Tag: Greatest Hits

Greatest Hits 2009: Avoiding Death

Post author By Ameron (Derek Myers)
Post date December 21, 2009
2 Comments on Greatest Hits 2009: Avoiding Death

While the Dungeon’s Master team enjoys some well-deserved vacation time, we’re breaking out the greatest hits and shining a spotlight on a few of our favourite articles from 2009. We’ve searched for hidden gems that our newer readers might have missed and our long-time readers will enjoy reading again. Enjoy a second look at these greatest hits from Dungeon’s Master.

This was one of the very first articles I wrote for Dungeon’s Master. All of the examples came from actual events that took place at my gaming table. And in the months since I wrote this article, I’ve seen all of these things happen over and over again whenever I play with new gamers.

My intent with this article was to highlight (in a humourous way) the dumb things we’ve all done as PCs. If you avoid making even one of these mistakes after reading this, then I’ve done my job.

A few of these tips and reminders are less pertinent today then they were when this article was first published thanks to Character Builder. Since Character Builder does all of the math for you, you’re a lot less likely to miss or forget modifiers.

If I had to add #11 to this list it would be to use your daily powers every day. But as a more general reminder, the only other piece of advice I’d offer is to just play intelligently. It’s the stupid things that get your PC into trouble.

Tags 4e, character death, D&D, DM, Dungeon's Master, Dungeons and Dragons, Greatest Hits, player, resource, total party kill, tpk

Editorial

Greatest Hits 2009: Keith Baker Answers 13 Questions

Post author By Ameron (Derek Myers)
Post date December 20, 2009

Scoring this interview with Keith Baker was certainly a high point for the Dungeon’s Master team. I met Keith at GenCon this past summer and he was a really nice guy. He answered questions about Eberron and seemed genuinely interested and enthusiastic to meet the fans who play in the campaign world he created.

I’ve almost finished reading Keith’s latest Eberron novel, The Son of Khyber (book two in the Thorn of Breland series). I don’t want to say too much yet, but it’s quite good. I’ll post my complete review in early 2010. For those who may be thinking of picking it up, pay close attention to questions 9 and 13 below. If you’re interested in learning more about House Tarkanan then this book is a must read.

Not long after we ran this interview I had the opportunity to meet another Eberron author, Don Bassingthwaite. Our interview with Keith Baker was mainly about the Eberron setting, whereas our interview with Don was more about how he broke into the business. If you enjoy the interview below, I encourage you to check out An Interview With Eberron Author Don Bassingthwaite (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3).

If you’re a fan of Eberron be sure to check out all of our articles in the Eberron Category. In 2010 we’ll continue with our ongoing series, Secrets of Eberron Revealed (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4). The locales we’ve described work best in Eberron, but are easily adaptable to fit just about any campaign setting.

Tags 4e, D&D, Draconic Prophecy, Dragonmark, Dungeons and Dragons, Dungeon’s Master, Eberron, Greatest Hits, House Tarkanan, Keith Baker, Legacy of Dhakaan, Mark of Death, The Son of Khyber, Thorn of Breland, Wizards of the Coast

Editorial

Greatest Hits 2009: The Gaming Jerk

Post author By Ameron (Derek Myers)
Post date December 19, 2009

Ever since I wrote this article I’ve been keeping a close eye on just how “helpful” I am at the gaming table when I’m a player. I’ve realized that quite often I could easily be classified as a Gaming Jerk. There is indeed a very fine line between being enthusiastic and a Gaming Jerk. But once I realized that this was the case it’s been a lot easier to keep things in check.

My greatest challenge is when I’m at a gaming table with rookies. I have to really resist the urge to play their character for them. I’ll still help when I can; like reminding them to add their +1d6 when they roll a crit with a +1 weapon or reminding them that they have an action point when they try to do too many things on their turn. But I’ve stopped suggesting that thy use this power or that power in a certain situation. I want them to gain the experience that comes from playing a class and trying out their own powers a certain way.

When I’m the DM I’ve discovered a whole new way to tackle the Gaming Jerk problem. Some of the comments from the original article suggest that DMs side-step the Gaming Jerk by changing the monster’s statistics or simply creating your own monsters. With the release of the D&D Monster Builder this is easier then it’s ever been before. I think we’ll find that the Gaming Jerk who used to be confident enough to shout out all the monster’s powers and abilities is at the same time savvy enough to realize that many DMs no longer use the stats right out of the Monster Manual. Suddenly the Gaming Jerk is making those monster knowledge checks to see how much his PC knows rather than making assumptions.

Tags 4e, D&D, Dungeons and Dragons, Dungeon’s Master, Gaming Jerk, Greatest Hits, Monster Knowledge

Editorial

Greatest Hits 2009

Post author By Ameron (Derek Myers)
Post date December 18, 2009

With 2009 nearing completion the Dungeon’s Master team is taking another look at some of our favourite articles from the past year. With over 250 articles posted since our launch in February, there are bound to be a few that you missed somewhere along the way. If you’ve only found Dungeon’s Master recently, this is a good way to discover some of our best work. For those readers who have been with us since the beginning, we think you’ll enjoy revisiting these articles again.

Over the next two weeks we’ll dig up those hidden gems that generated a lot of discussion among the gaming community or that we think best represent what we’re all about.

Each of our greatest hits articles will include the original article in its entirety, along with a new introduction. In some cases our opinions have changed since the article was originally published and in others we’re holding fast to our initial stance (as unpopular as it might be). You’ll have to check out the greatest hits every day to find out which opinions we still agree with and which ones we’ve reconsidered.

Dungeon’s Master returns to its regular weekly publishing schedule in 2010. Be sure to keep coming back in 2010 for all new articles about 4e D&D.

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Tags 4e, D&D, Dungeon's Master, Dungeons and Dragons, Greatest Hits