Tag: Dungeon’s Master

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Editorial

Why Wizards Missed The Boat With The Insider

Over the past few weeks there’s been some debate over what it means to play Dungeons & Dragons, whether you’re an old school player or part of the new school. If you’re interested in these debates you can read more at A Butterfly Dreaming or at Whitehall ParaIndustries. I don’t want to enter into this debate, but the question of “What is D&D?” got me thinking about what I enjoy about the current edition. It also made me think of the aspects of 4e where I feel Wizards of the Coast fell short.

Before I go any further I should explain that I’m a fan of D&D in all its incarnations, but currently 4e has my heart. I enjoy the pacing, tactics and feel of the game. My gaming group debated upgrading as we always do when a new edition is released and as we usually do we tried out the new edition. Our group is happy with the decision to switch, 4e works for us.

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Editorial

How Many Classes Are Too Many?

Player’s Handbook 2 hits shelves today and in it are eight new core classes. Eight more! In my opinion, that’s too many. I don’t have the PHB2 yet – I wasn’t one of the lucky bloggers to get an advance copy. And you know what? I’m not sure if I’m going to buy it since the character builder will be updated with all the new classes, races, feats and powers at the end of the month anyway. But I have read the tidbits already released through the Dungeons & Dragons Insider and the abundance of new classes infuriates me.

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DM Resources Skill Challenges

Skill Challenge: Defend the Camp

The PCs are camping in the wild. Someone, or something, approaches in the middle of the night. In this circumstance, combat should only be considered as a last resort.

Setup

Presented below are three possible reasons for the PCs to be engaged in this skill challenge.

  • The PCs are in the process of setting up a permanent base camp. The location has strategic importance and needs to be secured.
  • There are few defensible locations to make camp in this area. Leaving this one means resting out in the open, exposed to all possible threats.
  • The PCs have setup camp in hostile teritory. The sounds of combat may alert nearby hostile forces.

The exact nature of the threat is left up to the DM. Some of the DC may need to be altered depending on the creature threatening the camp.

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Class Discussions

Necromancer: Epic Tier

necromancerIt’s Friday the 13th and we thought what better way to celebrate than with some Necromancer Epic Tier powers. The Necromancer Epic Tier powers follow up on our previous posts containing Necromancer powers for the Heroic Tier and Paragon Path.

With Wizards of the Coast releasing Arcane Powers later this year it’s only a matter of time before we have the official Necromancer Paragon Path and a slew of powers to support it. In the meantime, if you’re playing a high level Dungeon Delve and would like to play a Necromancer at the Epic Tier we hope that these powers will add some flavour to your game.

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Editorial Humour

Confessions of a Gamer

Are you proud to be a gamer? Or do you hide the fact that once a week you play Dungeons & Dragons? I’m 34 years old, I’m a gamer and I’m proud to admit it.

I’ve been playing RPGs since I was 10, so 24 years now. And during that time I’ve met many different types of gamers. Most, like me, are proud to be gamers. Others are what I like to call “in the closet gamers.” They loved to play D&D, but would die a slow and painful social death if anyone outside of our immediate gaming group learned this terrible secret.

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Book Reviews Eberron

Review: When Night Falls

when-night-falls

When Night Falls
(The Lanternlight Files, Book 2)
Parker Dewolf

An Eberron Novel

Plot Summary

Sharn, City of Towers. The rich and affluent live in the highest peaks and have views of blue sky by day and the stars by night. The poor live in the furthest reaches at the base of the towers and possess little. They live in squalor and struggle for survival. Even hope is a rare commodity in the lower levels of Sharn. The lines between classes are clearly drawn as you look up and down the towers. Few cross these lines freely. Evil does not recognize such arbitrary lines.

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Class Discussions Player Resources

Familiars Have Arrived

Yesterday, Ameron congratulated Wizards of the Coast for removing familiars from 4e D&D. While many of you may agree that familiars were an unnecessary game mechanic that added little value, others may miss the little critters. We’ve since learned that Wizards is bringing back familiars later this year in Arcane Power. But for those of you who don’t want to wait that long, we present our take on familiars.

Why would someone miss familiars you might ask? Let’s take a look why this might be the case. Familiars are cool. That’s right, having a hawk circling the battlefield or a snake wrapped around your staff is just a cool statement about your Wizard. It adds to your PC’s personality and can provide for some interesting role playing. Is that a Ferret in your pocket or…?

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Class Discussions Player Resources

Where Are The Familiars?

During my weekly game the person playing the Wizard made an interesting observation. D&D 4e is the first edition of the game not to offer the Wizard class the option of taking a familiar. I have yet to play a Wizard in 4e and even if I had I don’t know if I would have even noticed this omission. I’ve never liked familiars. They always felt like an afterthought to the spell casting classes. In my opinion we can say good riddance to bad rubbish. Good call, Wizards of the Coast!

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DM Resources Skill Challenges

Skill Challenge: Travelling Underground

The PCs travel through a particularity hazardous section of underground passages.

Setup

  • The PCs are searching for a long lost treasure or artifact. Their search has led them deep underground.
  • Miners from a nearby community discover a preexisting passage that leads deep underground. The PCs are hired to explore the cavern and see where it leads.
  • An escaped criminal flees through a cavernous mountain passage. The PCs are hired to capture him.

This skill challenge is broken into five encounters. In order to overcome the skill challenge the PCs must complete all five encounters. The DM can present the encounters in any order he sees fit. Each encounter will indicate the maximum number of successes that can be earned during that encounter. Failures are cumulative and carry forward through the entire skill challenge.

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Month in Review

Month in Review: February 2009

We’ve reached our first significant milestone: Dungeon’s Master has been live for one month. As we promised in our first post, we published one new article every day during February. Thank you to all the readers who have checked us out and kept coming back. We welcome your comments and feedback, so please let us know what you think.

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