Tag: Dungeons and Dragons

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GenCon 2012: Fourthcore Team Deathmatch Champions

Just when we thought GenCon couldn’t get any better it was time to play in the Fourthcore Team Deathmatch (FTDM). In the car on the way to GenCon, Marc and I agreed that FTDM was the event we were most looking forward to playing. Although we wanted to win and were apparently the favourite team heading in to this years’ tournament, we really just wanted to have a good time and enjoy the experience. We got that and then some.

I’ll start with the big news – we won the Fourthcore Team Deathmatch! That’s right, after all the hype and all the trash talk we finished first. Team Moose Hockey Maple Syrup Eh, or as we were called at the table, Team Canada, emerged victorious. The guys over at the Fourthcore Team Deathmatch website will be providing a blow-by-blow of the event so I’ll just hit the highlights here.

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Player Resources

GenCon 2012: The Year I Won D&D

Calling GenCon the best four days in gaming is an understatement. There’s a really good chance that this year’s GenCon was my best four days in gaming ever. For four days everything went right. This was my fifth straight GenCon and without a doubt it was my best so far.

Socializing

One of the most important parts of any convention is the people. You can play D&D at home, but you go to a con to meet other gamers. For me a big part of it is meeting other bloggers and touching base with some of the folks from Wizards of the Coast.

This year I managed to spend some time hanging out with a lot of my fellow bloggers. I played D&D with some of them, and I played board games with others. I had some good conversations about gaming and life in general with some, and I had drinks with a few others. Some I regretfully only got to say a quick hello to, and many more that I wasn’t able to meet in person at all (maybe next year).

Most of the bloggers and WotC staff were extremely active on Twitter throughout GenCon so even though I didn’t see everyone I certainly knew where they were and what they were doing.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Web of the Spider Queen (Week 13)

After rescuing Khara Sulwood from the Drow Slave pits the heroes managed to find their way back to the catacombs beneath Shadowdale, both halves of the Pendant of Ashaba in their possession. As they passed through the cellar and began climbing the stairs to the Tower of Ashaba, Valan Jaelre blocked their path. Flanked by two massive Driders, Valan demanded the PCs return the Pendent and surrender. Needless to say they were having none of that.

This was the final week for season 9 of D&D Encounters. We finished with eight players and two DMs so we managed to run two tables for the finale. The party at my table was made up of four regulars who were all with the party from the very beginning (none of these players missed a single session). Accompanied by Khara Sulwood, the party that faced the final encounter consisted of the following PCs:

  • Drow Rogue #1
  • Drow Rogue #2
  • Drow Druid
  • Drow Cleric

Before the PCs or Valan and his cronies could act, the Druid received a magical sending from Elminster. “Where have you been? Is the pendant reclaimed and its magic still intact? Shadowdale’s wards must be restored, and we are running out of time!” The Druid responded mentally that the party had the pendent but it was broken and that they had problems of their own right now.

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Humour Skill Challenges

In Anticipation of GenCon: Road Trip to GenCon Skill Challenge

Those of us lucky enough to be going to GenCon this year are likely making the trek to Indianapolis tomorrow. For me it’s a 9-hour car ride that starts at 6:00 a.m. in Toronto.

Road trips can be a lot of fun as long as you have good company, suitable refreshments and plenty of stuff to do. With that in mind we once again present the Road Trip to GenCon Skill Challenge. It’s fun and lighthearted, while being geeky enough to keep even casual gamers interested. I encourage you to print a copy of this sill challenge and bring it with you to help make things more exciting on the way to GenCon. Enjoy.

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D&D Encounters DM Resources

In Anticipation of GenCon: 8 Things I Learned at D&D Encounters

With only three days to go it’s safe to say that I’m super stoked about GenCon. For many, GenCon will be their first time playing D&D in a public-play event. And for many DMs this will be theri first time running an event outside the comfort of their own basement or living room.  No matter how experienced a DM you think you are, I’ve got news for you, DMing a public-play game for total strangers is very different from running your home game.

With that in mind I’d like to share some tips that I’ve picked up playing D&D Encounters every week at my FLGS. Running one encounter a week at my FLGS may not be exactly the same as running a full adventure at a Con, but I’ll bet that you find yourself facing many of the problems, issues and challenges I’ve faced on a weekly basis. When these things happen (and they will) just keep these eight tips in mind and you’ll be fine. Many of these tips will be especially relevant if you happen to have younger or brand new players at your table. Good luck!

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Council of Spiders – Preview

On August 22 the players become the villains. That’s right, this season the PCs get a chance to become members of Drow society along with all the plotting and scheming that accompanies it. The PCs don’t necessarily have to play evil characters but they will want to watch their backs as everyone could be out to get them, even the other PCs.

Season 10 of D&D Encoutners: Council of Spiders continues the world-shaping Rise of the Underdark story arc and is closely tied to the latest product offering from Wizards of the Coast, Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue. Below is a high-level overview of what you can expect during the coming season of D&D Encounters. It relatively spoiler-free.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Web of the Spider Queen (Week 12)

Following a brutal encounter in the Drow Torture Theatre last week the heroes took a short rest and then moved onward in search of the Slave Pits. After some exploration the passage seemed to open into a larger cavern. The shouting from a Drow guard and the screams from victimized slaves left no doubt that the PCs had found the Salve Pits.

While hiding in the passageway the heroes spotted a Drow leading a Svirfneblin slave back to the pens. Before them stood a large creature made entirely of webs. It seemed to have some recognition of the Drow guard as it stepped aside to allow the slave to pass. The guard left the slave in the creatures charge and retreated the way he came, oblivious to the PCs’ presence.

Huge Spiders scuttled along the floor and walls, threatening the Svirfneblin. Suddenly a Human woman stepped out to confront the Spider, shouting at them and kicking them. It was Khara Sulwood.

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D&D Encounters Player Resources

D&D Encounters: Council of Spiders – Pre-Generated Characters

Wizards of the Coast provided new pre-generated characters with the materials for the upcoming season D&D Encounters: Council of Spiders. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw them. After five seasons without any new pre-gens we get six Drow characters to choose from for D&D Encounters season 10.

As I actually read through the new adventure I realized that playing any race other than Drow would present players with considerable challenges this season. With that in mind it only made sense that Wizards would give us Drow pre-gens. After all, D&D Encoutners is still an introductory program so they needed to give us more than Belgos if new players wanted to play Drow PCs.

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Editorial Player Resources

In Anticipation of GenCon: 7 Appalling Things I Witnessed at the Gaming Table

So far the articles we’ve published in anticipation of GenCon were tips to make your gaming experience better; plenty of “dos” that we think are helpful and important. Today we provide a list of “don’ts.”

Although we always try to see the positive side of things here at Dungeon’s Master, every now and then we have to acknowledge that there are some negative aspects of gaming and gaming culture. After last year’s GenCon I felt it was my responsibility to highlight a few of the worst things I saw at the gaming table and shine a big spotlight right on it. Many of the offenders guilty of the things presented in the article below don’t even realize that what they’re doing is considered uncool or rude. My hope is that by actually listing these things here today gamers will realize how off-putting or annoying these things are and avoid doing any of them at this year’s GenCon (or any game table for that matter).

We ran this as part of our Great Hits 2011 at which time I wrote a new intro for it. I think that the new intro is just as important as the original article so I’ve decided to include it with today’s re-post.

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Player Resources

In Anticipation of GenCon: 10 Things I Learned at Worldwide D&D Game Day

For some people GenCon will be their first opportunity to participate in public-play games. Although I played D&D for years, it was always with close friends at someone’s house. I’d never played in a public-play scenario before 4e was released. It wasn’t until I attended my first game convention that I played LFR and got to see what public-play was all about. Not long after that I got an opportunity to participate in one of Wizards’ Worldwide D&D Game Day events at my FLGS. There was something about public-play that really appealed to me. It presented me with a chance to meet other gamers in my community, yet it was more than that. I realized that my gaming experience could be greatly improved by seeing first-hand how other people ran their characters and how other DMs ran their table.

Today we’ve pulled another article from our archives that we think you’ll find useful if you’re heading to Indianapolis to attend GonCon or if you’re just starting out with public play (say with D&D Encounters). Of course many of these tips can just as easily be applied to your home games, so even if you aren’t attending GenCon this year you should still find something helpful in the list below. Enjoy.

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