OK, so by now you must realize that I am not a fan of the new edition and prefer the older games. This is not to say that I haven’t had fun with the new version. One of the current groups I game in likes the same time period I do (late 1970s sci-fi/fantasy) and [...]
Ever hit your players with a really good once-in-a-lifetime freebie wish spell and they end up stuck for what to wish for?
An early look at the new 4th edition alignment system and some comments.
Two great styles that don’t always taste great together! Some of the best sci-fi/fantasy has flown blatantly in the face of realism for the sake of a story or just because it was “cool.” Take the anachronistic weaponry and armor of the Hyborian Age of Conan or the strange pseudo-science of light sabers in Star [...]
A new set of armor rules that provides more benefits for selecting one type of armor over another.
A view of alternate campaign ideas that DON’T have elves.
An examination of “time-wasting” abilities in D&D, and the controversy over solo-adventure spotlighting within the larger gaming group.
With all the past and present games in our collections, which ones are worth revisiting and which ones are we willing to ditch for the next best thing?
A lack of organizational skills and commitment has led to a very sparse gaming experience so far this year. People are more concerned with family affairs, new jobs, and illness than with gaming. The hiatus has drawn me back to one of my beloved games from yesteryear: the MARVEL SUPER HEROES Role-Playing Game by TSR, [...]
The rules for fatigue are simplistic and apply mainly to only one character class on a regular basis - the Barbarian. Sure, there are some spells that cause fatigue, and forced marching also carries a fatigue penalty, but there are no rules to simulate swinging a sword violently for several minutes or slinging spells in rapid [...]
As I sit here listening to Devo singing “Freedom of Choice” I’m not thinking about the media blitz for the 2008 presidential election, but I am contemplating (re-)starting a completely new project for the year. Sure, I’ve had my hands on more projects in 2007 that I knew what to do with, but I never [...]
This Christmas week, instead of playing something new, I ended up making characters for a D&D 3.5 high-level campaign and playing lots of Magic: the Gathering with a friend who only occasionally gets to see me in the flesh. I spent HOURS creating the bare bones of 3 characters: a dwarven conjurer 16, a human [...]
Normally I would be posting a holiday buying guide like MetalJim, but unfortunately I haven’t been able to buy ANY new games in quite some time. Therefore, I’ll merely speculate on the one game that is likely to gain my attention (and my money) next year.
I want to get it. I know I won’t like it, [...]
Surprise can often mean the difference between success and failure in a combat. A well-timed ambush, a fortuitous backstab/sneak attack, or just catching a bunch of opponents in a tight formation for that perfect spell all increase one’s chances of success. This week I’d like to look at how surprise has changed over the editions.
Early [...]
People for years have been struggling with the content of role-playing games. On the one hand there are so many rules that learning even a fraction of them takes an effort that the casual gamer is not likely to put forth. On the other hand, gamers yearn for simplistic, elegant rules that allow the player [...]
MetalJim brought up some interesting points in his post about generic deities. I’m quite surprised that there aren’t generic classes yet! Here’s a possible direction that 4th edition could take based on what I’ve seen happen in d20 Modern and the Star Wars systems.
As role-playing gamers, we have adopted certain styles of play to accommodate the game and group interactions. By assuming the role of fictitious characters, the knowledge of the players and the knowledge of the characters must be kept separate. Characters don’t know about maguffins, foils, or foreshadowing anymore than we can predict the future. So [...]
I’ve been working on my personal campaign setting lately and wanted to share some of my work with the d21-community. This monster is a personal favorite, since I always love the monsters that would scare me the most. This one is called…the Spider-Kin!
A little bit of background first. My personal campaign has a god of [...]
After a long stint away from Magic (other than a brief return last year) I decided to rejoin my addicted brethren and delve into the Tenth Edition like a trooper. Now, I can’t go crazy like I did in the past, but you really don’t have to nowadays. Here’s a look at my recent experiences.
After several years of running D&D in pre-packaged campaign settings and a failed attempt to make a dynamic and exciting world of my own in college, I’ve been toying with the idea of making my own “perfect” fantasy campaign setting for a while now. The challenge here is coming up with a unique setting that [...]