Technabob » d&d http://technabob.com/blog Cool Gadgets, Gizmos, Games and Weird Science Mon, 13 Feb 2012 02:31:24 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Inflatable D20 Makes for Nerdy Pool Parties http://technabob.com/blog/2010/01/28/inflatable-d20-dice/ http://technabob.com/blog/2010/01/28/inflatable-d20-dice/#comments Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:32:22 +0000 Lambert Varias http://technabob.com/blog/?p=27316 Take this with you to the beach and you’ll certainly be the center of attention, mostly because a lot of people won’t know what the heck this huge polygon with numbers is.

Inflatable d20 1

No one’s stopping you from actually using it to play D&D, just make sure your friends are okay with it. Trust me, there are people who take their D&D seriously, and will not stand for inflatable d20s.

Inflatable d20 2

The inflatable d20 has a diameter of 17 inches; no word if it comes in other colors. You can order one at ThinkGeek for only $12 (USD).

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2010/01/28/inflatable-d20-dice/feed/ 0 Smash Bros. Characters Given D&D-Style Alignments: Fanboys & Fangirls Debate! http://technabob.com/blog/2009/11/12/smash-bros-characters-d-and-d-art/ http://technabob.com/blog/2009/11/12/smash-bros-characters-d-and-d-art/#comments Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:01:44 +0000 Lambert Varias http://technabob.com/blog/?p=22905 Smash Bros.… franchise is a dimension-shattering, world-colliding crossover in itself, but deviantART member Nakabeast added another delicious layer of nerdity by assigning Dungeons & Dragons alignments to some of the series’ most popular characters, like series newcomer Solid Snake: If you think about it, Solid Snake can’t]]> Nintendo’s wildly popular Smash Bros. franchise is a dimension-shattering, world-colliding crossover in itself, but deviantART member Nakabeast added another delicious layer of nerdity by assigning Dungeons & Dragons alignments to some of the series’ most popular characters, like series newcomer Solid Snake:

nintendo alignment chart 2

If you think about it, Solid Snake can’t really be anything but Chaotic Good. But I’m sure some of the other entries will ignite forums and websites with warring geeks, disputing the accuracy of the assignments. Oh, Nakabeast, you thought you were merely making a fun poster, didn’t you? You don’t know what you’ve started.

nintendo alignment chart 1

For example, a bunch of jokesters at Reddit point out that Link bashes pots, steals from shops and beats up helpless poultry and so he can’t be Lawful Good. Also, how the heck does Koopa embody Lawful Evil? Download the full-sized version at Nakabeast’s deviantART page, grab some food and drinks and your AD&D rulebooks, and start debating!

[via Reddit via GoNintendo via Level Select]

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2009/11/12/smash-bros-characters-d-and-d-art/feed/ 1 Surfacescape Redefines Tabletop Gaming http://technabob.com/blog/2009/10/24/surfacescape-tabletop-surface-gaming/ http://technabob.com/blog/2009/10/24/surfacescape-tabletop-surface-gaming/#comments Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:45:46 +0000 Lambert Varias http://technabob.com/blog/?p=21934 Anything that starts out of a suggestion from Penny-Arcade’s Mike Krahulik & Jerry Holkins – aka Gabe & Tycho – is bound to be geeky, and this one is no exception. The duo visited the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University and ended up chatting with a bunch of students that were using a Surface, Microsoft’s multitouch wonder computer. Says Krahulik: “After I was done doodling I started sketching out a game grid and we all got to talking about how you might be able to use this tech to play D&D. I drew out some rough ideas and Tycho and I gave them a wish list of things we’d want to see it do. Stuff like selecting spells from a menu around your figure and animates effects for attacks and auras. After we got home we received a mail from them saying they liked the idea so much they wanted to make it their next project.”

SurfaceScape

Months later, the students released a video with a proof-of-concept of the D&D-Surface mashup, which they named SurfaceScapes, including a look at how combat plays out.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Virtual d20 ftw.

[via Wired via Penny Arcade]

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2009/10/24/surfacescape-tabletop-surface-gaming/feed/ 0 Dragon Cake!!!!! *Head Esplodes* http://technabob.com/blog/2009/01/10/dragon-cake-head-esplodes/ http://technabob.com/blog/2009/01/10/dragon-cake-head-esplodes/#comments Sat, 10 Jan 2009 12:30:59 +0000 Lambert Varias http://technabob.com/blog/?p=7409 In a marmalade forest (forest), between the make-believe trees, in a cottage cheese – cottage, lives not Albi but this head – esploding Cake Dragon. I meant Dragon Cake.

albi 1

WHAT’S UP. WHAT IS UP. Some guy named John got this as his birthday cake. Fortunately his friend Astro-Lopithecus shot these wonderful pictures before the filthy humans attacked the helpless creature.

albi 2

Look at that stupid grin. They probably drugged him to coax him out of his cottage-cheese cottage. Or maybe he paid for his debts with his life, what with his meager treasure.

albi 3

Or maybe he died and was cakefied while protecting his ginormous D20. Astro-Lopithecus also took pics of the aftermath, but I refuse to defile the memory of the Cake Dragon with such barbaric images. A commenter on Astro-Lopithecus’ Flickr account claims that the Dragon Cake was made by Mike’s Amazing Cakes, but that’s nothing more than a rumor. False claims. Tall tales. Mark my words: Cake Dragons exist.

[via Boing Boing]

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2009/01/10/dragon-cake-head-esplodes/feed/ 0 Geek Flow Chart is Way Too Accurate http://technabob.com/blog/2008/05/04/geek-flow-chart-is-way-too-accurate/ http://technabob.com/blog/2008/05/04/geek-flow-chart-is-way-too-accurate/#comments Sun, 04 May 2008 15:50:26 +0000 Technabob http://technabob.com/blog/?p=2163 The New York Times…, and I’m more than a little frightened by how much of it rings true. Especially the part about blogging about diagrams like this one. You can view the full chart here. [The New York Times via Ozymandias]]]> This geek lifecycle flow chart recently appeared in The New York Times, and I’m more than a little frightened by how much of it rings true.

geek flow chart zoomed nyt

Especially the part about blogging about diagrams like this one.

You can view the full chart here.

[The New York Times via Ozymandias]

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