65 - Baldur's Gate vs. Dragon Age

For decades, its legend has endured, striking fear into the hearts of Dungeons and Dragons players everywhere. The mere mention of its name has been known to drive groups of lifelong companions, once closer than siblings, to infighting, betrayal, and chaos. In the darkest corners of the experienced role-player's dice-fueled fever dreams, its presence lingers like a shroud -- the great humbler of the power gamer. For whenever a D&D party grows too boastful, too assured of their own invincibility, too confident of final victory over an entire game world or campaign setting, they will inevitably find themselves standing at the gates of the deadliest dungeon ever conceived: the Tomb of Horrors! Now, those gates open once more. Two groups of brave adventurers have arrived, both representing the respected House of Bioware, each looking to test their mettle against the most notorious suicide mission in the history of high fantasy: From the the Sword Coast region of the Forgotten Realms, aka A World Much Like This One But A World That Is Very Different, comes the Party of Baldur's Gate -- Viconia, the haughty Drow cleric; Imoen, the spell-slinging thief from Candlekeep; Edwin, the extremely evil but also exceptionally useful conjurer; and Minsc, the berserk ranger who doesn't have the stats to be a ranger, but DOES have a miniature giant space hamster named Boo, which counts for a lot. And from the maybe-not-terribly-distant-but-definitely-not-on-any-maps land of Thedas, it's the Party of Dragon Age -- Anders, the church-bombing fanatic possessed by the concept of justice; Varric, the crossbow-wielding dwarf with nimble fingers and a lying tongue; Morrigan, shapeshifting witch of the Korcari Wilds; and Iron Bull, the one-eyed Qunari berserker spy. Which party will navigate the Tomb's brutal series of traps, see through its illusions, defeat its guardians, and confront the demi-lich Acererak to claim his glittering treasure? Will Liz even be able to say "Acererak?" Will Miles ever be able to stop referencing experience tables, ability scores, and spell levels? And what happens when MeganBob is suddenly given full license to ship all eight of these characters?