Latest news with #D&D
The Spinoff
28-05-2025
- The Spinoff
Help Me Hera: How do I make friends with New Zealanders?
I moved here three years ago, and I've yet to make any local mates. What am I doing wrong? Want Hera's help? Email your problem to helpme@ Dear Hera, I'm not from New Zealand, but I've been here for almost three years. In that time I've met plenty of fun and charming Kiwis but haven't really made that many local friends. Often, I'll meet a Kiwi and it feels like we're connecting, there'll be shared laughter and interests, but afterwards it becomes impossible to hang out again – their schedule is full or my messages go unanswered. Either everyone is extremely busy or I am doing something very wrong. The strangest part is it's a small place, so I always see these people again, sometimes months later, and it'll be exactly like the first time, good vibes and lots of promises to catch up soon. I'm confused. I've lived in a few countries and this hasn't happened before. A Ukrainian friend told me that 'New Zealand is the friendliest unfriendly country in the world'. I think/hope they're wrong, but is there some kind of New Zealand rite to friendship that I'm not adhering to? How do you make friends here without joining a D&D group? Thanks, Nellie No Friends Dear Nellie, Ah, New Zealand, a country where you will never be short of acquaintances, but trying to make friends is like pulling teeth. First of all, my sincere condolences. You are playing on max level difficulty. Your situation, if you haven't already realised it, is one of the most common problems immigrants face when moving to New Zealand. Not a week goes by without someone, reeling from culture shock, posting on the New Zealand subreddit, saying they moved here for work a decade ago, and are yet to meet a solid group of friends. I can only apologise on our behalf and say, no, there is nothing wrong with you. Yes, we are just like this. I think a lot of the confusion stems from the fact that New Zealanders are, on the face of it, a friendly people. Tourists are often lulled into a false sense of security when they encounter a nation of professional chit-chatters, who are delighted to strike up a conversation, as long as it's not about anything deeper than the weather. Moving here is another magnitude of difficulty. Plenty of people have uprooted their lives to live their Lord of the Rings, lichen diverse, bungee-jumping fantasy, only to discover that many New Zealanders are all surface, and no depth. Perhaps this is a lazy caricature. But the truth is, most New Zealanders don't see our attitude as a cultural shortcoming. To outsiders, it's lonely and alienating. To many New Zealanders, it's simply comfortable. It's hard to explain our national psyche to outsiders, especially when you've never had anything else to compare it to. But I've met enough bamboozled immigrants to understand that we just don't have the same culture of friendship that other countries are accustomed to. I want to stress that you're not doing anything wrong. I'm sure there's nothing off about your technique or the way you're approaching people. It's not even that your New Zealand acquaintances are being insincere, or secretly dislike you. I'm confident there's nothing malicious in their refusal to accept your invitations, that they genuinely like you and are happy to see you. They would probably be surprised to hear you're confused and hurt by their reluctance to get to know you on a deeper level. Some people claim that New Zealanders are cliquey and stick with the friends they made in high school. Perhaps there's some truth to this, but I think it's more honest to say we have a lower tolerance for intimacy than other cultures. In some countries, it's normal to see your friends every other day. Many Kiwis I know would privately consider this to be nothing short of a nightmare. Obviously there are many exceptions, but I think this is the root of your problems. So, how do you survive here? The first thing I'd say is, don't take it personally. I'm confident this has nothing to do with your approach. That doesn't mean you should give up. There are plenty of people out there who don't live like a farmer in a Speight's commercial. But you'll have to work a little harder to find them. If I were you, I'd focus my efforts on seeking out and infiltrating groups of people who host regular social events, rather than trying to reform your average Kiwi. Find the people who throw the parties and cling on for dear life. If people don't respond to your invitations, don't take it as a slight. Invite them again. Persistence in this country means a lot and will eventually be rewarded. I know this is hardly a fair arrangement – the onus should be on New Zealanders to extend hospitality to others. But we're so bad at it that your best strategy is to simply take matters into your own hands and do the bulk of the initiating. People are often happy to hang out, but will do nothing proactive to make it happen. Don't take our apathy as an insult. Roll your eyes, and try again. Joining a club isn't a bad idea, especially if you can find a hobby that has a slightly more outgoing demographic of people. Team sports or volunteering for a worthy cause might be a good place to start. My last suggestion is to make friends with other immigrants who are missing that same sense of community and connection. This will hopefully stop you from going completely insane. Don't be discouraged, and keep trying. Making friends in New Zealand is like becoming a registered neurosurgeon. The bar for entry is high, but once you're in, you're set for life. Good luck!
The Spinoff
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
How to listen to Dungeons & Dragons
The Spinoff has partnered with the Wild Magic Tavern to present Fury of the Small, a new long-form narrative podcast told through the medium of Dungeons and Dragons. Here's how to best enjoy it. D&D has hit the zeitgeist a fair few times in its 50 years. You may have a passing familiarity with the staples of this Tabletop Roleplaying Game thanks to either… a. living through the 80s (remember the satanic panic feat. Tom Hanks?) b. those cute kids from Stranger Things / their less cute teenage counterparts c. the criminally underwatched Guardians-of-the-Galaxy inflected film of 2023 (RIP)Over the past decade, the game of D&D has had a huge resurgence thanks to addictive game design, the rise of mega-streamers like Critical Role and – perhaps surprisingly – the Covid-19 pandemic. Aotearoa has already stamped its mark on the tabletop scene. One of the country's most-watched YouTube channels, Viva La Dirt League, features D&D as part of its bread and butter content and many of their sketches star actors from our show. Pōneke is home to the Sketchgoblin, one of the most beloved and in-demand character artists of the global tabletop community. And filling out the constellation among the mega stars are amazing creators like Dungeons & Comediens, Dumplings & Dragons, Dice Legenz and Cobbled Together. Back in 2018 the Spinoff even dabbled in the action with Water Deep Mountain High! If all of these words are completely foreign to you below is all you need to know to get the most out of our nerdy-as podcast as a fresh listener. So…what is D&D? A game and a story combined. It takes its cues from works of high fantasy, video games and long-form board games. The stories are typically action-adventures set in a fantasy world heavily inspired by the likes of JRR Tolkien, Ursula K. Le Guin or George R. R. Martin. How do I know if D&D is for me? D&D is a perfect intersection of three things; fantasy, gaming and imaginative play. If tweenage-you binge-read the Eragon series, watched The Princess Bride on repeat or played any Legend of Zelda game to completion – D&D is probably for you. If you love the tactical edge and social melee of Settlers of Catan, Risk or Werewolf – D&D's got something in there for you, too. And if you (like me) miss the childhood sensation of circling up with your friends, choosing a setting, some characters and disappearing into a world of imaginative-play that felt timeless, tactile and utterly liberating – D&D is definitely for you. Whose voices will I be listening to? When you tune in, the first voice you'll hear is mine! I play the role of the Game Master (sometimes called a Dungeon Master). The GM is the narrator of the story, the adjudicator of the rules and the author of the adventure. I also play all the side characters of the piece. I'm here to facilitate the fun and guide the players and listeners through the narrative. Our four amazing players (Tom Eason, Brynley Stent, Ella Hope-Higginson and Arlo Gibson) portray the protagonists of the story. They possess full autonomy of their characters' thoughts and actions and the decisions they make will determine where the story goes. And what're you all actually doing? We're sitting at a table in the Spinoff's podcast studio. In front of us are piles of dice and character sheets. The sheets detail each character's name, abilities, health, inventory and much more (think of it like the menu and HUD display of a video game). They've been lovingly curated by the players, who have nominated an archetype for their character to embody – a sneaky Rogue, a practiced Fighter or a magical Wizard. The dice are the stars of the show. In tabletop games, when a player's character attempts something that involves luck, skill or any chance of failure, we roll a dice to determine the outcome. Typically this is a D20, a 20-sided die that is the true arbiter of fate in Dungeons and Dragons worlds. You roll high, you succeed. You roll low, there'll be consequences. You roll a one with the D20 – dire consequences. You roll a 20, everyone at the table cheers the words 'Natural 20!' as something incredible happens. At its simplest, the cycle of the game goes like this; STEP ONE. The GM sets the scene with some narration. STEP TWO. The players describe their characters' actions in the scene. STEP THREE. Any necessary dice rolls are made. STEP FOUR. The GM describes the outcomes of the players' actions and dice rolls. There're some specific dice rolls to listen out for. Checks. When a player decides to try something risky, I'll call for a Check. A character trying to discern whether the mayor is lying in his speech might need to make an Insight Check. Breaking through a door might require an Athletics Check, or recalling some esoteric lore might call for a History check. Players tumble their D20 and add a bonus to the roll. Different classes of character apply different bonuses to these checks, a squishy Wizard might have a +0 to their Athletics whereas a brawny Paladin might add a +10, for example. Saving Throws. Sometimes the story will force the heroes to react to a sudden danger. In this case I call for a Saving Throw, where the players need to quickly save themselves from harm. A rockslide might require a Dexterity Save, a mind control spell might call for a Wisdom Saving Throw. Attack Rolls. When words fail, we move into the cut and thrust of the game's combat system. The players fall into a fixed turn order, called The Initiative. The GM and the players start trading blows, drawing on their special abilities and working as a team. An attack has two parts, an Attack Roll (where you see if your strike connects against the target's Armour Class) and a Damage Roll (where you see how much hurt you brought). Those are the basics! All that's left is to invite you to enjoy our story with us! Your imagination is the final ingredient in making Fury of the Small feel complete. I hope it inspires you to start your own games, to tell your own stories, to bring friends to the table. As you hear our dice tumble, as we put on our silly-voices and play serious-pretend, as you hear us laugh, gasp and holler with excitement know that there's a gaming table just like this one out there for you.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Critical Role's Matt Mercer says the new game 'Daggerheart' is a 'major part' of the business's future
Critical Role launched "Daggerheart" — its own tabletop roleplaying game system — on May 20. The team's eight cofounders are going all-in for a splashy promo for the game, "Age of Umbra." There's a lot riding on "Daggerheart's" success — and CCO Matt Mercer says it'll be a "major part" of the team's future. Critical Role, the nerdworld business that has sold out stadium shows in and outside the US, just launched its new game, "Daggerheart," after more than a year of beta testing. The team's cofounders rolled out the game on-stream on May 20, kicking off a new era for the business's game-making arm, Darrington Press. "Daggerheart" plays like a sophisticated, modern answer to the 50-year-old "Dungeons & Dragons" — the Hasbro-owned game that first made CR nerdworld-famous. Now, the eight CR cofounders run a multi-division business that spans live shows and streaming, podcasting, Amazon-backed animations, gaming, and publishing. The "Daggerheart" starter kit comes with a 366-page rulebook, around the same length as the main "D&D" rulebook. The core set comes with 279 player cards. Unlike "D&D," CR's "Daggerheart" involves the use of a card system that outlines each character's backstory and history. Matthew Mercer, CR's chief creative officer, told Business Insider that the process of creating Daggerheart has been a "wild and rewarding journey." "The scale of collaboration between both studying what elements of TTRPG gaming we've all been drawn to, and then implementing those lessons into a new game system has been a whole host of new challenges and unexpected revelations along the entire process," Mercer said. "There's still so much more to come, and Daggerheart will most definitely be a major part of CR's future and content alongside everything else we've been working on," he added. The eight cofounders are using other arms of the company to promote "Daggerheart." They're releasing an eight-part miniseries where they'll all be at the table, playing the game. It's titled "Age of Umbra," a dark fantasy-themed adventure that premieres on May 29. Mercer told BI "Age of Umbra" is a marked departure from Exandria, the high fantasy setting that CR has been streaming in for its main campaign for 10 years. Mercer said guiding the seven other cofounders, who've been playing "D&D" on-stream for a decade, was easier than he expected. "We intentionally designed the game to be quite intuitive, and while there's always a learning curve to any new system — especially if you're having to unlearn habits from other game systems — everyone ultimately slipped into the game rapidly and comfortably," he said. Spenser Starke, the lead game designer for "Daggerheart," told BI that the game has been built for narrative-focused play, but it also has the latitude for "cinematic combat." "The most challenging part of designing the game for me was trying to ensure all the mechanics felt balanced and locked together at every level to create a cohesive game," Starke said. The player cards, Starke said, were a high-priority item for the development team, particularly the ancestry, community, and subclass cards — elements that go into character creation. CR's Darrington Press created "Daggerheart" in-house, meaning Starke and his crew of designers built the book to the final stages of production, overseeing everything from art to the last edits. One of the later additions to the rulebook that Starke and his team made was campaign frames, a quick-start method for new players to get their home games going. "The design team spent so much time, effort, and energy putting that chapter together, and I'm really proud of what we created," Starke said. "We're truly so excited for people to take the format for campaign frames and start building their own." Starke and Mercer also teased that there'll be more updates coming down the pipe soon. "We can't announce anything officially, but know we are working every day on new, exciting stuff for 'Daggerheart,'" Starke said. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Critical Role's Matt Mercer says the new game 'Daggerheart' is a 'major part' of the business's future
Critical Role, the nerdworld business that has sold out stadium shows in and outside the US, just launched its new game, "Daggerheart," after more than a year of beta testing. The team's cofounders rolled out the game on-stream on May 20, kicking off a new era for the business's game-making arm, Darrington Press. "Daggerheart" plays like a sophisticated, modern answer to the 50-year-old "Dungeons & Dragons" — the Hasbro-owned game that first made CR nerdworld-famous. Now, the eight CR cofounders run a multi-division business that spans live shows and streaming, podcasting, Amazon-backed animations, gaming, and publishing. The "Daggerheart" starter kit comes with a 366-page rulebook, around the same length as the main "D&D" rulebook. The core set comes with 279 player cards. Unlike "D&D," CR's "Daggerheart" involves the use of a card system that outlines each character's backstory and history. Matthew Mercer, CR's chief creative officer, told Business Insider that the process of creating Daggerheart has been a "wild and rewarding journey." "The scale of collaboration between both studying what elements of TTRPG gaming we've all been drawn to, and then implementing those lessons into a new game system has been a whole host of new challenges and unexpected revelations along the entire process," Mercer said. "There's still so much more to come, and Daggerheart will most definitely be a major part of CR's future and content alongside everything else we've been working on," he added. The eight cofounders are using other arms of the company to promote "Daggerheart." They're releasing an eight-part miniseries where they'll all be at the table, playing the game. It's titled "Age of Umbra," a dark fantasy-themed adventure that premieres on May 29. Mercer told BI "Age of Umbra" is a marked departure from Exandria, the high fantasy setting that CR has been streaming in for its main campaign for 10 years. Mercer said guiding the seven other cofounders, who've been playing "D&D" on-stream for a decade, was easier than he expected. "We intentionally designed the game to be quite intuitive, and while there's always a learning curve to any new system — especially if you're having to unlearn habits from other game systems — everyone ultimately slipped into the game rapidly and comfortably," he said. Designing 'Daggerheart' Spenser Starke, the lead game designer for "Daggerheart," told BI that the game has been built for narrative-focused play, but it also has the latitude for "cinematic combat." "The most challenging part of designing the game for me was trying to ensure all the mechanics felt balanced and locked together at every level to create a cohesive game," Starke said. The player cards, Starke said, were a high-priority item for the development team, particularly the ancestry, community, and subclass cards — elements that go into character creation. CR's Darrington Press created "Daggerheart" in-house, meaning Starke and his crew of designers built the book to the final stages of production, overseeing everything from art to the last edits. One of the later additions to the rulebook that Starke and his team made was campaign frames, a quick-start method for new players to get their home games going. "The design team spent so much time, effort, and energy putting that chapter together, and I'm really proud of what we created," Starke said. "We're truly so excited for people to take the format for campaign frames and start building their own." Starke and Mercer also teased that there'll be more updates coming down the pipe soon. "We can't announce anything officially, but know we are working every day on new, exciting stuff for 'Daggerheart,'" Starke said.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Residential developer eyes D&D lots to build homes for seniors and veterans
May 8—Six single-family homes could be constructed on city-owned D&D lots so long as the developer is awarded funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank Homebuyer program. If Paramount Development grant is successful in obtaining its grant, the homes will target people with lower incomes, senior citizens and veterans. Jerry Floyd of Paramount Development told members of the Newton City Council that he won't know until December whether he received the awarded funds. The six homes would be built with two bedrooms over basements. Floyd said in order to score well enough in the program, the homes need to target certain populations. "In our particular case, all of these homes will be reserved for seniors for purchase," he said. "Seniors are defined as someone 62 and older. On top of that we have some additional targeting that three of these homes must be sold to a veteran. So that will be our targeted market." It would cost around $280,000 to build each of these houses. Floyd said the Federal Home Loan Bank comes in with a $150,000 subsidy, allowing the developer to sell the homes for $125,000-$140,000. These prices, he said, are affordable for seniors, and he expects they would be sold before they are built. "They will have a five-year period to sign," he said. "If they try to re-sell the home in that time, the Federal Home Loan Bank will recapture some of that money it receives over that period of time. But they're kind of in for five years, and once they're there that $150,000 for their benefits is no longer over their head." According to city documents, the developer anticipates the construction and sale of these homes to occur over a 24- to 30-month period. The D&D lots were purchased for $30,000 under the condition the developer is awarded funds. Otherwise the sale is null and void. The properties included: 1017 West 4th Street South, 1219 South 4th Avenue East, 902 1st Avenue West, 625 East 5th Street South, 917 1st Avenue West and 717 West 6th Street South. Council member Randy Ervin praised the idea of establishing new houses for seniors and veterans, but he asked Floyd why he chose Newton. Floyd said he has ties to the Iowa town. While he is not originally from Iowa, his wife was born in Skiff Medical Center and lived in Newton until the third grade. "Newton has been a special place in my heart," the Texas-raised Floyd said. "...But you guys are doing a phenomenal job with these D&D lots. We can't go buy $60,000-$70,000 lots in Waukee and do what we're doing. It just doesn't work. We're offering $5,000 which is pretty much the most I can offer." Paramount Development also purchased four other D&D lots in Newton, but with the same contingency that the sale is approved if its Iowa Finance Authority HOME Program Rental application is accepted. These three-bedroom, single-family homes are only targeted to those who have lower income. Unlike the earlier six homes, these four residences will be rentals owned and operated by Paramount Development for a 20-year period. Those properties include: 509 West 2nd Street South, 514 South 2nd Avenue West, 315 East 4th Street South and 616 West 4th Street South.
