Included in the D&D Encounters season 4: March of the Phantom Brigade DMs kit was information about the new D&D Fortune Cards. Here’s what Wizards of the Coast provided along with instructions on how to distribute the free cards earned when players accumulate enough Renown Points.
Category: Player Resources
D&D Encounters Season 4: March of the Phantom Brigade begins on February 9. Today we’re sharing copies of the pre-generated characters. When comparing these characters with the ones provided over the past three season I have to say that these are by far the best yet.
Not only are the characters built better, but the character sheet layout is fantastic. Finally we’ve got all of the skills actually listed on the character sheet. I was also impressed by the fact that on each character sheet some tactics are provided. This will be a tremendous help for newer players and should speed things up considerably.
Each character also has a difficulty rating from 1-3 stars indicating how much experience is required to easily run each PC. Again, I think this is a fantastic improvement.
One thing that is missing is alignment. I guess Wizards figured that it’s up to the player to determine their own alignment and run the character accordingly.
As both a DM and a player I draw my inspiration from four different sources: fantasy literature, movies, my daily walk and art. It is amazing how a single phrase, scene, tree or image can inspire a character’s history or indeed an entire campaign. I walk my dog daily and on the path I take through a forest there was a dead tree that was covered in vines. This image inspired the idea for an entire campaign where the natural world was being threatened by rot and corruption. Not the most original idea, I’ll admit, but as the dead tree was surrounded by life I decided to represent this by an antagonist that the party trusted. Over time his duplicitous nature would be revealed. Not bad for an idea inspired by a tree.
I find that simple images and stills can often provide great ideas for campaigns and character concepts. Fantasy art has inspired me in more ways than I can count. The idea of taking an image and providing a history for that image is an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Art clearly is a popular subject and I’m obviously not the only one inspired by it. Two of our most popular articles here at Dungeon’s Master are The Art of D&D (Part 1 | Part 2). My purpose here isn’t to go back as Ameron did and talk about artists who have shaped our thoughts of Dungeons & Dragons. Instead I want to look at some select images and create things from them. Today’s post is a workshop and I’m interested in the stories we will create.
Beginning today all characters for D&D Encounters: Keep on the Borderlands have advanced to level 3. Wizards of the Coast encourages everyone to create their own character using D&D Essentials. However, for those players who don’t have the time or resources (character builder) to create their own level 3 character, Wizards has provided six pre-gens.
What Wizards has not provided are guidelines for leveling up the pre-gens. So the Dungeon’s Master team has created level 3 versions of all six pre-gens for your convenience.
You can download the characters individually or all six together in one zip file. We’ve also made the character builder files available for download so that you can equip the pre-gens with any magical treasure they might have acquired during the previous 16 weeks of adventuring.
Running the mechanical part of combat blisteringly fast allows you to spend more time role-playing your character and describing the action in combat. You’re not trying to get through combat quickly because you dislike it; you’re instead trying to move past the computational elements of the game so that the story-telling can take the forefront.
By focusing on the story-telling your game can become so much more exciting. Instead of waiting for the Warlord to thumb through the PHB to look up his class features (again) you can describe how the Warlord leapt from the second story balcony, dodged a provoked opportunity attack by doing a shoulder roll, toppled the gnarled hag with a low cut to her thigh, then sprung to his feet to stare down into her rapidly dimming eyes.
Below is a list of suggestions that will help you get through the mechanical part of combat blisteringly fast. These instructions are not for the faint of heart, and though some tables may pick and choose from these suggestions to speed up some areas of a dragging combat, only the committed will achieve the supersonic pace described by this article.
While the Dungeon’s Master team enjoys some well-deserved vacation time, we’re breaking out the greatest hits and shining a spotlight on a few of our favourite articles from 2010. We’ve searched for hidden gems that our newer readers might have missed and our long-time readers will enjoy reading again. Enjoy a second look at these greatest hits from Dungeon’s Master.
Until recently I’d never played in a game where a character, let alone an entire party, was willing to accept their own death in order to ensure the accomplishment of the greater good. When Wimwick wrote this article I thought it made for an interesting discussion, but I never expected to ever see it happen during play. After all, you work so hard and so long to earn XP and build up your character that I just couldn’t see anyone willing letting that character die. And then I actually saw it happen. Twice.
The first time I saw this kind of self-sacrifice was as the DM. Our campaign was about to reach its final climax. The PCs were about to complete a quest that spanned 20 levels. However, in order to accomplish their task someone had to sacrifice them self in order to stop a powerful evil from escaping an arcane prison. As the DM I had three important NPCs ready to step in since I knew none of the PCs would willingly make this sacrifice. I was stunned when everyone in the party agreed to do it. I only needed one volunteer, but all the players were willing to give up their PC to accomplish this goal. In the end the Wizard, the PC who had been with the campaign the longest, made the ultimate sacrifice. I never expected any of the players to feel so strongly about the story that they’d be willing to do this, yet they all stepped up. I finally understood what Wimwick was talking about in this article and it was awesome.
The second time I experienced this was as a player in a one-off game. Although we just met these characters and liked them a great deal, it became evident that our mission was too important to fail. We didn’t set out on a suicide mission, but when certain events transpired and we realized that our own mistakes were going to spell failure for the mission we decided to do whatever was necessary to get the job done. In the end that meant a total party kill as we took on a task that we knew we’d never return from. It was one of the most exciting adventures I’d ever played in and even though I’d only played that character once, I’ll always remember him.
If you’re the DM and you make the players care enough about the story then there is always the chance that they’ll make the ultimate sacrifice and embrace the TPK. It’s one thing for a party to face overwhelming odds and get wiped out, it’s an entirely diffident circumstance when the players realize that they’re facing death and do so honourably in order for good to prevail.
While the Dungeon’s Master team enjoys some well-deserved vacation time, we’re breaking out the greatest hits and shining a spotlight on a few of our favourite articles from 2010. We’ve searched for hidden gems that our newer readers might have missed and our long-time readers will enjoy reading again. Enjoy a second look at these greatest hits from Dungeon’s Master.
When we were deciding which articles would make the cut and be included as our Greatest Hits of 2010 I kept coming back to the 6 Convention Tips for Players and DMs. After rereading them and I realized two important things.
1) Although the lists were inspired by things I witnessed (or regrettably didn’t witness) at a convention last year, most of these tips are applicable at any D&D game.
2) These tips are just as relevant today as they were when we first published them 10 months ago.
Upon making these realizations I knew that I had to include them in our Greatest Hits. But rather than run them as two separate articles I felt they’d pack more of a punch if they were combined into a single Greatest Hits article.
No matter how long you’ve played D&D or how many times you’ve been the DM there’s always room for improvement. Whether you’re playing a public game at your FLGS like LFR or D&D Encounters, or you’re playing a private game at your dining room table, be mindful of the things I’ve mentioned in the article below. If we all follow these simple rules games will run smoother and things will be better all around.
Playing with a tight-knit and experienced group in my regular weekly home game, we adhere to most of these points. However, I have noticed a couple of these things as big issues when I’ve played D&D Encounters on Wednesdays. Specifically #2) know your PC, and #5) plan ahead.
I realize that most of us are still getting used to D&D Essentials so there is going to be a learning curve on how the powers work. But if you’ve created your own character before the game started then it’s your responsibility to learn what all of the powers do and how to use them. Come on people, the PCs are only level 2 you don’t even have that many powers.
After playing a marathon session just this past Wednesday at D&D Encounters I’m also getting really frustrated by players that just don’t pay attention. First they have no idea when they’re going to act in the initiative (even though they always go after the same person). When their turn comes up they haven’t given any thought to which power they’re going to use. When it’s your turn, if you can’t decide what to do in 5-10 seconds then your default action should be basic attack or double move.
Take a look at our 6 tips for players and 6 tips for DMs and let us know of any other tips that you’ve found helpful at your table in the comment below. By sharing these pointers we all work together to make the D&D experiences a better one.
This is it. The final chapters in our adventure into the Tomb of Horrors. Who lives, who dies? You’ll have to listen to find out. Follow the adventures of six experienced gamers as they delve into the Tomb of Horrors for the very first time.
Before diving into these podcasts, be sure to check out the DM’s introduction as well as the earlier podcasts and an assortment of photos in Tomb of Horrors: Actual Play Podcasts (Part 1 | Part 2 |Part 3).
You can find all episodes of our Tomb of Horrors actual play podcasts in iTunes. Search for “The Shattered Sea” in the iTunes store’s podcast section. The artist is Liam Gallagher (Bauxtehude’s name in real life). You can also subscribe to The Shattered Sea with any feed-reader of pod-catcher by visiting The Shattered Sea and clicking on “Subscribe in a Reader.”
When I play games, I play to win. I want to be the best and I want everyone else to know that I’m the best. For most table-top games there is a clearly defined way to identify the winner. In fact many games – including Monopoly, Scrabble and Chess – all have tournaments or championships to crown the best of the best.
When it comes to D&D it’s just not that easy. How do you prove to the guys at your table, and more importantly other gamers, that you are the best at D&D? I’ve given it a lot of thought and I’ve got suggestions for determining the best of the best once and for all.
The actual play podcasts of our trip to the Tomb of Horrors continues with five new episodes. Follow the adventures of six experienced gamers as they delve into the Tomb of Horrors for the very first time.
Before diving into these podcasts, be sure to check out the DM’s introduction as well as the earlier podcasts and an assortment of photos in Tomb of Horrors: Actual Play Podcasts (Part 1 | Part 2).
You can find all episodes of our Tomb of Horrors actual play podcasts in iTunes. Search for “The Shattered Sea” in the iTunes store’s podcast section. The artist is Liam Gallagher (Bauxtehude’s name in real life). You can also subscribe to The Shattered Sea with any feed-reader of pod-catcher by visiting The Shattered Sea and clicking on “Subscribe in a Reader.”