Lords of Tyr aggregator

dungeonmastering.com: What’s My Motivation? – Faith, Belief, and Religion

Fri, 18 May 2012 07:57:30 -0500

I find that every character should have some religion to help fill them out a bit. If not religion, then at least some strong beliefs or worldviews. For NPC's this might help you come up with some...

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Wizards of the Coast D&D: The Long Shadow of D&D

Fri, 18 May 2012 03:00:00 -0500

We take a brief tour through the development of the game—from OD&D to AD&D's core rulebooks.

Wizards of the Coast D&D: The Keep on 16th and Valencia

Fri, 18 May 2012 03:00:00 -0500

"St. Cuthbert’s D&D Encounters for Troubled Youth" youth group has returned, now to try their hand at D&D Lair Assault. In this series, we check on their first experiences with Attack of the Tyrantclaw.

Wizards of the Coast D&D: Traveling the Athasian Wastes

Fri, 18 May 2012 03:00:00 -0500

One compelling aspect of the Dark Sun setting is its diverse landscape. The environment and ecology of Athas have been worn and transformed by the ravages of war, defiling magic, and relentless exposure to the crimson sun. This article provides ideas for bringing to life seven common Athasian terrain types.

Dungeon Mastering 101: Back From the Dead

Thu, 17 May 2012 20:44:00 -0500

Bibliophile Stalker: Call for Submissions: Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. 8

Thu, 17 May 2012 18:07:32 -0500

Editors Dean and Nikki Alfar invite you to submit short fiction for consideration for Philippine Speculative Fiction volume 8.

Philippine Speculative Fiction is a yearly anthology series, which collects a wide range of stories that define, explore, and sometimes blur the boundaries of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and all things in between. The anthology has been shortlisted for the Manila Critics’ Circle National Book Award, and multiple stories from each volume have been cited in roundups of the year’s best speculative fiction across the globe.

First-time authors are more than welcome to submit; good stories trump literary credentials any time.

Submissions must be:
1. speculative fiction—i.e., they must contain strong elements and/or sensibilities of science fiction, fantasy, horror, magic realism, alternate history, folklore, superheroes, and/or related ‘nonrealist’ genres and subgenres
2. written in English
3. authored by persons of Philippine ethnicity and/or nationality

Submissions are preferred to be:
1. original and unpublished

Bibliophile Stalker: May 18, 2012 Links and Plugs

Thu, 17 May 2012 18:00:19 -0500

Interviews and Profiles

Bibliophile Stalker: Guest Blog: Oops I got History in my Fantasy (again) by Tansy Rayner Roberts

Thu, 17 May 2012 07:14:32 -0500

The huge recent success of steampunk has done a lot to show that fantasy fiction, even the most traditional and epic version of the genre, doesn’t have to draw purely from medieval European history, its social structures and its cultural detail. It’s been great fun to watch the New Victoriana taking over fantasy as a genre, replacing tunics with bustles, and dragons with airships.

Though of course, we can always have dragons AND airships, which is even more fun. We’re also getting our fair share of magical Regency, with empire-line gowns, the marriage market and Napoleonic dragons.

Wizards of the Coast D&D: Epic Campain: Elder Elemental Eye #12

Thu, 17 May 2012 03:00:00 -0500

Our hearty band has a post-adventure aperitif in the Wandering Wyvern Inn… "Some reward. We can afford to resurrect one of my smaller toes."

Wizards of the Coast D&D: Schley Stack

Thu, 17 May 2012 03:00:00 -0500

Here are 39 maps created by cartographer Mike Schley that I keep in a folder on my desktop, just in case I need a little inspiration. Now you can be inspired, too!

Bibliophile Stalker: May 17, 2012 Links and Plugs

Wed, 16 May 2012 18:04:08 -0500

Interviews and Profiles

The Enchanted Inkpot (Caroline Hooton) on Jasmine Richards.
The SFFWRTCHT Interview: Author N. M. Singel.
Reddit interviews Michael Dirda.
Geek's Guide to the Galaxy interviews Brian Greene (podcast).
DisinfoCast Matt Staggs interviews Warren Ellis (podcast).

Advice/Articles

Musings of a Chatty DM: Chatty Fiction: “At a Loss”

Wed, 16 May 2012 05:25:29 -0500

I wrote and edited over 12 000 words this last month working on Marvel Heroic Roleplaying supplements and material for my Seminars. That meant I spent a lot less time gaming and thus had less things to discuss on the blog. Yet, I did write a lot though. I do love to blog about what I do. Thus I decided that I could afford to bring a slight change of focus over here and start blogging about writing a little more.

Today, I wrote my first piece of Flash Fiction. I don’t know if it’s any good, but I’m proud of it. It’s an idea that popped in my mind as I was telling myself I should try my hand at it as a writing exercise in between freelance assignment. It’s amazing how challenging it can be to try to say so much in so little.

So here it is, slightly longer than this intro. Enjoy and let me know if I should do more.

Wizards of the Coast D&D: The Making of an Owlbear

Wed, 16 May 2012 03:00:00 -0500

Ah, the owlbear. This week, Senior Creative Director Jon Schindehette gives you some insight into what's going on with the owlbear, plus shows you how the process for creating concept art works.

Wizards of the Coast D&D: Back to the Dungeon

Wed, 16 May 2012 03:00:00 -0500

The dungeon is an inseparable part of Dungeons & Dragons, but one that rarely gets put into the spotlight. Matt James discusses the joys and challenges of being a co-designer of the recently released Into the Unknown, the Dungeoneer Survival Guide.

Wizards of the Coast D&D: The Tsochar

Wed, 16 May 2012 03:00:00 -0500

In a world where powerful defilers rule over their populaces with an iron fist, more subtle dangers can go unnoticed. This has allowed a hidden threat to grow without arousing the suspicions of even the most vigilant defenders of the people. This threat is known as the tsochar, a species of parasitic creatures that take over the bodies and minds of their hosts, asserting their will in the place of an unsuspecting victim.

Flickr Dungeons and Dragons Tag Feed: Gruumsh Must Be Crazy Part IV

Tue, 15 May 2012 20:19:17 -0500

pukunui81 has added a photo to the pool:

Bibliophile Stalker: May 16, 2012 Links and Plugs

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:54:38 -0500

Interviews and Profiles

Newbie DM: Space Combat in my SW/Age hack

Tue, 15 May 2012 11:51:38 -0500

I originally posted this on my Google+ page, I am reposting it here for those not on G+.

I play tested space combat in my SW/Age hack last night, and it went pretty well. I’m going to get into a bit of the crunchy AGE bits here, so bear with me if you don’t understand the AGE system mechanics.

So right off the bat I want to say that space combat assumes a grid, but it isn’t really necessary if you are just running a small skirmish. Ships have a speed, and that determines how many squares/hexes they can move on the grid on the pilot’s turn. Moving through occupied spaces is fine, as that symbolizes the 3d aspect of the grid.

Out first scenario was a stock YT-1300 in a fight against 3 tie fighters. The ship had to make a jump to light-speed while avoiding the ties. Neither the stock yt1300 nor the Tie Fighters have shields. (Shields in this hack are just hit points that sit on top of the regular ship’s hit points. They can fluctuate, kind of like 4e’s temp hit points mechanic.)

Wizards of the Coast D&D: May Book Club

Tue, 15 May 2012 03:00:00 -0500

This month's WoTC Book Club is focused on Brimstone Angels and the discussion has been particularly fiery, befitting the book itself!

Wizards of the Coast D&D: Rule-of-Three: 05/15/2012

Tue, 15 May 2012 03:00:00 -0500

You've got questions—we've got answers! Here's how it works—each week, our Community Manager will be scouring all available sources to find whatever questions you're asking. We'll pick three of them for R&D to answer.

Wizards of the Coast D&D: D&D Tee Design Contest

Tue, 15 May 2012 03:00:00 -0500

Mighty Fine is looking for the most creative, artistic, adventurous D&D artwork for their design contest -- and you could win up to a possible $2,500 grand prize, not to mention the chance to have your design made into official D&D merchandise. Let the games begin!

Bibliophile Stalker: May 15, 2012 Links and Plugs

Mon, 14 May 2012 18:33:10 -0500

Interviews and Profiles

Flickr Dungeons and Dragons Tag Feed: Gruumsh Must Be Crazy Part III

Mon, 14 May 2012 03:54:26 -0500

pukunui81 has added a photo to the pool:

Wizards of the Coast D&D: D&D Next Chat

Mon, 14 May 2012 03:00:00 -0500

Thanks to everyone for attending! R&D's Mike Mearls and Jeremy Crawford were on hand for a live chat discussing D&D Next and the upcoming playtest. A playback of this chat can be found here.

Wizards of the Coast D&D: Balancing Wizards in D&D

Mon, 14 May 2012 03:00:00 -0500

The wizard is up next on the agenda for Legends & Lore, but with a twist! Mike takes you deeper into the wizard by exploring caster dominance.