Tag: D&D Encounters

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D&D Encounters D&D Next

D&D Encounters: Search for the Diamond Staff (Week 7)

search-for-the-diamond-staff-coverDuring the last session the PCs fought Chitines (spider-creatures) in the Elvin ruins of Uvaeren. After defeating the monsters the heroes discovered a doorway. Heaps of fresh earth and discarded picks and shovels indicated it was cleared recently. This must be where Phoedele and the Zhentarim soldier went; underground into the lost Vault of Song.

The heroes were in no shape to continue so they returned to the old plaza with the statues and the pillars. They felt that they’d be safe resting there since the Chitines clearly didn’t come near the ancient residual Elvin magic. After a long rest the party leveled up (to level 6) and proceeded down the stairs.

This week at Silver Snail in Toronto we ran one table of 4e and one table of D&D Next. The 4e table was once again packed (eight players) while I had six players at my D&D Next table. The party consisted of Elf Ranger, Elf Wizard #1, Elf Wizard #2, Human Wizard, Halfling Rogue (re-skinned as a Bard), and Half-Elf Paladin.

The Zhents had a huge head start on the party. It didn’t really make sense for the party to stop and rest when they did, but mechanically speaking it was necessary. To account for this I tweaked the encounter a bit.

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D&D Encounters D&D Next

D&D Encounters: Search for the Diamond Staff (Week 6)

search-for-the-diamond-staff-coverOur heroes managed to talk their way past combat during the past two weeks; this week they were not as lucky and nearly suffered a TPK. The session began when the party arrived at the edge of the Elvin runes where the spotted the Zhentarim’s campsite. There were no signs of the soldiers, Phoedele, or the Diamond Staff. Whether the PCs wanted to or not, they were going to have to venture deeper into the woods in search of their prize.

This week at the Silver Snail in Toronto we ran two tables. The 4e table was packed with seven players and the D&D Next table (which I ran) was down to five players. The party consisted of an Elf Wizard, Human Fighter, Human Wizard, Halfling Rogue (re-skinned as a Bard), and Half-Elf Cleric.

In a clearing at the edge of the woods the PCs found the Zhent’s horses. The horses were skittish, but not because of the PCs. Unfortunately with the Ranger absent none of the other PCs were able to get a read on why the horses were acting strangely. Ignoring the campsite and the mundane equipment left behind, the PCs proceeded cautiously into the woods. The path before them was shrouded by sheets of thick spider webs.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Search for the Diamond Staff (Week 5)

search-for-the-diamond-staff-coverPosing as mercenaries hired by Phoedele to ensure her transaction with Barcero wasn’t disturbed, the party avoided a combat encounter last week and convinced the Sembian Wizard that they were duped. When Barcero realized Phoedele wasn’t coming (and had sent the PCs as a distraction) he and his entourage headed to Mistledale hoping to intercept the Zhentarim agent before she could use the Diamond Staff to gain entrance to the Vault of Song.

Still weary from their hard ride to Sandersal Manor, the PCs decided to rest and stay the night at Barcero’s camp before riding on to Mistledale to persuade Phoedele themselves. They did strike a bargain with Barcero before he left. They asked if he would give them the same terms and payment for delivery of the “package” he was offering Phoedele. He agreed and then rode off into the night.

We’re still a week behind at Harry T North, but the group at Silver Snail (whose adventures we followed last week) is on track so we focus on them again this week. As we’ve seen in past years, the attendance for D&D Encounters during the summer fluctuates a lot. This week there were only six players for 4e (down from 15 during week 1). We had five players at the D&D Next table which I ran. The party consisted of the following members: Elf Ranger, Human Fighter, Human Wizard, Halfling Rogue (re-skinned as a Bard), and Half-Elf Cleric.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Search for the Diamond Staff (Week 4)

search-for-the-diamond-staff-coverThis week’s session marked the beginning of chapter two. The PCs defended Hap against an Orc attack only to realize that the attack was a distraction while the Orcs stole the Diamond Staff. The PCs chased the thieves to their cavernous lair where they battled Orcs and Zhentarim agents. Regrettably the heroes were too late and a Zhent commander named Phoedele had already left with the staff.

The PCs discovered Phoedele’s destination was Sandersal Manor in Battledale. After a brief night’s stay back in Hap the PCs resupplied and followed the Zhent commander as they continued their search for the Diamond Staff.

This week Toronto was hit with a terrible storm and record-setting levels of rain which lead to flooding throughout the city. Most of the city and surrounding area lost power during the storm including Harry T North, one of the two locations where I play D&D Encounters each week. No power = no game. So this week’s recap will follow the party from my other FLGS, Silver Snail.

The good news is that we’re using the D&D Next playtest rules at both locations. Our numbers at Silver Snail have leveled off somewhat. We run three tables most weeks: two 4e and one D&D Next. This week we had nine players for 4e and six for D&D Next. The PCs at my D&D Next table included a Human Wizard, Elf Wizard, Human Fighter, Elf Ranger, Halfling Rogue (re-skinned as a Bard), and a Human Cleric.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Search for the Diamond Staff (Week 3)

search-for-the-diamond-staff-coverAt the end of last week’s session the party followed the thieving Orcs that stole the Diamond Staff a few miles north of Hap. From the party’s vantage point they could see the entrance to a cave, half blocked by gnarled tree roots and moss. This was definitely where the Orcs went.

Should they wait for the Orcs to come out or should they follow them inside? After a quick discussion to decide whether or not resting was necessary, the PCs decided that the need for speed outweighed any counter argument to wait and rest. Fortunately none of the PCs were too banged up from the previous two encounters so they were confident they could handle the Orcs.

Due to the holidays (July 1 in Canada and July 4 in the U.S.A.), a lot of our regular gamers were on vacation this week. At Harry T North in Toronto we ended up with three DMs and six players. One of the DM volunteered to just run everyone as one massive party. Fortunately we’re using the D&D Next rules this season, so running such a large group didn’t seem as imposing or cumbersome as it would with 4e.

The party ended up with the following cast of characters: Human Monk, Halfling Rogue, Dwarf Fighter, Human Rogue, Elf Cleric, Human Wizard, Human Monk, and Half-Elf Ranger (my character). It turned out to be a very impressive mix.

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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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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Search for the Diamond Staff (Week 2)

search-for-the-diamond-staff-coverLast week’s encounter ended when the party defeated a band of Orcs who were attacking the village of Hap in the Dalelands. As the party took a quick breather to patch their wounds and assess the situation they heard the faint sounds of combat coming from Imani’s tower. Clearly there were still Orcs about and the party’s job wasn’t completed.

We had a decent turn out at Harry T North in Toronto this week. We had 13 players and three DMs so we ran three tables, all using the D&D Next rules. My table had five players all together: three from last week, one regular who happened to be absent last week ,and one brand new player who hadn’t played since 3e. The party consisted of a Dwarf Cleric, Human Rogue, Human Cleric, Elf Ranger, and Human Wizard.

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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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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Search for the Diamond Staff (Week 1)

search-for-the-diamond-staff-coverThis week we began season 14 of D&D Encounters: Search of the Diamond Staff. The adventure takes place in the Dalelands of the Forgotten Realms. The adventure begins shortly after the events that occurred during the D&D Game Day: Vault of the Dracolich. There was no requirement to play the Game Day adventure first, but anyone who did came into this season of Encounters with a bit more knowledge of the back story, a little bit more XP and possibly even a magical item.

During the Game Day adventure multiple adventuring parties made a coordinated attack on the lair of an undead Dragon in an attempt to recover the Diamond Staff of Chomylla. Thanks to the valiant efforts of the adventurers on Game Day, the Wizard Imani now has the Diamond Staff in his possession and that’s where things pick up in week 1.

We decided at the end of the previous season to try using the D&D Next rules this time around. This decision was made in part to allow people to continue on with the PCs they planned to play at Game Day. Most of the players who normally participate in D&D Encounters at Harry T North in Toronto were at the Game Day so that made for a very smooth transition into week 1.

This week we had 12 players and two DMs. The party at my table consisted of the following characters: Half-Orc Ranger, Half-Orc Paladin, Human Cleric, Human Wizard, Elf Wizard, Dwarf Cleric.

The adventure began with the PCs answering a summons from Imani. Once all the heroes introduced themselves and exchanged pleasantries, Imani addressed them and provided details on what they were being hired to do.

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D&D Encounters

Major Changes Coming to D&D Encounters: DMs to Pay for Adventures

murder-in-baldurs-gate-coverAfter 14 seasons the free ride is over. Starting in August, with Murder in Baldur’s Gate, the D&D Encounters program is changing… significantly. Some of the changes are good, some are bad. I leave it to you to decide where you stand and whether or not these changes will affect your involvement with the D&D Encounters public play program.

The big news is that the adventures will no longer be provided to you or your FLGS for free. DMs will now be required to shell out $34.95 to purchase their own copy of the adventure. That’s right; if you want to be the DM and run the adventure for the public play program it will cost you, or the people in your gaming group, 35 bucks for each copy of the book.

If you’re like me one of the reasons you’ve volunteered to DM for D&D Encounters over the years is because you got the materials for free and when it was all over you got to keep the adventure. So why would I suddenly be willing to pay for the same thing I used to get for free? How do I not see this as a slap in the face from Wizards? Give me one good reason why I would even consider buying the adventure? Read on and you’ll find many good reasons.

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