Tag: dungeons and dragons

Nerdy Flowchart

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Nerdy Flow Chart

The New York Times recent came up with a flowchart based on being exposed to Dungeons and Dragons at an early age. There are 2 reasons I am posting this here. ??? ?????

The first is that Fantasy Baseball is listed as one of the nerdy things that comes about from being exposed to Dungeons and Dragons. So the New York Times is saying that if you play fantasy baseball then you are a nerd. ??? ???? ???? Don’t try to disagree, you know the Gray Lady cannot do wrong.

The second reason for this post is because I have to… The chart has blogging about the chart as something that a nerd like myself would do, and who am I to stand in the way?

[Full Chart]

March Madness – Nerds on Sports Style

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Nerds on Sports is hosting its own March tournament – to see who’s the winner among all nerd icons. We sent out invitations to thousands of video game characters, comic book heroes and sci-fi action stars. Thirty-two responded and the tournament was formed.

You decide the winner – by voting in our scientific surveys!

Bracket #1: The Hyrule Conference

Bracket #2: The Paragon City Conference

Edit: Don’t forget to vote in both brackets!

The Hyrule Conference
Hyrule
Jack Bauer
Captain Jack Sparrow
Batman
Li Mu Bai
Master Chief
Buffy Summers
Paul Atredies
Captain James T. Kirk
Drizzt Do’urden
Major Kusanagi
Morpheus
Serra Angel
Snake Eyes
Mr. Incredible
The T-1000
Inigo Montoya

The Paragon City Conference
Paragon City
The Alien Queen
Indiana Jones
The Predator
Optimus Prime
Warmech
Rick Deckard
Captain Lysander
Legolas
Curt Schilling
Harry Potter
Solid Snake
Luke Skywalker
The Operative
Gordon Freeman
Wolverine
Bowser

Cast your votes before midnight on Sunday the 16th. We’ll tally the winners, then move on to the next bracket on Tuesday the 18th.

[Business Day One] Roll for Lambeau Leap

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On March 4th, Packers quarterback Brett Favre announced his retirement and Dungeons and Dragons creator Gary Gygax passed away.  To be sure, it was a tough day for gaming groups in the greater Green Bay area.

Normally, when you hear news of a big time sports star retiring or a major social icon retiring (yes, I’m calling Gary Gygax a social icon), their days of contribution are long past.  Defensive lineman Warren Sapp, who retired on that same March 4th, was at least three or four seasons removed from his era of dominance.  But in the cases of Favre and Gygax, they still had something in the tank.  Favre had his highest passer rating since 1996 (and his third highest ever) in a more mature and complicated offense.  Gygax still found ways to contribute to the nerd and geek culture even after starting to take it easy in the year leading up to his death.  They were icons, yes, but neither were mere figureheads.

Each represented escapism in their own way, because each let us imagine ourselves as heroes.  We watched Favre throw three touchdowns (and an interception) in a Sunday snowstorm and could see ourselves right beside him in the huddle.  We played in Gygax’s world and fought goblins and explored ancient castles with our buddies.  Both sport and gaming allow us to shed everything we don’t want and take up everything we do.  Whether people spend their Sundays in front of an HDTV or a dice-strewn table, the same type exhilaration manifests.  And we have these two to thank.

So whatever you want to do to celebrate, please do.  Slay some Beholders, paint your face in green and yellow, order ten pizzas and hang out with your buddies.  Heck, do all three.  I know plenty of folks that did.

Go-Go Gadget Play!

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As longtime supporters of the New England Patriots organization, Nerds on Sports got a special sneak peek at some of Bill Belichick’s trick plays for this weekend’s Big Game. Here are some highlights:

Ain’t life a blast?Boy Scout: Brady fakes the toss, then pitches the ball to Maroney while Ben Watson opens a lane to the outside. Maroney then draws a Sig Sauer P226 and shoots Sam Madison, Aaron Ross and Gibril Wilson. Belichick claims that nothing in the rules expressly forbids the use of a handgun, arguing with the ref and giving Brady time to rest between plays. Bruce Willis dances a jig.

uWEE-hee-hee-HEE!Fallen One: Only two wideouts on this play; everyone else drops back to block or protect the pocket. Linemen form a multi-story tower built from the remains of a world shattered by a madman’s ambition. Giants’ linebackers enter tower and attempt to sack Brady, at which point he unleashes attack that reduces them all to 1 hp. This may end in an incomplete pass or a sack, but will almost certainly result in several Giants defensive players being taken out on the next down (as Tom Coughlin has likely used up all his Elixirs getting Kiwanuka and Shockey game-ready).

Tom Cruise rates this play OT-VII.Valkyrie: Heath Evans takes the direct snap. Evans substitutes the ball for a briefcase lined with lead and filled with sensitive explosives. Evans “fumbles” the ball on the tackle, allowing one of the Giants’ linebackers to recover. As the linebacker runs the briefcase down field, the vial of acid that shattered in the fumble eats through the lead and into the explosive. Linebacker dies messily; Steiner signs peace accords with England and France.

My life for Foxboro!Gestalt: Brady runs down the play clock until Logan Mankins and Billy Yates can merge into an Archon, a barely corporeal psychic entity. The Archon paralyzes the Giants’ backfield with a Psionic Storm, allowing Brady to throw leisurely routes for 40 yards a pass. N.B.: Hold off on this play if the Giants have EMP capabilities, as the Archon’s power rests entirely in its immense energy shield.

Wes Welker has the smooth complexion needed to play a 16-year-old at age 25.Flux: Shotgun snap, Brady to Welker on the outside route. Welker accelerates to a ground speed of eighty-eight miles per hour, traveling back in time to the Waterloo High School Senior Prom in 1964. He shows up Tom Coughlin in front of his date, winning her heart and depressing the impressionable young man. Coughlin enlists in the army instead of going to Syracuse and is killed in Vietnam. Jim Fassel stays on as head coach long into his senile years, keeping Kurt Warner as the starter and never acquiring Eli Manning. The Giants end the 2007 season 4-12 and never make it to the postseason; Patriots win by default through temporal anomaly.

In 4th edition, wizards get no spellcasting penalty for wearing sweatshirts provided the sleeves have been cut off.Sphere: Belichick designates all tackles, guards and the center as eligible receivers and casts a prismatic sphere on Brady. Analysis of game film suggests that defensive rookies Aaron Ross and Michael Johnson will be blinded for 2d4 plays even looking at the sphere’s arcane colors, and that while Michael Strahan may be able to pass through the first three levels of the sphere (suffering 20 points of fire damage, 40 points of acid damage and 80 points of electricity damage respectively), the poison in the fourth layer will either kill him or put him out for the rest of the game. Brady can now take upwards of ten minutes to complete each pass.