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Month in Review

Month in Review: February 2011

In February we celebrated our second anniversary. For the specifics on how we’re doing be sure to check out the State Of The Dungeon – Year 2. As we move into our third great year here at Dungeon’s Master we continue bringing you exciting 4e D&D articles every day.

Our weekly coverage of D&D Encounters continues as we see the program move from season three to season four. In February we provided more articles for DMs and players, with a special focus on role-playing. We also revisited Eberron in February, and looking at skill challenges we came up with a way to make them even more exciting. If you missed any of our great articles from February this is your chance to get caught up.

We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the readers who visited us throughout February. By visiting Dungeon’s Master every day, and leaving your feedback in the comments section, you’ve let us know that we’re doing a good job. Thank you.

Categories
Eberron

The Living Spells of Eberron

Glitterfire (Living Spell)The Mournland is one of the great mysteries of the Eberron campaign setting. It was created by some arcane accident that will never be explained. One of its more intriguing elements are the living spells that now haunt the land. Representing the spells being cast at the time of the Mourning, these spells gained some semblance of sentience and attack when the opportunity is presented.

Eberron is the campaign setting that the Dungeon’s Master team uses for our home game. During a recent stint of encounters the party was investigating strange disturbances that mirrored the effects of the Mournland. In an attempt to keep the party off balance and provide them with a new challenge, some some new Living Spells were created.

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Book Reviews

The Dungeon’s Master Book Report

Have you read any of the D&D novels? Hundreds have been written over the past 30 years if you look at all of the different campaign settings and worlds. With new books coming out every month it’s difficult to know which ones are worth reading and which ones you should pass on. Today at Dungeon’s Master we’ve launched a new page called The Book Report. This permanent new page will help you decide what to read next.

When I can’t play D&D I find that reading D&D fiction is a pretty good substitute. I read a lot anyway, so it only makes sense that I’d pick up the novels set in the Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, Greyhawk, Ravenloft and Eberron (sorry Dragonlance). It’s not exactly the same as playing D&D, but there are many similarities. I find that the novels often serve as a source of inspiration for my campaign (when I’m the DM) and for the type of characters I might want to play (when I’m a player).

Categories
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.

Categories
Book Reviews Eberron

Review: Taint of the Black Brigade

Taint of the Black Brigade
The Chronicles of Abraxis Wren
Paul Crilley

An Eberron Novel

If you like a little bit more than the typical hack and slash in your fantasy fiction then you’re in for a treat. At its heart, Taint of the Black Brigade is a detective story. Even though it takes place in Eberron and the characters use magic it’s not your typical D&D novel. The focus of this story is a mystery and the lengths that a detective will go to solve it.

Taint of the Black Brigade is Crilley’s second novel featuring Abraxis Wren. The first, Night of the Long Shadows, was part of the Inquisitives series and although it took place before Taint of the Black Brigade it’s not necessary for you to read it first. I know that I read it when it was first released but all I remember about it besides that it was set in Eberron and featured an Inquisitive was that I really enjoyed it. So when I began reading Taint of the Black Brigade I was coming to it without any detail from the first book.

Categories
Month in Review

Month in Review: July 2010

In July we learned about D&D Camp, covered our participation in D&D Encounters Dark Sun, looked at adventuring parties lacking a role player and wrote about GenCon. If you missed any of the great articles we ran in July this is your chance to get caught up. For all of our loyal readers who visited throughout July, we express out thanks. And to new readers just discovering us, we welcome you and hope you keep coming back every day.

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DM Resources Eberron

Secrets of Eberron Revealed (Part 8)

King Boranel an impostor? Impossible. Or is it? And just how are so many criminals avoiding the well trained soldiers of House Deneith. In this installment of the Secrets of Eberron Revealed we look into a possible conspiracy within the royal house of Breland where a king might in fact be a changeling and House Deneith tries to solve the mystery of how its soldiers are being detected. Is there a traitor within the house or is it something else all together?

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Month in Review

Month in Review: June 2010

Dark Sun is the hottest topic in D&D right now. We posted 10 Dark Sun articles here at Dungeon’s Master throughout the last month and promise to keep writing more on Athas and D&D Encounters season two. But that’s not all we covered in June. We still brought you plenty of player and DM resources as well as news from the D&D community. And just to let you know we haven’t forgotten about Eberron, we provided another installment in our ongoing Secrets of Eberron series. So whether you missed an article or two throughout June or you’ve only just stumbled upon our site, the Month in Review is a great way to get caught up on everything we ran in the past month. We’d also like to take this opportunity (as we do every month) to thank all of our readers for visiting Dungeon’s Master and for coming back again and again.

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DM Resources Eberron

Secrets of Eberron Revealed (Part 7)

Even though we’ve spent a lot of time discussing Dark Sun over the past few weeks we still play our weekly game in Eberron and are still committed to bringing you Eberron-specific articles. With this latest installment in our ongoing series, Secrets of Eberron Revealed, we look at how Dragonmarks are permanently removed and how Dragonmarks can be made to manifest for a short time.

  • Every member of a Dragonmarked house knows that one of the harshest punishments they can receive is to be excoriated – permanent banishment from the house. But when the house brings in The Effacers the punishment becomes so much worse.
  • Have you every wished you had a Dragonmark, even for just a short time? The Drakes may be able to help you.

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.