Author: Wimwick (Neil Ellis)

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Editorial

June RPG Blog Carnival Round Up

The June RPG Blog Carnival has concluded and the Dungeon’s Master team would like to thank all the participants. This month we asked you to create a memorable character inspired from real life. The participating posts were all very engaging and creative. While reading each of them I found myself thinking, now why didn’t I think of that?

I hope you enjoyed this month’s carnival and the submissions that it brought. Be sure to read each submission and surprise your table with a character inspired from real life.

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DM Resources

3 Quick Ways To Increase Role Playing At Your Table

In reading Ameron’s reports on D&D Encounters and in my own observations there seems to be a lack of role playing occurring in D&D. Another way of looking at it is, there are good role playing opportunities presented with combat encounters that just seem tacked on providing an excuse for combat.

The pace of 4e D&D combat tends to squeeze role playing out of the equation. I find this happening to the extent that 4e could almost be classified as a tactical combat game rather than a role playing game. The opinion might be extreme, but it does have merit. If you are looking to ensure that more role playing occur at your table and not sacrifice the fun that 4e tactical combat brings consider the points below.

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Editorial

D&D & Kids: How To Scare A Dragon

Every time I leave the house for my weekly Dungeons & Dragons game my son asks me, “Daddy, are you going to scare the dragons now?” To which I will invariably reply as I give him a hug, “Yes, daddy is going to scare the dragons.”

With this conversation completed I head out to scare the dragons. My son will be three later this summer, his concept of D&D is non-existent he just knows that every week his daddy goes to scare the dragons. I’m not even sure if he really knows what a dragon is, other than a big dinosaur.

The focus on my son’s question to me is on the word scare. He doesn’t ask if daddy is going to go slay the dragons, he uses the word scare. He might be just shy of three-years-old, but I think the word scare is an important distinction.

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Editorial

The End of All Things is a New Beginning

How do you end an epic adventuring career? At the end of your adventures, what do you retire too? After Orcus has been pushed back into the depths of hell, the undead hordes have been repelled and the various forces of evil have been destroyed, what does an adventurer do?

They take on the biggest challenge imaginable, they settle down and open a tavern.

It seems every tavern in fantasy gaming is run by a retired adventurer. An old axe or sword hangs above the mantle, reminding all of the tavern owners exploits. When the hour grows late the proprietor can be found sharing tales of past adventures to eager patrons. The twinkle in the owners eyes isn’t just from the joy his audience is getting from the story, it’s also from the extra gold that is flowing into the tavern.

Of course the real question is why would a retired adventurer, rich beyond all imagining, more powerful than most living beings want to be a tavern owner?

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Eberron

Secrets of Eberron Revealed (Part 11)

Today Dungeon’s Master returns to Eberron and reveal more secrets. We explore a new power group out of Xen’Drik and speculate how this new presence might affect the region and the Five Nations. House Tarkanan also rears its ugly head with a powerful member who’s manifested an aberrant Siberys Mark.

Click on the Eberron tab above the Dungeon’s Master banner to find the previous installments in this ongoing series as well as many other great Eberron articles and resources.

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Player Resources

Unusual Character Themes

We’ve all played or know someone who played the dual wielding ranger, the overly brawny fighter with his giant axe or the wizard with the low constitution. These are tried, tested and true stereotypes of the fantasy genres. The builds are so popular that the designers of D&D have created new builds to revitalize these classic character concepts. If we are honest, we enjoy these stereotypes because they are fun to play.

However, every once in awhile it’s fun to play a character that’s a little off the wall. Something different that the rest of the table isn’t expecting. Of course there are plenty of character options available that aren’t stereotypes. In fact you don’t want to break the mold of class/race recommendations too much. If you do you might end up enjoying the role playing aspects of your character, but the combat aspects will leave your character lacking.

The trick is to create a personality or character theme that is unique. While this might require a slight amount of give and take regarding your attributes it shouldn’t be too such a point that your character suffers because of it.

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Editorial

Should Dungeons & Dragons Deal With Social Issues?

Dungeons & Dragons is set in a fantasy world that draws on our own worlds history for inspiration. Sprinkle in some folklore and we have the role playing game we know and love. However, when we look at our historical world and even events that are transpiring right now in the world, we realize that there are some glaring differences. From race to gender roles, poverty to crime there are many issues that could be explored and discussed through the narrative of the story. Should D&D, through the role playing that is a core component of the game, deal with these are other social issues?

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Class Discussions

What Is The Best Control Power?

Defenders soak up damage. Leaders heal the wounded. Strikers inflict devastating amounts of damage. Controllers manipulate the battlefield.

A character’s place in a D&D party is largely defined by the role the class associates with. We’ve all been in situations where we have needed an opponent dazed so we could move without provoking an opportunity attack or so we could gain combat advantage. We’ve all wanted an opponent moved so that we wouldn’t start our turn in its aura and subsequently take damage that would drop our hit points below zero. In short, we’ve all needed the benefit of a control power at some critical point during combat. The question is which control power is best?

Now, I’m not asking if a Wizard is better than an Invoker. Instead, what I want to know is what is the best condition a controller can apply on his attacks?

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Class Discussions

Exploiting Racial and Class Powers: Bloodhunt

Hellfire and damnation. Illegitimate spawn of infernal powers, the coupling of wicked desires. These are the calling cards of the Tiefling, perhaps the least understood and least trusted of all races. To call them friend is to place oneself under suspicion.

The Tiefling draws upon this mistrust, and gains power from their upbringing. The very fires of hell run through their blood and when given the opportunity the Tiefling lets any and all who stand in their path know that no mere mortal stands before them.

Fear and fury are the two primary weapons of any Tiefling. By exploiting these aspects of their makeup a Tiefling transforms from a common enemy to one who simply cannot be ignored on the battlefield.

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DM Resources

Divine Organizations (Part One)

Divine characters provide some of the best built in role playing motivations. Much of this can be attributed to the various divine organizations that the character might be associated with. At the very least this is the local church where the character was trained or came to understand their faith.

Faiths are more than just a collection of churches. Behind the public facade the church is highly organized. There are various splinter groups or sects that exist within the faith. These groups often provide great role playing motivation, whether they are being portrayed as the heroes or the villains in your story.

Presented here are two divine organizations that you can drop easily into your game. They are campaign neutral and no mention of a particular deity is contained in the entries, allowing you as the DM to simply use them as you wish.

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