The new set of rules not only herald a more streamlined D&D experience, but also the first true joining of pen & paper D&D to the online world with the introduction of the D&D Insider service, which gives players and Dungeon Masters alike access to online tools for character creation, dungeon building, and even a digital game table to play on. In honour of the release of the three books - The Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master's Guide - the D&D Insider service will be available for a free promotional period, after which a subscription will kick in. The books are currently available for $AU 36.29 a piece, or in a bundle for $AU 108.98.

In addition to the Insider promotion, Wizards of the Coast is sponsoring a Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Game Day tomorrow, Saturday June 7th, during which locations around the world will be hosting special events to help ease players into the new ruleset. Hit the jump for to find out more about this worldwide celebration!

Read More »

We had some breaking Eye of Judgment news to tell you, but then we kind of leaked it all in the headline. Regardless, Sony has announced that the formerly delayed Eye of Judgment Series 2 cards will be available April 28th in US stores. The related download (we're assuming to make the pretty cards work) will be available in the PlayStation Store on April 25th. We're sorry, we mean the newly redesigned PlayStation Store on April 25th.

Set Your Calendars (Again) Series 2 Hits - April 28, 2008 [My Eye of Judgment Community via GayGamer]

Read More »

Back in December Wizards of the Coast announced a partnership with Stainless Games for an unannounced downloadable game on an unannounced platform, and while I called it with Magic: The Gathering for Xbox Live Arcade, it really was to much of a no-brainer for me to feel all uppity about. While still remaining characteristically vague, WotC has announced plans to extend the M:tG franchise, with Stainless doing a game for Xbox Live Arcade and PC and Mind Control Software doing one for the PC and Mac.

"We're excited to bring the Magic brand to new platforms and give our fans new ways to experience this great property," said Jared Gustafson, Brand Director for Magic: The Gathering at Wizards of the Coast.

As to what exactly the games are going to be...well that's anyone's guess, though I am leaning strongly towards card, and not a rehash of the crappy Xbox title Magic: The Gathering - Battlegrounds.

Read More »

Eye of Judgment players will be happy to hear that Sony has received US Set Two cards from partners Wizards of the Coast. There is no release information or many details, but the Playstation Blog has posted a small gallery of six of the new cards: Dwarf Sniper, Elven Soul Hunter, Archiver, Aluhjan Spellshield, Aluhja Inquisitrix and Partmole Warhound. This will be the first new set of cards since the Playstation Eye powered card battle game hit store shelves last year.

Hot Off THE EYE OF JUDGMENT Card Press: Set 2 {Playstation.Blog]

Read More »

Wizards of the Coast, creators of Magic the Gathering and holders of the sacred Dungeons and Dragons property are teaming up with the UK's Stainless Games to create an online downloadable video game. Stainless has done several games for Xbox Live Arcade, including Novadrome, Crystal Quest, and most recently Asteroids Deluxe.

"Wizards of the Coast has created many of the most popular brands in roleplaying, trading card and tabletop strategy games" said Patrick Buckland, CEO for Stainless Games. "We're proud to be working with one of the most treasured IPs in the games field in a true partnership which will produce a real gaming revolution later next year."

Let the wild speculation begin! Is it Magic the Gathering for Xbox Live? An online version of D&D with downloadable episodic content and community created modules? We won't know until details start trickling out next year. Until then, something is coming. Hooray for something!

Read More »

The nice folks at Wizards of the Coast, producers of everything Dungeons and Dragons, just dropped me a line to remind me that December 4th is National Dice Day here in the U.S., when we all should set aside some time to marvel at the wondrous simplicity of dice. While the origins of the holiday remain shrouded in mystery, WotC did offer some helpful background info on dice themselves.

Dice have been around for more than 5000 years and have been part of the popular roleplaying game, D&D since its inception more than 30 years ago (though current gamers likely use dice made from plastics rather than oxen ankle bones like early forms of dice).

Okay, so it is just a way to market D&D, but the holiday certainly predates the WotC email, according to my good pal Google.

Read More »

There are probably only 10 people out there who have an interest in pen & paper gaming - as addicted enamoured as everyone is with World of Warcraft these days - but seeing as how I'm close to feverish with love over true social role-playing, you'll just have to put up with me.

WarCry has an interview up with Wizards of The Coast's Iija Rotelli, who is director of online media for the hobby games company. The chat focuses on the upcoming 4th Edition, as well as WoTC's "digital initiative" called "Gleemax".

In the old days, we got new customers by people going into a hobby shop, pick up a group in his community, and he would start playing. Now a day's more and more people are staying home, playing video games, going on the internet, and so to attract those players, Gleemax was born.

It sounds like MySpace for PnP and CCG geeks... probably because that's exactly what it is.

So what you get right off the back with Gleemax is a social networking site for gamers.

On a side note, I'm currently running a D&D campaign, and was desperately after an app to track encounters. After failing to find a free one online I was happy with, I put one together myself. You can download the executable below, and if anyone wants the source code (VB.NET) just email me. You'll need the .NET Framework 2.0 to get it running.

Download TrackWork - D&D Encounter Tracker

Dungeons and Dragons: 4th Edition Q&A [WarCry]