Tag: DDI

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Editorial

The Future of Dungeons & Dragons – Part 2

Yesterday I wrote about what The Future of Dungeons & Dragons might look like by considering what the present edition of Dungeons & Dragons offers us as players in order to get a sense of what might lie ahead for the game. The ongoing Legends & Lore series by Mike Mearls provides some insight into what the designers are thinking about and they are clearly looking to the player base for feedback. Why else would Mike be writing his column? In short, the fine folks at Wizards of the Coast want to create a gaming experience that we, the players, want to play. Pretty simple really.

But in fact it’s not going to be simple at all. The reality is that everyone wants something slightly different from the game. We all play it a little differently. Go from one group to the next and you’ll encounter a new house rule or certain source books that are off limits. So designing a game we will all enjoy is a tougher prospect than it might originally seem.

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DM Resources

Building Better Monsters Part 2: More Than the Sum of Its Parts

In Building Better Monsters Part 1 we talked about the inspiration for monsters and how to identify the ideas that make up a monster design, mainly the monster’s form and its function. This time around we’re digging into the stat block. Every DM has read a stat block before but they’re worth paying close attention to. Stats are the functional manifestation of the monster, and stat blocks are the way that your ideas about monsterhood will be recorded. As such stat blocks are a sort of monster design fundamental, a rudiment for DMs.

You’ve come up with your own idea for a monster so it is time to realize these ideas mechanically. You want to have your design support your plans for your creature as elegantly as possible so that when you get to the table your creature behaves how it ought to with as little effort from you the DM as possible. You have an idea of what you want that monster to do, and good design will let you do that more easily. In order to put all the parts together gracefully a monster designer needs to have a good understanding of what all the parts at their disposal are so that they can put them together creatively.

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DM Resources

Building Better Monsters Part 1: Meet Your Maker, Monster

This article is the first in a series of four on designing monsters from scratch, getting the most out of your homemade monsters and understanding the mechanics of monsters so that you can use and build them creatively in your game.

  • Part 1 deals mostly with the larger ideas behind monster design so that you’ll be able to build the monster that fits the bill.
  • Part 2 is about the stat block, what it means and the relevant in-game and out-of-game factors that can change your understanding of the stat block.
  • Part 3 is about designing statistics for your monster and how various interpretations of the statistics can change the way your monsters will function as part of a narrative.
  • Part 4 is about implementing your designs and the process of review. Now let’s begin.
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Editorial

The 4e Necromancer Has Been Announced

One of the first articles published at Dungeon’s Master was our take on the Necromancer. Since that time we’ve produced a revised version of our heroic, paragon and epic tier take on the class, along with a general write up on different kinds of Necromancers. The Necromancer as envisioned by us was developed to address the fact that there were no Wizard specialists in 4e D&D. Along the way we’ve toyed with the idea of releasing a build of the class that is built on the Warlock and Cleric structure as well.

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Player Resources

Character Creation: The Importance Of Planning Ahead

If you’re anything like me you spend a substantial amount of time planning your PC’s advancement ahead of time. You debate about feats, powers and item selection. You wonder what each new source book may bring. Will a new paragon path open up a better role-playing opportunity for you? Will a new feat allow you to further optimize your PC in combat? While you may ponder these questions, you realize that in planning ahead you need to work with what you have and make adjustments as new source books are released. Of course if you aren’t like me, then by the time you realize the shortcomings of your PC it’s far too late to do anything about it.

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Book Reviews

Review: Martial Power 2

Do any of us really need Martial Powers 2? As a DDI subscriber, I’ve really struggled with whether or not I should purchase the various “Power” books. After all, the class powers, feats, paragon paths, epic destinies, rituals and background options will all be rolled into the next update of Character Builder. I can run out and purchase the book when it’s released or I can wait two or three weeks and, as part of the price I’ve already paid for my DDI subscription, I’ll have access to all of this material anyway. With a cover price of $29.95 for each book (or $37.00 for us Canadians) the additional costs can really add up over a year.

Normally when reviewing a D&D accessory like this one, I’d simply ask myself, “What’s the quality of the content like?” and “Do I think I’ll use this book often enough to warrant buying it?” However, knowing that many us (myself included) have DDI subscriptions, I have to also add the question, “Why should I buy this book if I’ve got Character Builder?” So with that in mind I’ll give you a rundown of Martial Powers 2. I’ll highlight the good and bad, and I’ll try to provide enough information that you can make an informed decision for yourself.

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Technology

Will The Desktop Kill The Tabletop, SurfaceScapes Thinks So

About a year ago there was a Blogger Carnival about technology in RPGs. In our submission I raised the question of whether the desktop would kill the tabletop. In recent days that prediction may have come closer to reality with arrival of SurfaceScapes. If you’ve been following some threads in the RPG Blogger Network, read the latest Kobold Quarterly or even articles in main stream media (here or here) then you’ve likely already seen this technology reviewed. Some of the reviewers have actually had the opportunity to see things in action. Of that fact, I am very jealous.

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Player Resources

A Beginner’s Guide To Dungeons & Dragons (Part 1)

Welcome to the first article in a series aimed at new player’s who’ve just discovered the great game of Dungeons & Dragons. I remember when I discovered D&D, I was left to my own devices to learn the game beyond the rules. Fortunately we have the Internet today to assist new player’s and answer any questions they might have.

While this series is certainly aimed at new players, seasoned veterans are just as likely to find nuggets of useful information within and I certainly encourage existing players to add their own nuggets of information in the comments section.

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Editorial Player Resources

One More Reason that Character Builder is Awesome

A few weeks ago my regular gaming group began a short-term, four week campaign. Our characters started at level 7 and at the end of each week we level up. This gave us a great chance to jump right into some of the new classes and give them a try.

By keeping just below the Paragon tier we’re at the heroic “sweet spot.” We’ve got a few powers and items to choose from on our turn, but we’re not bogged down with so many choices that it slows play. It’s been a fantastic ride (with one more week to go). I highly recommend trying this approach to gaming. But that’s an article for a different day. Today I want to again express my admiration for the character builder.

For the mini-adventure described above I choose to play a Barbarian. And since I had my brand new copy of Primal Power I thought it would be a good idea to try out one of the new builds. The character I made was a kick-ass, dual-weapon wielding, Razorclaw Shifter, Whirling Slayer Barbarian. The problem was that most of the powers I wanted were from the new book, and until today they weren’t available in Character Builder. So I improvised.

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DM Resources Editorial

Adventure Tools Through a Different Lens

Unless you’ve been living inside a portable hole you’ve already heard of Wizard of the Coast’s recent release of Adventure Tools. I am the current DM for Wimwick and Ameron and I have to say that the Monster Builder – even in beta form – is a godsend. Sure the beta has its bugs and missing features but it has already saved me hours of prep time. But that isn’t the point of this article. If you want to hear more about the Monster Builder then search the RPGBlogger community for the many informative Monster Builder reviews out there. What I’d like to do here is take a guess (make a wish?) as to what the other lenses of the Adventure Tool main screen will lead us to.

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