Tabletop RPGs – Cogwheel Gaming

Warchief Gaming Announced Auroboros TTRPG

Warchief Gaming has announced its first TTRPG (Table Top Role Playing Game) – Auroboros: Coils of the Serpent. The game is based on the role-playing campaign that Chris Metzen (Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Warchief Gaming) created and ran with his childhood friends in the ‘80s and ‘90s. This was previous to Metzen’s work at Blizzard.

Auroborus: Coils of the Serpent is an adaptation of that roleplaying game from decades ago. It has been adapted to Dungeons & Dragons 5E, which makes it much easier for D&D players and Dungeon Managers to pick it up and start a campaign. Ryan Collins (former Hearthstone designer and Lead Product Designer of Warchief Gaming) helped update the game to 5E, along with the help of Warchief’s team of designers and artists.

The first release in the Auroborus: Coils of the Serpent campaign is Worldbook: Lawbrand. It “gives players and GMs all the tools they need to create their own adventures in this epic fantasy world”. It will be launched on Kickstarter on April 20, 2021.

The core concept of the game is the Auroborus (a snake that is devouring its own tail). The campaign takes place in the realm of Lawbrand, a collection of trade cities. The Church of Sularia keeps the order in the cities with “really stringent laws and codes. It’s kind of like Lawful Good gone crazy.”

Beneath it all is the Auroborus, the world serpent, a primordial power. “It is life and death. It is growth and degeneration. It is enlightenment and madness.” Its power can be wielded by mortal creatures – but it comes at a high cost.”. Player characters that take the Mark of the Serpent can use the Auroborus’s power directly to heal the sick or shatter mountaintops. Doing so can cause great peril to the one who uses that power.

In addition to a new world to explore, Auroborus: Coils of the Serpent includes five unique new races and four new subclasses. The Atsaad is an aquatic race. The Wildkeeper is a nature-wielding fighter subclass. There are also new magic items, spells, and “Sigils” (which is a new form of customization).

I am very interested in experiencing what this new TTRPG has to offer. The new setting, races, and subclasses, could bring a fresh energy to the 5E D&D game many of us are playing. The concept that a player character could use the power of a primordial power – while knowing the risk that comes with it – would make for a unique role-playing experience.

Reasons to Love the Combat Wheelchair

The Combat Wheelchair was created by Sara Thompson. They way I see it, the purpose of the Combat Wheelchair is to allow Dungeons & Dragons players who use wheelchairs to create a character that they can relate to. The person running the game can also make an NPC (non-player character) who uses the Combat Wheelchair. It makes Dungeons & Dragons more inclusive.

I am disabled. My allergies are numerous due to having a malfunctioning immune system. I also have fibromyalgia, which is a neurological disease. There are many days where trying to stand up is a gamble, and walking is an extremely slow process. There is no cure for either of my disabilities.

My husband and I went to Disneyland to celebrate our anniversary. We intended to hang out in the Star Wars section. but getting there would require more walking than I could manage. It turns out that Disneyland rents wheelchairs. The wheelchair enabled me to visit Batuu with my husband, and I am thankful for that opportunity.

The Combat Wheelchair caught my attention the first time I heard about it. The thought of playing a disabled character sounded very appealing. It’s nice to feel seen.

The Combat Wheelchair was based on the ones used in wheelchair basketball and rugby – meaning that they are durable! It comes with a set of gloves that the character can use to use the push wheel rims, and it has seatbelts. It can also be maneuvered with the use of Beacon Stones and can hover to get the character up or down stairs. A player can add two upgrades to the Combat Wheelchair. It comes with a rear backrest compartment that is the equivalent of a standard explorer’s pack.

I love that the Combat Wheelchair allows a disabled character to have the same potential that an abled character starts with. All characters can go into battle and attack enemies in their own ways (based on the character’s class and personality). Everyone can move themselves to where they need to go while adventuring.

Best of all, the Combat Wheelchair makes it very clear that there is a disabled character in the party. Doing so helps normalize disabled people in the real world who use wheelchairs. This can open up discussion around the (physical or virtual) table about disabilities.

Kobolds In Space! – Adventures in Lawn Care

Kobolds In Space! is a game where players become kobolds who are tasked with a mission that requires space travel. What follows is a story version of one of the beta tests of Kobolds In Space!

Our spherical ship is called The Green Moon. It heavily armored, but very slow. The AI on our ship, SNIV 3000, is extremely annoying. Our mission is to seek out a friendly asteroid and mine it. Maybe. Most of us weren’t really paying attention.

Continue reading “Kobolds In Space! – Adventures in Lawn Care”

DnDBeyond’s Digital Dice Make Gaming More Inclusive

D&D Beyond recently introduced Digital Dice. Players can access the dice directly from their character sheet. The digital dice are an excellent alternative for those who don’t want to use a bot in Discord to make a roll for them. They are also good for when you are playing D&D at night, and don’t want physical dice rolling to bother your roommates or family members.

For me, the best part of the digital dice is that it accommodates my dyslexia. I have, over the years, figured out ways to work around my issues with spelling and language. Numbers, however, continue to perplex me. No matter what I try, I just can’t make the math work in my head.

Digital Dice make things easier for people like me. For example, let’s say Ownka, my half-orc cleric, wants to cast Mass Healing Word at Level 5. The character sheet says 3d4+3 and has a little heart symbol next to it (indicating this spell heals).

With one button click, Digital Dice rolls three d4 die across my character sheet. At the bottom, it adds up all the numbers for me. At a glance, I can see that Ownka just gave her party members 11 hit points back.

When my kobold Path of the Berserker barbarian Zax wants to hit an enemy with their Hammer of Thunderbolts, the damage area on their character sheet says 2d6+8 and has a little icon that indicates this action can cause bludgeoning damage.

When I clicked that box, Digital Dice rolled two d6 for me, and added up the totals with Zax’s bonus included. Just like that, I know Zax did 16 bludgeoning damage to whatever was making them angry.

Another really cool thing about Digital Dice is that the come in different colors. Those who were in the alpha test have access to “Old School”, a white die with black numbers. This one is my favorite because I find it easiest to read numbers (or letters) that are in dark print on a light background.

Tour of Gox’s Barbarian Dojo

Gox is a Zealot barbarian kobold that I played in the Pack Tactics campaign. After that, Gox decided to open a Barbarian Dojo. This blog post is from Gox’s point-of-view, explaining why he opened a Dojo, and giving the reader a tour.

Hi! I’m Gox. Welcome to my Barbarian Dojo! I’m a follower of Bahamut, and my understanding is that Bahamut wants us to protect the weak. One really great way to do that is to make the weak stronger. That’s what my Barbarian Dojo is for.

Let me show you around! This grassy area out here is used at night for training practice. Things like practicing battle stance, learning how to use different types of weapons, and some light sparring with a partner. There’s always a few clerics of Bahamut standing by, just in case someone gets hurt.

The Dojo was built with kobolds in mind, so you might have to duck after we go inside. The entryway is always kept clear, to make it easier for groups of excited kobolds to get in and out without trampling each other.

The passageway to the left leads to the barracks. Every kobold gets their own bunk bed. I can’t take you in there right now, because kobolds sleep during the day. They’ll start waking up for breakfast when the sun starts going down.

The cafeteria is off to the right. It takes a lot of food to feed all these barbarians, so I’ve got some partnerships with local farms. They provide surplus food in exchange for protection from thieves, zombies, and the like. We have a rotating group of cooks that are sent here by a local cooking school. I hear they consider feeding this many barbarians to be an interesting challenge. Something to brag about.

Let’s go check out the armory. We’ve got pretty much anything a barbarian kobold would need, from weapons to armor. The dinged up stuff is for the newbies, to get them used to wearing armor and carrying a weapon. As they improve their skill, they get access to heavier stuff.

This hallway leads to a gymnasium, where one-one-one challenges can take place and barbarians can show off their skills. Crowds will gather on the bleachers to watch. The rule is a match cannot begin without at least two clerics present.

Over there is a huge bath area. Turns out, many barbarians don’t really care much about personal hygiene. Trust me, there are some things that not even prestidigitation can remove! Turns out barbarians can be enticed to get into what looks like a swimming pool with soap bubbles.

Down here is a huge amphitheater that was made thanks to the efforts of spellcasters who can do mold earth and barbarians who can lift heavy stone. This is where I turn into an ogre, or worst dog, or a dragon, and fight ten to twenty barbarians. It’s a safe way for them to learn what to watch out for when fighting a particular creature.