Category: Player Resources

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D&D Encounters Player Resources

In Anticipation of GenCon: 8 Things I Learned at D&D Encounters

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I’m going to share some important words of wisdom with all the DMs out there – running a public play game is very different than running a home game. So for everyone who’s going to be running a game at GenCon next week I suggest you read on and take notes.

Public play games are certainly a lot of fun. Personally I think I’ve become a better DM since I started DMing public play games (LFR, D&D Encounters, and Lair Assault). But improvement wasn’t immediate, it took time for me to learn the dos and don’ts of DMing public play games. To help the uninitiated I complied a list of tips that I think you’ll find helpful. Many of these tips will be especially relevant if you happen to have younger or brand new players at your table. Good luck!

Originally published on September 12, 2011, Dungeon’s Master once again presents 8 Things I Learned at D&D Encounters.

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DM Resources Player Resources

In Anticipation of GenCon: Convention Tips 6 for Players, 6 for DMs

gencon-logo-01In one week throngs of gamers will descend upon downtown Indianapolis for GenCon 2013. Although the best four days in gaming doesn’t officially begin until Thursday, August 15, most convention goers will arrive on Wednesday. We’ve searched through the Dungeon’s Master archives and everyday leading up to GenCon we’ll share articles that provide tips for players and DMs that are specifically related to conventions and public play. Of course these tips are often just as valid in your home games so even if you’re not going to GenCon we think you’ll find these tips applicable. Be sure to visit Dungeon’s Master every day between now and GenCon to see what kind of tips we’re sharing.

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D&D Next Player Resources

D&D Next at GenCon: 8 Dos and Don’ts for Players

gencon-logo-01With GenCon coming up many of the gaming blogs (this one included) will start running a series of articles sharing advice on things to do, things not to do, and general tips for making you convention experience great. Today I want to focus specifically on the masses that will be playing D&D Next at this year’s GenCon. Some of the tips and suggestions I make will be common sense things that apply to any edition of D&D or any RPG for that matter; others will be specific to D&D Next. If you’re play D&D at GenCon I encourage you to review the list below and try to remember as many of these as possible while at the con.

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Friday Favourites Player Resources

Friday Favourite: 8 Ways to Get Out of a Gaming Slump and Make Your Game More Exciting

On Friday we comb through our extensive archives to find an older article that we feel deserves another look. From March 2, 2012, Dungeon’s Master once again presents: 8 Ways to Get Out of a Gaming Slump and Make Your Game More Exciting.

It’s common for people in long-term relationships to talk about how the romance is gone. They remember how it used to be: the anticipation, the excitement, the thrill. But now things are just so-so. They go through the motions and wonder where it all went. They still love their partner and want stay with them, but they know the need a change. They look for ways to spice things up in an attempt to rekindle the lost romance.

A similar phenomenon can happen to gamers who play a lot of D&D (believe me, I know). You enjoy D&D and you’re not looking to play a different game, you just want to make each session a little bit more exciting. Sure you face new challenges and new monsters each time you play but so much of the gaming experience has become repetitive and routine. How do you bring back the romance and ignite the spark of excitement you once had when you first started playing D&D? We have 8 ways to get out of a gaming slump and make your game more exciting.

These suggestions are ways for individual players in a larger gaming group to make changes that will really only affect them. After all, it’s possible that the rest of the group is having a great time and wouldn’t change a thing if they could. These ideas can spice up your D&D experience without intruding or ruining anyone else’s good time.

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Player Resources

Ameron’s 2013 GenCon Schedule

gencon-logo-01In less than a month GenCon 2013, The Best Four Days in Gaming will be upon us. I’ve been counting down the days since Christmas and according to the app on my phone there are only 29 days to go.

GenCon, like any gaming convention, presents you with the opportunity to play your favourite games, try new games, make new friends in the gaming community, and essentially geek out for four straight days. Every year I post my schedule for two reasons: 1) to highlight the great events I plan to participate in, and 2) to make it easier for you to find me at the con.

Here’s what my schedule looks like so far. Some things may change on the fly but this is what I already have tickets for or what I plan to wait in line with generic tickets to play.

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D&D Encounters Player Resources

We’ve Added D&D Next Characters to Our Pre-Gen Library

The Dungeon’s Master Pre-Generated Character Library is one of our most popular pages. It houses all of the character Wizards has provided for D&D Encounters over the years as well as many fan-made characters. We’ve continued to add more characters, including characters above level 1, in order to keep our library useful for all people playing at their FLGS on Wednesdays.

With more and more groups switching their weekly D&D Encounters adventures to D&D Next we felt it was time to create a library for the D&D Next pre-gens. Wizards has provided six pre-generated characters with the playtest packets. These six characters are each available at levels 1, 3, and 4. For your convenience we’ve added links to all of the PDFs in our D&D Next Pre-Generated Character Library. These pre-gens are the property of Wizards of the Coast and the information on these characters fall under the umbrella of the D&D Next NDA.

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DM Resources Player Resources

Watch the PBS Off Book Documentary on Dungeons & Dragons

While reading through my Twitter feed today I saw that Rodney Thompson (@wotc_rodney) a professional game designer and developer at Wizards of the Coast had shared a link to a short D&D documentary. Naturally I clicked on it and watch to see how D&D was being portrayed in the media this time. I was extremely happy to see a fair and reasonable depiction of the hobby I love so much. If you’re into tabletop RPGs, and D&D specifically I recommend you take 7 minutes and watch it.

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Player Resources

6 Ws of Character Creation

a-to-z-letters-wCharacter creation is perhaps my favourite aspect of Dungeons & Dragons. However, it’s not selecting the class, feats or powers that I enjoy. Sure, looking for synergies and developing a concept around the play style I’m interested in is fun. However, I spend just as much time working on the character’s background. I’m interested in the character’s story as this assists me in role-playing the character effectively. Whenever I’m creating a character I always ask the six W’s: Who, What, When, Why, Where and Weapon. The six Ws combine to fill in and flesh out the details of a character’s history.

Throughout April Dungeon’s Master is participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge is to write a new article ever day in April, excluding Sundays. That’s 26 articles over the course of the month. To make things even more interesting the title of each article will begin with a different letter of the alphabet. Today we don’t just have one “W” we have six. We look at how asking the six Ws can help you develop a better character.

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Player Resources

Quirks and Memorable Character Traits

a-to-z-letters-qD&D characters are often described by their race, class and weapon selection. This is certainly a good start but without further details it paints a very bland picture. Throw in a theme and a background and now your character is really starting to separate himself from the pack. But is this enough?

In my experience the only reason player choose a background and theme for their character is to gain the mechanical benefits they provide. The fact that they’ve chosen to be from a certain place in the campaign world or that they had a previous occupation before becoming an adventurer rarely come into the role playing. These details that could make the character more interesting only serve to make them better when it comes to rolling the dice.

Rather than choose a background that won’t make a difference to the way the character is played, why not look for a simpler way to make your character unique and memorable. I’m referring to character quirks. These are little details that help your character stand out at the gaming table. They provide absolutely no mechanical benefits or penalties; they’re merely flavour for your character.

Throughout April Dungeon’s Master is participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge is to write a new article ever day in April, excluding Sundays. That’s 26 articles over the course of the month. To make things even more interesting the title of each article will begin with a different letter of the alphabet. Today the “Q” is for Quirk as we look at ways to make characters more memorable and interesting.

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Editorial Player Resources

The Justice League of America (JLA) as D&D Characters

a-to-z-letters-jI’ve started playing D&D when I was 13; I started reading and collecting comics when I was 10. Any time I can combine my two nerdly passions it makes me very happy. When I was younger I played the Marvel Super Heroes RPG a lot (even more than D&D). I tried the DC Heroes RPG as a kid but liked it a lot less than Marvel, although the recent version from Green Ronin Publishing is a lot better. Even though I still read comics I no longer play any of the comic-centric RPGs. D&D is my game. So I’ve often thought about how to incorporate comic book superheroes into D&D. It’s not something that has an obvious or easy answer. The characters work in the context of their setting for a reason.

For starters, normal D&D character advance they get more powerful. Comic book superheroes generally don’t change or advance. Their powers generally remain the same. Still, porting comic book characters into D&D is worth a try. What would Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman be like as D&D characters? What races and classes would seem most appropriate? There’s no right answer, but it is likely to generate some debate and discussion.

justice-league-team-01I’ve decided to start this exercise by focusing in detail on the three most popular DC heroes (arguable the most popular comic book characters of all time): Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. From there we take a quicker look at numerous other supporting but no less important members of the Justice League.

I’ll share my thoughts and ideas on how I see these iconic heroes re-imagined as D&D character and then I encourage you to leave your comments below. I’m not going to actually create or stat out any of them. I think the discussion is a more fruitful exercise.

Throughout April Dungeon’s Master is participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge is to write a new article ever day in April, excluding Sundays. That’s 26 articles over the course of the month. To make things even more interesting the title of each article will begin with a different letter of the alphabet. The “J” in today’s post is for Justice League as I combine my two favoutire hobbies into one article. As a huge comic book nerd I’ve been wanting to do this kind of article for a long time.

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