Nobody Wake the Bugbear

Forge Steel is a community-developed, locally-hosted web application and digital utility designed for Draw Steel, the cinematic fantasy tabletop role-playing game created by MCDM Productions. Developed by independent community members during the game's playtest phase, the application functions as a lightweight encounter builder and combat manager. It is specifically built to assist Directors in organizing game data and tracking real-time combat statistics during a session. Description Forge Steel serves as a digital toolkit for preparing and executing combat encounters in Draw Steel. In contrast to cloud-based alternatives, Forge Steel relies on local browser storage. This means the application does not require users to create an account or rely on external servers to save their data. All created encounters, customized monsters, and campaign notes are stored directly within the cache of the user's web browser. This architecture prioritizes data privacy, offline accessibility, and fast load times, though it requires manual file exporting to transfer data between different devices. System Overview & Key Features Local Storage Architecture The application operates entirely within the user's web browser without communicating with a backend database for everyday use. Because it utilizes local storage, no login credentials are required. This ensures the tool remains highly responsive and can continue to function even if the user loses their internet connection during a game session. Encounter Construction Directors can use the tool to design combat encounters by selecting monsters from an integrated database. The application automatically calculates the total Encounter Value, allowing the Director to balance the difficulty of the fight against the level and size of the player character party. Active Combat Tracking During gameplay, Forge Steel provides a dashboard to manage the flow of combat. It tracks essential Draw Steel mechanics, including monster Stamina, current initiative groups, temporary status effects, and the accumulation of Villain Power. This centralized view reduces the amount of physical bookkeeping required by the Director. Integrated Bestiary The application includes a searchable bestiary containing the official monsters released during the Draw Steel playtest and early access periods. Directors can quickly filter these creatures by role, level, or faction, and view their complete stat blocks, abilities, and passives directly within the app. Import and Export Functionality To mitigate the limitations of local-only storage, Forge Steel includes manual data management tools. Users can export their prepared encounters, custom bestiaries, and campaign data as JSON files. These files can then be saved as backups or imported into Forge Steel on a different computer or browser, allowing for manual cross-device syncing. Homebrew Integration Directors have the ability to manually input and modify monster statistics. This allows users to create custom adversaries or tweak existing official monsters to fit their specific campaign needs. These custom entries are saved locally alongside the official bestiary. Additional links forgesteel.net - Official toolkit website

I Cast Fireball is a Dungeons & Dragons 5e Actual-Play podcast. Our first campaign played through the D&D adventure Tyranny of Dragons, and our second campaign is loosely following the story of Pathfinder's Skull & Shackles Adventure Path. Founded by our DM, Thomas Brower, I Cast Fireball is more than just an excuse to have a D&D group that actually meets consistently. Links icastfireball.net - Official website youtube.com - Youtube channel podcasts.apple.com - Apple Podcasts feed patreon.com - Patreon page

Its gonna be May. /images/general-media/1778679800_avRWtoFC.gifThis is gonna ruin the tour... Well, it already is May - and its time for this month’s overview of what we have done during the last month. We would like to keep you updated as to how the platform is evolving and growing - especially since many of our updates might be something you have not noticed (you can read the last month's update log here). Birthday.. Of sorts It was the end of April of last year when we released the current version of Groupfinder. Partly. Most of you might not be aware that Groupfinder was first launched in 2021. We first created the platform for the Estonian TTRPG community to help our local players find groups and players more easily. And it was well-received and used, prompting us to keep working on it, improving and tweaking. /images/general-media/1778679949_qEWkiP3e.jpgHow far we've come since 2021.  Many years later, we decided to step it up a notch and redesign the entire platform and open it up to the world. More than half a year later, Groupfinder (now called Groupfinder, not Grupileidja) was finally released. It took us a few months before we were ready for the global audience. In september, we had our ducks in a row and we started spreading the word about the platform. Users from all over the world slowly started discovering the site and signing up. Gaining initial traction was a difficult task - users would not bother to use Groupfinder, because there weren’t users on the platform. A vicious circle that eventually was resolved thanks to our early pioneers, willing to give us a shot and posted their profiles and groups here. And now, a year later, we can see the platform has almost 6000 registered users with over 1500 active profiles and almost 700 active groups.    Players and systems During the last month, we improved player post creation - choosing the game system is now more visual and clearer. In addition - the process has been integrated with the Library. If a system exists there, it will be more visually distinct. As well as linked to the corresponding Library entry page. Hopefully more players will discover alternative systems to try out. /images/general-media/1778680166_bQADP9rj.pngChoosing the correct systems has never been easier. On Groupfinder The player profile page itself has also been updated and refreshed in multiple ways, making your profile a better calling card for you. Panel is Dashboard We used to call the homepage, the Panel. But we realized, that it didn’t make that much sense to most users. So it is now Dashboard. Not a huge change - but a change nonetheless. The dashboard also received multiple updates and tweaks to make things less cluttered and messy. Library is getting stocked During the month, the library has received multiple new entries. By multiple - I believe we can say well over a hundred new entries have been added. There are multiple new tools, video creators and podcasts/actual play entries for you to discover. Waiting for your next session? Perfect time to start enjoying an actual play series to keep the hype going and perhaps be inspired by the way other groups play. Article series “Covering the basics” We also started with an introductory blog series called “Covering the basics”. Something to guide new players taking their first steps in the hobby. Currently there is one for “Making a character” and one for “How to start as a Dungeon Master”.    And while not part of the series, you might want to take a look at the “Safety tools” article. Something to consider when starting a group with people you’ve never played with before. Tweaks & fixes We've kept a watchful eye on various bugs and problems that needed addressing. The mobile notifications were overly aggressive and at times got a bit spammy - we've told the messenger to calm down.  In messenger you can now react to messages, making it easier for you to agree upon a certain ruling or arrangement. Or, if you like, you can send an image of surprised Pikachu. Sending images in messenger is now possible. Sending a message to someone, but they just won't respond? Hover over their timezone on their profile and see what time it is for them. Maybe they are sleeping. Maybe you should also be? May-be that is all Thanks for reading this month’s update. We will keep on working on things in the background. You can join the Groupfinder discord server if you want to share some thoughts or problems with the platform.   And as always - if you have found Groupfinder useful in any way - be sure to share it with others. Either via a social media post, or just tell your friends about it. You sharing Groupfinder helps us grow. And with more users - more groups. Till next time.