Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons feels like a match made in heaven, what with them both being two of the most popular tabletop games you can find these days and the fact that both are owned by Wizards of the Coast. We've seen a bunch of crossovers between the two in the past, and the latest is one that even all of you D&D fans that aren't interested in MTG can get behind.
Dungeons & Dragons introduces its first canonically autistic character
05.09.2023 - 19:03 / polygon.com / Gary Gygax
Wizards of the Coast is closing out the 10-year run of the original 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons ruleset with a bang, sending several highly anticipated new books into the world ahead of its planned 2024 revision. While Phandelver & Below: The Shattered Obeliskand Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverserepresent traditional world-expanding splatbooks, the company’s October release is something new for Wizards — a singular product based on a storied magical item called the Deck of Many Things.
TheDeck of Many Things set seems more like a prop at first glance. It includes a deck of tarot-sized cards to represent the magical item itself, which is a fantastically powerful collection of quirky magical spells and items. But the boxed set also contains a book called The Book of Many Things. Like many modern releases from the D&D team, it is written from the perspective of a fictional character. Asteria is described as “a princess turned paladin” and, like Xanathar, Mordenkainen, and Tasha, Asteria chimes in throughout her book with commentary, jokes, and other little flourishes meant to make it fun to read on its own. But the creation of this new character was a bit different from those that came before. That’s because Asteria is the first canonically autistic character added to D&D.
According to designer Makenzie De Armas, the choice to make Asteria autistic was the result of serendipity — a happy accident that evolved from an organic creative process. The idea of being friends with a Medusa is hard but, according to De Armas, could be easy if someone doesn’t want to make eye contact.
De Armas herself is autistic, and was able to incorporate a lot of her own experiences into the character. For instance, there’s text in the book that mentions Asteria’s hyperfocus on a puzzle to the point of forgetting to eat as well as animosity toward a particular character for breaking Asteria’s fidget toy.
“It’s not just a little ribbon that’s put under her character,” De Armas told Polygon in an interview at this year’s Gen Con. “It permeates all of her actions, but it doesn’t define her. She gets to express her love of other things beyond just I’m autistic, and it’s so rewarding to see her experiences and get to reflect her experiences through the notes and her story.”
An original creation attributed to D&D co-creator Gary Gygax himself, the Deck of Many Things first appeared in 1975’s Greyhawk, which has yet to be fully reimagined for 5th edition.But more than just giving new life to an old artifact, the launch of The Deck of Many Things is expected to appeal to many of the new players suddenly being introduced to the hobby. They represent a very different kind of community than the traditional white, male,
The website gametalkz.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
Top Authors
Popular Topics
polygon.com
22.09.2023 / 15:53
Dungeons & Dragons comes to Minecraft in new DLC
A special new batch of Minecraft DLC will arrive at the perfect time for those suddenly eager for more experiences like Baldur’s Gate 3. In partnership with Everbloom Games and Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast, Minecraft’s Dungeons & Dragons DLC is a story-driven action-adventure that merges the world of D&D with the iconic blocks of Minecraft. Not only does the DLC include locations and monsters from the game’s primary 5th edition setting, the Forgotten Realms, but it also introduces a whole range of role-playing mechanics – a class system, stats, and dice-based combat – in order to truly capture the D&D feeling for Minecraft.
polygon.com
21.09.2023 / 18:33
Death is the hot new mechanic in Dungeons & Dragons’ fancy Planescape campaign
Planescape, the setting for the cult classic role-playing video game Planescape: Torment, is back for tabletop Dungeons & Dragons. A three-volume boxed set is on the way from Wizards of the Coast, and it’s titled Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse. Inside, you’ll find a 96-page setting book called Sigil and the Outlands, plus a 64-page bestiary titled Morte’s Planar Parade, a double-sided map, and a Dungeon Master’s screen. But the real gem of this collection appears to be Turn of Fortune’s Wheel, a new 96-page adventure that senior game designer Wes Schneider calls “frickin’ wild.”
ign.com
20.09.2023 / 14:46
Netflix Onimusha Anime Just Got its First Trailer
Netflix has released its first trailer for its animated adaptation of Capcom’s Onimusha video game franchise, which is due to premiere on November 2 later this year.
videogameschronicle.com
20.09.2023 / 10:39
Netflix’s Onimusha anime gets its first trailer
The first trailer for Netflix‘s upcoming Onimusha anime has been shown.
gamingbolt.com
19.09.2023 / 01:59
Everspace 2 is Getting its First Major Content Update on October 2
Developer Rockfish Games has announced the first major content update for space-based action game Everspace 2. The update, titled Armed and Dangerous, is slated for release on October 2 and will be free on PC and consoles.
tech.hindustantimes.com
17.09.2023 / 07:47
Bitcoin Is Headed for Its First Weekly Gain Since August
Bitcoin is poised to snap a four-week decline, but analysts are questioning how long the rally will last.
pcgamesn.com
15.09.2023 / 22:25
Paralives reveals its first instrument, and it’s a Sims 4 classic
Paralives never ceases to amaze me as an indie simulation game, with its vibrant art style and immersive gameplay. You’d never know that it all initially came from the mind of one solo developer. Paralives just keeps getting more impressive, with the dev now showing off some of the activities our Parafolks will be able to enjoy. If you’ve enjoyed playing with musicians in The Sims 4, get excited because you’ll be able to keep creating tunes in Paralives. That’s right, piano is the latest revealed skill and it’s music to my ears.
pcgamer.com
10.09.2023 / 18:45
And just like that, there's a Starfield mod that replaces all the cops in its first city with Star Wars Stormtroopers
New Atlantis needs a new kind of crime fighting force, one that specializes in telling people «Halt!» a lot while complaining about how hard it is to see out of their helmets. Soldiers who shoot first, and aren't able to ask questions later because they miss all their shots and their Sith overlords force choke them out for failure. That's right, modder kboykboy on the Starfield Nexus has turned the United Colonies' security force into Star Wars Stormtroopers.
wccftech.com
09.09.2023 / 17:21
Intel 18A Process Might Secure ARM As Its First Customer Through Integration In Mobile SoCs
Intel's next-gen 18A node has garnered immense interest from the industry, with an analyst citing that ARM might be one of the first customers utilizing the new process.
gamesradar.com
06.09.2023 / 16:57
The new Studio Ghibli movie no one outside of Japan has seen gets its first trailer
The Boy and the Heron, the latest animated film from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, is officially set to release in the US and Canada on December 8, and we've now got the very first trailer for the film.
pcgamer.com
06.09.2023 / 12:03
Dungeons & Dragon's latest sale offers cheap ways to get into the game—here's what I recommend picking up
If you've been tempted to get into D&D—perhaps after enjoying Baldur's Gate 3?—but been intimidated by the price, now might be the time to jump in. With big sales on both the official D&D store and D&D Beyond, core books and sets are looking a lot more affordable, and it runs until 17 September.