Posts Tagged ‘Dungeons & Dragons’

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Tuesday, August 5th, 2008

Earlier I posted an article on making your own counters for games. Since then I’ve used them in my Dungeons & Dragons game, and tried different things, and here’s some things I’ve found:

  •  It’s a good idea to give the players their own color tokens, or write their names on them. If you have a whole bunch of tokens, players may start forgeting that token B is a party member and D is a goblin.
  • Avoid putting too much information about the enemy on their token. Players will start trying to get an edge by guessing what HR means.
  • Blank tokens are great. Put them out and pencil in information. Use a soft lead pencil, since hard lead may be hard to read.
  • I have not found a good 2″ hole punch yet. The Marvy 1″ is the only one I’ve found to punch through a comic book board.
  • Laminating a token is not good for wet erase. Still have to try dry erase and grease pencil.

I’ve also found I spend too much time drawing maps and wiping them off the Battlemat. I’m going to try Dungeon Tiles next, and also make my own tiles for Keep on the Shadowfell.

GSL Finally Available

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

Wizards of the Coast has released the Game System License (GSL), their new version of their open gaming license. You can read the license and download the System Reference Document here. You’ll still need a copy of the core books to use the system, since the SRD doesn’t include rules, just references.

Now I can create the Woolietaurs (half man/half sheep).

Love The One You’re With!

Thursday, June 12th, 2008

We’ve been through four editions of D&D now, and the only half races that we’ve had the options of playing were half-elf and half-orc? What, dwarves are good enough to fight along side of, but not to marry your daughter? Pelor forbid that your son bring home a halfling girlfriend! Humans are too good for gnomes, but not above orcs? Okay, now they’ve gone and shoved those kids in the closet now too! While we’re at it, why can’t a gnome marry a dwarf, or an elf for that matter?

Come on guys, it’s time that we break down some of these barriers, and let people be free to love!

Quick Review - wizards.com

Thursday, June 12th, 2008

I’m still prepping for my game tomorrow. All I gotta say is the navigation on the WotC D&D site is a pain. Finding stuff on a website shouldn’t be some sort of skill challenge…

Got My Core Books

Tuesday, June 10th, 2008

I got my Player Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, and Monster Manual yesterday. I’ve been busy working on my 4th edition campaign, so not much time to put together a comprehensive review. I run my first dungeon in over 8 years on Friday, so I’ll have a better idea of the rules after that.

The books look nice, but I wonder about their longevity. The paper and ink doesn’t feel right to me. Do we really need full color rule books? I guess it appeals to a wider, younger audience, which is who they’re trying to market to.

Also, this week is sketch week for me. I’m trying to do 10-minutes a day of sketching and posting them to my personal site. I’m not that good yet, but only through practice do we get better. That and killing wandering monsters… oooh a kobold!

More D&D from Tony

Monday, June 9th, 2008

Tony DiTerlizzi, the man who made Planescape a must buy for me, posted more Dungeons & Dragons related works this weekend. On Saturday, it was a Tiefling, and Sunday he went Gith. I think if WotC was to re-release Fiend Folio, they should use Tony’s rendition of the cover (and include his version of the Kenku as well).

For fans of roleplaying game artists, his blog should be on your daily feed.

First impressions of Keep on the Shadowfell

Tuesday, May 20th, 2008

I just picked up my copy of the first 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons adventure, H1 - Keep on the Shadowfell. Let me just start by saying that I’m glad I preordered this, cause I think I would have been really upset had I paid full price. I haven’t read it cover to cover yet, but I wanted to share my first impressions.

Keep on the Shadowfell comes in a relatively nice folder, with the 4th edition quick-start rules booklet, an adventure book, and three maps. The quick start rules feel cheap, like some sort of flashy sales brochure. The adventure book reminds me of a glossy catalog you might get in the mail, or maybe an issue of Dungeon magazine. The maps are on par with what comes with the Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Starter Set.

From what I’ve read, D&D feels like it becoming a bridge from trading card and collectable miniatures games to role playing games. That isn’t entirely bad since it will bring more people into gaming, but it will definitely turn off some elements of the older fan base. Maybe TSR had the right idea by having Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. One for the younger beginning gamers, and the other for the older experienced gamers.

Had this been $10 cheaper, I’d feel better about this purchase. If you’re not at all interested in 4th ed, you already weren’t going to buy this. If you’re excited about 4ed, just wait a couple of weeks for the actual rules.

Dungeon Crawl Classics 20% off till the end of May

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

Looks like some spring cleaning going on over at Goodman Games. Dungeon Crawl Classics, a line of adventures which draw their inspiration from 1st edition AD&D adventures, are 20% till the end of May, online and at participating game shops. I planned on running Idylls of the Rat King at DunDraCon this year, and I played in the Sunken Ziggurat. If you’re really feeling nostalgic, check on the fan conversions to 1st ed on the resources page, and some of the 1st edition adventures here.

Making it Count…er

Thursday, May 15th, 2008

My biggest complaint about Dungeons & Dragons is the dependence on maps and minis. With 4ed, it doesn’t look like that’s going away anytime soon. Painting miniatures is not one of my strong suits, so my only other option is start buying a whole lot of D&D Miniatures boosters , or make my own tokens.

There are plenty of articles out there on how to make your own game counters, but almost none on making d20 style tokens. Using a couple of ideas from various paper craft sites, and a couple of articles on making counters, I was able to come up with a fast and easy way to make tokens. Here’s how I did it … (more…)

Pre-ordering Dungeons and Dragons

Friday, May 9th, 2008

I wasn’t going to blog about 4th ed Dungeons & Dragons, since everyone is doing it, and probably doing it better. However, a couple of weeks ago my D&D group drafted me to run 4th ed. Last night I pre-ordered a copy of Keep on the Shadowfell from a nearby game store. I can’t say local game store, since there is no local game store where I live. Not only did I guarantee that I’ll get a copy when it comes out, I also got 20% off the price. You may want to check with your local/nearby/favorite game shop and see if there’s any kind of D&D preorder offer.