Tag: D&D

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DM Resources Editorial

Benefits of Random Treasure

The way DMs determine what’s in a treasure horde has vastly improved since the advent of 4e D&D. In previous editions the DM would open up a random treasure table, roll some dice and the PCs would get a mish-mash of random loot. The power level of the items in question weren’t taken into consideration – nothing was. It was totally random. Without a good DM to apply some common sense and adjust random treasure accordingly, things often got out of control in a hurry.

Enter 4e D&D. The DM no longer assigns magic treasure randomly. Random treasure is dead. In its place are treasure bundles. A balanced system in which the party loot is doled out in carefully divided portions. The power level of each item determines whether or not it’s suitable treasure for these PCs at this particular level. No more rolling dice and no more unexpected elements. The inventory of every treasure horde is now chosen by the DM one item at a time. But is this a good thing?

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Eberron Editorial

What Happened On The Day Of Mourning?

What happened on the Day of Mourning? There are many theories on what happened that fatal day and no one knows for sure.

Some believe that an Eldritch device planted by the Royal Eyes of Aundair caused the heavens to open up destroy Cyre. Others believe the Cannith creation forges were overworked, leaking uncontrolled arcane engery causing the devestation that resulted in the Day of Mourning.

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DM Resources Player Resources

A Dragon’s Horde of D&D Resources

As players and DMs we love our tools and toys. The things that make playing Dungeon’s & Dragons even more enjoyable. Assembled here is a list of resources that are available on the web that I’ve found of use during my time playing D&D. I won’t pretend that this is a complete list, indeed in some cases I’m directing you to even more lists of great D&D resources.

I hope you enjoy and feel free to point out other items that might be of interest to others.

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Editorial

The Origin Of Dragonmarks

Mark of Scribing
Mark of Scribing

The Dragonmarked Heirs that walk the streets of Khorvaire are a unique and powerful group. Their Dragonmarked Houses control much of the industry and commerce that occurs on Eberron. Their power expands across national borders and in some cases beyond continents. But what is a dragonmark and how does it manifest?

Dragonmarks are tied to the Draconic Prophecy, the mark is a physical manifestation of the prophecy on flesh. For those with the right knowledge, the prophecy can be read on the skin of the mortals who carry the various marks. Most dragonmarked heirs are ignorant of this fact, believing only that their mark grants them priviledge and status above all others.

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Humour Skill Challenges

Skill Challenge: Battle for the Remote

How often do you think of real-life situations in game terms? A recent “discussion” in my household inspired me to put together this skill challenge. It’s played from the male point of view. I’ve discovered that in real life whenever my wife needs to make a skill check she uses her at-will, wife paragon path ability to re-roll checks until she gets a result that she feels is favourable.

Background

You’ve worked hard all week and now all you want to do is kick back and enjoy the game. But your significant other has other plans. Her favourite show is on at the same time and she plans to watch it on the flatscreen TV. If you haveany chance of watching the game you’d better act quickly and whatever you do, don’t give up the remote.

Setup

You want to watch sports; she wants to watch something else (not sports). You’re already on the couch with the remote in hand. The game is already on and the kick-off, first pitch, tip-off or puck drop is happening in the next few minutes.

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DM Resources Eberron

Secrets of Eberron Revealed (Part 4)

More secrets of Eberron are revealed as we look at two areas outside of the traditional Five Nations. Discover the dangers and riches that accompany the Q’barra Jungle Hunt. If you need a message delivered to a prisoner in the worlds most secure prison the only way to do it is to contact the secretive Dreadhold Information Network.

Discover more Secrets of Eberron Revealed in our latest installments of this ongoing series.

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Editorial

All Men Are Created Equal… Except the Revenant

Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, Halfling. Since the first edition of D&D players have had a wide variety of fantasy races to choose from when creating their characters. With 4e D&D the list of races is quite extensive and it continues to expand with every new version of the Players Handbook and with every monthly update of the character builder. The worlds of D&D are full of tolerant people willing to accept everyone based on deeds rather than their race. No matter what race your PC happens to be, he’s usually accepted as a hero and welcomed into villages, towns and cities. An adventuring party that consists of a Dragonborn, a Drow, a Half-Elf, a Tiefling, a Half-Orc and a Gnome doesn’t draw attention, ridicule or suspicion as they enter a tavern for the first time. We don’t question it; we just accept that this is how things work when you’re playing D&D.

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DM Resources Player Resources

D&D Party of One: Solo Adventuring (Part 2)

Never split the party. The very tagline of 4e D&D implies that adventures should revolve around an entire party and not one lone hero. But that doesn’t mean that an adventure can’t revolve around a party of one.

In this article we continue with our look at how to run a game for just one PC. In D&D Party of One (Part 1) we explored the ups and downs of combat encounters during solo games. Today we’re going to look at skill challenges and the unique role-play opportunities that solo gaming presents. In D&D Party of One (Part 3) we’ll be focusing on the solo game from the PC’s perspective.

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Class Discussions Player Resources

The Necromancer

The Necromancer
The Necromancer

Necromancy, the study of the Black Arts.

Necromancers study death in a way that few other mortals would contemplate. Motivated by power, knowledge, greed or life eternal, these individuals will stop at nothing in their search for the understanding of life and the secrets it holds.

Our exploration of the Necromancer in 4e D&D continues at Dungeon’s Master. We’re expanding on our initial Necromancer articles and focusing on the motivation behind this often misunderstood class. In our previous examination of the Necromancer we provided powers and resources that you could use in your regular games.

Revised

We’ve recently undertaken the process of updating these articles to balance the powers.

Over the past few weeks we’ve noticed increased activity on these pages and as we enter into October and Halloween draws nearer, this article on the Necromancer is the first of several articles that will discuss the undead and their place in Dungeons & Dragons.

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Top 10

Top 10 of the Past 200

Dungeon’s Master was launched in February and since then we’ve published a lot of content that we are really proud of. Today marks our 200th post and to celebrate we’re sharing the top 10 posts of the past eight months with our readers. It was an interesting exercise examining the information provided by Google Analytics and I can honestly say I’m surprised by the results. While I expected some articles to be in the top 10, I didn’t anticpate the order in which they would appear.

I’d like to thank you our readers for visiting the site, and for providing your comments and insight on the game that we all love. So here they are, the top 10 posts as selected by you, our readers.

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