Tag: Dungeon’s Master

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DM Resources Skill Challenges

Exploring Skill Checks and the New DCs (Part 1)

Recently our friends at Wizards of the Coast updated the skill check DCs… again, and I admit that I did shake my head when I heard this. Shortly thereafter there was a disagreement at my gaming table about why these changes were made. After a lively discussion I realized that there are fundamental questions about what a skill check actually is that needed to be addressed before you can make use of these newly minted numbers.

What is a skill check? On the most basic level it is a die roll where you add your character’s relevant aptitude and circumstance as expressed as a number. The result is an abstraction about how skilled your character is or how fortunate they are in the circumstances. There are two distinct types of skill checks that you can make – opposed skill checks and skill checks against a set DC.

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Editorial

Review: Dragon Chess

Heads up D&D fans, there’s a new board game on the market called Dragon Chess. It takes traditional chess and makes it more exciting by adding new pieces – namely Dragons – and expanding and reshaping the chess board. Adding a new piece to chess and calling it a new game might seem like a strange and possibly disastrous idea, but it’s not. In fact it’s brilliant! By adding the new pieces and changing the configuration of the board it becomes an entire different game than the chess you’re used to playing.

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Editorial

D&D Encounters: Keep on the Borderlands (Week 9)

Level 2. It took nine weeks, but we finally made it. In addition to this week’s write up we’ve got level 2 versions of the pre-gens available for download below. This week’s encounter began a few days after the events from chapters 1 and 2. Our DM waved his Wand of Revisionist History and we suddenly remembered things differently now that we’d had a week to think about it.

After returning to Restwell Keep and turning Ronnik over to the guards, he was tried for his crimes. The evidence the PC already acquired was quite damning. Ronnik was found guilty after only a few days of deliberation and is scheduled for execution. The PCs spent some time trying to find anything to prove of disprove Ronnik’s innocence since the revelations that happened during the last encounter. All they found was more damning evidence including confirmation that Ronnik purchased supplies from the nearby outpost that were later found in the Cult of Tiamat hideout. No one in the keep had anything good to say about Ronnik either. It turns out he wasn’t very popular.

After a few days rest, Benwick invited the party to dinner with the hint of a new job opportunity. Once at Benwick’s home he introduced us to the captain of the watch, Gorn Hammerfall. He explained that Gorn is a direct descendent of the Dwarven bandit lord Greysen Ramthane, a former resident of the keep. Before Greysen was overthrown by Nerath’s forces he hid his wealth somewhere in the keep. Gorn has found the bandit’s cache but needs our help getting it. He’s concerned that if Lord Drysdale (the current lord) discovers the loot he’ll keep it himself even though it’s Gorn’s by right.

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Editorial Technology

Character Builder: Working As Intended

Disappointed. The word barely scratches the surface on my feelings towards the Character Builder. When Wizards of the Coast made the original announcement about the changes to the CB we remained silent, deciding we would wait until the new version was released before we commented. We had our opinions to be sure, but we felt to be critical of something we couldn’t actually experience wouldn’t be fair.

Well today I had my first taste of the new version of Character Builder. At first glance I was entranced. The interface is slick and very fluid. The updated CB is very user friendly, very new-to-the-hobby friendly as well. At first glance it appears that creating a new character would be a breeze and for the most part it is. It’s when you want to go beyond that first character that you start bumping into problems.

It didn’t take long for WotC to release a page of Known Issues for Character Builder.

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Top 10

10 Good Reasons to Play D&D

Have you ever had to justify your love for D&D? Did you stand up for the game or did you deny everything? Are you one of those gamers who proudly and openly talks about his love of D&D? Maybe you enjoy D&D but don’t need to give anyone another reason to know that you’re a nerd? Perhaps you’re a closet gamer who nerds it up behind closed doors, but refuses to acknowledge anything D&D related in front of your social peers or members of the opposite sex?

Over the years I’ve often had to defend my love for D&D to my friends, family and even my wife. In my article Confessions of a Gamer (written shortly after Dungeon’s Master was first launched) I dared to bare my soul and shout from the (virtual) rooftops that I play D&D and I was proud of it.

I realized long ago that playing D&D was nothing to be ashamed of; in fact I went to the other extreme and created a D&D blog so I could write about D&D every day. The more I thought about it the more I realized that there are a lot of strong up-sides to playing D&D. So for anyone who faces ridicule for playing D&D, here’s a list of 10 good reasons to play D&D.

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Editorial

The Art of D&D (Part 2)

Many artists have contributed to D&D over the years, but only the greatest left a lasting impression on the game and its fans. In The Art of D&D (Part 1)we looked at five of the greatest artists ever associated with D&D: Caldwell, Elmore, Easley, Fields and Parkinson. These five set the bar for style and quality in the art of D&D throughout the 1980s. As D&D expanded in the years and decades to come, new artists stepped in to fill the giant shoes left behind by these masters. Today we look at three of them.

One of the smartest decisions Wizards of the Coast (TSR at the time) ever did was to make the artwork of one artist exclusive to a particular campaign line. It was marketing genius. The art was so distinct and so good that you immediately knew, just by looking at the advertisement or book cover, which campaign setting it was for. There was a direct correlation between the popularity and success of these product lines with the brand recognition the artists created.

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Eberron

Secrets of Eberron Revealed (Part 9)

The Last War ravaged Khorvaire. The Five Nations drew the entire continent into a war that lasted a century. An uneasy peace has kept open conflict from flaring up, but signs of tension are present and it may take only the smallest altercation to set off open warfare.

The common people gave and suffered the most during the war. Border towns frequently found themselves under the rule of different nations several times throughout the war. With the constant changing of allegiance most commoners lost interest in the origins of the conflict. Since the signing of the Thronehold Accord a small and silent group has grown amongst the populace, their goal to ensure that their sons and daughters don’t die in any future conflict.

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Editorial

D&D Encounters: Keep on the Borderlands (Week 8.)

Using the information gained from the small copper dragon at the end of last week’s encounter the PCs rushed into the swamp in hopes of saving Benwick from ambush. Our party this week consisted of Berrian, Hagen, Quinn, Sola and two unique characters, an Assassin and a Wizard. So with a full roster we braved ahead.

We arrived at the ambush site just in time to witness the ambush taking place. As we approached we overheard the Dragonborn leader addressing Ronnik and telling him that they will “seal their arrangement with blood.” The Dragonborn was standing menacingly over Benwick; Ronnik was standing over Benwick’s fallen comrades Sal and Gordi. Four lizardfolk address Ronnik in Draconic before attacking the PCs.

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Player Resources

27 Questions To Ask Your New Character

The character creation process is one of the most important steps at the beginning of any campaign. The choices you make will echo over the course of many levels. Making a truly memorable character requires you to make a lot of important choices. From race, class and attribute distribution all decisions will factor into the overall enjoyment of playing this character.

While the numbers and powers that describe your character are of great importance they are not the most important factors in the design process. The key to creating an engaging character is developing a back-story full of life and intrigue. This process isn’t easy and often takes more time than selecting powers and equipment.

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DM Resources Editorial

Who’s Really In Control At Your Gaming Table?

The common belief is that the DM is in charge, but the more I’ve been looking at things objectively the more I’m inclined to disagree. It seems to me that the players have a lot more power and influence over the campaign than anyone may realize.

At the very beginning of any game the DM is indeed in charge. He’s in control of the overall setting, the campaign objective, the party’s motivation and the monsters. The very first time the players sit down at the gaming table the DM is firmly in control. But as we all know, no plan survives contact with the enemy (the enemy being the players).

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