Welp, Achievement Hunter is starting a new series today, and boy does it seem like it's going to be....a train wreck. But a cool train wreck, ya know, like in one of those action movies. Kablamooo!

Seriously though, Achievement Hunter's new series which premieres/premiered today, involves the epitome of the Geek Movement, Dungeons and Dragons!
The show is called Heroes and Halfwits, amply named I must say. I'm not 100% on what the show will be and it's focus, but I do know that it involves that. And lets face it, it sounds like a combination that's a long time coming (especially since that Magic: The Gathering vid way way back).

As said, it premieres or already premiered today, but that's for the sponsors, so sorry for everyone else (including me) for not getting first dibs. The good news? It's NOT SPONSOR ONLY yaaaaayyy! Yeah, we blue collars will be able to pick up the trail the following day after the sponsors to see things ourselves. But, Warcraft comes out tomorrow, so best to talk about this here now on it's technically actual premiere.

Lets face it, only a matter of time before I commented on D&D. Why? *pauses*....REALLY? You gotta wonder that?
Anyhoo, I don't know if D&D was the first P&P (pen and pencil) roleplaying game out there, but it's certainly the most relevant. It was something the nerds could do in the basements of their mother's house or dorm rooms when the jocks were working off their then-legal steroids in the streets, allowing those of more creative to shelter themselves in said-basements within the safety of fantasy worlds, which probably inspired Inception somewhere down the line, but you get the picture.
It's evolved a lot since the old days. More classes, more powers, more books, more figures, more expenses you feel you have to indulge in to even get a decent lick of that sweet sweet lolly that's the RPG experience. Many others have followed suit in trying the P&PRPG genre, from already established franchises (like LOTR and Game of Thrones) to self-made ones (like Rifts and Pathfinder). Some work off each other, and some offer some uniqueness that makes them special. Even VERSIONS of these can differ from each other, as many say that D&D 4th edition was more about combat than actual roleplaying. But, ya get what ya get. Each one has a flavor and oh boy is there a lot of them.

The brief experience I've had was in D&D 4th. Not going into details, but I spent my time mainly as a Cleric and Warlord. Classes for this version of D&D expanded from the simple "Warrior, Thief, Mage" combo to deeper, newer versions, but they also separate them based on what they do: Controller, Leader, Defender, Striker. I was mainly the second. I wasn't so hard-in on bashing everything in my way, nor was I too subtle enough to go backstabbing (literal) people. So I settled on being support, and personally I thought I did a good job. The Cleric's not as squishy as you think, and you can bring the wrath too. The Warlord's more about giving the power than healing, and combine it with some powerhouse like a Slayer and you got a killer combo.

The negative aspects of roleplaying RPGs though, is that some issues can crop up. Maybe some players have a style that clashes with others. Maybe the DM's not really as good as he thinks he is. Or maybe you're new to the series, possibly being the "token party member", and are joining others who have been doing this for awhile. Don't be too surprised if something like your character gets thrown on a pyre to die for being annoying two sessions in (for benefit, NO, this wasn't me, but I was present and should have been more concerned on that...). Needless to say, my own bouts in D&D were shaky, and while there were some good moments, overall it came to being too stressing and I hung up my D&D mantle for good.
But, recently, I have watched a P&PRPG being handled a GOOD way. This one being Rifts, which has grown on me a little to being a rather interesting game. When you get the right people, a decent DM (narrator, MM, or whatever), and have that decent balance for everyone, you can find an enjoyable experience filled with moments you look back on and laugh about. It's a nice stress reliever sometimes, and can fill the gab when you just need a cathartic moment to just stay sane in a world that doesn't have magic or actual gigantic Glitter Boys (think huge robots...I...think).

I'll have to wait till the next day, but I'm looking forward to a portion of Achievement Hunter (hopefully the others swap in or join in a large group down the series line) doing a D&D series. Hopefully it's not just filled with crude jokes every single moment and has some actual deep stuff happens (that THEN becomes crude joke heh heh). But regardless, definitely going to see where it goes.

But I do have another gripe with D&D. It's IN THE NAME. Why aren't we ACTUAL dragons getting royalties from this? Heck, HALF of them are said to be evil just because they're chromatic or something like that. That's a bit stereotypical or speciesist or something, I should be getting reparations or something!
Though I give thumbs up to Dragonborns (of which I've played), Rifts takes the cake by letting you play an ACTUAL dragon, not some humanoid with a tail. You can be a bit of a game-breaker if you handle things right, and lets face it, most of the time we dragons are the final boss of stories and games.

How do YOU feel about having a final boss in your party? Feel invincible yet? Do? Good. Now roll a D6! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54VJWHL2K3I