Robot Viking

I’ve mentioned before that working at Wizards of the Coast seems pretty awesome, and the people who work there are equally awesome. Now’s your chance to become one of those people. Magic’s R&D is holding their second Great Designer Search.

The official release date for the Gamma World boxed set is October 19, but it arrived on my doorstep last week. Here’s your chance to pry it open before the official unveiling at PAX.

There we were, ensconced in the Wizards’ of the Coast Steel Cocktail Lounge high above the Gen Con exhibitor’s hall, Laura Tommervik, Rodney Thompson and I. What else was there to do but open up that new D&D Red Box and find out what it’s all about?

Gavin O’Brien took over as DM of the regular Robot Viking D&D group this week, his first stint in the 4e DM’s chair. He helpfully explains what it was like to take his former companions for a spin on the Wheel of Pain.

If you’re a long-time D&D player, chances are you’ve had one or more characters killed by deathtraps in the classic Tomb of Horrors adventure. Ryk Perry brings us this in-depth review of the 4E update, revealing that it’s much more than just a rehash of the original, but it’s potentially as deadly as ever.

My first day at Gen Con, I was escorted past the velvet ropes (well, there weren’t really velvet ropes) to the exclusive Wizards of the Coast press area. There, amidst leather couches and seemingly random room lamps, I spoke to Magic: the Gathering brand managers Paul Levy and Mark Purvis about Scottish highland dance competitions. [...]

Let’s start the post-Gen Con reporting with the biggest news from the biggest company in gaming. Saturday morning, Wizards of the Coast devs gave a presentation outlining upcoming releases for D&D all the way into 2011. Gamma World, Ravenloft, rules changes, comic books, novels and more!

There’s so much to see and do at Gen Con, and I have so much awesome news to share with the Vikings. Most of it will be dished out in heaping helpings over the next few weeks, but some things are too cool to wait. Want to see exactly what you’ll get when the Gamma [...]

Small correction, the Twitter Magic thing doesn’t start Saturday morning, it started this morning. It’s on! Go to TweetMTG to play along. Current effect: “Until next tweet, creatures Ajani’s team controls gain double strike.” They’re also posting some fun flavor about the power of bogs and marshes, and creature vs. creature trash talk.

One of the fun things about multiplayer Magic games is introducing a few random elements that can radically shift the game in weird and fun ways. It keeps one player from getting a runaway victory, or everyone from ganging up on one player. This weekend, by following a special Twitter feed, you can experience wacky [...]

In part two of our interview with game designer Owen K.C. Stephens, he discusses what it’s like to design games based on pre-existing intellectual properties and delves into the connections between D&D 3.5, Star Wars Saga system, and D&D 4E.

Talking about new Magic core sets is so much more fun these days. Now that the sets are 50 percent brand new cards, there’s a lot more to talk about than, “what did they leave out/bring back?” My favorite thing about M11? Fun.

Wizards of the Coast plans to donate as much as $20,000 to the Child’s Play charity, which provides games, toys and books to sick kids stuck in hospitals. You can help make it happen just by playing Magic this weekend.

Magic: the Gathering’s new core set comes out in just a few weeks. M11 carries on a new Magic tradition — 50 percent new cards in core sets. Here’s one of them, a tasty beverage that can breath new life into a rundown deck.