Tag: Dungeons and Dragons

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Editorial Skill Challenges

Skill Challenges In A Vacuum

One of the fundamental design concepts behind skill challenges is that they provide a mechanic for large scale, out of combat encounters. Skill challenges were meant to assist in advancing the story. But the story doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The actions of the PCs should bring about reactions from NPCs or the environment they are in.

This is a problem with many of the skill challenges I’ve encountered, they don’t evolve. We’re guilty of it too, many of our skill challenges are static. Certain checks provide certain information, make enough successful checks and you can get on to the next combat encounter. In other words skill challenges feel like they’re tacked onto the game. I know I’ve participated in more than a few where I wondered what I should be doing next. This is because the skill challenge didn’t evolve. Nothing new happened.

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Humour Skill Challenges

Skill Challenge: Holiday Shopping

‘Tis the season for giving and receiving gifts. Regardless of your personal or religious reasons for celebrating during the holiday season, everyone likes getting gifts. This is no secret to retail merchants. They know that you’ll be shopping for everyone on your list at this time of year and they want you to spend, spend, spend.

Shopping for Christmas presents can be a lot of hard, grueling work. It’s the part of the holidays that I like the least. So I decided to look at a challenging, real life situation through my D&D coloured glasses (as I so often do). A few months ago we put together a skill challenge called Battle for the Remote. It’s in that same vein that I present a holiday themed, real life skill challenge called Holiday Shopping.

Don’t forget to enter the Dungeon’s Master Design a Holiday Dungeon Content. This skill challenge is a little bit outside the box, but it would still qualify (if I wasn’t one of the judges). Enter today.

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Editorial

Tiers Of Play: Epic

One of the joys of 4e Dungeons & Dragons is that the various tiers of play open the game up, changing the flavour subtly so that it always stays fresh. Recently my regular gaming group decided to try some epic tier Dungeon Delves. In fact, we decided to go for broke and take on the level 30 delve.

It was a blast and no where near as tough as I thought it would be, which is good because it increased my enjoyment factor.

Each of the tiers in 4e D&D adds an additional layer of complication to the game and as you can imagine the epic tier has highest level of difficulty. This is mainly because you have so many options. Not too many options, just lots of options.

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Editorial

Have You Entered the Holiday Dungeon Contest Yet?

If you haven’t entered the Dungeon’s Master Holiday Dungeon Contest yet I only have one question for you: Why not? This is your chance to create a holiday themed dungeon or encounter and win free stuff. Be creative! Your entry doesn’t have to be about the guy in the red suit or elves (but that is certainly acceptable). Any encounter featuring a holiday theme qualifies.

See Design a Holiday Dungeon Contest for all the contest details. You only have until December 20 to submit your entry, so get started and email us your dungeon right away.

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Editorial

Open Game Table Vol. 2: Call for Nominations

Jonathan Jacobs of The Core Mechanic is moving forward with Open Game Table Vol. 2 and is asking the online gaming community to nominate articles they’d like to see included in this anthology. OGT2 is scheduled for a Summer 2010 release and will be available in as an eBook and in hard copy.

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Editorial

Attention Toronto Gamers: Huge Gaming Sale

This weekend is the grand opening of HairyT North & 3rd Quadrant Comics, and to celebrate this exciting event they’re having a huge sale on just about everything, including gaming stuff. This is the third Hairy Tarantula location in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This time they’ve joined forces with the recently resurrected 3rd Quadrant Comics to open one new super-store dedicated to everything gaming and comic books.

The Harry Tarantula has a reputation for being one of the best gaming store franchises in the GTA. They carry an incredible variety of gaming products. They’ll also order in just about anything you can think of (at least that’s been my experience).

The new store is in what used to be a pool hall and it’s gigantic. If you’re looking for a gaming-related gift for a friend or yourself, you have to check out this sale this weekend. Here’s the email announcement they sent to their mailing list explaining all the details.

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DM Resources Skill Challenges

Skill Challenge: Crafting Items

When the skills were streamlined for 4e D&D one of the skills that disappeared was Craft. That’s not to say that PCs can’t create things anymore, it’s just that this kind of task isn’t something you’re likely to use very often. It’s a task more suited for an NPC, not an adventurer.

However, there might still be times when you do want to create something yourself. You might require a unique device to accomplish a goal, you might need to pose as a smith or carpenter, or you might need to craft your own weapon as the first part of an epic quest.

When PCs find themselves in this situation the DM needs to determine just how significant the outcome is going to be. If it’s just something you’re doing during your down time then no role playing is probably required. In fact no roll is likely required either. However, if the success or failure of your handiwork will affect the outcome of things to come, then perhaps it’s time to turn your labours into a skill challenge.

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Player Resources

Always Train Your Worst Skills

Imagine you have an attack score of +15. Your opponent, a savage brute, has an AC of 20 and his companions all have ACs between 10-15. Does this fight even interest you? You’d hit with almost every attack. It might be ok if this was a rare, one-off situation, but imagine that this was how combat shaped up every single time. Personally, I’d lose interest.

Yet this is exactly what’s happening during skill challenges at gaming tables everywhere. We’re so concerned with being really, really good at a couple of skills that when it comes time to use them we are almost guaranteed automatic success. Using Stealth to move undetected or using Athletics to climb any wall under any circumstance can be very cool and a lot of fun, but training the skills we’re already good at just makes using those skills a bore.

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Class Discussions

Why You Want A Controller In Your Party

Combat in 4e Dungeons & Dragons is a tactical affair. The effective use of conditions and the importance of movement demand that an effective party do more than just attack. The party needs to attack as an efficient cohesive unit, where every resource is used to best advantage.

This requires that someone call the shots. A default assumption might be for the leader in the party to be that person, after all leaders lead. But is that really the best decision? Is the leader dazing, stunning, slowing, moving or immobilizing their opponents?

Didn’t think so, no that duty rest primarily with the party’s controller.

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Editorial

Dungeons & Dragons Is More Than A Roleplaying Game

The first chapter of the 4e Players’s Handbook references Dungeons & Dragons as a roleplaying game. Of course, this is correct, but is D&D more than a roleplaying game? Let’s take a look at what these two words mean. To roleplay is to assume the attitudes, actions and mannerisms of another in a make believe situation. A game is an amusement or pastime. Putting these two words together we certainly see that they define D&D well, but is that all D&D is? Is D&D just a simple roleplaying game or is it really much more?

When we prepare for and play D&D is it really just a game we are playing? What is really involved in playing a game of D&D? To your surprise, it might be more than you think.

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