4E

The Escapist Publishes the Past, Present, and Future of D&D

Chadarius — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:14:06 +0000

Lots of interesting reading in the following Escapist articles:

The Ghosts of D&D: Past

The State of D&D: Present

The State of D&D: Future

It also generated some really interesting insider perspectives and discussion over at ENWorld.

Here is a column (inspired by the Greg Tito Escapist articles) by Ryan Dancy and another post with even more material.

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 Game Night Live 20111001 on Google Plus!

Chadarius — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 23:45:09 +0000

Join us on Google Plus while we game.

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

Temple of the Weeping Goddess - Chatty DM's Zero Level Adventure in Dungeon #194

Chadarius — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:21:12 +0000

Temple of the Weeping Goddess - A group of untested adventurers must rescue a long-lost aspect of the goddess Avandra before it's too late. [Wizards of the Coast D&D]

A Hero's First Steps - To achieve glory and riches, every adventurer must start somewhere. [Wizards of the Coast D&D]

This is a a zero level adventure for 4E. It is a cool idea and something that might actually build real ties to a their own and each other's characters. You need to read "A Hero's First Steps" for the zero level character rules before starting the adventure. My favorite part about these new zero level rules is that you can use them to help find your character's role in the party. It is really quite ingenius.

This is a great way to get a group of first time players (young or old) introduced to the game in a much simpler way. It will help them understand the various roles that each character class might play. There are very few character decisions to make at first. Essentially, you can get a start up game going and play a full adventure before you roll up a character. The very act of playing this zero level character will inform your character creation process. Each zero level power has the ability for the character to add an extra Leader, Controller,Striker, or Defender effect by spending an experience token. If you find yourself using your experience tokens on primarily leader attacks that should probably say something loud and clear to you about filling a leader role in the party.

I especially like the "Where are they now?" section of "A Hero's First Steps". I'll be excited to try this out the next time I start a new 4e campaign.

Madness at Gardmore Abbey with the Deck of Many Things!

Chadarius — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:51:50 +0000

Madness at Gardmore Abbey - From a mention in the DMG, to PAX, we finally come to the madness that torments Gardmore Abbey. [Wizards of the Coast D&D]

You can win "Maddness" by going to Newbie DM's site and entering the contest sponsored by Gator Games. I just entered the contest myself. Good luck to everyone, but I'm totally winning this sucker! :)

I've been waiting for an actual "deck of many things" since they started releasing cards over a year ago! It looks like Amazon.com is going to get an order from me shortly :). I know some people are still freaking out about all of these card sets being released. I still don't get why. WotC has very specificlly made it so you don't ever need to use a card deck for any D&D game. Its just frosting on the cake. Something your DM can use to spice things up, just like our very own A Hero, Rob, has with his 4e RavenLoft adventure. Its been fun adding in some randomn stuff. There should be a heaviness or a cursed feeling as we adventure there. Its fun when it affects us all in different ways. The deck adds something to the game.

These card decks are actually a part of the very core of the entire D&D gaming system. A random table is very Gygaxian. If you don't feel like purchasing an actual deck then go modify one of the good old tables in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd edition and use that. Print our your own cards or just roll the dice. Its no difference.

There is something nice about having a quality card with some nice graphics on it, instead of some ratty thing you printed on your 5 year old inkjet printer and cut out with a scissors like a pre-school project.

So for all of the old schoolers who love their 1st or 2nd edition games and are poo-pooing 4E for becoming a "card collector's game", just remember where the whole random table idea originated. The old editions are great. I love them dearly. In fact I would play any edition of D&D if there was time or opportunity. I've been seeing a whole lot of ridiculous and unnecessary edition wars crap on the 'Net the last day or two (Brought on by a 5E panic with Monte Cook being rehired by Wizards of the Coast).

I'd like to quote @dungonebastard yesterday on Twitter.

"Edition Wars are like trying to tell your best friend exactly why his prom date is ugly. You may be right, BUT YOU'RE STILL A DICK! #dnd"

Let's honor the past and even revel in it. But let's also respect the future. Relax! Its just a darn card deck :).

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 Game Night Live! Using Google Plus 07/23/2011

Chadarius — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 01:07:42 +0000

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

Session 1 - Ill Met at the Inn of Last Hope

A Hero — Tue, 24 May 2011 22:12:44 +0000

Session 1 - Ill Met at the Inn of Last Hope

The Inn of Last Hope (or is it Lost Hope?) is a desolate place which sits on a crossroad between the natural world and the Shadowfell. Those who are lost on a moonless night often find themselves visiting the inn during their wanderings. Tonight was no exception.

The first to arrive at the inn this rainy evening was the mysterious Calemdras. His elf-like features did little to disguise his dangerous demeanor. Ignoring they young barmaid Beatrice's exhortations to dry himself by the fire, Calemdras sat down at a table in a darkened corner of the room.

A young changeling girl named Harlys arrived shortly afterwards. Knowing the distrust average folk have for her race, she assumed the form of a buxom human woman. Leaving her owl familiar Ette outside to keep watch, Harlys entered the forbidding inn. Unlike Calemdras, she availed herself of the fire and the mead that Beatrice brought. The innkeeper Barnum offered his two lodgers some of his beef stew to help chase away the cold.

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

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

Chadarius — Wed, 04 May 2011 18:09:46 +0000

You are all grown up. You don't have a "gaming club" to find D&D players anymore. You don't live in a dorm full of college kids looking to do something fun at 2am in the morning anymore. How the heck are you supposed to find like minded indivuduals without feeling weird talking about your favorite AD&D 2e elven ranger? Well its easy. You know where your local gaming store is. Come on! I know you pass by it all the time, but you just haven't decided to go in. You have 2 hours to spare on Wed nights right? Well walk right into that gaming store or comic shop. There is a good chance that there are people playing D&D there through the D&D Encounters program. You can walk right in and start playing and meeting people. Heck maybe you might even find a regular gaming group!

Ars Technica has a great article called No more excuses: start playing Dungeons and Dragons on May 11. So what are you waiting for! Go look up the participating locations in your area and pick one!

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