Tag: Dungeon’s Master

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Editorial

The Evolution of the Dungeon Encounter

“Hey what dat noise?”

“What noise dat you talk’n bout Oloorin?”

“Sounds like fight’n, maybe we go see?”

“Wha you talk’n bout? We have important job, we guard chest in 10 x 10 room. We stay put.”

“Uh… ok, if you say. What we do if someone come through dat door?”

“Probably we die. Dat da life of two orcs guarding chest in room.”

Sound familiar? Ok, maybe I’ve gone a bit too far with some stereotypes, but how many DMs have designed a dungeon that had a room with a few monster that just waited for the door to open?

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Editorial

Wizards Delivers a Killer Monster Makeover (Part 2)

This morning Ameron shared his thoughts on the new monster makeover Wizards announced yesterday. I’ve looked at the new format and thought a lot about it myself. Here are my initial impressions, with a little background to justify my thoughts.

I’m a secondary school teacher. My main “teachables” are math and computer studies. One of the computer courses I teach deals in part with the design and layout of graphics in order to more effectively convey a message or disseminate important information. It is amazing what a simple rearrangement and regrouping can do in this regard. With this in mind I must say that the DM in me has a good feeling about the upcoming changes to the monster stat blocks.

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Editorial

Wizards Delivers a Killer Monster Makeover

Keep the design simple, make the layout easy to follow and eliminate guess work. This is good advice if you’re designing a website or improving the Monster Manual. Yes, the masterminds at Wizards of the Coast have improved the Monster Manual. We’re not just talking about the release of new monsters, we’re talking about redesigned monster stat blocks.

In Bill Slavicsek’s latest Ampersand article Beyond Essentials … (release online yesterday to DDI subscribers) from Dragon#385, he debuted the forthcoming changes to monster stat blocks in 4e D&D. “We’ve reorganized the information to make it easier to use and so that you can immediately find the details you need to run the monsters.”

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Player Resources

The Goliath, A Giant Waste

Me Smash! You go crush! Me smash, you crush!

I’ll admit these were my initial thoughts on the Goliath and things haven’t changed much. Perhaps my stereotypes aren’t fair or justified, but that’s ok because they’re mine. I don’t like the Goliath for a number of reasons, however I wanted to give this giant of a race a fair shot. So here is my take on them, my perceptions of their strengths and weaknesses. You may also want to see my thoughts on Dwarves (the best race) and Tieflings.

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Eberron

Secrets of Eberron Revealed (Part 6)

The Dragonmarked Houses try to keep some secrets of Eberron from being revealed. In this installment we focus on the best kept secret in Khorvaire – true Dragonmarks manifesting outside of the normal racial boundaries. Power and fortunes hang in the balance if Dragonmarks loose their exclusivity to a particular house or race.

In The Gorgon Returns members of House Cannith are shocked to learn that their house patriarch, Starrin d’Cannith, may not have died on the Day of Mourning. The Dragon’s Teeth act on orders from the Dragonmarked Houses to track down anyone manifesting a true Dragonmark outside of recognized bloodlines.

Click on the Eberron tab above the Dungeon’s Master banner to find the previous installments in this ongoing series as well as many other great Eberron articles and resources.

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Month in Review

Month in Review: February 2010

February was month of milestones at Dungeon’s Master. On February 1, Dungeon’s Master celebrated its 1-year anniversary. To mark the occasion we posted the State Of The Dungeon – 1 Year Later and shared some details about how we’re doing after our first year. We’d like to thank all of the readers who have visited us during the past year. Your continued support and comments keep us motivated and let us know we’re on the right track.

Also in February Dungeon’s Master hit its 300th post. To celebrate this milestone, Ameron and Wimwick each took a stab at Creating King Leonidas (from the movie 300) as a level 16 PC. And to make the month even better we got another shout out from Wizards of the Coast on February 18 in their February News and Reviews. Check out all of the Dungeon’s Master highlights from February below.

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Player Resources

Celebrating The Teiflings Infernal Heritage

The descendants of ancient bargains with infernal powers, Teiflings are often misunderstood. It is assumed that they are dangerous, cunning and untrustworthy people. While this is true for some, Teiflings make valuable allies. Their innate Charisma assists them in putting their opponents off guard and their Intelligence allows them to tactically size up a situation before they act.

Last week we covered Dwarves, the best race, today let’s take a look at this infernal race. You may also want to check out Mark’s write-up on why he thinks Humans are the best race over at Dice Monkey.

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Eberron

Being Lycanthrope In Eberron

The moon is a harsh mistress. None know this more intimately than the lycanthropes of Eberron. With twelve moons, there is seldom a night when lycanthropes don’t feel the tug of their inner beast.

While 4e has changed the way lycanthropy is handled, we realized that not everyone is happy with these changes. What we wanted to consider was how would the lycanthropic transformation differ depending on which moon was full? For DMs who like handling lycanthropy as a disease that can afflict PCs and using the moon to determine the mood, we have created this resource to spice things up.

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Eberron

Eberron Resource Page

If you’re looking for Eberron resources then you need look no further. Today Dungeon’s Master adds a new section to our website dedicated exclusively to Eberron-related content. The Eberron tab is easily accessed at the top of every page above the Dungeon’s Master banner. It’s a permanent, one-stop-shop for all things Eberron.

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DM Resources Top 10

6 D&D Convention Tips for DMs

Yesterday we shared 6 D&D Convention Tips for Players; today it’s the DMs turn. After running a few Living Forgotten Realms (LFR) adventures at the Spellstorm gaming convention this past weekend in Toronto, I’ve put together a list of things to keep in mind when you’re the DM. These tips are applicable to any D&D game, but even more so at a convention.

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