Hasbro Dungeons & Dragons - Eric

 Back in November, I picked up the second wave of the animated Dungeons & Dragons kids. Thanks to a hot tip, I got them from Target online at a discount, $40 for all three figures! Quick note, the second wave is no longer available online.

One thing they got right with these three is they didn't cut off the side art that overlapped to the other boxes.

Out of all the kids, Eric was always my least favorite. To me he always came across like a whiny, rich brat who was super annoying!

I had high (unreasonable?) expectations for the second wave of figures. Maybe between production runs Hasbro figured out they did some things wrong with the first wave and corrected their mistakes?

Oh, dear reader, if only that were true...

Scary Christmas Things Building Block Set

 Well, Temu got me again with another not-LEGO building set. This one is inspired by Nightmare Before Christmas.

 

This one was not nearly as frustrating as the sets I posted back in October (here and here). Firstly, this was not a mini/micro set so the pieces were much easier to work with. Secondly, the set came in a zip bag with a card that has a code on their website or a QR to scan to get the instructions. If you ordered this set and you have no internet access...good luck! The card also states "The numbered bags have no bearing on order of build. Please just follow the instructions to build your set."

Having the instructions on my iPad not only made it easy to zoom in to get a better look when needed but it meant I didn't have a huge folded sheet that I'd have to open up.

Some of the doodad pieces are a little weird but I guess you have to put something in there to make it a little more visually interesting. I'm not sure, but I think those pink bricks on the right might be Dr. Finklestein's tower and Jack's house like they're supposed to be way off in the distance? I really like how they managed to make the curly piece of the hill and have the "moon" attach to it.

The back side has Zero flying through the sky! Right below him is his gravestone with a little bone on it. Obviously the scale isn't quite right but if I can dig my Jack figure out of the display case he's in, this will be his new home. I still have to get a Sally minifig.

The set is 167 pieces and I got it for $15 which I think works out to a little less than what you'd pay for a real LEGO set of the same size. If you want to pick this up, you can get it at this non-affiliate link.

1-Up Dice Sets by Infinite Black

I got into D&D at an early age, which naturally lead me to explore other RPGs over the years. Anyone that's ever participated in tabletop role playing will tell you there's one thing you absolutely need: your own set of dice. Sure, there's books upon books for every game but you can always borrow those from a friend, but dice...dice are sacred to some and aren't to be shared.

 

I can't tell you the last time I picked up a die to make a saving throw or an attack roll so a new set of dice is something not even on my radar but when I saw this Kickstarter awhile back I had to get in on it. Not only did it combine RPGs and video games but the packaging really grabbed me.

As you can see, I liked the sets so much, I got two! It was just too hard to pick only one. And I got a few bonus items: silver and gold d20s and a special d2 coin.

Let's dig into the sets!

 

Monthly Media Recap - December 2023

Happy New Year!

 

As always, most links below are Amazon affiliate links where I can earn from qualifying purchases if you buy the weird things I watch.

I didn't see a whole lot of big studio movies in theaters this year and the majority of what I did were Marvel movies. I had zero interest in seeing Oppenheimer but I really enjoyed Barbie. Guardians Vol 3 was a terrific send off for the crew. Disney's Haunted Mansion may have a few issues but it was far better than the Eddie Murphy one for me. And Talk to Me...just wow! I'm so happy I got to see that with an audience.

Streaming (sort of)

A Muppet Family Christmas (1987, YouTube)

Forget Endgame, THIS is the epic crossover I've been wanting all my life! Characters from Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and Muppet Babies all in the same show! As a pretty much lifelong Muppet fan, this delivered on every level. I'm not usually one for Christmas specials but seeing all these characters interact and the focus being on them was fantastic.

On to the ho-ho-holiday horror!

Movies

 

Await Further Instructions (2018, Shudder)

I've actually had this on my watch list for months and since it takes place at Christmas, what better time to get around to it?  This is definitely a bit on the odd side but in the best way. Aside from the family's interpersonal problems, there's a whole other mysterious thing going on that has trapped them in the house and is issuing instructions through the TV which keeps you guessing.

Rating: 7/10