May was a great month for Dungeon’s Master. As we learned anything about the upcoming Dark Sun setting we shared it with eager readers. Our weekly recap of the D&D Encounters program continues to be popular and gets a lot of great comments. We also provided our usual opinion of how to make your D&D better for players and DMs.
Every month we publish a recap of all the material we published in the previous month. This is a great way for readers to get caught up on anything they might have missed. You’ll find all of May’s highlights below. Thanks to everyone who visited in May. We’ll keep striving to put out top quality work and welcome your comments, feedback and discussion.
Highlights
Dark Sun
The Dark Sun Campaign Guide may not be hitting shelves until August, but we’ve got plenty of great Dark Sun material to hold you over and get you excited about the new D&D setting.
D&D Encounters
D&D Encounters is a 12-part adventure from Wizards of the Coast and it’s played out one encounter each week over 12 weeks. Check out our ongoing coverage and don’t miss the exciting conclusion happening in June.
Player Resources
- Don’t Bring A Dagger To A Sword Fight – Are you more concerned with your weapon’s damage dice or the flavour and coolness it brings to your character?
- Your Best Resource: Healing Surges – If you aren’t using all of your healing surges then you need to read our suggestions on how to put your resources to their best use.
- The D&D Teen Comedy – Have you ever playerd a teenage character? Look to the 80s teen comedy classics to inspire your next campaign.
- R.I.P. Daggermaster: How the Errata Killed My Character – Sometimes it’s necessary to update builds that are clearly broken. The Daggermaster falls victim of the D&D errata.
- The Pitfalls of a Specialized Paragon Path – We consider the value of choosing a paragon path that offers extreme specialization and whether or not the role-playing benefits are enough when the mechanics don’t pay off in your campaign.
DM Resources
- My Campaign Should Be On TV – Our newest contributor, Skallawag, shares his ideas on how to structure a great campaign.
- Traps & Hazards: The Sword in the Stone – It may look like Excallibur, but drawing this sword from the stone won’t make your PC a king.
- Death and Resurrection – The impact of death’s grip and player mortality on your campaign.
- When Players Kill the Campaign – How do you fix a campaign broken by players who do the unexpected?
- Technology Is A Double Edged Sword – When the Dungeon’s Master team switch from MapTools to minis it forced us to look at the pros and cons of technology in D&D.
- What Music Is Playing During Your Battle? – A good song or great musical composition can change the perception of your game.
- 118 Tavern Names – Having trouble finding a creative name for your tavern, consult our list.
- Tavern Trappings – Once your tavern has a name, be sure to make the interior memorable.
The Best of Dungeon’s Master
During May we asked you, the readers, to help us choose The Best of Dungeon’s Master. Even though the voting is still open, here’s how the results shaped up after a month. Thanks to everyone who voted. The best of Dungeon’s Master are:
- Eight Rules That Will Make You A Better DM (35%)
- I’m Your Cleric, Not Your Bitch! (32%)
- What’s a +1 Sword? (23%)
- More Than Just Minions (23%)
A Look Ahead
In June we’ll provide more information and articles on the upcoming Dark Sun setting, including weekly recaps of D&D Encounters season two. We’ll also be sure to balance that with a few new Eberron-centric articles. If you’re a power gaming, min-maxer then don’t miss our articles on powerful builds and complimenting magic items. Of course we’ll also have a few articles on skills and skill challenges. And before the month’s end we’ll hit our 400th post so watch for that too. June looks like it will be another great month at Dungeon’s Master so be sure to visit every day.
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