Editorial/Opinion

House Rules and Fun Points!

Chadarius — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:19:13 +0000

I've really been enjoying Google Plus as of late. Partly because there are so many awesome gamers using the service. Today I stumbled on this really neat house rules post from Moe Tousignant. His house rules are based on a blog post by WoTC employee Greg Bilsland.

I created a nicely formatted Google Doc for it here.

A great deal of the document is focused on Fun Points

Every player can collect fun points. Fun points can be acquired for a variety of reasons all of which are listed below. Fun points can be used for two things:

Modifying a D20 die roll: After any standard roll (initiative, skill check, attack, etc) a player may spend any number of fun points to modify that die roll. This must be done before the results of the roll are known. Making a roll a 20 does not result in a critical hit.

Taking a roll on the Fun Point Table: A player can trade in 10 fun points for a roll on the fun point table (below). These give a wide variety of in game benefits.

The Fun Point Table is a 100 item long random table that you roll against. Its chalk full of fun stuff. One of my favorites is:

76. My Name is Enigo Montoya Keep fighting even while at negative hit points. You still make death saving throws.

You can get Fun Points for one time things, like creating a character background, creating a treasure wish list, and other character startup tasks. You can also get Fun Points for reading up on the rules regarding your character and general rules, as well as for things like showing up on time.

Its just plain cool. I've used a similar system in the past to encourage players to get their character backgrounds completed. But it was far simpler than this creative and fun setup. Thanks to Greg and Moe for post this. I love it!

Sales Stats: Wizards vs Paizo

Chadarius — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:37:05 +0000

I'm not sure how much weight I put into the ICV2 sales numbers but its always an interesting perspective on the sales of RPG games.

Paizo’s Pathfinder, #1 in the roleplaying game category, continued to gain momentum, with sharp differences in the number of releases between It and WotC’s category-defining Dungeons and Dragons. Some retailers told ICv2 of differences between the customers of the two games, with D&D 4.0 appealing to new players and people that don’t want to get super-involved in an RPG, and Pathfinder the choice of players that want to spend more time on playing.

Expectations are high for the holiday season. “We’re ecstatic about how the fourth quarter is looking right now,” a distributor told us.

Wizards of the Coast's D&D line was beat out by Pathfinder. Wizards did put out fewer titles during this time than Paizo, however they have been neck and neck for the last year or so. Overall it is good news for everyone though. It seems like the entire industry was doing better over all.

The Deck of Many Things Actually Not so New

Chadarius — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 19:45:54 +0000

I don't know how I managed to miss this, but the fabled Deck of Many Things has been in existence since April 2010! Rodney Thompson wrote it for Dungeon issue number 177.

Within the PDF provided it contains all the rules for the Deck as well as all of the cards to print. It has both sides of the cards so you can print them with a nice front and back. The following is from the introduction of the article

Of all artifacts to grace the world with their presence, perhaps none is more dangerous than the infamous Deck of Many Things. The artifact has appeared in every edition of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®, and it first appeared in the GREYHAWK® supplement in 1975. Through each of its iterations, the Deck of Many Things has remained a dangerous and chaotic artifact. This 4th Edition update of the classic artifact retains much of the traditional version’s chaotic nature while bring- ing its mechanics more in line with what modern Dungeon Masters can use in their games.

I will be excited to see if they match up nicely with the newly released cards from Gardmore Abbey. Which we may be using tonight! Oh the excitement! I can barely contain myself.

Lords of Tyr - Lords-of-Tyr-D&D-Podcast-049

Chadarius — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 23:54:18 +0000

Welcome to the Lords of Tyr D&D Podcast!

We are a Dungeons and Dragons gaming group that has been meeting twice a month since 2002. We now stream our game nights live on the Internet using uStream. Check out our site at http://lordsoftyr.com for more information.

Lords in attendance: Stephanie, Cheryl, Rob, TJ, Chad

Topic 1: Fortune Cards are not Pokemon Cards

Submitted by Tyrwench

Topic 2: Haven't Played D&D for Years But Want to Get Back "In the Game"? You Can on May 11th!

Submitted by Chadarius

MP3:

http://www.lordsoftyr.com/sites/all/files/podcasts/Lords%20of%20Tyr%20podcast%2020110528.mp3

New Hybrid and Multiclass Options

Chadarius — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:25:12 +0000

New Hybrid and Multiclass Options - Introducing multiclass and hybrid options that you can use with characters who have access to shadow magic. [Wizards of the Coast D&D]

This also includes options for Sentinals! I may have to revisit my sentinal build. How crazy would it be to hybrid with shaman? I'm already a bit of a one elf traffic jam. Having an animal and a spirit companion would be spectacular. Now if only I had time to mess with my sentinal character! Oh it has all the other "shadow" stuff in it for all you "shadow" liking people (hrm Mike!).

Lords of Tyr - Lords-of-Tyr-D&D-Podcast-048

Chadarius — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 00:05:12 +0000

Welcome to the Lords of Tyr D&D Podcast!

Lords in attendance: Stephanie, Cheryl, Rob, TJ, Tony, John

Topic 1: D&D Dads Crazy Fitness Dad Incites RPG Community

Submitted by Tyrwench

Topic 2: Looking at the “Essentials” Warlord

MP3:

http://www.lordsoftyr.com/sites/all/files/podcasts/Lords%20of%20Tyr%20podcast%2020110409.mp3

Class Acting

Chadarius — Thu, 19 May 2011 17:17:32 +0000

Class Acting - If there's anything the last 12 weeks have taught me, it's that I was right—I'm not the person to call in case of emergency. [Wizards of the Coast D&D]

As usual, Shelly hits her article out of the park. Watch out for that jet fuel! It is interesting how so many of us seem to be attracted to specific classes or roles when playing D&D. I've noticed that over time my tastes have changed and widened. In the old days I was ever the heroic and valorus Fighter/Paladin. Then I seemed to have grown into the Ranger or good natured rogue roles. I rarely find myself playing primarily spell casting types, although I am playing one now and enjoying it quite a bit.

How to Rock it Out with Character Creator – Tools and Utilities

Chadarius — Thu, 19 May 2011 05:07:04 +0000

We had a TPK (Total Party Kill) last month in our 4E game. It was horrible. We just went down like dominos. Needless to say we all started work on new characters. I created an Elf named Verasis. I thought it would be fun to try an Essentials character so I chose the Sentinal Druid. It is a leader focused class rather than the usual controller roll that typical Druids fill.

Much to my surprise as I logged into the Character Builder, I saw that it now supports exporting! The files are just simple XML files. They look to be exactly the same as the previous format. This is great because it allows people to once again use simple tools like XSL style sheets and HTML to display custom character sheets. It also allows people to publish their characters on forums and send them to their DM's.

Let's look at some tools available to players out there.

iPlay4E

Lords of Tyr - Lords-of-Tyr-D&D-Podcast-047

Chadarius — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 18:19:35 +0000

Welcome to the Lords of Tyr D&D Podcast!

Lords in attendance: Connor, Tony, Stephanie, Cheryl, Rob, and Chad

Topic 1: Tips for the Beginning DM

Submitted by Chadarius

Special guest Connor from The Community

MP3:

http://www.lordsoftyr.com/sites/all/files/podcasts/Lords%20of%20Tyr%20podcast%2020110326.mp3

Just Read a Really Nice Review of the Podcast

Chadarius — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 04:52:56 +0000

After a long bleary eyed session of podcast editing to finally try and catch up on all these awesome podcasts that have thus far only been available on uStream, I managed to see that someone reviewed our little podcast on iTunes!

The Tyrians invite you in with an unpretentious casualness of unedited, raw dorkiness. They keep you listening with the incredible variety of rpg/nerd-interest topics, and I mean it all in a good way! You come away wondering how they accomplish it all -- d&d, a 1.5 hour weekly podcast, parenting, jobs. What a great team. It's also great to know there are more dungeon delving adults out there of varying levels of d&d experience. Welcome to your new support group.

--Samuel Burt

Well Sam, you touched my heart tonight! Thank you so much for your kinds words. In honor of your awesome review I shall now call the Lords and Ladies of Tyr "Tyrians" now and forever hereafter! You are exactly the kind of people we make this podcast for.

Lords of Tyr - Lords-of-Tyr-D&D-Podcast-046

Chadarius — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 04:19:59 +0000

Welcome to the Lords of Tyr D&D Podcast!

Lords in attendance: Connor, Stephanie, Cheryl, Rob, and Chad

Topic 1: Accepting Diversity: How to Start a Campaign With No Restrictions!

Submitted by Chadarius

MP3:

http://www.lordsoftyr.com/sites/all/files/podcasts/Lords%20of%20Tyr%20podcast%2020110312.mp3

Lords of Tyr - Lords-of-Tyr-D&D-Podcast-045

Chadarius — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 03:19:24 +0000

Welcome to the Lords of Tyr D&D Podcast!

Lords in attendance: Rob, Stephanie, TJ, and Chad

Topic 1: Donate to New Zealand Relief... and get a bunch of stuff at DriveThruRPG

Submitted by Chadarius

Topic 2: RIP Dwayne McDuffie

Submitted by Chadarius

Topic 3: A Lord and Lady Become Serene

Submitted by Chadarius

Topic 4: Roundtable

MP3:

http://www.lordsoftyr.com/sites/all/files/podcasts/Lords%20of%20Tyr%20podcast%20201102226.mp3

Lords of Tyr - Lords-of-Tyr-D&D-Podcast-044

Chadarius — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 02:53:30 +0000

Welcome to the Lords of Tyr D&D Podcast!

Lords in attendance:

Topic 1: D&D Kids: Combat Encounters

Submitted by Chadarius

Topic 2: RPTech: Why Wait for Wizards Virtual Table?

Submitted by Chadarius

Topic 3: Should I Submit a 2nd Generation Gamer "Event" for Gencon

Submitted by Tyrwench

MP3:

http://www.lordsoftyr.com/sites/all/files/podcasts/Lords%20of%20Tyr%20podcast%2020110212.mp3

Lords of Tyr - Lords-of-Tyr-D&D-Podcast-043

Chadarius — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 02:07:00 +0000

Welcome to the Lords of Tyr D&D Podcast!

Lords in attendance: Rob, TJ, Stephanie, and Chad

Topic 1: Web Character Creator and new Web Tools

Submitted by Chadarius

Topic 3: Round Table

Stephanie: Tomorrow @noon GENCON Badge Registration Tues. Jan 25 @noon GENCON Housing Registration (Indianapolis Marriott Downtown – rates starting at $188.00 USD nightly*
This is the hotel we want to get into), Sara Moore of GAMERCHICK SHOW is looking for fundraising help http://www.indiegogo.com/GCs02 Really hoping that we don't have to become executive producer Major donors in order to hang out with them at GENCON! Although, I am considering a donation so I can get a GAMERCHICK SHOW T-Shirt!

MP3:

http://www.lordsoftyr.com/sites/all/files/podcasts/Lords%20of%20Tyr%20podcast%2020110122.mp3

More D&D In Popular Culture

Chadarius — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 21:01:23 +0000

Those immersed in Geek Culture know G4's Attack of the Show. They have an Epic Give-away every week. This week it was Dungeons and Dragons! It looked to me like it was a complete set of the Essentials line including the new Red Box set and a few tile sets. It was quite the "Epic" D&D give-away.

After the D&D mention at USA Network's Fairly Legal show and the huge D&D episode on Community recently, there seems to be a concerted effort to get D&D into the popular culture. I love it. I think its great. Getting RPG's out there into the mainstream is a good thing. One of the tennants of the Lords of Tyr, and a big reason why we podcast and live broadcast our games, is to tell everyone loud and proud that we play D&D. We preach the social and educational benefits of D&D because we believe in those benefits very strongly... Oh! Its also really really fun!