We began January with what turned turned out to be one of our most inflammatory articles to date. It created a lot of comments (the most we’ve ever received on any article) and polarized the online gaming community. We also covered a wide variety of other topics in January including the latest DM app for your iPad, action points, henchmen, conflict resolution strategies,adventure hooks, skill challenges, LFR and D&D Encounters (season 3 and season 4).
If you missed any of the excitment throughout January this is you chance to get caught up. Below is a recap of everything we ran during the last month. We encourage you to read any of the articles you might have missed or to revisit some of your favourites.
We want to thank everyone who visited Dungeon’s Master throughout the month of January, with a special shout out to everyone who left us comments. We measure our success largely based on what you, the readers, have to say. We welcome your feedback and encourage continued debate and discussion on every article we write.
Highlights
D&D Encounters
We shared weekly recaps throughout January as D&D Encounters moved into the final chapter of Keep on the Borderlands. In February, March of the Phantom Brigade, season 4 of D&D Encounters begins. We posted the pre-generated characters for your convenience as well as the first look at Fortune Cards. Be sure to visit the D&D Encounters Archive, a repository of all our D&D Encounters articles including the weekly recaps and the pre-generated characters.
- D&D Encounters: Keep on the Borderlands (Week 16)
- D&D Encounters: Keep on the Borderlands (Week 17)
- D&D Encounters: Keep on the Borderlands (Week 18.)
- D&D Encounters: Keep on the Borderlands (Week 19)
- D&D Encounters: D&D Fortune Cards
- D&D Encounters: March of the Phantom Brigade – Pre-Generated Characters
Skill Challenges
In January, Dungeon’s Master added one new skill challenge to our library. In Skill Challenge: Secret Identityreputable PCs need to complete their primary objective without revealing who they really are. Check out our extensive Skill Challenge archive by clicking on the Skill Challenges tab at the top of the page.
Living Forgotten Realms (LFR)
Inspired by our 7 Reasons I Hate LFR article, the Dungeon’s Master team worked with an LFR author to try and come up with The Best LFR Adventure Ever. Listen to the interview with the author and the actual play podcast. Read all about the creative process and then judge our success for yourself.
DM Resources
- Make D&D Better, Remove Fighters From the Game – It began when Bauxtehude described how he’d “fix” D&D by removing Fighters all together. The next thing we knew the powder keg went off and our readers spoke up and spoke out. Before the day’s end we ended up Defending The Defender in a follow-up post. Regardless of your opinion, this article succeeded in generating a lot of great discussion about D&D.
- Manage Your Gaming Session with the DMTools iPad App– Skallawag provided us with his insights on the latest web-based DM tool.
- Putting More “Action” in Action Points– Get more out of action points by going beyond the rules as written. Ameron offers some examples on how to get started.
- How To Handle A Split Party In 5 Easy Steps– Wizards always say never split the party, but if the players do go in different directions Wimwick has 5 tips for keeping things together.
- Retreat Is Always An Option, At Least It Should Be– Never underestimate the value of a strategic retreat, as Ameron describes in two very different scenarios form his own gaming table.
- Adventure Hooks: Campaigns in the Cold (Part 1) – If you’re adventure takes place in the snow we’ve got 10 ideas to keep your campaign moving.
- How Art Inspires Campaigns– DMs are always looking for campaign ideas, and Wimwick suggests you let art inspire your next campaign.
- Running the Combat Part of Combat Blisteringly Fast – Spend more time describing the action and less time worrying about the mechanics.
- The Little Details Make a Big Difference– Inspired by Gary Gygax, Ameron explains how and why the little details can make such a big difference in your game.
- Dealing With Conflict At The Gaming Table – If arguments and disagreements happen at the game table use our suggestions to help smooth thins out.
- Henchmen in 4e D&D– The powerful and famous tend to attack fans and followers. Ameron offers some suggestions for how to introduce henchmen to your campaign.
- Undead Make the Scariest Villains – We look at ways to make even the most mundane undead opponents scary.
A Look Ahead
Tomorrow marks the Dungeon’s Master second anniversary, so join us as we share the State of the Dungeon. February promises to be another great moth here at Dungeon’s Master. We’ll keep doing what we’re good at and bring you top quality D&D articles every day. Articles on skill challenges, new adventuring hooks, DM tips, weekly write-ups of D&D Encounters and a look back on the highs and lows of D&D Encounters season 3. We’ll also be looking at the idea of character identity throughout February with articles for both DMs and players. Thanks again to everyone who visited Dungeon’s Master in January. We hope you’ll continue visiting Dungeon’s Master every day in February for more great D&D articles.
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One reply on “Month in Review: January 2011”
A great month of articles that inspired me to comment rather than perform my usual lurking. You folks do a great job and have rapidly become one of my regular reads. The number of times i’ve read an article here and gone away with a new perspective or with more to think about has been great. My thanks and appreciation for all your hard work.
Cheers
Blinkey 😉