So despite not being a fan of MMOs I got bored the last week and decided to give Neverwinter a try on my XBone. It's not bad. I find it odd that they had to drastically change the most videogame-like version of D&D (4E) but I'm enjoying it far more than my attempt at playing WoW ages ago.

I will say I was disappointed that the Paladin didn't feel sufficiently paladin-like but I'm having fun playing a rogue. (In PNP my choices are generally Paladin>Rogue>Wizard>Whatever I haven't played in a while or the group needs.)

What are folks using for online D&D and the like these days. I've been using Roll20 for years and am heavily invested in it from a time and money standpoint but it's been aggravating me lately. Lots of lag and things glitching out for the last few months and I'm reaching the point that I might move to something else if I can find something that's very reliable.

Tabletop Simulator is what my group uses, though we do our own dice rolls and have our own character sheets that we maintain.

Does Tabletop Simulator not have a dice roller or do you not like it?

It does have a dice roller, and a couple of people do use it, but think most of us are tactile throw-backs who like the feel of dice in our hands. Me, I want my fate in my own hands, not in a randomization table.

So my buddy is running a Curse of Strahd have for us (which is great because none of is played the original Castle Ravenloft adventure) and we're having a blast. We (foolishly) took on a nest of vampire spawn but managed to prevail through good tactics and good luck. Plus my Knight of Solamnia (we each made a character from a different world that got pulled in by The Mists) chucked one of them out a second-story window into full daylight. So that was a fun moment of cinematic awesomeness.

From a Vulture interview with the SNL writers who did the recent Weezer sketch. Apparently they're nerdy about other stuff as well.

• *****

Alan, is there anything that gets you as heated as Weezer and Shrek do for these two?
Alan: Yes, basically anything that I care about. If you razzle me, I'll razz you back. The thing that interests me about writing sketches like this one is that if you replace "the movie Shrek" or "Weezer" with any other movie or band, it still makes sense. I think everyone has had some version of this argument before. I've definitely gone slathering, froth-mouthed mad over which edition of Dungeons & Dragons is better.

Okay, which one?
Alan: Okay, here's the thing: Is 5th Edition the most accessible? Yes. Does that make it the best? Maybe. But if you want to get down to brass tacks and do a meat grinder, and roll 50 characters in a day and really play with stats and do some freaking number-crunching, then you go 2e all day.

So you're prioritizing the mechanics and statistics over a chance for interactive storytelling.
Alan: Just because 2nd Edition has more number-crunching doesn't necessitate playing the game in a less narrative style.
How do you get a chance to play the characters, fill out their backstory, if they die like three moves in?
Alan: Okay, wow. I get it. I get that everyone wants to cosplay their favorite Game of Thrones characters in 5th Edition, but here's the thing …

Eli: This is a nightmare.

Alan: We're here to roll dice and hit trolls!

That's awesome!

FWIW, when I was younger I loved all the number-crunching, but now that I have a family 5E hits that sweet spot of just enough crunch to make it interesting without having to spend 5 hours developing a baddie my players are going to kill in 2 rounds.

FWIW, when I was younger I loved all the number-crunching, but now that I have a family 5E hits that sweet spot of just enough crunch to make it interesting without having to spend 5 hours developing a baddie my players are going to kill in 2 rounds.

This exactly. I tried running Ryan through a 3e adventure a little while back. Had to abort it, too much work for him (and me). I've started him through Tales from the Yawning Portal now. A set of converted dungeon crawls is just perfect, because "I get that everyone wants to cosplay their favourite Game of Thrones characters in 5th Edition, but here's the thing... We're here to roll dice and hit trolls!"

Yeah. I've done some improvised Homebrew for my son here and there but if he ever decides he wants me to run a regular game for him and his friends I'll likely just run them through TFtYP.

Side note, for the first adventure in that, did you give him a way to rescue the people taken over by the tree? The way things happen in the official adventure don't sit right with me. I've decided if I ever run it they can free the tree-bound folks by feeding them the Life fruit. It makes logical sense to me and gives them a nice little "do the right thing vs. earn a profit" decision.