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Top 10

10 Good Reasons to Play D&D

Have you ever had to justify your love for D&D? Did you stand up for the game or did you deny everything? Are you one of those gamers who proudly and openly talks about his love of D&D? Maybe you enjoy D&D but don’t need to give anyone another reason to know that you’re a nerd? Perhaps you’re a closet gamer who nerds it up behind closed doors, but refuses to acknowledge anything D&D related in front of your social peers or members of the opposite sex?

Over the years I’ve often had to defend my love for D&D to my friends, family and even my wife. In my article Confessions of a Gamer (written shortly after Dungeon’s Master was first launched) I dared to bare my soul and shout from the (virtual) rooftops that I play D&D and I was proud of it.

I realized long ago that playing D&D was nothing to be ashamed of; in fact I went to the other extreme and created a D&D blog so I could write about D&D every day. The more I thought about it the more I realized that there are a lot of strong up-sides to playing D&D. So for anyone who faces ridicule for playing D&D, here’s a list of 10 good reasons to play D&D.

Categories
Editorial

The Art of D&D (Part 2)

Many artists have contributed to D&D over the years, but only the greatest left a lasting impression on the game and its fans. In The Art of D&D (Part 1)we looked at five of the greatest artists ever associated with D&D: Caldwell, Elmore, Easley, Fields and Parkinson. These five set the bar for style and quality in the art of D&D throughout the 1980s. As D&D expanded in the years and decades to come, new artists stepped in to fill the giant shoes left behind by these masters. Today we look at three of them.

One of the smartest decisions Wizards of the Coast (TSR at the time) ever did was to make the artwork of one artist exclusive to a particular campaign line. It was marketing genius. The art was so distinct and so good that you immediately knew, just by looking at the advertisement or book cover, which campaign setting it was for. There was a direct correlation between the popularity and success of these product lines with the brand recognition the artists created.

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Eberron

Secrets of Eberron Revealed (Part 9)

The Last War ravaged Khorvaire. The Five Nations drew the entire continent into a war that lasted a century. An uneasy peace has kept open conflict from flaring up, but signs of tension are present and it may take only the smallest altercation to set off open warfare.

The common people gave and suffered the most during the war. Border towns frequently found themselves under the rule of different nations several times throughout the war. With the constant changing of allegiance most commoners lost interest in the origins of the conflict. Since the signing of the Thronehold Accord a small and silent group has grown amongst the populace, their goal to ensure that their sons and daughters don’t die in any future conflict.

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Editorial

D&D Encounters: Keep on the Borderlands (Week 8.)

Using the information gained from the small copper dragon at the end of last week’s encounter the PCs rushed into the swamp in hopes of saving Benwick from ambush. Our party this week consisted of Berrian, Hagen, Quinn, Sola and two unique characters, an Assassin and a Wizard. So with a full roster we braved ahead.

We arrived at the ambush site just in time to witness the ambush taking place. As we approached we overheard the Dragonborn leader addressing Ronnik and telling him that they will “seal their arrangement with blood.” The Dragonborn was standing menacingly over Benwick; Ronnik was standing over Benwick’s fallen comrades Sal and Gordi. Four lizardfolk address Ronnik in Draconic before attacking the PCs.

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Player Resources

27 Questions To Ask Your New Character

The character creation process is one of the most important steps at the beginning of any campaign. The choices you make will echo over the course of many levels. Making a truly memorable character requires you to make a lot of important choices. From race, class and attribute distribution all decisions will factor into the overall enjoyment of playing this character.

While the numbers and powers that describe your character are of great importance they are not the most important factors in the design process. The key to creating an engaging character is developing a back-story full of life and intrigue. This process isn’t easy and often takes more time than selecting powers and equipment.

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DM Resources Editorial

Who’s Really In Control At Your Gaming Table?

The common belief is that the DM is in charge, but the more I’ve been looking at things objectively the more I’m inclined to disagree. It seems to me that the players have a lot more power and influence over the campaign than anyone may realize.

At the very beginning of any game the DM is indeed in charge. He’s in control of the overall setting, the campaign objective, the party’s motivation and the monsters. The very first time the players sit down at the gaming table the DM is firmly in control. But as we all know, no plan survives contact with the enemy (the enemy being the players).

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Player Resources

Tomb of Horrors: Actual Play Podcasts (Part 2)

What do you get when six experienced gamers that have never played the Tomb of Horrors try to survive a delve into the most infamous dungeon adventure in D&D history? A whole bunch of exciting actual play podcasts. With a DM who plays for keeps, the players continue to match wits with a dungeon famous for killing all who dare to enter. So far none of the PCs have died, although there have been a few very close calls.

In this article we bring you episodes #4 and #5, which make up the second night of our ongoing adventure. Before diving intop these podcasts, make sure you listen to the first three Tomb of Horrors: Actual Play Podcasts.

Categories
Editorial

What Happened To The Chaos?

We’ve all been in this situation. The party is planning how to handle the next encounter. Strategy is being discussed and the groundwork for an epic battle is being laid out. The debate and conversation around such plans could last longer than the combat itself if we allowed it to. Just as the plan is coming together chaos takes over.

Delian the Paladin – We know that Balador favours undead as allies. I feel it would be prudent to lead with an attack that unleashes the power of the gods.

Nenia the Wizard – Wisely spoken Delian, however we know that Balador is truly a coward. He hides behind his numerous servants. I feel if we quickly eliminate these foes we will have a direct path to Balador.

Ethan the Rogue – These idea’s sound great! I just need a minute to sneak behind our adversaries. It will allow me to unleash a tirade of death upon them.

Merric the Cleric – That’s fine Ethan, just don’t separate yourself from the rest of us. My healing magic will only stretch so far.

Delian the Paladin – Great, I say Braddoc and I advance together and form a defensive wall, then Ethan can move in to flank our foes. Braddoc, can we count on you with this plan of attack? Braddoc?

Braddoc the Fighter – (To the DM) I charge!

The remaining players are shocked and upon lifting their jaws from the floor they ask why? Why are you attacking? The response? I’m chaotic neutral, it’s in my nature.

Categories
Editorial

D&D Encounters: Keep on the Borderlands (Week 7)

For the first time this season a character was killed, dead-dead. At one point three PCs were making death saves having already wracked up two strikes and staring the third in the face. Our arrogance, over-confidence, and poor tactics resulted in heavy damage and one fatality. The party felt challenged and quickly realized that this wasn’t going to be another cake-walk.

Our party consisted of five PCs. Quinn, Sola, Berrian plus a Dwarven Rogue (basically Merric with a couple of small changes) and a Human Wizard. So we had a balanced party with a defender, leader, striker and two controllers. But in the end balance it wasn’t enough to earn a quick or easy victory.

Categories
Editorial

Fortune 500 – Extreme Wealth in D&D

Today marks our 500th post. When we’ve hit significant milestones at Dungeon’s Master in the past we’ve tried to relate the number of that milestone into that article. Our 100th post was a list of 100 Great Things About D&D. For our 300th post Wimwick and I each created King Leonidas from the movie 300. Post 404 was all about Errors I’ve Made as a DM. When I was trying to come up with a subject to tie in to our 500th post I kept thinking of the Fortune 500 – a list of the most wealthy and profitable companies in the U.S. From there it wasn’t much of a leap to start thinking about extreme wealth in D&D.