Greetings all! This weekend I'll be heading out to New York Comic Con! First off let me say that I'm VERY excited to be back in New York. I was there once on accident (it's a true story, I'll tell you one day)'

I arrive on Thursday (10/13) and leave on Sunday (10/16). Here is my schedule for while I'm in town.

Friday 10/14

2:45pm - 3:30pm: Interview with R.A. Salvatore - I'll be sitting down and asking YOUR quesions! Got a question about Drizzt, Neverwinter, or anything else you want R.A. to answer? Well ask them here and I'll use them during my interview!

4:00pm - 5:00pm: Neverwinter Panel - I'll be live tweeting the Neverwinter Panel! Come by and hear R.A. Salvatore talk about Drizzt and his new adventures in Neverwinter!

5:30pm - 6:30pm: Neverwinter Signing - Still don't have enough Neverwinter? Come by and get your book signed by the man himself! I'd pay attention to the twitter channel if I were you. 

Saturday 10/15

10:00am - 11:00am: Walking the show floor - I'll be hanging around, just checking out the show! If you see me, say "Hi!"

11:00am - 12:00pm: Gaming Area - Checking out the gaming area! In fact, I might be prepping for something.

12:00pm - 4:00pm: Siege of Gardmore Abbey - This is it! Pay attention to the twitter channel. Why? Because I need players if I'm going to run this awesome session!

5:00pm - 6:00pm: Legend of Drizzt - WHAT?!? You can play The Legend of Drizzt Board Game with me BEFORE it's out? THAT'S CRAZY! Again, watch the twitter channel!

Sunday 10/16

10:00am - noon(ish): Walking the show floor - I leave on Sunday so I'll be spending a little time walking the floor before I head out. If you see me, say Hi!

So there you have it! If you're at the convention please PLEASE find me and say hello. I love meeting fans of Magic and D&D (or fans of me!). I'll also have some Magic decks on me (commander and some Innistrad intro decks) so I'll be ready to throw down in a challenge!

My nights are pretty open since I'm the lone WotC wolf in NY. I'll probably spend a good portion of my nights hitting up some NY sights and exploring the city.

See you at the con!

They say "the more things change, the more they stay the same."

With Trevor taking on a different role soon and Steve Winter transitioning over to the D&D side of community management I've got many people asking me what's going to happen with me?

Well. Let me answer that for you.

When I 1st started here at Wizards Trevor and I had split the community about 60/40. Trevor would be in D&D, and I would be in Magic. We'd sit down and talk things over on a weekly basis and we would fill each other in on the events, topics, concerns in the communities. That way both of us knew what was going on in both communities. As time went on we both focused on D&D. The Virtual Table was going underway and with my background in QA it seemed like the perfect place for me. 

As more time passed on Trevor was getting deeper and deeper into the D&D communities and I was balancing both D&D and Magic.

Flash forward to when Trevor dropped the bomb that he was leaving. There was plenty of talk of what would happen in Trevor's absence, and what duties would I be left with? Josh and Chuck quickly became the VT superstars and I was becoming more of a "face" for the community. I was at PAX Prime and DDXP with Trevor and we both were representing the community. Then came PAX East and I was the lone soldier. I was put on a panel for D&D, and was there giving out and playing Magic with fans.

Let me be clear when I say Magic, I am not talking about just the paper product. I'm talking about ALL of Magic. That means paper product, Magic: The Gathering Online, and Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers for Steam, PS3, and XBLA. That's a MASSIVE community. Luckily we've got everyone's favorite Crazy Monkey helping us out with some of the digital stuff, but there's still a ton of Magic communities out there.

A decision was made. I would now be "full time" Magic and help support D&D when needed. Magic has a very large community with a ton of great personalities and I'm very excited to be a part of it. As many of you have seen from what I've brought to the D&D communities I plan to do the same for Magic.

One of my biggest strengths as a community manager is my ability to capture the lifestyle of games like Magic and D&D. We've got some amazing articles and Facebook posts for news and announcements so I don't want to just rehash those channels. My job is to not only get the announcements out there, but also to show you the cool things that don't fit in the news/announcements style broadcasts. You want to talk to me about this one time you destroyed someone at Duels of the Planeswalkers? Do it. You want to take me on in a game of Archenemy? Let's rock! I am here to show that not only do I work for the company that makes these games, but I also play them and have the same fun that you do.

For all the friends that I've made in the D&D Community, does this mean we won't get to hang out or talk? Not at all. I'm still very active on Twitter, and I've got lots of awesome Gamma World ideas for my home game. Plus, it's not like I'll be just abandoning you all together. I'll still be keeping up with the communities and reading blogs, websites, etc. I'll be around.

Does this mean I won't be at places like GenCon or DDXP? HA! You can't get rid of me that easily. Part of my charm is my "live event" experience. Nothing makes me feel more awesome then hanging out with people passionate about Wizards products. I love to talk with people about our products, play games with them, and when I can, hook up our fans with free stuff. Plan to see me at most major events that Wizards has a presence at. Maybe even a few we don't!

So basically what I'm saying is, things are changing, but also staying the same. Steve is going to completely rock the D&D side of this new community team, and I will do what I can to help and support him. I already know that the D&D community will welcome Steve with open arms and maybe some hugs... and I've warned him about that. 

I look forward to talking about Magic, playing Magic, and still being that guy with all the cool free at conventions. It's one of the reasons I love what I do.

Follow my real life shenanigans on twitter: @michaelrobles 

This weekend Seattle Geekly, Zaxy.com, some of us here at Wizards and MANY MANY others held the 1st ever:

EPIC GAME DAY

The title has to be huge, it's EPIC. It was a celebration of just all around geekery. There were board games, role playing games, video games, and even a Magic The Gathering Draft! This was all held at the AFK Tavern in Everett, WA. There was a ton of great games running. Bruce Cordell, Chris Simms, Logan Bonner, and Greg Bilsland were among a few of the GMs running adventures. Many of which were custom made for this event!

Now I've been working on my own long term Gamma World adventure, but being part of the crew that helped start Epic Game Day I wanted to contribute something myself. Thus began work on my Christmas themed adventure.

The feedback I got was awesome. Someone asked me where they could get a copy. I had a small audience that even though they saw what happened, they want me to run them through it since my spots in the game had filled up.

I'm here to show you the 1st encounter and some of what made my adventure a ton of fun to write & DM. I present:

"Christmas at Ground Zero"

A Gamma World Adventure for six level 3 players.

Before we got started I let the players know that since Famine in Far-Go just hit premiere stores that their origins would be 1/2 Base Game, and 1/2 Famine in Far-Go. It made for some interesting origins. Then I gave them some quick background:

The atom bombs have dropped and The Big Mistake has ruined what’s left of the North Pole. This ravaged wasteland is now ruled by a terrifying being simply known across Gamma Terra as “Big Red”. I now present: Christmas at Ground Zero.

I saw a couple of smiles as I began to read my read aloud text:

Twas a cold December morning when the adventurers crashed.

They found an old settlement, and it seemed to be trashed.

Body parts decorate, and cover the floor,

What was once a winter wonderland, is clearly, no more.

The smell of candy canes, burnt plastic, and entrails flow to your nose,

As across your faces the cold winter wind blows.

A bloodied sign points in two directions, “Workshop & Village”.

It’s unclear which direction to go; as everything seemed pillaged.

A villager you see, is being attacked by some creatures,

They look like wolves, but with additional features.

“Help me!” She screams “And I’ll make it worth your while!”

“I’ll give you Omega Tech, which can be quite versatile!”

So now dear adventurers, the choice is yours.

Do you save the villager? Or proceed forward outdoors?

If the adventures decided to save the villager, then they would get rewarded with Omega Tech, if they did not, then they got 1 roll on the Ancient Junk table. Many monsters were reskinned monsters, and some customs built with the Monster Builder program.

Some easy nature and science checks would revel that the wolves had bells on their collars, and tags that read:

"If found, please return to Workshop"

This initial battle is meant to be fairly easy. The players went straight for the wolves and the wolves would forget about the villager. After the adventurers finish off the wolves I had some more read aloud text:

Thank you so much! The villager states;

Those wolves were sent by Big Red! Make no mistake.

He used to be friendly, he used to be kind.

When people stopped believing, they say he lost his mind.

He’s vowed to destroy, the North Pole and beyond.

His followers will stay by his side, they have quiet the bond.

Take with you these toys, you’ll need them ahead.

Go through the village, or you’ll end up dead.

As the villager runs off in the distance, wind starts to obstruct.

She shouts back “Go on! Get moving! Or else you’ll be  FFF… stuck.

Sadly, I must end my preview here. Rumor has I might run this again sometime in the future. So no spoilers for those thinking of taking on Big Red.

... ok. 1 more spoiler:

A village that once held elves and their kin,

Is now dark and scary, as if taken over by sin.

Most of the village has gone on to the hereafter,

When from the trashed houses, you hear sounds of laughter.

“Our trap has been sprung!” Says a mutated elf.

“The fools fell right for it!” He seems pleased with himself.

“You can’t stop Big Red! He’ll make you all pay!”

“He’ll teach those who stopped believing, Christmas is HIS DAY!”

“We’ll stop you right here, we’re hot on your heels!”

When out from the back, come a swarm of Hot Wheels.

Adventurers it’s time! Try not to get shived!

Pull out those dice, and roll for initiative.

Greeting Everyone! Mike Robles here with a sneak peek inside the 1st expansion for Gamma World called: Famine in Far-Go.

Some quick details from the product page:

This product includes:

When all else fails, go with what you know

--Unknown

• My Background: Check
• My Background about working at Disneyland: Check
• My intro to Gamma World & Preparation: Check

I was set. I had my copy of Gamma World (that I used my skillz to acquire super early); just after PAX I would start up my game. I would set it in an apocalyptic Disneyland and it would be AWESOME. Everyone would want to have a guest spot in my game. What could go wrong?

I reached out to some friends that had varied experience in D&D. One player had been playing for years, others had just started, and one had never played at all.

We sat around my kitchen table and I read some things about Gamma World and they began to roll some characters. During the creation I helped those along who needed it. I explained some things about the appearance of their characters and why some choices for weapons might be better than others. The world of Gamma Terra is harsh, and the survival rate for just about anyone is very low, and I wanted my players to survive*.

We sat down to begin and I read more about "The Big Mistake". A large chunk of my party is video gamers so I explained that D&D is sort of like the game Scribblenauts:

Mike: You can do pretty much anything your imagination will let you, if you can't do it, I'll let you know. But it's always worth a shot to at least try.

After that I pulled one of our players aside. I had printed out this image:

I gave it some water and fire damage as well as some more distressing so that only portions of the bottom half remained. I got a quizzical look and was asked what it was:

Mike: That is a photo of the thing that destroyed your entire village, including your family.

I also stated to my player that it's her main reason for looking for the Gic Kingdom.

Mike: No one knows about this. Not even your traveling partner. As far as anyone is concerned you're looking for the Gic Kingdom to establish a new residence because it's behind walls.

It was my hope that by giving the players some personal attachment to their characters would help with role playing. I didn't have any encounters prepared because as much as I had in my head for this game, I just didn't have the time to prepare it. I started with two characters on the board, Arial (a Hawkoid/Mind Breaker) and Tazertron 9000 (an Electrokinectic Android resembling a giant water heater).

The reason I went this route (instead of having all players already in a group) is because I (personally) have grown tired of seeing games start out where everyone’s characters just all happen to be there. Since some of these players had never met before I real life, I wanted to bring those feelings into my game. We had all shared some laughs during the character creation, and we had all started to bond while discussing the new characters, so it wasn't like I said "Here, you all don't know each other, let's play." I wanted the players characters to meet in game, as if they were meeting for the first time in person.

Where I think this might have backfired was that some people were a little hesitant to role play, and others felt a little left out that they were not getting a chance to play. Quickly I realized my small and only mistake... because I am after all, perfect. I ran Arial and the Tazertron 9000 into some enemies.

Or were they?

NEXT TIME ON: [GAMMA WORLD] Secrets of the Gic Kingdom

Enemies? Friends? Frenimies? 

*After having a lot more exposure in Gamma World and Gamma Terra I realized that a large part of the fun is character creation. I may have been wrong in wanting my characters to survive to see this all the way through. Only time will tell.

It's no secret I love video games. Check the gamerscore baby:

5 star reputation, over 35 thousand Gamerscore, and I've only had my Xbox 360 a little over a year. That's pretty impressive I might say. I've been playing games since the Atari 2600 days and I even worked in the video game industry from 2003 until I started here at Wizards.

Part of the reason I moved up to Seattle was because I knew with my background I could easily find a job in the industry. The Seattle area has many many gaming companies around here. Nintendo, Microsoft, WB Games Inc., and more. In recent years it's been harder for smaller companies to make a stand against these giants. That's where Uber Entertainment comes in.

*From the Uber web site:

"Uber Entertainment, Inc. is a privately held video game development company headquartered in beautiful downtown Kirkland, WA.  Founded in March of 2008 by a veteran team of developers, Uber Entertainment is working on an amazing blend of awesome technology and innovative gameplay."

I cannot stress that second line enough. They were founded by veteran game developers. Bringing a group of people together that have already established themselves in the past puts you a step ahead of the rest.

I've been lucky enough to work with one of the Uber guys when he was a QA Lead at WB Games Inc. They released Monday Night Combat earlier this year and it's won plenty of awards, and has been praised by many media outlets.

Being an Xbox Live Arcade title I thought it would be perfect for some of us at Wizards to go head to head with Uber Entertainment in something I called:

MONDAY NIGHT MAGIC

WotC vs. Uber

*Imagine fireworks and lights and lasers and music here*

They have a great selling title on Xbox Live Arcade, WE have a bestselling title on Xbox Live Arcade! (Duels of the Planeswalkers is still #8 of all time best sellers!)

The stage was set, the two companies would go against each other at their own games. We here at Wizards may not have created Duels of the Planeswalkers, but we sure know how to play it!

Last night a group of us (including Magic Brand Manager Paul Levy) headed out to the Uber Offices in Kirkland for the 1st ever Monday Night Magic. Of course we never like to show up anywhere empty handed, so since we were going to be playing Magic: The Gathering over Xbox Live, we decided to bring them a little something they can actually get their hands on.

We showed up with some Scars of Mirrodin booster boxes, fat packs, intro packs, other bonus items, and some special tin lunchboxes that are unavailable to the public. After a few practice rounds, we were ready to begin. For those of you that don't know Monday Night Combat is a 3rd person class based shooter. It's the "sport of the future" as the athletes aren't playing for kills, but for money and sponsorships. It's DotA meets Team Fortress 2 with an adrenaline shot of bacon.

Long story short, while some of us are really good at video games, you can't beat the creators at their own game. I wouldn't call it a slaughter so much, but there was definite bloodshed.

Uber was nice enough to give us a sneak peek at some of the new stuff that is coming out in their upcoming FREE DLC later this year. For you fans of Monday Night Combat, you are going to be VERY, VERY happy with this DLC.

Once WotC finished getting whooped at Monday Night Combat, it was time to change gears. We decided rather than to start up Duels of the Planeswalkers on Xbox Live Arcade, that we'd run some sealed booster games with the Scars of Mirrodin boxes we gave them.

After asking Uber if they were REALLY sure they wanted to face us in paper sealed games, they agreed. They had no idea what they were in for.

We faced off in three 1v1 battles. By what seemed like a twist of fate, I was paired with my former lead, Logan. It seemed that that two men who organized Monday Night Magic, would also be the ones squaring off against each other.

WotC Customer Service Rep Rob Schuster quickly defeated Uber's Creative Director John Comes. Magic Brand Manager Paul Levy fell to Uber's Test Manager Dan Smith. I had already beat Logan in game 1, he had taken game 2. It was now down to the final game. A rough start for Logan had him falling in game 3, but not without putting up a fight. We had 3 epic games, and in the end Wizards of the Coast won the paper Magic portion of Monday Night Magic.

This was just the 1st in what I hope will be many Monday Night Magic get togethers in the future.

We had an absolute blast. Uber were great hosts, and even better sports. We got awesome Monday Night Combat shirts, and of course, some new additions for my desk toys:

Some amazing statues to remind me that I'm never going to be as awesome at that game as they are. But hey; we had fun; and that's what's important.

Want to play Monday Night Combat? Not only did I walk away with some statues, but I also got some codes for Monday Night Combat!

How can YOU get one?

Leave a comment below telling me what class you think you'd be good at! I'll choose a random winner later this week and PM them the code*!

*Code is for Xbox 360 ONLY. Requires an Xbox Live Gold Account to redeem

CONTEST CLOSED! THANKS ALL WHO COMMENTED!

"When all else fails, go with what you know"

Ok. You've read about me (and my introduction to 4e). You've read about how I've worked at Disneyland. NOW! Now we get into combining the two!

A little while after getting hired on here at WotC I walked over to Trevor's desk and he was busy rolling up a character.

Mike: What you doing?

Trevor: Rolling up a new Gamma World character, my character died again.

Mike: Oh ____! I've heard about that game! I want in.

Trevor: I'll see what I can do.

I waited... and waited... then one day, my email chimes and I see a meeting invite

Gamma World Resumes! 12:00pm - 2:00pm

I sat there in total enjoyment. I was SO READY for Gamma World. Turns out, I was so NOT READY for Gamma World. Greg Bilsland had a great blog post about the game I was in. Even if due to scheduling conflicts I was only able to play 1 session before it got canceled.

All it took was 1 game to get me totally sucked in. I always tell everyone that Gamma World stands out to be because it can be set on Earth, anywhere you want it to be!

Working 5+ years at the Happiest Place on Earth I knew A LOT about the park. The hidden secrets, the hidden locations, and just all around more knowledge then most people care to hear about. This was going the perfect place for my Gamma World campaign.

I decided to use 1996's Escape from L.A. as a jumping off point. In that movie there is a location called "The Happy Kingdom" and they even reference the poor choices the owners made (like putting a theme park in Paris)

I wasn't going to recreate the Happy Kingdom, but use the idea of this post apocalyptic Disneyland.

I wanted to make sure that we didn't just start inside Disneyland. I wanted my players to get there, and have some purpose for wanting to get there. I also wanted to make sure that my players weren't already a group. I've played & seen too many campaigns where the players already start out as a group. I wanted them to meet & interact.

I had it all planned out. I'd have them create characters, role play the "meeting", and we'd all walk away feeling satisfied. I planned on making my 1st session a "dice-less" session. What could go wrong?

NEXT TIME ON: [GAMMA WORLD] Secrets of the Gic Kingdom

What went wrong!

I SWEAR I'll get to Gamma World soon! I promise!

I grew up just outside of Los Angeles. Everywhere was about a 1/2 hour from where I was. Except Disneyland. Even though I was just a few cities away, it always felt like a lifetime to get there.

Both my parents worked a lot and so when we got to go to Disneyland, it was always a huge deal. We'd get there right when it opened, and wouldn't leave until it was closed. Back in the 80's the park closed at 2am on some weeknights. My parents tried for a family trip to Disneyland about once every year, maybe that's why it always felt like it took forever to get there.

Flash Forward to my teenage years. As I got older I realized things were not as far as they seem. I soon learned that Disneyland was "just over the hill" or "just down Harbor" & this BLEW MY MIND.

During my junior year of high school a buddy of mine got me an Annual Pass to Disneyland. What once was a yearly thing quickly became weekly, sometimes daily.

Now, growing up Disney (watching the movies, and going all the time) I love Disney & Disneyland. So when I got my annual pass I was there every chance I could. Eventually I made the promise to myself:

"I am going to work here one day."

Do you remember your 1st job? Was it somewhere in food service? A McDonald's? Burger King? Carl's Jr. / Hardees? Starbucks? Was it in some retail chain or in the mall? Target? Claire's Accessories? Dillards?

I wanted to make sure that my 1st job was not in food service, and not some retail store. I was determined to make Disneyland my 1st place of employment.

During my interview they asked me where I wanted to work.

"I want to be the guy that says: How many? Row 3."

Pretty sure that got me the job.

Over the course of my 5 years working there I learned just about everything I could. From the secret underground tunnels, to the hidden entrances & exits from most of the major rides. I even learned about the secret in the Matterhorn.

For a while on Facebook I had a small series of "notes" called

Mike

Robles

Ruins

The

Magic.

(Link to the last one because I ran out of words)

In these blogs I talk A LOT about the behinds the scene stuff most of the general public doesn't know. Feel free to check out those links above for some stories.

I grew up Disney. I visit it every time go home. I had my honeymoon in Disneyworld.

When I started playing Gamma World here at work the 1st thing I said to Trevor was.

"I'm setting my campaign inside Disneyland." I put aside the D&D Campaign I was working on, and decided to start devleoping the Magic Kingdom, after the "Big Mistake".

NEXT TIME ON: [GAMMA WORLD] Secrets of the Gic Kingdom

My introduction to Gamma World & Preparation!

"My past, made me who I am today."

-My Wife

A Little Background about Me:

Or: How my wife got me the job at Wizards of the Coast

I had stopped playing Magic: The Gathering right around Homelands, then briefly got back into it during Kamigawa & Mirrodin Blocks.

In my high school years I had "dabbled" in some White Wolf stuff and still have my Book of Nod somewhere at my parent’s house.

Up until around 2008 I was familiar enough with D&D to be able to fake my way through an improv scene, but if you sat me down to play it, I'd have a little trouble at 1st, but then would be able to catch up rather quickly. I had plenty of friends that were playing 3.5, and had seen plenty of parodies, spoofs, and other online sketches about D&D. Pretty sure I had the gist of it.

My (then girlfriend, now wife ) and I moved up to Washington about 3 years ago because she had taken a new job. We used to do acting in Los Angeles, but due to our hectic schedules we had no more free time to pursue acting as a hobby. Once we moved we quickly realized how thriving the theatre community up here was. One of the 1st shows my wife was cast in was "Sleepy Hollow". The person playing Ichabod Crane? James Wyatt.

James Wyatt... why do I know that name? Oh well. I'm sure if it was important I'd remember.

My wife quickly became friends with the Wyatts and there were times of hanging out. One day I was in his house looking at his vast library of D&D Books when I see his name on A TON of novels.

James Wyatt.... James Wyatt... *I pull out the 4th edition Dungeon Master's Guide & look at the cover. JAMES WYATT?!?!?!

The man I only knew as "the guy who played Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow" was THE JAMES WYATT?!?

Talk about feeling foolish.

Flash forward to New Year's Day 2010. James & his family host a "Game Day" with theatre friends. After many hours of gaming someone at the party makes a D&D joke about all of us playing. Sure enough, no one opposes. James quickly creates a one shot, helps us all create characters, and we begin playing.

This was my introduction into 4th Edition.

A couple months later I get an email from James about how much fun he had playing D&D with actor type peoples and if we were interested in playing a 4th Edition Campaign with him.

Hmmm... Did I want to play a 4th Edition Campaign with THE MAN WHO WROTE THE BOOK ON 4TH EDITION? Of course I wanted to play!

Having James as a DM has been a great experience. It helped fuel me during my interview here at Wizards. He gave me ideas that if I ever ran a campaign, I'd want to use.

When I started here at Wizards I got the same question:

"So, do you play D&D?"

Before I can even open my mouth, Trevor would speak up:

"He's in James Wyatt’s campaign"

Jaws would drop, eyes would blink, and words couldn't be spoken. I guess James is kind of a big deal here at Wizards.

I'd like to thank my wife, for auditioning for a show, and being so awesome that "Ichabod Crane & his wife" wanted to hang out more.

NEXT TIME ON: [GAMMA WORLD] Secrets of the Gic Kingdom

My introduction to Gamma World, introducing my friends to Gamma World, and I decide where to set my campaign!