Matthew Rossi

Owls. You can’t trust them.

I refuse to give you any context for that title.

Last year, Wizards of the Coast took an axe to their reputation by announcing changes to the Open Gaming License, but those changes were so universally hated that they had to be quickly reverted.

One of the ways in which modern Tabletop RPGs are distinguished from their ancestors is in how they end up getting made and reaching an audience.

Seriously it is f… it is extremely hot out, and I am unhappy with it. It’s f… ridiculously hot. I’m poached, is what I’m saying. It’s like having Superman shoot you in the face with his Heat Vision, except less immediately fatal.

There's a new edition of D&D in town -- Dungeons and Dragons 2024 is rolling out three new sourcebooks, starting with the 2024 Player's Handbook.

Look, I go through a lot of steps to come up with a character name. Sometimes I go to Google, turn on the translator, and throw words at it until I get a combination I like. I’ve been playing Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous for years now, and most of my characters are stuck at level 1 because I make a character and immediately come up with a different name.

Oh, and happy birthday, America. I’m sorry you never get to sleep on your day because of all the explosions, and I feel very bad for your dogs.

The latest edition of Dungeons & Dragons, which will officially launch with the release of the 2024 Players Handbook in September, has been advertised as "backwards compatible" with earlier D&D 5e books, but what does that mean?

I mean, I’ve played every Diablo game. I’ve played Grim Dawn, Wolcen, and Path of Exile. I’ve played Cyberpunk 2077 and I’ve literally used a gun that fires explosive grenades to slaughter an entire gang from up close. My character in Baldur’s Gate 3 is literally an amnesiac murder hobo who spends most of her game time completely covered in blood. Other people’s. That I have liberated from their bodies with big, pointy things. I’ve torn people’s limbs off, thrown people’s heads, flown away as the entire planet Taris was bombarded from orbit and millions died.

 

I am on record as loving Celldweller and New Elysium is on repeat lately.

I know I haven’t been around much lately and I’m sorry for that, but honestly, you’re probably a little bummed to get me this week instead of whatever cool thing Liz was going to do. I guess I could talk about a dinosaur or something, but really who cares?

It’s the Queue. Anyone who can guess what that header image is all about will get one free dinosaur fact in next week’s Queue.