October saw some significant changes throughout the RPG blogging community with the announcement that the guys currently running the RPG Bloggers Network are stepping down and handing over the reigns to someone else. The Dungeon’s Master team followed the posts and emails that ensued and decided to see where the dust settles. Until then, we’re going to just keep on doing what we do best, post great articles about 4e D&D.
In October we posted a lot of great articles including many featuring undead, the Necromancer and the macabre, two new entries in our Skill Focus series, three new skill challenges, advice for running and playing in solo games and of course a few articles about Eberron. If you missed a few days in October, now’s your chance to get caught up. All the month’s highlights are presented below. Thanks to all the readers who visited and commented in October. A special thanks to everyone who subscribed to our RSS feed this month. Knowing that people want to hear what we have to say about D&D helps keep us moving in the right direction month after month.
Highlights
Undead
In October, Dragon Magazine and Dungeon Magazine focus heavily on undead. We thought we’d follow their example.
- All Men Are Created Equal… Except the Revenant – When the party’s new recruit is actually undead, how will PCs and NPCs react?
- Survive a Zombie Attack by Using the Zombie Survival Flowchart – When the zombies attack will you be ready? Consult the flowchart to be sure.
- Using Undead Intelligently – Time is an undead villain’s greatest asset, be sure to keep that in mind when using them in your campaign.
- Using Fear: Scare the Player, Not the Character – Creating genuine fear in D&D is difficult. Perhaps the best way to role-play fear is to scare the player.
- The Necromancer – What motivates a Necromancer? Regardless of alignment, the Necromancer is a complicated class.
- Necromancer: Heroic Tier (Revised) – Since no official version of the Necromancer is available from Wizards, we’ve created heroic, paragon and epic powers of our own. After some play testing and feedback we’ve revised the heroic tier.
Skill Challenges
Our skill challenge library continues to expand with the addition of these three new skill challenges and two new entries in our Skill Focus series.
- Skill Challenge: Find the Phylactery – Destroying a Lich’s physical body is just the first step, now you have to find its phylactery.
- Skill Challenge: Unlock the Phylactery – You’ve found the Lich’s phylactery, now you have to unlock it in order to destroy it.
- Skill Challenge: Battle for the Remote – An example of a skill challenge in every day life. Good luck, guys!
- Skill Focus: Diplomacy – 10 new ways to use Diplomacy.
- Skill Focus: Religion – 10 new ways to use Religion as well as some suggestions for how to use this skill in combat.
The RPG Online Community
The future of the RPG Bloggers Network is uncertain as the current admins announced they’re stepping down. Wimwick weighs in on the situation with his commentary On The RPG Bloggers Network. Ameron offers further suggestions to the RPG Blogging community in Changes are Coming to the RPG Bloggers Network, Update Your Blogroll.
DM Resources
- Benefits of Random Treasure – Treasure parcels may have simplified rewards in 4e, but the elimination of that random element means most players are not finding those great items they’d never normally select themselves.
- A Dragon’s Horde of D&D Resources – We provide you with plenty of resources that will help make your game even better.
- D&D Party of One: Solo Adventuring (Part 1) – Tips for DMs looking to run a game with just one player.
- D&D Party of One: Solo Adventuring (Part 2) – More tips for DMs looking to run a game with just one player.
Player Resources
- D&D Party of One: Solo Adventuring (Part 3) – We conclude this series with tips for players who find themselves in a solo adventure.
- Top 10 of the Past 200 – As we hit our 200th post, we presented readers with a list of our 10 most popular articles.
Eberron
- What Happened On The Day Of Mourning? – The Mourning is the greatest mystery in Eberron. Any explanation is possible, but we think these have real merit.
- The Origin Of Dragonmarks – Where did the first dragonmarks come from and how are they tied to the draconic prophecy and the draconic races? We offer some suggestions.
- Secrets of Eberron Revealed (Part 4) – In the latest installment of this ongoing series we look into the Q’barra Jungle Hunt and the secrets of the Dreadhold Information Network.
A Look Ahead
In November you can expect more skill challenges, new entries in our Skill Focus series, the revised Necromancer paragon path and epic destiny, a look at the art of D&D, some recommended reading from Dungeon’s Master, and a multi-part interview with Eberron author Don Bassingthwaite. Stay tuned during November for the first Dungeon’s Master contest announcement. We’re looking at another great month here at Dungeon’s Master so be sure to visit every day.
Looking for instant updates? Subscribe to the Dungeon’s Master feed!