Category: Player Resources

Categories
DM Resources Player Resources

The 5-Minute Work Day: Blame the Players

Do you want to know why the 5-minute work day is such a big problem in 4e D&D? The players. That’s right, I said it. The players are to blame. DMs are constantly looking for ways to fix this problem and I’m saying that it’s not their responsibility to fix it. Players are to blame and players need to shoulder the burden of fixing this problem.

There’s been a lot of recent discussion on the blogs about how to eliminate the 5-minute work day, referred to by some as the bed problem. In short, the problem is that players want to take extended rests as often as possible and DMs are finding it difficult to come up with good reasons to say no.

Continue reading “The 5-Minute Work Day: Blame the Players”
Categories
Editorial Player Resources Technology

Character Builder: Is It REALLY That Bad?

Last week I reflected on my initial reaction of the new web based version of Character Builder. Overall, I was not impressed and if you’d like the details feel free to read the post entitled Character Builder: Working As Intended. However, what I did not do was review the new version. My reaction and major complaint is that the new version just has too many bugs and the release should have been delayed. This does not mean that it doesn’t have any good features.

Today we look at the Legacy and Silverlight version of Character Builder. We’ll compare the two as I build a new level one character. The point here isn’t to point out problems with one or the other but to look at the differences in the process and determine if the Silverlight version is actually a step forward, bugs aside, from the Legacy version.

Continue reading “Character Builder: Is It REALLY That Bad?”
Categories
Player Resources

27 Questions To Ask Your New Character

The character creation process is one of the most important steps at the beginning of any campaign. The choices you make will echo over the course of many levels. Making a truly memorable character requires you to make a lot of important choices. From race, class and attribute distribution all decisions will factor into the overall enjoyment of playing this character.

While the numbers and powers that describe your character are of great importance they are not the most important factors in the design process. The key to creating an engaging character is developing a back-story full of life and intrigue. This process isn’t easy and often takes more time than selecting powers and equipment.

Continue reading “27 Questions To Ask Your New Character”
Categories
Player Resources

Tomb of Horrors: Actual Play Podcasts (Part 2)

What do you get when six experienced gamers that have never played the Tomb of Horrors try to survive a delve into the most infamous dungeon adventure in D&D history? A whole bunch of exciting actual play podcasts. With a DM who plays for keeps, the players continue to match wits with a dungeon famous for killing all who dare to enter. So far none of the PCs have died, although there have been a few very close calls.

In this article we bring you episodes #4 and #5, which make up the second night of our ongoing adventure. Before diving intop these podcasts, make sure you listen to the first three Tomb of Horrors: Actual Play Podcasts.

Continue reading “Tomb of Horrors: Actual Play Podcasts (Part 2)”
Categories
DM Resources Player Resources

Does Alignment Matter in 4e D&D?

How important is alignment? Does it serve a practical purpose in D&D , or does it just take up room on the character sheet? The alignment mechanic underwent significant changes when 4e D&D was launched. The traditional or classic view of alignment was turned on its head. Nine alignments were pared down to only five; and two of the remaining alignments are, for the most part, off limits to players. So with only three real choices remaining does alignment even matter? Is this just a carryover from previous editions that no longer has a place in D&D?

As a player and a DM I believe that alignment is a vitally important part of every character sheet and that it doesn’t get nearly enough attention. In fact I’m extremely dissatisfied with how alignment is handled in 4e D&D.

Continue reading “Does Alignment Matter in 4e D&D?”
Categories
Player Resources

Tomb of Horrors: Actual Play Podcasts

The Tomb of Horrors. An adventure synonymous with character death. Its reputation for brutality is well known and often repeated in anything but hushed tones. Almost all D&D players have tried their hand at this iconic adventure at some point in their gaming career. So when an ambitious DM decided to gather experienced gamers, none of whom had ever actually played Tomb of Horrors before, and run them through the 4e re-imagining of the most brutal adventure ever written, he was surprised to actually find five experienced gamers who fit this criteria. A sixth player who had recently run the Tomb of Horrors for the kids at D&D Camp filled the sixth seat but agreed not to be the party’s decision-maker. With the party complete, the adventure begins.

Continue reading “Tomb of Horrors: Actual Play Podcasts”
Categories
Player Resources

16 Feats Worth Selecting

I love building new characters. It doesn’t matter what level, I enjoy the challenge of creating interesting builds. Matching feats and powers to create powerful characters that can withstand anything thrown at them. I enjoy taking those characters and dreaming up a background story for them. Imbuing the raw numbers with life.

Recently I was messing about with Character Builder. My goal was to build as tough a Fighter as I possibly could. I decided on human for my race and I was going to build this character at level 30.

Continue reading “16 Feats Worth Selecting”
Categories
Editorial Player Resources

Will D&D Essentials Ruin LFR?

Love it or hate it, D&D Essentials is here to stay. Some of the changes presented in D&D Essentials are optional, however many are not. The Living Forgotten Realms (LFR) program is in the process of getting a makeover in order to adhere to the new core rules introduced with D&D Essentials. Some players like LFR as it is today and wouldn’t change a thing. Others have been grumbling about power-creep for some time. Perhaps these changes will address some of those concerns. But regardless of which side of the fence you’re on, be forewarned that change are in the works so get ready.

Continue reading “Will D&D Essentials Ruin LFR?”
Categories
DM Resources Editorial Player Resources

Unearthing the Tomb of Horrors

Welcome to a new series for Dungeon’s Master where I’ll be talking about encounter design, emergent storytelling, setting the tone of your game, finding ways to challenge your players, and revitalizing the classic dungeon crawl for a new generation of gamers – all through the lens of the classic Tomb of Horrors adventure as I run it as a mini-campaign for group of veteran gamers. The players will provide their perspective as well, as they talk about their preconceptions of the Tomb of Horrors and their character creation process for this iconic adventure. We’ll also have real-play podcasts of our entire Tomb of Horrors experiences hosted at the Shattered Sea in the coming weeks.

Today the Dungeon’s Master team welcomes Steampunked, our newest contributor. He brings a wealth of gaming experience to our blog and a unique perspective on D&D. He’s played and DMed many games with Ameron and Bauxtehude including LFR adventures, D&D Encounters and the Shattered Sea campaign.

Continue reading “Unearthing the Tomb of Horrors”
Categories
Player Resources

D&D Encounters Season 3 Characters

D&D Encounters season 3 begins today. Using new rules from the D&D Essentials line, the season 3 adventure is a re-imagining of the D&D classic, Keep on the Borderlands. The adventure is broken into five chapters, each one running four weeks (yes, that’s a total of 20 weeks for those of you doing the math).

Players are encouraged to create their own characters using the new D&D Essentials rules found in the recently released Red Box. Wizards of the Coast hinted that Character Builder would be updated with the Essentials materials in time for everyone to make suitable PCs for D&D Encounters season 3. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. So unless you’ve picked up the Red Box and are happy making a character without character builder, then for at least the first week you’ll have to use one of the six pre-generated characters provided.

Continue reading “D&D Encounters Season 3 Characters”