The newest Dungeons & Dragons campaign, Curse of Strahd, debuted at #6 on the Publishers Weekly Hardcover Fiction list, selling over 6000 copies in the first week of general release. The list is generated from book sales through book stores only and does not include sales from game stores. The book, written by the Wizards of the Coast development team in collaboration with the Ravenloft adventure’s authors Tracy and Laura Hickman, was released in hobby stores that are part of the Wizards Play Network on March 4th, and in mass market retail on March 15th.

The original Ravenloft adventure evolved from a Halloween game run by the Hickmans, with elements changing based on an in-game random development. “We played that game every Halloween and Laura and I wanted to keep the players guessing, even when they had played it with us before. So that became part of the design,” Tracy Hickman said. That continues in the new version with a visit to a mysterious fortune-teller whose readings from a tarot-like card deck determines the fate of allies and artifacts that could help the heroes.

The adventure has been well received in game stores, with stores reporting selling out of the basic D&D books in anticipation of the Curse of Strahd‘s release. This is the first D&D fifth edition campaign book that is not tied into other D&D properties, such as the Neverwinter MMO. The initial adventure, The Death House, has been made available for download. Mike Schley’s maps for the campaign can be purchased as a bundle at his website.

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Following several complaints about the offerings from the D&D All-Access event at Gen Con 2015, Baldman Games published a public apology to all attendees and is offering a physical copy of Out of the Abyss, the next campaign book for D&D 5th Edition by Green Ronin; and a code for a digital copy of Sword Coast Legends, the party-based RPG for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. All-Access players at Gen Con 2015 are requested to fill out the form at http://baldmangames.com/2015/08/gen-con-2015-all-access-update/ to get their packet.

The All-Access Program was a $150 event within the Gen Con convention, which promised a premium gaming experience. The pass gains access to reserved seats for all the D&D adventures in a separated gaming space. At 2014’s convention, attendees also received copies of the D&D 5th Edition Players Handbook and Monster Manual, two weeks before the book’s official release date. This year, several people commented that they received nearly nothing at all. “Another event offered the three autographed rulebooks plus two epics for $140,” wrote user Wisewolverine on the Gen Con community forum. “Everyone who purchased an all access package got royally screwed.” User wgmccanless wrote, “We did get a couple of [D&D Adventurers League (organized play)] Certificates, but none were worth anything. No book, no souveniers, no 2015 commemorative dice, no coupons for future purchases, nothing! I got more swag for ordering a sandwich at Scotty’s [Brewhouse]!”

David Christ of Baldman Games, discussed how giveaways impact the All-Access Package process. “Every year the program has provided different things and the attendees have valued them in their own fashion,” he writes. “Each year the [giveaway] items were better and better and that is just not a sustainable program.” To help bring the event back to something that is “more sustainable long term” and more of a value to the attendees, the company is considering several options such as a concierge service; custom exclusive adventure tracks for All-Access members; moving the event to a dedicated room to cut down on noise, and offer snacks and lunch items; and adding special guests to the event.

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What’s the biggest, baddest dungeon in Dungeons & Dragons? I’d have to go with the Underdark, the cavernous maze that spans an entire game world. This world under the world is the setting for Wizards of the Coast’s next storyline, Rage of Demons.

And yes, there’s a Drizzt.

(See?)

The main concept behind the new storyline involves a demonic invasion of the Underdark with adventurers traveling “with the iconic hero Drizzt Do’Urden”. Like the previous storylines, Rage of Demons will be told through the tabletop roleplaying game and electronic (PC and Xbox One) games. The Neverwinter: Underdark expansion for the Neverwinter MMO will be released in 2015 (with the Xbox version coming after the PC version) while the Out of the Abyss adventure for D&D 5th Edition is scheduled for the fall. Partner companies WizKids, who have developed games for the D&D line; Gale Force Nine, who did the DM Screens for the earlier storyline adventures; and Smiteworks, who have developed Fantasy Grounds, a virtual tabletop product supporting D&D, are all on board for Rage of Demons.

Earlier storylines had their tabletop campaigns developed by third-party companies: Tyranny of Dragons’ Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat were developed by Wolfgang Bauer’s Kobold Press while Elemental Evil’s Princes of the Apocalypse was developed by Rich Baker’s Sasquatch Game Studio. Out of Abyss will be developed by Green Ronin, who have previously done the Dragon Age RPG, A Song of Ice and Fire RPG, the Freeport setting for D&D 3.5 (and Paizo’s Pathfinder game), among others. Out of the Abyss will be a single volume book, like Princes of the Apocalypse.

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Let’s say you have a 3D printer and you like Dungeons & Dragons. You start creating your own 3D models of monsters featured in the Monster Manual, showcase them on reddit/r/dnd, and share the files with others on Thingiverse, a 3D printing community. And then Wizards of the Coast files a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice, making Thingiverse remove those files.

If you’re a Reddit user going by the username mz4250, this might sound familiar.

Before the DMCA notice, mz4250 created several miniatures inspired by creatures found in various Monster Manuals, and promoted images of them in threads titled “3D Printing the Monster Manual“. Goofy images like the Dread Gazebo appeared alongside basic monsters like the Shrieker, Displacer Beast, and Demons in his imgur albums for weeks. Then the DMCA notice came and his 3D files were removed.

Initially thinking the issue came from basing the designs on WotC’s artwork and despairing that his work might not be legally available again, he contacted WotC to see what could be done. To his surprise, Wizards “want me to continue modeling and printing their monsters” and to make his modeling files available. But because Hasbro, which owns WotC, has an agreement with Shapeways, another 3D printing community, to host and print fan art, they needed the files to be hosted there. “WOTC has pleasantly surprised me this week,” he writes. “I’m happy they were pretty reasonable in the end.”

So a happy ending for mz4250, as he gets to continue sharing 3D models (at Shapeways.com/designer/mz4250) and developing more. He posts more of his work in the D&D subreddit at reddit.com/r/dnd.

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The creator of Netrunner and Magic: The Gathering has said he wants to return to and refine his first game design, RoboRally. Richard Garfield has stated interest in licensing or purchasing the rights back from Wizards of the Coast, the current owners of the property. “I am bothered by some design issues as only the designer can be,” he posted on BoardGameGeek.com’s forum, reflecting on the twenty-year old game. RoboRally Rebooted would play faster with less downtime and is “a bit crazier”.

Mr. Garfield invites BGG users to take an informal poll regarding a new version, including a possibility of a reskinned game similar to the RoboRally-inspired Pirate Dice: Voyage on the Rolling Seas.

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