Tis the time of season to start thinking about holiday gifts for your gaming buddies. And Gelatinous Cube soap is a perfect choice.

The web is a gold mine of print and video tutorials which makes it easy to get your craft on (without becoming a dire Martha Stewart). You won’t need a ton of materials and the investment is minimal so no worries on denting your monthly game allowance.

You’ve got some nice usage options here. The cubes are classy décor for the nearby bathroom off your man cave/gaming room. Ben got his from his annual Gen Con game group gift exchange. Or, whip up a batch for your DM for all his/her hard work over the past year.

But what do you put in your cube’s hungry “belly?” Well…a retired d20, a choice Reaper metal mini (maybe even a dead PC), body/weapon pieces from your local game store’s bit box, or get creative and maybe even try a Hirst Arts block.

So, break up your terrain building routine and try your hand at a Gelatinous soap Cube or two. Besides, there always seems to be at least one guy around a D&D game table who needs to take a hint and actually use some soap. And remember – water alone does not make one smell better.

Questions to Ponder: What would you put in your cube’s core? After you master the soap cubes, will you move to Jell-o? Have you ever tried to make your own molds?

Watch It | Read It

Halleluiah! The comic book industry gets a much-needed boost with the inaugural issue of Dungeons and Dragons. Ben decides to uncover issue #1. Aren’t you curious what’s inside?

Let’s start with the story…the Shadow Plague, Part 1: Bad Day. It’s a fun twist with a then-and-now-storytelling-perspective. The text flowed nice and easy off all 28 pages. Thank goodness because Ben is not into complex plots.

The characters are instant hits with a ragtag group of five:

• Adric Fell: Human Knight
• Kahl Khakundurrub: “Alleged” Paladin Dwarf
• Bree Three-Hands: Halfling Rogue (Ben’s fav)
• Varis: Elvin Ranger
• Tisha Swornheart: Tiefling Warlord

There are some fun sideshows as well including Copernicus Jinx – a nutty Wizard and Juliana – a possible love interest Elvin Sorcerer.

The artwork is in a word, “spectacular.” Ben’s always been mesmerized by WotC’s illustrations. It’s the main reason he buys all the books. The first issue is stuffed with amazing drawings and colors.

The price was quite reasonable. You can get a five-issue online subscription from IDW for $19.95 with $6.92 for domestic shipping. That’s $5.37 an issue. Here’s a symbolic reason to support you local game store though. You can pick one up in your neighborhood for $4.34.

There appear to be five alternate covers but after extensive InterGoogle searches, Ben rolled snake eyes. Please post a comment if you know where to get ‘em.

Ben was especially fond of Adric’s character sheet at the back of the issue. It’s a classy touch. Be careful with game play though as some of the calculations appear to be off a tad.

So, trot on down to your game store and snag issue 1. You can read it while we wait for the Dark Sun comic book series coming in 2011. Be sure to enjoy our YouTube video uncovering of this must-have comic as well.

Watch It | Get It | Visit It

There’s an urban legend about a group of soldiers in Iraq who, while driving their Humvee, hit an IED. The men somehow survived but rather than reflect on their physical injuries, they inexplicably took greater pains in the loss of their D&D gear.

RPG materials are one of the few personal things our troops can easily carry in their packs. These items come in handy during the many, many hours of downtime between fighting for our safety and freedom.

This story moved Ben. It struck a real chord. He gets to sit at home and fantasize about amazing battles with monsters of all sorts. Yet somewhere, very far away…there are scores of people he’s never met that protect his rights and his family.

So, Ben rallied around many of his friends and met lots of new people who also felt these brave men and women needed to be thanked. We started G.I. Cares – a care package initiative with a twist. We box up all the important troop necessities but also mix in D&D, RPG and other game materials into each care package.

After eight months of planning and gathering, we’re finally on the eve of sending our first box run over to the Middle East (nearly a 100 boxes in all). And Ben has umpteen volunteers and contributors to thank including Gamers Inn, Empowerment Financial Group, Cramer-Krasselt and ASU AMA.

No words or actions will ever really be enough to thank our veterans but maybe these care packages (in their own little way) will just help demonstrate how much we really do care.

Pack a Box | Game Store Poster 1 | Game Store Poster 2

It’s certainly true that picking one’s next set of D&D dice has always been a science of sorts (psychologically speaking) but who knew manufacturing ‘em could be the same way?

Ben snagged a Paizo GameMastery Invisible Character Pack at Gen Con but isn’t sure the game accessory matters since he can’t figure out how Blind exactly works in 4E. So, let’s use this product review to try and uncover “the truth.”

First off, the Invisible character mini concept is a great idea – why not have a fun and interesting way to initially represent your character on the board in all its stealthy glory? The pack comes with a mix of 10 different character races (like the Dwarf) and classes (like the Human Wizard). It’s a shame there aren’t any medium or large versions though – maybe as a future expansion pack though.

While the invisible silhouettes are well done, the quality sorta stops at the bases. They’re a tad flimsy and slightly oversized for d20 squares (a huge pet peeve of Ben’s). Gale Force Nine offers a similar product in their Player Character Token Sets but you have to buy them individually instead of a single set.

So, let’s now use this opportunity to try and understand how being blind in combat works. Ben gave it the ol’ college try in a WotC forum thread but he felt the feedback left the rule clarification unresolved. It got really confusing in the comments.

Here’s what the new and very handy D&D 4E Rules Compendium says (pg. 221)

Confusing Rule #1: Targeting What You Can’t See – “Make a Perception Check: On its turn, the attacker can make a perception check as a minor action to try and determine the location of an invisible that is hidden from it.”

Ben’s Q: What is the attacker making a perception check against exactly (another skill, a DM DC, etc.)?

Confusing Rule #2: Close or Area Attacks – There’s no -5 total concealment penalty on a close or area attack.

Ben’s Q: Really? We think of blind as Stevie Wonder/Ray-Charles-duet blind and not post-eye-doctor-exam blind. How in the world would there be no penalty for adjacent attacks or throwing a ranged spell 10 squares? Only no penalty on a blast makes sense to Ben.

Confusing Rule #3: There’s no mention of how a blinded creature moves. Ben uses a yes/no and a scatter die combo to determine what squares you end up in while walking blind on the game board.

Ben might be overcomplicating this one but with no simple answer, his group has turned to a basic house rule on fighting blind. The character always takes a -5 attack penalty. It grants combat advantage and can’t flank. It can throw a range spell up to five squares in any direction (like a grenade) but nothing past that. For movement and ranged spell targeting, first roll a yes/no to determine if you have your bearings and if “no”, a scatter die moves/throws you in a random direction.

Whaddya think?

Questions to Ponder: Do you understand stealth or invisible 4e rules? What resources (book and page numbers) helped you play these rules right? Do you just do a simplified house rule to make it easier? Can you help Ben’s group understand fighting blind in battle?

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