Tag: D&D

Has Your Campaign Stalled? (Part 2)

Post author By Wimwick (Neil Ellis)
Post date August 20, 2009
3 Comments on Has Your Campaign Stalled? (Part 2)

Another week has passed and your players have packed up and left. You sit at the table and realize this session didn’t go any better than last week’s. You tried to change things up, but your players still left looking bored and you’re stressed.

You already tried the tips and suggestions we gave you the last time your campaign stalled and they just didn’t do the trick. You made sure you had tougher challenges and you changed the plot on your players. You even made your super-villain run away so he could live to fight another day. Still you can’t help but think that there was something more that you could have done.

Tags 4e, campaign design, D&D, DM, Dungeon Master Resource, Dungeon's Master Resources, Dungeons and Dragons, resource, Skill Challenge, Skill Challenges

Eberron Editorial

An Open Letter to Wizards of the Coast on the D&D Championship

Post author By Ameron (Derek Myers)
Post date August 19, 2009
14 Comments on An Open Letter to Wizards of the Coast on the D&D Championship

Dear Wizards,

At this year’s GenCon I participated in my very first D&D Championship. My team did remarkably well and we advanced to the final round. Unfortunately we did finish in the top three and did not win any prizes. Looking back on my experience with the 2009 D&D Championship I have some feedback for you, and for anyone thinking of participating in this kind of event at future cons.

Tags 4e, D&D, D&D Championship, Dungeon's Master, Dungeons and Dragons, Eberron, GenCon, Skill Challenge, Skill Challenges, Wizards of the Coast

Book Reviews Player Resources

Wizards of the Coast: 2009-2010 Release Schedule

Post author By Ameron (Derek Myers)
Post date August 18, 2009
3 Comments on Wizards of the Coast: 2009-2010 Release Schedule

Wizards of the Coast shared some highlights of their upcoming release schedule through the next year. I’ve compiled the list for your easy access. Where possible I’ve provided a link to the Wizards of the Coast product description and a link to Amazon.com. If you want to see what the covers of these upcoming releases look like, click though. Some of the products releasing much later in the year do not have links available at this time. I’ll try to keep this page up to date and add the links in as I see that they’ve become available. So bookmark this page and keep coming back throughout the next year to find out what Wizards is releasing next.

Tags 4e, D&D, Dungeon's Master, Dungeons and Dragons, Release Schedule, Wizards of the Coast, Wizards of the Coast: 2009-2010 Release Schedule

Editorial

GenCon: D&D Championship Finals

Post author By Ameron (Derek Myers)
Post date August 17, 2009
19 Comments on GenCon: D&D Championship Finals

I made it. My team advanced to the finals of the 2009 GenCon D&D Championship. We played it smart in the qualifying round, and even though we didn’t complete all four encounters we still advanced. The semi-finals were even more difficult and only because two characters had training in Thievery did we make it through the second round of the D&D Championship. With only eleven teams remaining, we still had a legitimate shot at winning some fabulous prizes.

Tags 4e, D&D, D&D Championship, Dungeon's Master, Dungeons and Dragons, GenCon, Wizards of the Coast

Editorial

GenCon: D&D Championship Semi-Finals

Post author By Ameron (Derek Myers)
Post date August 17, 2009
7 Comments on GenCon: D&D Championship Semi-Finals

I was pleased to learn that my party did advance to the semi-finals of the D&D Championship even though we only completed three of the four encounters during the qualifying round. This time around we finished the entire adventure and it was a very rough ride for a whole bunch of different reasons.

Tags 4e, D&D, D&D Championship, Dungeon's Master, Dungeons and Dragons, GenCon

Editorial

GenCon: D&D Championship

Last night I participated in my first D&D Championship. We didn’t complete the adventure but I think our party has a very good chance of advancing to the semi-finals this afternoon.

The D&D Championship Rules

Each participant is required to bring a level 2 character for the qualifying round of play. If you advanced to the semi-finals then you use a level 3 version of that character. If you advance to the finals you use a level 4 version of that character.

Tags 4e, D&D, D&D Championship, Dungeon's Master, Dungeons and Dragons, GenCon, tpk, Wizards of the Coast

Editorial

GenCon: Ultimate Dungeon Delve

Post author By Ameron (Derek Myers)
Post date August 14, 2009
12 Comments on GenCon: Ultimate Dungeon Delve

Yesterday I made my first attempt to conquer the ultimate dungeon delve and failed. My party only made it through three of the six encounters required to win the competition. If I can get a ticket, I’m going to try and tackle the delve again before GenCon is over. I figure I can put my knowledge of the first three encounters to good use and not make the same mistakes twice. Until then, here are the highlights of my ultimate dungeon delve experience at GenCon.

Tags 4e, D&D, Delve, Dungeon's Master, Dungeons and Dragons, GenCon, Ultimate Dungeon Delve

DM Resources Eberron Skill Challenges

Skill Challenge: Protect The Caravan

Post author By Wimwick (Neil Ellis)
Post date August 13, 2009
1 Comment on Skill Challenge: Protect The Caravan

Gen Con is here and many loyal gamers flock to Indy on this annual pilgrimage I thought what better way to celebrate than a skill challenge about caravans.

Trade is an integral part of any society. The vital caravans that move goods from one area to another require protection. PCs are often called upon to provide this service. It allows the DM an easy way to move the PCs to a new location or introduce an adventure hook.

Tags 4e, caravan, commerce, D&D, Dragonmarked House, dungeon master, Dungeon Master Resource, Dungeon's Master, Dungeon's Master Resources, Dungeons and Dragons, Eberron, protect the caravan, resource, Skill Challenge, Skill Challenges, trade

DM Resources

Game Starts In One Hour And You Aren’t Ready

Post author By Wimwick (Neil Ellis)
Post date August 12, 2009
7 Comments on Game Starts In One Hour And You Aren’t Ready

Let’s face it we’re all busy. Real life has the annoying habit of being, well real. We need to deal with it and as a Dungeon Master sometimes that means our prep time for our weekly D&D sessions has to take a back seat. So what do you do when work, school, family, video games or any number of other things distract you from preparing your gaming session?

There are a number of solutions and while I won’t promise to cover anywhere near all of them, here are some options for smashing a game together on short notice.

Tags 4e, campaign design, D&D, DM, DM tools, Dungeon Master Resource, Dungeon's Master, Dungeon's Master Resources, Dungeons and Dragons, lazy dm, lazy dungeon master, prep time, resource, Skill Challenge, Skill Challenges

DM Resources

Has Your Campaign Stalled?

Post author By Wimwick (Neil Ellis)
Post date August 11, 2009
7 Comments on Has Your Campaign Stalled?

You’ve just finished up a night of gaming. Your players are gone and you’re reflecting on the nights encounters. You go over each encounter in your mind, scratching your head trying to figure out just how the party made it through so easily. They didn’t get a thrill out of the encounters and as you reflect you realize that they were bored!

Just how did your players get so bored with the campaign, how did they get so lazy?

Simple. They followed your lead.

Tags 4e, campaign, challenge, D&D, DM, dungeon master, Dungeon Master Resource, Dungeon's Master, Dungeons and Dragons, encounter, lazy, RPG