We’re back again with an all-new episode of The Flickcast. Be happy because it probably won’t last. But for now …

On this week’s show, Chris and Joe discuss and debate more Guardians of the Galaxy, James Gunn’s personality, upcoming TV series like Shutter Island and The Omen, Denzel Washington’s career and his upcoming Equalizer movie and the brand new season of Doctor Who.

Guess which of your favorite hosts liked the season premiere and which didn’t? Not that hard to figure out. Of course, that’s not all they talk about. There’s also the usual “more.”

Picks this week include Chris’ pick of the just released D&D Player’s Handbook from Wizards of the Coast and Joe’s pick of the movie Locke, featuring Tom Hardy and a car.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship, or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook, Google+ or via email.

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Every now and then, those of us who have been around longer get on our high horses and dispense what we consider guidance while those we speak to may consider it unsolicited rambling. But hey, we’re older so you have to respect us dammit — especially the young geeks of the world.

We know it’s a hard life but let’s be clear, you have it a lot easier than we did. Back when we were younger, playing video games, Magic: The Gathering and AD&D 4th Edition usually meant you’d catch some teasing and probably not get laid. Well, in some circles by the time you hit 30, the latter two may still be true but at least now gaming is incredibly common and not a symbol of geekdom.

But if you’ve done the whole growing up thing right, you wouldn’t be so worried about what people are going to think by the time you’ve hit 30 and have probably found yourself a quality group of cohorts who won’t be making fun of you for playing AD&D 4th Edition. They will be the ones who will be giving you a hard time because you rolled a 1 and fell onto the blade of your own sword by accident.

So when you find these friends you can pull out your Monster Manual and get cracking… except for those who “fell off” their game when they stopped playing around 15. And while some packed their cards and games and figured neatly away just in case, we know tons who got rid of everything. They sold it off way cheaper than they knew they should have or in some cases just got rid of it.

Well, we tried. Tried to have one episode right after the other. Sadly, it didn’t work — at least not this past week.

But never fear, we’re back now and we’ve got a brand new episode of The Flickcast for you. And heck, it’s even pretty good.

This week Chris and Joe take on some new topics and some old ones. What are these topics? Well, you’ll just have to listen to find out. But rest assured, they’re pretty cool. No, you can take our word for it. Why would we lie?

This week’s picks include Chris’ pick of the book Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play Itby David M. Ewalt and Joe’s pick of the podcast Children of Tendu by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Jose Molina.

And no, that pic of Darth Maul has little to do with this week’s episode. We just think he’s a badass.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship, or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook, Google+ or via email.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

You may know Dungeons & Dragons, the venerable role playing game, turned 40 recently. Our own Chris Ullrich even did a post about it over at his personal site.

Turns out, D&D is still pretty much as popular as it ever was and people from all walks of life enjoy it. But that wasn’t always the case. Back in the day it wasn’t as well regarded and the depiction of it on popular media, like TV, was often inaccurate, to say the least.

Moving forward on that topic, the folks over at Geed Dad have put together some of their favorite clips showcasing D&D’s appearance on TV. From Freaks & Geeks to 60 Minutes to Community, D&D has been pervasive in popular culture for a long time and shows no signs of slowing down.

Check out most of the clips after the break.

Like movies, TV shows and most every other form of entertainment these days, games also have trailers. But not just video games, although they do all the time, tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons do as well.

Case in point today is the release of the brand new trailer that highlights the next epic D&D adventure. Said adventure is called The Sunderling and it’s part of The Forgotten Realms setting. The trailer also helps inaugurate the following new Dungeons & Dragons products – both digital and analog – which all are set in The Sundering:

• The newest season of D&D Encounters, Legacy of the Crystal Shard, starts today! These in-store events take place every Wednesday at local hobby shops and allow both inexperienced and seasoned players to join forces for the ultimate adventure.

• The recent launch of D&D’s FIRST-EVER free-to-play mobile app, Arena of War, produced by DeNA just launched. Arena of War, which is available on iOS and Android. It’s a thrilling, turn-based, 3D, battle-RPG mobile game that sends players on perilous quests through the Forgotten Realms.

• The third book in The Sundering series, The Adversary by Erin M. Evans, is being released early December. This page-turner delves into a maelstrom of devilish politics and magical intrigue.

For more, check out the trailer after the break. Want to play The Sunderling? Check it out over at the official website.

Gamers come in all shapes, sizes and temperaments. And most of the time, gamers get along pretty well with others and whatever game they happen to be playing goes on without much in the way of incident. It’s just a good time had by all.

And then there’s those other times. Those are the times depicted in the indie comedy Zero Charisma. In the movie, a group of gamers are disrupted by the arrival of a new, much more charismatic player who’s charm, good looks and attitude start to cause problems.

Needless to say, things don’t go so well and shit starts to hit the fan. Fortunately, as this is a comedy, it’s all done with a sense of humor while also providing some good insight into the lives of gamers and nerds/geeks of today.

We’ve got a new trailer and some exclusive footage from the movie to share with you today. If you’ve ever played D&D, or any other game where getting along with your fellow man (or woman) was a necessity, than this movie is for you.

Check out the videos after the break. Look for Zero Charisma to arrive later this year.

AD&D (aka Advanced Dungeons & Dragons) is here to stay and after almost forty years, it’s popularity has never been higher. Back in the day, we played a lot of adventure modules that came directly from original publisher TSR. Some of our favorites were the ones for beginners, like the “Slave Lords” series.

Now, we can get those modules again, this time in a brand new hardcover collection, complete with the original artwork. That’s right, Wizard of the Coast has got us covered:

Ranked the 20th greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time by Dungeon magazine in 2004, these four modules — A1: Slave Pits of the Undercity, A2: Secret of the Slavers Stockade, A3: Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords, and A4: In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords – are together again, complete with original black-and-white interior art.

Added to the collection is an all-new fifth adventure — A0: Danger at Darkshelf Quarry — that players can use to kick off an AD&D campaign that pits a group of adventurers against the evil Slave Lords! Module A0, designed for levels 1-3, sets the stage for events that unfold throughout the remainder of the “A” series.

The new collection is available today right here. Click through for full descriptions of the classic modules in the collection.

If you’re a geek, at one time or another, you’ve likely played Dungeons & Dragons. Heck, you may be playing this week or even while you’re reading this very article. It’s a great way to pass the time and something we love to do sitting around a table with some of your best friends.

But wouldn’t it be cool to be able to take those fun times on the road with you? Well, if you’ve always wanted a mobile version of D&D, you’re in luck because Wizards of the Coast and DeNA have partnered together to do just that.

That’s right, the two companies will soon bring Dungeons & Dragons: Arena of War, the first ever D&D mobile game, to an iOS or Android device near you.

According to the official press release for the game: “Arena of War puts players in the Forgotten Realms for a battle roleplaying game that combines questing, character leveling, and small team collaboration with the most engaging mobile game mechanics on the market, such as in-game events and massive multiplayer competitions.”

It will be available later this year. For more info on the game, or to pre-register, head on over to the game’s official site.

As geeks get older, they tend to accumulate more and more stuff. They also tend to move and/or end up with significant others who may not share their love of collecting things and never getting rid of them. Ever.

Consequently, some stuff may get sold, misplaced or just plain “lost.” Fortunately, if some of that stuff happens to be your original AD&D Second Edition Core Rulebooks, you’re in luck because Wizards of the Coast has got you covered.

That’s right, the company is re-releasing all three books, The Player’s Handbook, Monstrous Manual and Dungeon Master Handbook, in super nice premium editions for your reading, use and collecting pleasure. Of course, the three books contain all of the original content and art, but each rulebook has a new cover design to commemorate the reprint.

Each book will set you back $49.95. Yes, that’s a bit more than they originally cost, but if you need/want them, you need/want them, right? They would also make a fine gift for the D&D geek on your list this holiday season. Not that I’m dropping hints or anything.

This should be happy news, but I don’t think it is. Warner Bros. has aquired the movie rights to Dungeons & Dragons and are developing a feature film version.

I’m trying to be optimistic here but this development brings up several important questions, especially this one: what’s the story? If you know anything about D&D, and I would bet most Warner execs don’t, it’s not a game with one, set story. It’s a game where players basically make up the story as they go along.

Sure, there’s some common elements like the various character races, occupations and such, and the Dungeon Master certainly plans out some of what might happen during the game, but the rest unforlds on it’s own as the game progresses. In other words, simply saying “We’re making a D&D movie” doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense.

But that doesn’t really surprise me. Warner Bros. just wants its own Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings and to them D&D is the same thing and a name they can exploit.

To answer the story question (and this doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence either), the studio is apparently going to use an existing script by Wrath Of The Titans and Red Riding Hood writer David Leslie Johnson. That script is called Chainmail and is reportedly based on the game Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson thought up before they created D&D.