What did YOU do on Independence day?

[Lord of Alcohol]

Originally Posted by machinehead I knew that but isn't it nice to have a non-political thread here once in a while?

I lamented the fact we won independance, we would all now have universal health care now. There ya go!

[SpiritWarrior]

Ahh, we can dream.

[Chewbacca]

It was great! Watched the kids play all day while we adults played some Dominion and then some D&D. Had charred meat (broiled since our grill went kaput) and fireworks.

There is nothing like living in a semi-rural area with no fireworks prohibition... we had great shows on all horizons.

[SpiritWarrior]

You played some PnP D&D?

[Chewbacca]

Originally Posted by SpiritWarrior You played some PnP D&D?

Yep, 4e. We usually play a big campaign every other week and run one-off encounters whenever. Though with all the computer aids available these days (like the character builder and 4e combat manager) it's almost wrong to call it PnP.

[SpiritWarrior]

Yeah that's what I was thinking. It's nice to find people actually playing PnP rather than computer games. I find the effort of convincing more than one person to sit down at a table and use their imagination, is so eclipsed by MMORPG's and digital D&D games like NWN's, BG, DDO etc. Board games just seem to be declining in general. I guess they figure, why bother with all that when they could just switch on a monitor and dive in?

Which of course is not the same, because you essentialy have this linear experience as opposed to the free-reign possibilities of a DM'ed session. That and everyone I know is used to 2E (nevermind 3E or 4E), so they scowl in disgust when I mention the changes WotC made. Hey, I ain't thrilled with them either, but theres something to be said about holding books and dice in your hands, and sitting around a table with friends rather than behind an internet connection. Plus, if it's D&D that's all that matters to me. I may lament the older days of 2E (even 3), but idc what incarnation it is really. Beholders, Mindflayers, Displacer Beasts - it's D&D!

What setting do you play? Not that Eberron I hope : /

[Chewbacca]

I've got a homebrew setting that I have developed over the years. I stick to the usual D&D conventions for the most part. Recently I have been inspired to run a Forgotten Realms campaign. I have begun a 4e conversion of Undermountain. The party began to delve in it our last campaign session after entering a dimensional portal between my world and Faerûn.

Interesting twist of fate i just discovered WOTC is releasing a Neverwinter setting this summer which looks promising.

D&D is D&D whichever edition is played. 4e gives a rich tactical experience but does not limit the other areas of gameplay (roleplaying, exploration, ect). I used to dabble in "edition wars" but decided it was a fruitless pursuit. Anyway the older editions are still available in the secondary market and to some extent free online so hating 4e is really not a valid excuse not to play.

I've actually grown out of video games a bit in favor of board, card, and roleplaying games. There are some great games out there like Thunderstone, Dominion, Race for the Galaxy, Runewars, and the recent D&D dungeon-crawl style boardgames.

I'm looking forward to trying the "risk-like" Conquest of Nerath D&D strategy board game.

http://critical-hits.com/2011/06/21/...-dd-boardgame/

Playing with friends and family together in person utterly defeats sitting in front of the machine alone everytime.

[SpiritWarrior]

Yeah, I used to run a semi-homebrewed campaign too. This was years ago. It was an old classic D&D mini-setting that I converted into AD&D. Not sure if you remember it, but classic D&D (not to be confused with 1e) was a dumbed down version of AD&D. I then linked it with the ill-fated and not very popular Mystara setting and worked from there. FR always intimidated me as far as running a campaign - I had read so many wonderful novels in that setting that I always felt I could in no way do justice to the scope, history and lore of that world. Dragonlance - Krynn, was too kinda the same, and too "old" and historical a world for me. Dark Sun and Spelljammer too odd. Others DM's I knew used to just jump right into FR but I wanted to go with a lesser known world I could build on myself. I wanted something cannon, as opposed to 100% self-created. I remember when Planescape came out I was fascinated, but in no way could see myself ever running a campaign there.

I am guessing WotC are releasing the NWN books to coincide with the upcoming online game.

I really need to get into the latest edition. I have like 2 of the 4e books but they are really just for my own personal interest rather than running sessions which I haven't done in a long time. But I see the core rule packs and I get that overwhelming urge to buy them all just to master the rules even if I don't play.

They seem to be doing these kinda standalone "fast play" D&D board games alot more now. I first noticed the Ravenloft one a few months ago. Clearly they are trying to sell a kind of open & play type of D&D. Not a bad thing..I always liked the spinoff products, but nothing compares to late nights gathered around a table with a real DM and players.

[Chewbacca]

The Ravenloft game is fantastic...it is basically 4e lite. The other one, with the Red Dragon is also great, but much more brutal. WOTC did a great job of capturing a full scale D&D dungeon crawl experience and translating it into a board-type game.

The best part of those games for me is how well the tilesets work for regular D&D.

[SpiritWarrior]

Yeah I found the "Legend of Drizzt" boardgame on Amazon just now. Pricey though, from $70 up just for a boardgame :-/ I don't mind paying that for core rulebooks because of the endless replayability factor but one game, I dunno. Still wannit tho and the Ravenloft one