Category: Player Resources

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Player Resources

Choosing An Epic Destiny Is Harder Than You Think

No matter what level my current character happens to be I’m always looking ahead to the next level. Usually I’m looking even farther ahead that that. Every time Wizards releases a new product – be it the next PHB, one of the Powers book, or an issues of Dragon – I scour through it to look for that next great “something” that will help my character become truly awesome. But as the characters in my regular game approach the epic tier I find that even though I’m still eagerly looking ahead at powers, feats, items and epic destinies, the criteria by which I judge those things is really beginning to change.

Usually when I look ahead I’m trying to discover the things that will help my PC the most – and when I say “help” in this context it’s always a number crunch. The feat that will give me the best attack score modifier, resistance or way out of a jam, or the power that will target the most enemies, deal the most damage or instill the most debilitating effects. It’s always a numbers game.

But as I look ahead at the epic destinies that my PC qualifies for, I find that the number crunching suddenly seems less important. Of all the criteria I’m using to decide upon which epic destiny to take for my PC, the numbers have become significantly less important. My priorities as a player have changed.

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Editorial Player Resources

Are You Willing to Provoke an Opportunity Attack?

One of the more difficult things that new players have trouble remembering is that moving away from an opponent will draw an opportunity attack. As soon as players hear that moving their character more than one square away from an adjacent creature will result in that creature getting a free attack, all tactics that involve moving are thrown out the window. It’s almost as if they believe that drawing an attack and possibly taking the hit is the absolute worst thing that they can do on their turn.

As an experienced DM I’m going to tell you that you need to be willing to take an opportunity attack once and a while. From a mechanics point of view all opponents know as well as you do under what circumstances they’ll get to make a free attack on you. If you move away they’ll attack you as soon as your back is turned. If you try to use a ranged attack while standing next to them, they’ll see the hole in your defenses and attack you. And if you try to crawl away while prone you bet that you enemy will kick you as you scurry away.

But so what if they do? In most cases a monster’s basic attack is just that – basic. It usually is a straight up weapon attack, be it a sword or claw. Yes, it has the potential to hurt you but you need to weigh that against the value of taking the action that draws the attack in the first place.

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Book Reviews DM Resources Player Resources

Playing Yourself as a D&D Character

Last week fantasy author Joel Rosenberg died. Rosenberg’s Guardians of the Flame series was my introduction to fantasy fiction. In book one, real world college students become the characters they created when they are transported into their fantasy role playing game. Once inside the game world they realize that in addition to possessing all of the powers and skills of their characters, they still also know everything they did in real life. These characters apply their modern beliefs and values along with rudimentary technology into the game world and become a powerful force striving to make an imperfect world better. As an avid gamer I thought this was the most brilliant premise I’d ever heard the first time I read these books.

The series capped at 10 books, but for many fans the essence of what made this series great ended with book five. Books six through 10 saw the real world character retire (or die) and their children become the focus of the adventures. I’ve read those first five books many times. And even though I’ve read hundreds of other fantasy novels since then I still think that the initial premise of the series holds up. I mean, really, who among us hasn’t imagined themselves as their character at one time or another?

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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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D&D Encounters Player Resources

D&D Encounters: Dark Legacy of Evard – Chapter 1 Video Recaps

During the last season of D&D Encounters we recorded our weekly adventures and made them available as weekly podcasts. This season we’ve got something a little bit different, but no less exciting. In addition to the weekly recaps that we post every Thursday, we’re adding a video component.

The Dark Legacy of Evard video recaps provide a new and different way to be a part of D&D Encounters. Each episode is part session recap, part episodic story. They chronicle the weekly adventures of a large group of gamers playing Wednesday nights at Dueling Grounds in Toronto, Ontario. They also provide a glimpse into the tabletop gaming scene in Toronto.

These videos are intended to entertain as well as shed light on new D&D products and websites. They also offer some insight into why Dungeons & Dragons continues to be such a strong gaming force, still holding universal appeal after so many years.

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D&D Encounters Player Resources

D&D Encounters: Dark Legacy of Evard – Pre-Generated Characters (level 3)

D&D Encounters: Dark Legacy of Evard (season 5) is underway. If you’re looking for pre-generated characters, we’ve got them for you. There are the repeats from last season that Wizards of the Coast provided and then there are the four brand new pre-generated characters that we created using the new Players Option: Heroes of Shadow.

Since many DMs have opted to let their players continue using the same characters from last season of D&D Encounters, we decided to provide level 3 versions of our pre-gens.

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Player Resources

Exploiting Racial and Class Powers: Cloud of Darkness

Many D&D players have a love/hate relationship with the Drow’s Cloud of Darkness racial ability. On the one hand, it’s a convenient way to guarantee combat advantage, and in rare circumstances, can cover a retreat or provide a moment of respite for the party. On the other hand, it blocks line of sight and can generally get in the way. What’s a Drow to do? One of the great things about Cloud of Darkness is its great feat support. With a few feats and magic items, your Cloud of Darkness can go from inconvenient combat advantage to a force in its own right.

Today Dungeon’s Master welcomes guest writer Benoit. Benoit has been a DM and player for over 10 years. He’s editor-in-chief of the blog Roving Band of Misfits, where a variety of 4e D&D and Gamma World topics are covered. He also co-hosts the podcast Level Up, where 4e character building and magic item discussions feature prominently. If you enjoyed this article, you should definitely check out Level Up for more of the same.

Since the Drow racial stat bumps naturally encourage players to create Dexterity-based strikers, I’m going to start by focusing on two specific builds: one for Rogues and one for Rangers. Then, we’ll look at some feats and magic items that are useful for any class. Finally, I’ll touch on the Drow paragon paths to see what they can do to let you further exploit your Cloud of Darkness.

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Player Resources

Exploiting Racial and Class Powers: Elven Accuracy

Nothing sucks more than missing with an attack roll. The more powerful the attack and the more dangerous the opponent, the more missing stings. In most cases you miss, and the game continues – unless you’re an Elf. Elven Accuracy lets you reroll one attack every encounter. Not bad, especially if you hit with the second roll. But why settle for just a do over when you can turn that miss into something truly awesome.

The way to get the most out of Elven Accuracy is to make sure that when you’re rerolling a missed attack you significantly increase your likelihood of hitting and scoring a crit. The fact that you have a reroll up your sleeve increases your chances of critting by giving you a second kick at the can, but why not continue stacking the deck in your favour. After all that’s what this series of articles is all about.

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Player Resources Technology

Move Over Character Builder

Can you recall the first Dungeons & Dragons character you ever created? Mine, like many others, was a Fighter from the Red Box set. I remember running him through the adventure contained in the box. I was hooked. The process was so creative, so imaginative.

Through the evolution of editions character creation has changed. We’ve gone from one book to many. During 3.5e I remember having multiple books open in front of me as I created my character sheet in excel. With the release of 4e we were given the gift of the character builder. I was in heaven, this is how character creation should be in our day and age. Everything I needed was available at my fingertips.

However, as 4e has continued to evolve and grow I realize that character builder is not the ultimate tool for designing your character. That role now falls to the Compendium. You are still building the character in the character builder, but all the research is occurring ahead of time with the Compendium.

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D&D Encounters Player Resources

D&D Encounters: Dark Legacy of Evard – Preview

With the thrilling conclusion to March of the Phantom Brigade only days away, we’re looking ahead to the next season of D&D Encounters. The next adventure, Dark Legacy of Evard sets the bar even higher as D&D Encounters continues into its fifth season.

The Adventure

This article is spoiler free, even though I am sharing some exciting tidbits. I want to begin by thanking Wizards of the Coast for listening to feedback. Every season they’ve improved the quality of the adventure, often based on feedback from the field. This adventure is no exception.

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