Month: March 2020

An overwhelming majority of people are practicing responsible “social distancing,” and lots of places have issued orders minimizing the size of gatherings. While it’s unlikely your D&D group has more than 10 people, it’s a good idea to keep your distance anyway.

Thankfully, we live in 2020, so there are great ways to keep your D&D campaign running, or even start a new one, all from the comfort of your couch. Or computer desk.

What You Need to Play D&D Online

Most importantly, you still need other people to join your digital campaign, but we’re assuming you’ve got that part covered. Honestly, if you’ve already got your own rulebooks (or want to playing for free with the basic ruleset), you just need a chat service like Google Hangouts or Discord and some dice. That said, for as close to the full experience as you can get, you’ll want to find a virtual tabletop — and for that, we recommend Roll 20.

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You might think of Roll20 as just an online Dungeons & Dragons solution – which it is – but it also supports dozens of other games like Pathfinder, Starfinder, Cyberpunk, even older versions of D&D like 3.5 and AD&D. It also has a robust community and game-matching services, so if you don’t have a dedicated group to play with, you can just find one. There are other resources for this, too, like the party-forming subreddit r/lfg.

Honestly, the Roll20 suite of tools is robust enough that we could write an entire wiki about it (though thankfully, R20 already took care of that), but even just creating a free account and messing around with its interface a bit is enough to get you one step closer to playing D&D remotely with your friends.

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If you’re using the popular D&D Beyond tool to keep track of your character sheets, magic items and more, you’ll want to consider installing the Beyond 20 Chrome extension. It allows you to make (almost) all of your rolls in Roll 20 straight from your D&D Beyond character sheets, which will save you and your party a ton of time otherwise spent converting them between platforms.

Roll20 also has video and voice chat integration, but depending on what works best for your group, other chat services (like the aforementioned Discord or Hangouts) work just fine, too.

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DnD Dice

There are plenty of digital dice rollers out there, from the 3D ones that everyone can see on Roll20 to the one that comes up when you search “Dice Roller” on Google – but they’re nowhere near as fun rolling your own. Even if you’re playing remote sessions, there’s something incredibly satisfying about rolling physical dice and seeing how they play out. Just be aware: no one is going to believe you rolled 3 crits in a row, even if you weren’t lying.

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At the minimum, you’ll want a D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D20 (you can use the D10 for percentage rolls, or get a set with 10-sided die with multiples of 10). Most of the sets you’ll find online have the dice you need. It’s up to you to decided how fancy you want to go.

A basic set of resin dice will set you back a few bucks. A set of dice made of gems recovered from the bowels of the Earth, shaped and engraved with runes, will set you back considerably more. If you’re running a game, you’ll need more dice, so consider picking up dice in bulk.

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Let us know in the comments if you’ll be getting a party together for some digital dungeon delving, and for more D&D on IGN, check out our full playthrough of the latest D&D adventure run by one of its writers, or how Baldur’s Gate 3 is adapting the tabletop DNA into video game form.

Square Enix has joined the growing number of publishers offering free games to pass the time while we practice social distancing. From now until March 24, you can grab a pair of Tomb Raider games–the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris–completely free of charge on Steam, and they are yours to keep.

Tomb Raider (2013) reinvigorated the classic action-adventure series, offering a new origin story that chronicles Lara’s turn from an academic to a burgeoning explorer. Often compared to the Uncharted series in terms of style and gameplay, Tomb Raider features a stellar campaign with excellent combat mechanics and plenty of secrets to uncover. If you somehow haven’t played it yet, now’s the perfect time. Both Tomb Raider sequels are also steeply discounted on Steam. Rise of the Tomb Raider is down to $9 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is $19.58.

The 2014 Tomb Raider spin-off Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris is a different kind of adventure. Whereas Tomb Raider offers an engrossing single-player campaign, Temple of Osiris leans into arcade co-op action and is lighter on story. Played from an isometric perspective just like its predecessor Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Temple of Osiris sees you and up to three friends exploring Egyptian tombs filled with gods and monsters to vanquish. You can play drop-in-drop-out with friends and family either online or locally.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Animal Crossing: New Horizons takes place on your very own deserted island, and as such, you have to work for some of the things you want. Luckily, the game gives you most of the tools you need right away. However, the shovel is notably absent from the start. Here’s how to get it.

First, you’re going to need a fishing rod or a net. Catch five different bugs and/or fish and give them to Tom Nook at Resident Services; he’ll call up his friend Blathers the museum curator, and Blathers will show up on your the next day. There’s nothing you can do to accelerate this part, so you’ll just have to go to wait.

Once Blathers has set up his tent, go talk to him–he’ll give you the DIY schematics for the shovel. You’ll need hardwood to make it, so take a flimsy axe to some trees to get wood (don’t worry, it won’t chop down the tree). Once you have enough, you can craft a shovel at any DIY bench.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

The first season of Beastars arrived on US Netflix on March 13, and it’s the anime that everybody should be watching. Combining the holy powers of both horniness and genuine thoughtfulness about identity, sexuality, and society, Beastars lays out both a cerebral and emotional treat over the course of 12 episodes.

But first: Yes, Beastars is that series openly embraced by furries across the internet, and Netflix acknowledged it as so by calling furries to the frontlines for the US release of Beastars. If you’re a furry or a curious individual, anthropomorphic animals do have sex in the show. Not graphically, but it’s a thing. For the extreme perverts among us, a chicken enjoys watching a wolf eat a sandwich made with her eggs. Make of that what you will!

Beastars is an adaptation of the manga of the same name by Paru Itagaki. It’s set in a civilized anthropomorphic society where herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores coexist without getting eaten or eating each other. As you can imagine, that’s pretty hard to do when you have rabbits and wolves in close contact.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

As a kid, I would sometimes play a little game with myself. I grew up in the suburbs, where nothing was ever particularly exciting or dangerous, and so to give myself a thrill while walking home, I’d pretend as if I were being chased by a murderer. Despite being a figment of my imagination, the thought of the pursuer nipping at my heels would send me into a frenzied dash for home. My chest would feel tight, my palms would sweat. I wouldn’t dare turn around, because to do so would be to confront certain death.

This is precisely what it’s like to play Doom Eternal on higher difficulties, only this frightening experience eventually leads to a different type of relief. It’s not that of escape as you safely make it inside your front door, but the type of relief you get by eviscerating a ton of demons in the most brutal way possible.

I loved 2016’s Doom, but I would always make a plea to anyone I recommended it to: Give it a real chance on a harder difficulty, specifically Ultra-Violence. I’m not the sort of person who thinks you never really played Halo if you didn’t beat it on Legendary, but harder difficulties in Doom emphasized the frantic combat and constant movement that distinguished it from most other shooters. You were never safe and had to keep moving to survive, carefully picking your spots to engage or pull off a Glory Kill to restore your health.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

There’s a new bug in Destiny 2 that’s already messing up some players’ weekends. The Trials of Osiris tournament has started up again, but an issue with the game means some aren’t getting their loot rewards as they work through Destiny’s toughest PvP challenge.

Bungie tweeted that it’s aware of the problem and investigating the issue, but we haven’t heard any details about when it might be fixed, or what that fix might entail. The GameSpot Trials team ran some matches on a card earlier today and confirmed the loot drop bug.

The Trials of Osiris is a multiplayer challenge in which teams of three take on intense PvP matches with the goal of winning seven games in a row. As you work through your “Trials card,” which tracks your wins and losses, you get rewards at three, five, and seven wins–so even if you don’t have a “flawless” Trials run, you still get loot if you manage to chalk up a bunch of wins before you hit three total losses and have to start over.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Warner Bros. still intends on releasing Wonder Woman 1984 theatrically and not online, contrary to a report spreading like wildfire across the internet.

The Wrap claims to have heard that the upcoming DC Comics movie sequel, currently slated to open June 5, might forego a traditional theatrical release in favor of a straight-to-digital debut due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and worldwide closure of theaters.

The site reports that the preliminary discussions happened among the highest levels of Warner Bros.’ top brass and that not even director Patty Jenkins and producer Charles Roven were privy to the discussions.

However, in The Wrap’s own report, Warner President of Domestic Distribution Jeff Goldstein shot down the notion of a streaming-only release: “We’re looking to release the movie theatrically, that’s our plan.”

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Likewise, a source close to the studio confirmed to IGN that Warner Bros. remains fully committed to releasing Wonder Woman 1984 theatrically.

“It’s ludicrous if you consider how big a movie this is,” WW84 producer Charles Roven told The Wrap. “Everybody recognizes that, as interesting as streaming might be, if you want a huge, global worldwide box office, you’ve got to release it in a movie theater.”

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Hollywood has seen nearly every upcoming movie release postponed and production shut down due to COVID-19, with Universal leading the charge this week in releasing a new movie, Trolls World Tour — once earmarked for theatrical exhibition — as a digital release instead.

While it’s entirely likely that Warners brass have spit-balled such ideas — these are obviously unprecedented times for the film industry — our sources were adamant that Wonder Woman 1984 will make its debut as intended in movie theaters.

2020 is quickly shaping up to be the year of Ahsoka Tano. Not only is Ahsoka back in action in the fifth episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ final season, a new report says she’ll be making her live-action debut in Season 2 of The Mandalorian, with Rosario Dawson taking over a fan-favorite Star Wars role.

This news is so exciting because we know so little about Ahsoka’s story after the events of Star Wars Rebels. With that in mind, let’s explore what we do know and how The Mandalorian can build on a story that fans have been following for years in the animated series and novels.

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Ahsoka Tano’s Story Before The Mandalorian

While we’ve previously done a deep dive into Ahsoka’s history, here are the basics. Ahsoka made her debut in the 2008 animated movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars and quickly became a major player in the animated series of the same name. That series explores Ahsoka’s coming-of-age story as Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan and eventual exile from the Jedi Order.

Even though The Clone Wars is only just now getting its belated final season on Disney+, Star Wars Rebels (which takes place after Revenge of the Sith) already revealed that Ahsoka survived Order 66 and eventually joined the Rebel Alliance. The novel Star Wars: Ahsoka helps bridge the vast gap between the two shows, revealing how she escaped the devastation of the Siege of Mandalore and eventually became a Rebel spy.

Ahsoka plays a crucial role in Rebels Season 2, which culminates in a battle with her former master Darth Vader on the Sith world of Malachor. For a while, Ahsoka’s fate was uncertain, as the Season 2 finale is intentionally vague as to whether Ahsoka survives that battle. However, the final season of Rebels reveals she was rescued by her ally and fellow Jedi Knight Ezra Bridger. Ezra was able to reach through time and pull Ahsoka to safety, though the two were quickly separated again.

That’s where Ahsoka’s story begins to get murky. She only has two other canonical appearances in the Star Wars saga after that point. She appears in a flash-forward epilogue in the Rebels series finale (which is set a little while after the events of Return of the Jedi), where she reunites with the surviving members of the Ghost crew to search for the lost Ezra. Ahsoka’s voice can also be heard in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, one of many Jedi who lend their support to Rey in her battle with Emperor Palpatine. This has led many fans to assume Ahsoka is dead by the time of Episode IX, though Lucasfilm’s Dave Filoni has hinted otherwise.

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How Ahsoka Tano Fits Into The Mandalorian: Season 2 Time Frame

The Mandalorian is set roughly five years after the events of Return of the Jedi, a time when the Empire is mostly vanquished but before the New Republic has been able to restore order to the galaxy. Because of this, we’re not expecting Season 2 to settle the question of whether Ahsoka is dead in The Rise of Skywalker. There is the chance she could die in The Mandalorian, but it would seem like an awfully big waste to go through the trouble of introducing live-action Ahsoka only to then immediately kill her off.

Plus. it’s not as though Ahsoka will be a senior citizen in The Mandalorian. Ahsoka is a young teenager at the start of The Clone Wars. There’s about 30 years of time between then and the era of The Mandalorian, putting her in her early to mid-40s in Season 2.

Even if Ahsoka’s sequel trilogy fate is off the table, the series could easily tie into the open-ended finale of Rebels. As we saw in the Rebels finale, Ezra and Grand Admiral Thrawn were both trapped aboard a runaway Star Destroyer as it jumped to the far edge of the galaxy. Ahsoka, Hera Syndulla and Sabine Wren set out to track Ezra down and bring him home. Conveniently, The Mandalorian is also set on the fringes of the galaxy, a lawless place where where bounty hunters like Din Djarin make a living. We could easily see Din crossing paths with Ahsoka as she continues her search for Ezra. Perhaps she would even enlist his services as a skilled tracker to pick up a trail that’s gone cold.

Granted, there are several years separating the Rebels epilogue and The Mandalorian, so it could be that Ahsoka has already completed her mission by this point. If so, she may be like Cara Dune, simply drifting through the Outer Rim and keeping a low profile now that there are no more wars left to fight. Encountering the Mandalorian could give Ahsoka the purpose she’s been searching for.

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Ahsoka’s Role in the Fate of Mandalore

The Mandalorian has already been forging a connection to The Clone Wars with the reveal that Din’s nemesis Moff Gideon is now wielding the Darksaber. This ancient lightsaber is one of the most important relics of Mandalore. The owner of that saber is recognized as the rightful ruler of Mandalore. So the fact that it’s currently in the hands of an Imperial warlord suggests Mandalore is in a pretty bad place post-Return of the Jedi.

With news of Ahsoka’s role, we’re anticipating Season 2 will shed much more light on the current state of Mandalore. When Rebels ended, Sabine willingly ceded the Darksaber to Bo-Katan Kryze and joined her friends on the hunt for Ezra. We can assume Bo-Katan’s reign was short and tragic, with the Empire returning to decimate the world and its people all over again. Ahsoka may feel a certain sense of guilt over pulling Sabine away from her homeworld when it needed her most. With that in mind, Ahsoka’s role in The Mandalorian: Season 2 may involve teaming up with Din Djarin and other surviving Mandalorians to liberate Mandalore (or at least avenge it). Fingers crossed Sabine is still around to help.

Gideon actor Giancarlo Esposito has already teased a major lightsaber battle in Season 2, along with a complicated history between Gideon and Din Djarin. Could he have been foreshadowing a big showdown between Gideon with the Darksaber and Ahsoka her two white lightsabers? If so, we don’t fancy his chances of survival.

It’s also not out of the realm of possibility that Grand Admiral Thrawn could reemerge in Season 2 or a future season. As in the classic Expanded Universe novels, Thrawn may be the one to rally the fractured remnants of the Empire in this chaotic period.

Not only that, we have to assume Ahsoka’s return will tie into the ongoing mystery of The Child aka Baby Yoda. Din is a capable bodyguard, but he’s ignorant in the ways of the Force. It may fall on Ahsoka to train Baby Yoda, share what she knows about his species based on what she learned about Jedi Master Yoda during her years of training, and maybe even help Din track down Baby Yoda’s hidden homeworld.

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In short, Ahsoka should have plenty to keep her busy in Season 2. The wait until October 2020 just got longer.

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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Call of Duty: Warzone continues to reach a huge number of players, with the free-to-play battle royale hitting 30 million players in its first 10 days of release.

The Call of Duty Twitter account posted the latest number with a picture thanking its 30 million players for being a part of the community. This increase in people playing comes shortly after Warzone hit 6 million players within its first 24 hours available.

Over 30 million of you have dropped in to play #Warzone. Thank you to this amazing community .

Jump in and play for free now. #FreeCallofDuty pic.twitter.com/KFKhb8CNNK

— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) March 20, 2020

While players were able to play solo in Warzone previously by going up against other squads alone, Infinity Ward released a solos mode on Tuesday. This could have played a role in bringing more people to the battle royale, despite the Plunder mode still not being playable alone.

By choosing to support cross-platform play between Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, more people have been able to play together regardless of their platform.

Warzone was officially announced earlier this month with a launch coming 24 hours later. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a quick reveal and release, especially in the battle royale genre – developer Respawn Entertainment released Apex Legends shortly after it was announced and reached 2.5 million players within its first 24 hours.

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Stay prepared for Warzone whether you’re going in alone or with a full squad by using our guides at the Call of Duty: Warzone wiki. If you’re looking for a quick guide, take a peek at the best loadouts to get right into the action.

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Jeffrey Lerman is a Freelance News Writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @Snakester95.

Police in countries like Spain and China are using drones to stop people from going outside during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Spain’s government announced that the country was in a state of emergency Friday, March 13, and the next day, everyone in the country was ordered to remain indoors, as reported by Business Insider. Days later, police were using drones equipped with speakers to yell at people breaking the rules.

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It’s very Black Mirror-esque, but it does provide a way for police to ensure people remain indoors without having to risk person-to-person interactions themselves. You can check it out in action in the tweet below from BBC News.

Police in Spain have been using drones to check the streets for anyone ignoring Spanish orders to stay home during the coronavirus outbreak

On Saturday, the country’s 47 million citizens were ordered to stay indoors except for necessary tripshttps://t.co/Yqcy5K9OLC pic.twitter.com/jmLlQfQYXc

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 15, 2020

China is doing the same with its own drones, warning residents to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary to leave the quarantine, as reported by Global News.

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You can check out China’s drones working below.

Camera drones are employed in Hangzhou, China to urge elderly residents to stay indoors, amid the novel #coronavirus outbreak. #pneumonia pic.twitter.com/jpT3yvHnip

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) February 4, 2020

Check out some ways you can help others and stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.