D&D Adventurer Magazine… another look (part 2)

OK then, as promised, here’s a quick look at what’s contained in issue two of this new D&D themed ‘partwork’ by Hachette…

So, as you can see in the picture above, this second installment contains another set of dice, and a large map (in addition to the magazine).

And if I start things off by taking a quick look at the dice…

...they’re pretty much what you’d expect them to be – they’re a standard set of seven dice in the clear ‘gem’ style – but they also have little flecks of micro-glitter (or some-such) within them – which gives them a bit of a pearlescent sheen when the light catches them.

And, as for the map…

It’s the same overland map that you can find in the D&D Essentials Kit – but this time it’s much larger (the original was roughly A2 in size – this one is more like A1), plus it’s also printed on thicker paper/card (think of it being similar to one of the Paizo flip-mats – but without the wipe clean surface).

Here it is pictured alongside the 'essentials' map – just so that you can get a better idea of how big it actually is:

 

So, if you plan on running the ongoing campaign featured in these magazines (or would like to add it to your original starter set, or the new Phandelver book that’s just come out), then it will probably be a very useful thing to have. However, unlike the one in the Essentials Kit – it is only single sided.

Now, onto the booklet itself…

Much like the last issue, I don’t have any issues reading through it (as it’s basically just going over things that I’m already familiar with) – but I’m still not quite sure if jumping around from one subject to another will be helpful or confusing to someone who is totally new (hopefully someone who is new will be able to clarify that).

For example, this issue jumps from inspiration, to resting, and then to spellcasting in short order... and then muddies the waters a little by stating that you shouldn’t confuse regular inspiration with bardic inspiration… but also not to worry about that… because they’re not covering bards yet (which begs the question - why bring it up then?*)

*note that the reason I think they bring stuff like this up, is because of the repeated reference to ‘making your own characters on D&D beyond’ – rather than just sticking with the pre-gens for these first few introductory scenarios.

And speaking of the scenario featured in this one…

...it doesn’t really carry on from the encounter in the first issue (other than mentioning the same fallen elven kingdom) – so it’s yet to be seen what direction they’ll be going with for the overall campaign (i.e. will it be more like the Phandelver boxed set? or more akin to the notice board quests of the Essentials Kit? or something else entirely?)

Either way, it’s a fairly simple dungeon ‘fetch quest’ - with a couple of things to fight, and a couple of skill checks to be made.

It’s not anything to write home about – but if you’re new to RPGs, you don’t really want to start things off with anything too complicated I suppose.

One of the nice things about this one though, is that you get a player handout to give to the players… however, the downside of this is that on the reverse side are the stats for one of the monsters… one that’s meant to be a bit of a surprise. So that could have been thought out a bit better I think.

But yeah, on the whole, £4.99 is not too bad of a deal if you’re in the market for another set of dice and a poster map of the Phandelver region of the Sword Coast.

* * *

I’ll now move on to the ‘free gift’ that you get as a subscriber bonus…

 ...and, as you can see, it’s a nice faux-leather style dice tray with neat stitching. It’s the kind of thing where you can un-pop the press-studs and fold flat – which makes it easy to store and transport.

So, much like the dice, there’s not much more to say about it. It’s the kind of thing that does a job, and does it well IMO. It’s a nice thing to have.

* * *

So, to sum up, what do I think overall.

So far, these first two issues seem like a pretty good deal – even though for me personally, I don’t have much use for the booklets (but I’m not really the target audience now am I). And while I have been sent this first delivery packet for free (as I said, this is because I took part in the previous trial), I would have still bought these first couple of issues anyway.

And if you’re a new player (or part of a new group) I think these first two issues are probably a good purchase... even if you’ve already got one of the starter boxes - as a couple of extra dice, more pre-gens, plus a nice overland map – all of these aren’t bad things to have.

 

However, these ‘partwork’ subscriptions, they do tend to be quite expensive over time – so it remains to be seen if they’ll be worth it in the long run. For me, this will largely depend on the kind of things that accompany each issue.

If, for example, each issue ends up having an encounter/adventure that can be run with minimal fuss, that’s not too bad. However, for £8.99 per issue (as that’s the price from issue 3 onwards), I would expect a lot more – miniatures/standees/tokens for PCs and monsters, maps and tiles and/or postermap encounter areas to help run the adventures, handouts and props that aren’t just a page torn out of the booklet… basically everything that I would need to run a game in a premium ‘beadle & grimm’ fashion (as this subscription is going to cost hundreds and hundreds of pounds in the long run – so it really needs to be something special to draw me in).

However, unlike other partworks, this one is a little bit vague on what you’ll actually be getting. I mean, I’m assuming that there will be ‘something’ packaged alongside each booklet (as that’s how these things usually work) – but until we know what those ‘somethings’ are, it’s going to be hard to judge its value.

As a quick example, when a ‘warhammer’ partwork is released by the same company – it usually contains something like this in the first issue…

 ...so that you can see everything you’ll be getting up front (which usually works out to being a reasonable saving compared to if you had bought the same items at a GW store). With this new D&D Adventurer partwork there is nothing like that so far (other than the fact that we know that there’ll be some 2D acrylic PC mini’s in #3, and a large d20 & dice bag in #4 ...plus the various ‘free gifts’ for subscribing online).

So, what am I going to do? 

Since I got this first delivery for free, I’m going to pay for the subscription for next month’s four issues… and then report back to see if I think it’s going to be worth it in the long run.

And, while I have my doubts that it will be the kind of thing I’m hoping for (something akin to the ‘dungeon in a box’ type of subscriptions that you can get elsewhere) – I’m still hopeful that I’ll be proven wrong :)

D&D Adventurer Magazine… another look (part 1)

 

Around this time last year, Hachette Partworks did a trial (4 issue) release of a new D&D magazine.

At the time, they didn’t make it clear that it was only a trial (I have since found out that this is a common practice), and so I subscribed – as I thought it was an interesting idea.

However, because it was only a trial (i.e. it went on sale in a very limited area) – they didn’t actually charge you any money if you did take the time to subscribe online… but instead sent you a free (random) issue when the trial concluded (as a way of saying thank you for being part of their market research I guess). 

 

So, that was nice… the issue I got sent was #1… and if you want to see what I thought about it back then, I have a separate blog post HERE which I wrote at the time.

Anyway, I assume the trial went well – as they’re now going ahead with a full release… and because I subscribed previously, they automatically renewed my subscription for the actual release.

And while that in itself was mildly annoying – the sweetener was that they would be sending out the first delivery for free – once again, as a thank you for taking part in the trial (so I can’t really complain). 

 

And, true to their word, this is what turned up the other day:

 

 

...and so I thought I’d see what’s changed, and share some of my thoughts here on the blog!

So first off, it looks like issue one has been reworked somewhat. I think it still contains most of the same information, but the art and photos are different, the sections have been moved around, and stuff like that.

Noticeable changes are things like, including a reference to Gygax and Arneson this time, changing ‘races’ to ‘species’ (to be more inline with current thinking) and lots of references to D&D Beyond (there also seems to me more ‘DM tips’ sidebars in the adventure section - which is a nice addition). 

And, once again, to someone like me, the contents makes perfect sense (as I’m already familiar with the system and RPGs in general) – but, just like I said last time, it’s hard to know if that will be the case for someone coming into this completely new (as it does jump around a lot). So, it would be interesting to know if anyone that’s completely new to D&D/RPGs picks this up, and is able to actually run the encounter at the end (just using this issue) without any problems (i.e. if that sound like you, then please do let me know how you get on).

A few minor quibbles from me is when they explain that 1d8 means that you roll one eight sided die, and then go on to say that 4d8 means you roll four (I think it would have been useful to clarify that you total that result, because in issue two they describe advantage/disadvantage as being 2d20). There's also the fact that they state that you can sketch-out/photocopy the map of the inn (for the encounter at the end of the magazine) instead of just providing it as a separate handout (I mean #1 of the similar Warhammer ‘partworks’ usually come with a small battlemat to play on – so it’s not like it's something they don’t already do in similar products). 

They’ve also partially fixed the position of a trapdoor in the encounter text… so it’s now in the correct room – but they forgot to change the wording. 

But yeah, one the whole it’s the same kind of thing with the ancillary booklets (i.e. their content is similar to the trial material – just switched around a bit). However they seem to have (thankfully) taken a step back with the dice you’ll be receiving… as it seems like the old plan was going to be dice, dice and more dice… 

 

-pictured above: the trial blurb-

...whereas now they’ve broadened their horizons a little… 

-pictured above: the new blurb-

...though I do fear that it’s still going to be heavily dice focused – I mean they openly state that each adventure will have it’s own colour coded dice – which seems a bit odd to me. Sure, we gamers like dice, and we sometimes buy a new set for a new campaign or a new character or a new system… but for each individual adventure? ...I can’t say I’ve ever done (or heard anyone do) something like that.

So, while I understand that front loading the subscription with dice is probably a good idea (so a group of players has enough to get started), if it ends up being dice every two or three issues – that’s a bit excessive I think.

Anyway, on the whole, my opinion has stayed the same – for £1.99, issue one is a good deal. You get a set of dice in a little tin, a little starter encounter, four pre-generated characters and enough information to pique your interest if you’re new to all of this. So you can't really go wrong!

-what you get with #1-

However, as a slight aside, those similar Warhammer partworks that I mentioned earlier – they usually have an insert that shows you exactly what you’ll be getting over the course of all 80 issues. There is nothing like that with this one – which is rather disappointing to be honest (as I'm still not sure what I'll be getting if I decide to continue the subscription).

But yeah, that’s my thoughts about issue 1 (i.e. nothing has really changed)... and I’ll take a look at what’s in issue two (and also one of the ‘free’ gifts you get for subscribing) in my next post.

A new Sci-Fi episode AND a quick look at some ‘War On Terra’ miniatures

As you might have seen, I’ve just released a new sci-fi episode over on YouTube (if you’re new here, then I make ‘print & paste’ terrain tutorials for use in various miniatures games)…

...and in this latest episode I’ve been making some more stuff for the sci-fi range - i.e. bunks & lockers (note that you can get the pdf file HERE if you want to make some yourself – just put a zero in the little ‘pay-what-you-want’ box if you want to grab it for free ;) ).

Anyway, at the end of that video you’ll see some miniatures that were sent to me (for free) from AWA Game Design.

Now, these mini’s are from their War on Terra game (they have a kickstarter running for it at the moment), and they arrived in this rather nice looking box...

 

...which contained a whole host of goodies.

 

And one of the first things I noticed is that they have some left-handed models – which is a nice touch.

And, as you can see, the assembly of the models is pretty straight forward – and while their isn’t a great deal of poseability, there is enough... as some of the models come with multiple arm options, and the arms themselves can be swapped around between models to change things up a bit (i.e. they all appear to be interchangeable - which is nice).

Now, the miniatures that I received look to be 3D resin prints (I’m not sure if the mini’s you get with the kickstarter will be cast, or printed, or something else entirely) – but this was my first time working with 3D prints… and I didn’t have any issues assembling or painting them…

...though I will say that there were some visible print lines on a couple of the models – the most noticeable being on the chest circle of the guy second from the left - though if I were a smarter person I could have just run a file over that, and that would have got rid of it (and I’m not really sure why I didn’t do that to be honest… oh well :) ).

And as far as scale goes… they are on the larger end of the spectrum – and to illustrate that, here’s a picture of one of their tesla marines standing next to a GW primaris marine...

 

...and while I personally would have liked them to be a bit smaller (so I can use them in other games – alongside some of the other sci-fi mini’s I already own), I expect that will be a non-issue for most folks (doubly so if you’re only using them as intended – i.e. for the War on Terra game).

But yeah, I’m happy with how they’ve turned out. I mean, I’ve gone with a pretty basic colour scheme, and they still look pretty good I think (as I’ve said before, I do prefer painting miniatures that are not overburdened with too much unnecessary clutter – and these fit that bill).

I’m also wondering if, since all of the human sub-factions have their own circular emblem/iconography, I wonder if they have plans to release some of those as little pieces that can be glued into the circle of the chest plate (as I think that would be rather cool).

Oh... and, as a slight aside, I also want to point out that the box itself (which I’ve already said, is rather nice)… with a little bit of padding, it can easily accommodate the half-size trays that you can get from places like KR Multicase (because once you’ve got all this assembled and painted – you’re gonna want to keep your models safe… right?).

Anyway, if you’re interested, the War in Terra guys did an interview over on The Painting Phase channel if you want to learn a bit more about them and the game they’re producing (which is well worth a watch):

 

...plus the painting phase chats are always entertaining :)

 

So yeah, thanks for making it to the end of this article. I hope you can get some use out of the new (bunks & lockers) terrain, and feel free to check out the War on Terra* kickstarter if it looks like your kind of thing!

*note that I am not affiliated with AWA Game Design in any way, and I have not been paid to write this article (I just agreed to take a look at some of their mini’s, as I thought they looked like rather cool models :) ).

MINIATURES REVIEW – Boxers (Wargames Atlantic)

As some of you might know, last year, Wargames Atlantic sent me a couple of sets of their miniatures to check out...

 (the three boxes that I received) 

...and, if you missed my previous review, you can see some of the ‘bulldogs’ at the end of THIS video (and a follow up review HERE on the blog).

However, being mainly a sci-fi and fantasy gamer, I wasn’t quite sure how I could use a set of historical figures from the late 1800s/early 1900s in my games (i.e. the ‘boxers’) – though doubtlessly, if that is a time period that you are interested in, then these mini’s might be exactly the kind of thing that you’re looking for!

(there are 6 sprues in the box – for a total of 30 miniatures)

That being said, seeing as how a lot of fantasy settings can be fairly anachronistic at times, I thought that if I only used the spears and swords (i.e. if I ignore all of the rifles) – then they’d work perfectly well in the kind of games that I normally like to run.

As such, here’s a ‘monk’ miniature that I’ve assembled and painted up… and I have to say that I’m pretty pleased with how he’s turned out.

I mean, he went together easily enough (I used Humbrol poly cement), and there’s plenty of details for washes to do their thing – while at the same time, not being overburdened with too many of the bits and bobs that sometimes plague ‘fantasy’ models.

Furthermore, I also needed to make some spirit models and some statures for an adventure I’ve been writing (it’s the one featured in season two of the dungeon BUILD ALONG series) – and these seemed like the perfect models for that.

Mainly because, as I say, that’s something I needed to get painted up for the adventure – but also, to show what these models look like with the most basic of paint jobs (which you can see in the following pic’s).

 

And, I hope you’ll agree, they’ll do the job nicely.  The only drawback I can see is that, like all of the other sets, you’re expected to supply your own bases.

Now, for me, that’s not really an issue – as I like to use various size (2mm thick) mdf bases for most of my models – just to maintain a consistent look. But I can see how that might be slightly annoying for some folks.

But yeah, one the whole, they’re another nice set of models – doubly so if the boxer rebellion conflict is something that you are interested in. But like I’ve (hopefully) shown in this article, they can just as easily be put to use in our fantasy games – and they’ve definitely been a good way of adding some more variety to my own model collection.

(a group shot – including another statue that I put together)

New D&D Magazine review… kinda…

So, a little while ago I heard someone mention that Hachette Partworks were creating a new weekly D&D magazine.

Now, if you’re not familiar with the concept, Hachette does lots of these kind of ‘collectible magazine’ type of things (for example it might be a magazine where you build a scale model of the Titanic – and you get a few new parts to assemble with each issue, along with some history and background information to read through OR it might be a magazine all about cross-stitching – with new patterns and materials in each issue) – however, as gamers, the ones that are usually of interest to us are the Warhammer ones.

In these Warhammer ‘partworks’ you’ll usually get models, paints, brushes, etc. included with each issue – and if you collect the entire series you’ll end up with all the rules you’ll need to play, and two massive armies (sometimes with a bunch of terrain as well).

However, they can be rather expensive (when you total up how much you’ll end up spending to get the entire collection) – but the first issue is usually super cheap (usually £1.99 or £2.99 – just to grab your attention) – and these are definitely worth picking up just for the models alone (even if you have no intention of collecting the entire set). 

For example, all of these were included in issue 1 of one of the Warhammer ones that I picked up from the local newsagent a couple of years back… all for a mere £2.99!

 

So, as you can imagine, I was rather interested to see what would be included in this new D&D ‘partwork’ that they were releasing.

However, I couldn’t find it on sale anywhere – and neither could anyone else I know (and not just locally, folks in other towns, folks from the UK in my discord server, etc. - no-one could find it in any of their local stores).

So, in the end I decided I’d bite the bullet and subscribe through the Hachette website – with the aim of checking out a few issues (for SCIENCE!) – just to see what kind of thing they had in mind for it… and then report back here.

However, as I’ve since discovered, Hachette will often do short trial runs of each partwork (usually 4 issues), and only make them available in small quantities (and only in selected areas).

So, it would seem that the reason that no-one could find it was because it was still in the trial phase, and wasn’t on general release yet.

Now, I have to admit that this was NOT pointed out on their website when I subscribed (there it says that 80 issues are planned) – so I was a little surprised when I got this e-mail:

Now don’t get me wrong, a free issue is nice – but I have to admit that it did leave a bit of a sour taste in my mouth knowing that I’d been mislead. But it’s a minor gripe – and I was still looking forward to getting an issue to flick through (though I imagine if anyone out there did manage to pick up the first 4 issues ‘in store’ without knowing this – then they might be a bit annoyed to find out that they’d been a bit of an unwitting guinea pig).

Anyway, true to their word, issue 1 arrived the other day – with a similar cover letter…

...and since I’ve had a few days to look at it, I thought I’d give you my thoughts.

First of all (and prominently displayed) are the dice:

 

And these are exactly what you’d expect – though the style of the numbers is similar to the D&D font – and that’s a nice touch. Plus they also come in a little (aluminium?) tobacco-style tin. So yeah, I quite like them (worth the cover price alone). 

You also get four pre-generated characters on a nice, thick, double-sided, satin paper – which again, are nice things to have.

In addition to the main magazine you also get a little introduction booklet that explains the kind of things you’ll be getting…

...and a small ‘combat booklet’ that details some of the things you can do in combat – which comes with an example of play (which, unfortunately, has a few basic errors): 

And, as for the magazine itself, it’s a bit of a difficult one for me to judge to be honest – because, as I’m already familiar with D&D 5e (and have been playing RPGs for decades), all of the explanations make perfect sense to me. However, if I were a complete newbie to RPGs in general, I might be a little confused. But like I say, it’s a hard thing to judge (and probably harder still to pull off) – but I think there’s probably enough there to pique new folks’ interest.

Also, as you probably saw, there’s a short adventure/encounter in the back too – not much more than a combat encounter (a variation of the good old fashioned ‘rats in the cellar’ that we all know and love) – which is set in Phandalin (the town that features in the 5e Starter Set and Essentials Kit).

And I think there should be enough material in the magazine to run it without much fuss (though a pull-out map of the inn, to show to the players, might have been a nice inclusion). 

 

So yeah, it seems that (at least to begin with), each adventure/encounter that appears in a particular issue will focus on slightly different elements of play ...introducing more and more rules (and monsters) as it goes along – which is kinda what I expected (probably a good format for this kind of thing).

* * * 

So, assuming that it does get an eventual (national) release, do I think it’s worth picking up? 

Well, if you already have the 5e core rulebooks (and/or are familiar with D&D) then I still think #1 is worth getting hold of. I mean, an extra set of dice (in their own little tin) is a nice thing to have, and, as I’ve already said, a bunch of pre-generated characters are always useful. And for a cover price of £1.99, you can’t really go wrong. 

And, if you’re completely new to this kind of thing, then I also think #1 is worth looking at – mainly for the same reasons. You’ll have your first set of dice, a very basic understanding of the game, and a bunch of characters to choose from if you have a local store/club that runs starter games (though, in truth, DMs who run those kind of games will normally have pre-generated characters for you to choose from anyway – but having one of your own that you can study beforehand might be more appealing to some people).

However, would I pick up the whole 80 issue series? ...well, of that, I’m not so sure. It kinda depends on what kind of thing will be included. 

For example, the total cost for the entire print run would be around £630 ...and for that kind of money I would expect a lot of physical products/accessories to accompany it - kinda like one of the deluxe Beadle & Grimm’s products. 

Things like handouts, poster maps, props, dungeon tiles, miniatures (or, at the very least, standees/tokens), item/monster/spell cards, and so on. 

However, when I filled out their survey, aside from dice related stuff, they seemed to be more focused on merchandise (mugs, posters, apparel, etc.) than things to actually enhance the game – so I’m not sure if that’s going to be the direction they take (which is a bit of a shame). 

That being said, I suppose that’s the whole point of the trial (even though I’m not keen on the way they went about it) – just to gauge interest and get feedback. However, I have raised most of these points in the aforementioned survey – so maybe things will be a little clearer (with regard to the kind of ‘accessories’ that will be included) when/if the magazine gets a full release. 

 

TLDR: If you see #1 for sale, pick it up. For £1.99 you can’t really go wrong.

MINIATURES REVIEW – Bulldogs (Wargames Atlantic)

As some of you will be aware, I will usually include ‘action shots’ at the end of most of my videos – and in those final images I’ll sometimes include a few miniatures.

Now, these are usually miniatures that I’ve bought and painted myself (though I do always check with the manufacturer to make sure that they are OK with me doing this) – but in the LATEST EPISODE I’ve actually included a few ‘review’ miniatures that WargamesAtlantic have sent to me.

(everything that arrived in the mail)

Anyway, as you can see in the above pic, they’ve actually sent me three different boxes to take a look at – but in this article I’ll be concentrating on the Bulldogs from their Death Fields range (as those are the only ones I’ve got painted yet).

Now, I will say that, when I first saw previews of these, I knew that I’d probably be picking them up at some point – as I already have a few of their other miniatures (see the ‘Cannon Fodder’ miniatures at the end of THIS video), and these ‘Bulldogs’ looked like a pretty versatile set (especially when you consider the kit-bashing possibilities with some of the other Wargames Atlantic stuff). So, as you can probably guess, I was particularly pleased to receive these. 

(the box contains 4 identical sprues – each containing 6 miniatures)

 

Now, as you can see, you get a ton of head options on each sprue (as is common with the ‘Death Fields’ range), and I expect that a lot of folks will be using the pith helmets to create Praetorian-style Imperial Guard units (as the original GW models are pretty expensive to get a hold of nowadays).

(pith helmet with and without gas mask / WW1 style cap / Brodie helmet with and without gas mask)

However, I quickly noticed that if I instead used the beret wearing heads, they’d have a similar vibe to some of the early Stormtrooper models that GamesWorkshop released – and that’s a look that I rather like (as it will work quite well for the OnePageRules ‘firefight’ army that I’m putting together).

(models assembled with the beret heads)

Anyway, as far as the assembly goes, they did require a bit of mould line removal, and a tiny bit of greenstuff work on the back of the arms and around the neck (i.e. the kind of thing I’ve come to expect with most multi-part kits) – but, as you can see in the above picture, the detail on these guys is pretty good.

Then, when it came to painting, I just used my usual technique of priming in grey and then:

• Paint in all the base colours.
• Apply washes (different washes over the different colours).
• Highlight (and tidy up any ‘tidemarks’) with the same base colours.
• Add a final highlight here and there (mostly just on the face, clothes, and armour).
  

(the finished models next to some of the ‘cannon fodder’ miniatures)

And I think they’ve turned out quite nice. I mean, I’m not an award winning painter or anything like that – but I do like to put nice looking models on the table… and I do think that these are nice looking models (i.e. there’s plenty of depth in the recesses of the models for washes to do their job).

So, I suppose the only question that remains is – would I buy them?

Well, as I’ve already said, I was thinking of getting some of these anyway – and now that I’ve seen them in the flesh, that hasn’t changed. In all truth, I think they actually look a bit better in person than they do in some of the pictures that I’ve seen online.

However, the main complaint that I can see people having with these is that they don’t come with any bases. For me though, that’s a bit of a non issue – as I always use (2mm thick) mdf bases for all of my miniatures (to maintain a consistent look). But I can see how that might be annoying if you were hoping to get everything you need in one box.

Be that as it may, if you’re looking to add some ‘space Brits’ to your collection (possibly even steampunk looking guys if you use some of the other heads), then I don’t think that you can go wrong with these.

In the UK they’re priced at £25, and since there’s 24 models per box, that’s a tiny bit more than £1 a miniature – and you really can’t grumble about that!

Easy Roller Dice (and accessories) Review

Disclaimer: The items discussed in this article were sent to me free of charge.

I was recently approached by the folks over at easyrollerdice.com regarding the possibility of reviewing some of their products. However, even though I made them aware of the fact that I'm not really a review channel (i.e. the best I could offer is to show some of their products in the pictures that appear at the end of my videos), they wanted to send me some stuff to take a look at anyway.

So, of course, I agreed (in fact they seemed to like the approach I already use for the miniatures I show - i.e. nothing fancy, just a little note stating who the manufacturer is in the corner of the video) - though I thought it would be nice to do a full review (my first real review) here on the blog for anyone who might be interested - so here goes...

A WHOLE LOT OF D6's

OK, so the first thing in the package were some d6's ...a whole lot of d6's - 5 packets in fact - each containing 10 dice (so they’re  ideal if you’re playing a game that uses a pool of d6’s -OR- of if you do a bit of wargaming).

And while there's not a lot that can be said about the humble six sided die, I will say that I really like the numbering on these ...it's a large number in a nice font. Obviously, if I was purchasing them myself I might have opted for different colours (but that's very much a matter of personal preference) - but the dice themselves don't have any imperfections that I can see ...so what else is there to say :)

BLOODSTONE d20

Now, since I'm a regular D&D player/DM, a nice d20 is always nice to have ...and this IS a nice d20. The picture doesn't really show it off in it's best light - so here's a short video...

...however it still looks similar to any other 20 sided polyhedron right? ...well, I suppose so, but you really have to hold this one in the hand to appreciate it. It just feels nice. It's the kind of dice you need a dice tray for (and not just because it's made of stone).

Looking at their website it looks as though it sells for around $20 ...so it's probably not something I would have thought about buying myself (it's more the kind of thing I'd stop and admire at a convention, or perhaps buy for a player who is celebrating a milestone birthday, or something like that) - but now that I have it, it's definitely going in my bag of favourite dice (yes I have one of those), and will probably get used for tense dice rolling situations ;)

DICEBAGS

OK, since I just mentioned dicebags, I'll move onto those next. So, I was actually sent 2 different bags - the first being a regular sized one with a Cthulhu style print...

...and a much larger (faux-velvet) style bag (with a similar 'iron-on' design) that's actually reversible ...which is a nice touch (I think I like the green side best).

Much like the d6's, it's hard to wax lyrical about dice bags ...they have one job - to hold dice. But these do seem well made, and the large bag should be more than adequate to hold all of the dice owned by any sane person* (as you can see in the following image, there's still a ton of space with all 50 of the d6's thrown inside).

*it is possible that I might own more dice than the average person :S

DICE BOXES

Once again, both of these are the kind of thing I'd normally think about buying... but then decide that it will probably have to wait until I have a budget to allow for such extravagances.

That being said, the first example (pictured above) sells for $30 (so around £22) ...so it's not actually all that expensive ...I guess I'm just a bit of a cheapskate :)

Anyway the picture doesn't really show the little cut-outs very well - so here's another short video:

So yeah, the magnetised lid is a great addition ...and the magnets are pretty strong (I shook the hell out of this one and the lid isn't going anywhere) - though I'm not quite sure why (what I assume are) the two d10 holes are slightly different...

...I mean, both dice are the same size - and it's easy to see which is which just by looking at them... but maybe there is something I'm missing?

However, my only real issue is the fact that I feel like a bit of an uncultured swine putting one of my cheap dice sets inside (kinda like chugging cheap lager out of a champagne glass) - so I might have to buy myself a nice set of cthulhu dice to do it justice* (as a nice dice box deserves a similarly fancy set of dice).

*I mean sure, my characters will still die horribly or be driven insane ...but at least I can do it in style :D

* * *

Anyway, I thought I would save the best until last... so here's the second 'box' that they sent (though box is far too poor a word):

As you can see, it serves as both a storage/staging area for your dice, as well as having a 'dice tray/rolling' area in the middle.

And if I'm totally honest with you, I would normally just pass something like this by and assume that it would be far too expensive for a regular Joe like me (it being a bit of a premium product) ...but looking at the website, it's listed at around $35 (roughly £25) ...which is about half as much as I expected.

So yeah, that's all I really need to say - but I'll continue nonetheless ;)

Now, I've obviously not had it long - so I'll probably need to revisit the review in a year or two (when it's seen plenty of use, and has been rattling around in my backpack as I travel to and from various games), but it seems pretty sturdy, the lid is a nice snug fit, and it can fit 5 whole sets of dice around the edge (that's dice of the usual RPG variety - i.e. d4 through d20).

I'll also admit that when I first found out that I'd be receiving some 'free stuff' for review I thought that I could pass some of the items on to a few of my gaming friends (rather than hoard it all myself) ...but not this one ...this is mine ...my own ...my precious ;)

* * *

So yeah, here's hoping that you found this first little review of mine interesting and/or informative ...I suppose there's only two things left to do:

1) I'd like to thank the Easy Roller Dice Co. for sending me so much stuff to take a look at (colour me impressed)...

...and...

2) put some of this stuff to use and roll up a new character. So here goes...

That's 17 / 13 / 16 / 13 / 13 / 14 ...quite possibly the best stat's I've ever rolled :)