D&D 4th Edition resources
Can anyone point me to decent 4th Ed. D&D resources? I'm thinking particularly of things like adventures and modules, but anything else useful for 4th Ed. newbies would be handy too.
Random Encounters
My friend and I were discussing random encounters and he had an interesting point of view.
I told him I was creating random encounters for our next adventure but was having trouble finding monsters at our character's level. He wondered why random encounters had to be level specific at all and said that PCs should be allowed to fight monsters at all levels when wandering through the world.
His argument was that the world isn't level specific and that sometimes it's fun and more realistic to come across monsters that are no challenge or others that are too powerful. He said every encounter doesn't need to be an even fight.
What do you think? Should random encounters be level specific, completely random or maybe within some range of levels?
I told him I was creating random encounters for our next adventure but was having trouble finding monsters at our character's level. He wondered why random encounters had to be level specific at all and said that PCs should be allowed to fight monsters at all levels when wandering through the world.
His argument was that the world isn't level specific and that sometimes it's fun and more realistic to come across monsters that are no challenge or others that are too powerful. He said every encounter doesn't need to be an even fight.
What do you think? Should random encounters be level specific, completely random or maybe within some range of levels?
Adventure Contest
A small game publishing company called 6d6 Fireball is holding a monthly adventure writing contest for D&D 3.5 with the eventual (yearly?) winner getting their adventure printed and sold as a game module.
Check out the details on their blog. 6d6fireball.com/
I plan on entering a submission or two just for fun but I thought other DMs might want to give it a try as well.
Check out the details on their blog. 6d6fireball.com/
I plan on entering a submission or two just for fun but I thought other DMs might want to give it a try as well.
Roleplayers for Obama? Saving Throw for McCain?
This posting in German: Rollenspieler für Obama? Schutzwurf für McCain
While many 
dungeon_masters might be aware of it, fantasy_scifi gamers and readers might have missed the newest development:
Fantasy roleplaying gamers, a classic enemy stereotype of evangelical US-preachers, have been discovered as a voting demographic in the new presidential election. How so? I'll tell you. With the cliché imagery of the 80s for depicting the 'liberal enemy'.
Pro-democratic Blog DailyKos had cast doubt on one of John McCains overly moralistic memories which he had recounted in the evangelical Saddleback Church these days, as stolen from “The Gulag Archipelago” by the late Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn . The McCain campaign reacted fiercely, hitting on liberal bloggers in general and -to everyone's astonishment- ondndfanz as fantasy gamers specifically. (Cultural reference: Dungeons & Dragons is to fantasy gaming what kleenex is to paper handkerchiefs. It is what the kids play at the start of E.T. and it's been around as long as the greenparty in Germany. The McCain campaign attac logic seems to be: Bloggers = Nerds = D&D-Gamers? Quote from McCain's website:</p>
dungeon_masters might be aware of it, fantasy_scifi gamers and readers might have missed the newest development:Fantasy roleplaying gamers, a classic enemy stereotype of evangelical US-preachers, have been discovered as a voting demographic in the new presidential election. How so? I'll tell you. With the cliché imagery of the 80s for depicting the 'liberal enemy'.
Pro-democratic Blog DailyKos had cast doubt on one of John McCains overly moralistic memories which he had recounted in the evangelical Saddleback Church these days, as stolen from “The Gulag Archipelago” by the late Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn . The McCain campaign reacted fiercely, hitting on liberal bloggers in general and -to everyone's astonishment- on
dndfanz as fantasy gamers specifically. (Cultural reference: Dungeons & Dragons is to fantasy gaming what kleenex is to paper handkerchiefs. It is what the kids play at the start of E.T. and it's been around as long as the greenparty in Germany. The McCain campaign attac logic seems to be: Bloggers = Nerds = D&D-Gamers? Quote from McCain's website:</p>It may be typical of the pro-Obama Dungeons &Dragons crowd to disparage a fellow countryman’s memory of war from thecomfort of mom’s basement, but most Americans have the humility andgratitude to respect and learn from the memories of men who suffered onbehalf of others. (Source)</em>
The blogging world was not enthusiastic about this, even less so if you took those actively or formerly from the "Dungeons&Dragons Crowd", of which some claimed they were "undecided before these attacs". John Kovalic (
muskrat_john of DorkTower fame (
dorktowerfeed), LJ blogger and game designer ("Munchkin" is qquite a good parody of the RPG hobby) correctly wrote: “What an…odd (yes, odd - “odd” is definitely the word) thing to bring into the national political discourse…”
It was the second time in a few weeks, that Goldfarb had, for the McCain campaign... ( Read more...Collapse )
I attack the darkness!
The website I work for just released this subtitler game, so I thought I'd share my geekness with the world. This is only one of the ones I've made... this thing is like crack.
Cheers!
X-posted to hell and back.
Cheers!
X-posted to hell and back.
4.0 a little venting
I'm sure like many of you in this community I picked up my player's handbook on Friday. I know some people picked up their DMG and MM as well but I like to delve into the books one at a time.
After my initial read through I went through and made a couple of level one characters (Eladren Warlock, Human Warlord, Elf Rogue, and Halfling Paladin). My first responce was that I dearly hate the character sheet. There's not enough room to put down the stuff you need to remember and there's to much space for crap that I don't need as a player.
Then I started to really look at skills and realized that I dearly hate this skill system. It's absolutely absurd. Training gets you a flat +5 in a skill, there's no way to increase the number of skills you get other than retraining and that means you suddenly don't have any training in a skill you used to excel at. Not to mention this dumbed down system means that if you've studied 1 aspect of a skill your a master at all aspects of that skill. I mean come on I like simplicity as much as the next guy but am I really going to have to deal with a skill system that's completely with out any depth to it at all? Ack this blows.
Ritual magic, ok I like the theory here, but did anyone look at the economics of it? Who makes a product that's mark up value is 10-40%? Oh right gaming and comic books. Because the rest of the world sells things at say 100-150% mark up on their items (and don't get me started on publishing because the mark up there is absurd).
So far my read is "We have to dumb this system down!" with out regard for any simulation of real world senarios at all. The economics of the world view presented is so far out of whack that it'll take a serious overhall to even vaguely consider running this.
The only thing I can really say so far is, wow combat's cool. I really think they did a superb job with combat. Now if they had taken just as much care in the other areas.
After my initial read through I went through and made a couple of level one characters (Eladren Warlock, Human Warlord, Elf Rogue, and Halfling Paladin). My first responce was that I dearly hate the character sheet. There's not enough room to put down the stuff you need to remember and there's to much space for crap that I don't need as a player.
Then I started to really look at skills and realized that I dearly hate this skill system. It's absolutely absurd. Training gets you a flat +5 in a skill, there's no way to increase the number of skills you get other than retraining and that means you suddenly don't have any training in a skill you used to excel at. Not to mention this dumbed down system means that if you've studied 1 aspect of a skill your a master at all aspects of that skill. I mean come on I like simplicity as much as the next guy but am I really going to have to deal with a skill system that's completely with out any depth to it at all? Ack this blows.
Ritual magic, ok I like the theory here, but did anyone look at the economics of it? Who makes a product that's mark up value is 10-40%? Oh right gaming and comic books. Because the rest of the world sells things at say 100-150% mark up on their items (and don't get me started on publishing because the mark up there is absurd).
So far my read is "We have to dumb this system down!" with out regard for any simulation of real world senarios at all. The economics of the world view presented is so far out of whack that it'll take a serious overhall to even vaguely consider running this.
The only thing I can really say so far is, wow combat's cool. I really think they did a superb job with combat. Now if they had taken just as much care in the other areas.
Feedback for new campaign: Duskkeep
So I'm hoping to start a new D&D campaign soon, using the 4e ruleset. I'm looking for a little feedback about my campaign idea, as well as possible suggestions for adventures/quests/stuff-to-do.
Duskkeep
Duskkeep is an isolated fortress built high in the mountains that make up the western border of the kingdom--indeed, it marks the far western edge. No one remembers who originally constructed the keep or why, but these days it serves as the first line of defense against the Orcs who inhabit the mountains. With rumors of a massive number of Orc warbands mobilizing, the threat of all-out war looms heavily over the kingdom. Thus the king decides to send a batallion to fortify the keep and hold off the invaders. Most realize that is a hopeless mission, a futile gesture made simple to appease the population. Nevertheless, the men and women that make up the force set out. They travel far and fast into the mountains to reach the keep, taking command from the civilians that govern in times of peace. And then things start to go wrong. Whether because of an early winter, Orcish raiders, or some treachery, the battalion's supply trains never catch up with the soldiers. As the long winter continues, the batallion finds itself snowed in, without supplies, and in all likelihood behind enemy lines.
30 years pass. A combination of harsh windows and Orc attacks has fully isolated Duskkeep. Yet somehow the town has survived. The men and women who defend the keep have managed to create a life for themselves. The PCs are the children of these warriors, the next generation of heroes will defend their home from threats both internal and external.
( More details (mostly about PCs) behind the cut...Collapse )
Adventure ideas
Please don't read this if you're one of my players! And don't tell my players if you know them :p I'll try to keep things a little vague so not to spoil anything.
I'm thinking of starting the campaign off with a fight: a capture-the-flag sparring content between the PCs and a rival squad of soldiers. It feels like a neat opening, and gives people a chance to try out the new combat system (and begin to get a feel for how the other PCs act). Has anyone ever started a game like this? Any thoughts?
What I'm stumped for is what to do for the first adventure (like for level 1). I think level 2 or 3 is going to involve journeying to the eladrin city because of the exchange program mentioned above. Orcs appear to be level 5-8ish, and the PCs obviously have to encounter those. The main arc I want to run is going to involve some kind of supernatural threat on the keep, which I won't detail here (yet). But I need to know what to do for the first adventure. I want something that lets the PCs "prove" themselves to the leaders of the community (so I can justify having them be sent out on missions and stuff), as well as would let them get to know (and hopefully to grow attached) to the town. I think involving the rival squad from the first battle could be fun--maybe they have to complete the quest first (or better). Any ideas? What would be a good 1st level quest for this kind of setting?
Finally, does anyone have any good suggestions for how I can get the PCs to "meet" people around the town, without making it feel like a crappy video game? I'd like the PCs to know and care about the town's inhabitents, and I'd like to pick the brains of the community here for ideas about how to do that.
Thanks so much for reading, and please let me know what you think. If this is a crappy campaign set-up, let me know so I can change it!
Duskkeep
Duskkeep is an isolated fortress built high in the mountains that make up the western border of the kingdom--indeed, it marks the far western edge. No one remembers who originally constructed the keep or why, but these days it serves as the first line of defense against the Orcs who inhabit the mountains. With rumors of a massive number of Orc warbands mobilizing, the threat of all-out war looms heavily over the kingdom. Thus the king decides to send a batallion to fortify the keep and hold off the invaders. Most realize that is a hopeless mission, a futile gesture made simple to appease the population. Nevertheless, the men and women that make up the force set out. They travel far and fast into the mountains to reach the keep, taking command from the civilians that govern in times of peace. And then things start to go wrong. Whether because of an early winter, Orcish raiders, or some treachery, the battalion's supply trains never catch up with the soldiers. As the long winter continues, the batallion finds itself snowed in, without supplies, and in all likelihood behind enemy lines.
30 years pass. A combination of harsh windows and Orc attacks has fully isolated Duskkeep. Yet somehow the town has survived. The men and women who defend the keep have managed to create a life for themselves. The PCs are the children of these warriors, the next generation of heroes will defend their home from threats both internal and external.
( More details (mostly about PCs) behind the cut...Collapse )
Adventure ideas
Please don't read this if you're one of my players! And don't tell my players if you know them :p I'll try to keep things a little vague so not to spoil anything.
I'm thinking of starting the campaign off with a fight: a capture-the-flag sparring content between the PCs and a rival squad of soldiers. It feels like a neat opening, and gives people a chance to try out the new combat system (and begin to get a feel for how the other PCs act). Has anyone ever started a game like this? Any thoughts?
What I'm stumped for is what to do for the first adventure (like for level 1). I think level 2 or 3 is going to involve journeying to the eladrin city because of the exchange program mentioned above. Orcs appear to be level 5-8ish, and the PCs obviously have to encounter those. The main arc I want to run is going to involve some kind of supernatural threat on the keep, which I won't detail here (yet). But I need to know what to do for the first adventure. I want something that lets the PCs "prove" themselves to the leaders of the community (so I can justify having them be sent out on missions and stuff), as well as would let them get to know (and hopefully to grow attached) to the town. I think involving the rival squad from the first battle could be fun--maybe they have to complete the quest first (or better). Any ideas? What would be a good 1st level quest for this kind of setting?
Finally, does anyone have any good suggestions for how I can get the PCs to "meet" people around the town, without making it feel like a crappy video game? I'd like the PCs to know and care about the town's inhabitents, and I'd like to pick the brains of the community here for ideas about how to do that.
Thanks so much for reading, and please let me know what you think. If this is a crappy campaign set-up, let me know so I can change it!
Fallen Sword - Just ask for Regomar!
As some of you may know about me, Im a huge fan of browser-based massively multi player games. They're a great thing for killing a little time in between different tasks, are browser-based, so may be accessed at many places of work, and often have a good sense of community.
Fallen Sword sucked me in this January and hasn't let go since. As a typical browser-based game, it's based on a stamina system. As a new player you gain 50 stamina each real-world hour and can use that to move about the world, kill creatures and level up, and cast skills and buffs.
Fallen Sword is definetly more than meets the eye at first, as it's simple exterior belies a very complex system of guilds, auction houses and marketplaces, a living and breathing economy, legendary events, a complex skill system, and over 1.5 million registered players.
The game is completely free with optional donations for more stamina or backpack space. It can be played on any browser.
Anyways, if anyone's interested, click the banner above and sign up. Sign up through that link and I'll send you a bunch of in-game currency to get you all set up for the earlier levels and answer any questions you have about the game.
My in-game name is Regomar.
The Ghoul Armageddon
Hello,
Has anyone else noticed that the walking dead were referred to as “Ghouls” in the classic Night of the Living Dead movie? Well, I noticed. And when I looked up the description of a D&D Ghoul it seemed to fit somewhat with the ethos of the movie.
To paraphrase, Ghouls are undead creatures who crave human flesh and can infect the living with a disease that slowly kills them and turns them into Ghouls once they die.
Now, let’s recap… Night of the Living Dead, Ghouls and D&D… What could I possibly do with these ideas? Oh yeah! How about a D&D campaign where a Ghoul outbreak threatens to become world-wide Armageddon?
Running a horror game
I am thinking about running a campaign with a strong horror theme set in Eberron. I have the Heroes of Horror book and am enjoying it so far and getting many ideas from it. One of my players wants the game to be Buffy The Vampire Slayer inspired. He was thinking we could investigate and fight creatures of the night. I am a huge fan of the show so I am very open to that idea.
I am relatively new to DMing and would love some tips on running a horror game. How do you keep it truly scary? I am guessing that the less out of character conversations you have the better. How do you set the mood for your scary games? Do you use music? What sort of story lines or over-arching plots have you used?
Thanks in advance for any tips or advice!
I am relatively new to DMing and would love some tips on running a horror game. How do you keep it truly scary? I am guessing that the less out of character conversations you have the better. How do you set the mood for your scary games? Do you use music? What sort of story lines or over-arching plots have you used?
Thanks in advance for any tips or advice!