An Essentials Diversion
Over the past few months, Seth’s been running what we’ve come to call “The Essential’s Campaign.” In a nutshell, we all made characters from the options available in the two Essentials class books—Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms and Heroes of the Fallen Lands—and he’s been running the adventure contained in the Red Box. The main impetus for this diversion was we needed a game to keep us occupied on those weekends where someone was missing. Another great reason for prompting Seth to take up the DM reigns is that I never get to play. Don’t...
Read MoreSocial Skills Versus Free Will
Can players use social skills against another player’s character to get him to do or feel the way he wants them to? For example, can one PC use Intimidate against another PC to force him to back down? Or Diplomacy to make him to go along with a specific plan? As with most editions, in 4th Edition it is possible to pimp skills to crazy levels; under normal circumstances, characters can make insane Intimidate or Diplomacy checks every time if the player works at it enough. My first instinct would be to say no. In fact, I seem to remember reading somewhere that you can’t use...
Read MoreFlashy Movement
I’ve discussed fluffing to some extent in previous posts. For my money, it’s 4th Edition’s greatest feature. In earlier editions, it was difficult to make a goblin look like anything other than a goblin. And a fireball was pretty much restricted to being a fireball. Whether that was because there were too many rules surrounding these concepts, or because DMing techniques hadn’t evolved to where they are now, I sure don’t know. Maybe I just didn’t realize how easy it was? Of course, making magic missile look like a swarm of bees and cleave look like...
Read MoreMusings on Our First Session
It’s been a long road getting to where I am now. So, a little background. First of all, my friends Brian and Cody returned from their trip around the world on a cruise ship. This event was what I needed to finally get off my ass and return to serious gaming. That only left finding three other players to round out the group. Seth, Brent, and Paul quickly filled the empty seats, prompting me to begin thinking about what kind of campaign I’d like to run. The new players joined on October 31st, 2010. Our first session of the new campaign took place on Sunday, March 20, 2011. Why did...
Read MoreCan I Get a Fluffer? …Part I
Over the years it’s been known by several nom de plume’s: skinning, repurposing, and my personal favorite, fluffing. Whatever you choose to call it, taking a class, race, feat, item, or power’s description and adjusting its flavor to something else is nothing new. Though I’m loath to admit this, I never even considered it an option until 4th Edition opened my eyes on how easily this was possible. Page 55 of the Player’s Handbook discusses this concept as Flavor Text: A power’s flavor text helps you understand what happens when you use a power and how you...
Read MoreCombating the Golf Bag of Weapons
In 3rd Edition’s heyday, one major rules adjustment I’d instituted was a way for weapons to increase in power as characters grew in experience. My friends called it “Weapon Level-ups.” It was an interesting way of combating the large collection of magic armaments that characters accumulated throughout their careers; a phenomena not-so-affectionately known as the “golf bag of weapons.” It helped that I consistently ran campaigns where magic was something rare and special—for example, you’d never enter a dungeon room and find yet another boring +1...
Read MoreThe Questionnaire
In the past, I generally required players submit story backgrounds for my perusal. They didn’t have to be extremely detailed, nor did they have to be totally complete. The backgrounds just had to give me a good feel for the character and provide a number of plot hooks that I could weave into the campaign. Usually, I’d get anything from a single page detailing where the character grew up and some important events in their lives, to ten or eleven page short stories. As the years passed, I realized that there are three things wrong with this approach. First: Not everyone wants to...
Read MoreThe Player From Hell
In September of 2006, I had the privilege and horror of meeting someone who would change the way I look at inviting new people into my home and gaming life… forever. Be warned: this is a very long story. Go to the bathroom, grab a bowl of chips, maybe a few beers, and a comfy chair. It’s a tale that might be hard to believe—but it’s exactly what happened with absolutely nothing left out. It is my hope that this cautionary tale will help, in some small way, the gaming community at large. As much as I’d love to spill the beans on this douchebag’s identity...
Read MoreRule Zero
Players of 3rd Edition will recognize the term “Rule Zero.” It just means any DM ruling supersedes all other rules; his say comes before anything else put to paper. In essence: this is the rule before the rules. For 4th Edition, the following is my Rule Zero: I side with the players on any rules dispute. You see, everything in the Dungeons & Dragons game is stacked against the characters as it is; why not give them a break once in a white? Think about it: Once they’re born, their families instantly become persons of interest. Sisters get abducted. Mothers are killed in...
Read MoreGood vs. Evil
It’s the age-old question: what makes good good and evil evil? D&D is a game about killing monsters and stealing their treasure. Is that kind of killing wrong? Even though they’re evil, does that make us right for killing them? D&D attempts to answer this dilemma by imposing an alignment system that overrides any kind of ethical or theological debate which could spring forth. Something with an evil alignment is wholly and irredeemable evil and must be dispatched without prejudice. In fact, a lot of games don’t seek to alter this view, making it extremely easy to play...
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