The Elevation Indicator
I’ve received several messages about my custom-made elevation indicator. It’s actually pretty easy to construct, as long as you have my template… so here it is! First of all, you’ll want to take the file and have it printed on laminated labels; this can be done at your local FedEx Office and they call the product “lami-labels.” Next, cut along the crop lines. Then, carefully apply two of the trimmed out labels to opposites sides of a dice box. I guess you could say the labels are flanking the dice box! EH-OH! After applying the labels to the dice box,...
Read MoreKeeping Track of Conditions
Keeping track of conditions is the one thing 4th Edition doesn’t make easy. During the first few levels, things aren’t too bad. Occasionally, someone will be slowed or immobilized; nothing too complicated. However, as levels start to rise, so do the amount of conditions that are handed out each round. What really makes this situation total mayhem is how varied conditions can get. “Is my slowed save ends or does it end at the end of your turn? Is this +2 to attack against all creatures or just one specific one? “ When each combatant is regularly under the effects of...
Read MoreFortune Cards
Wizards of the Coast just announced Fortune Cards, a customizable card component for 4th Edition D&D. The idea is, at the beginning of each encounter, a player would draw one card at random and use the card’s listed bonus or effect during said combat. Recently, Seth asked how they would affect our campaign. At first glance, I said to myself in a Mr. T voice, “Damn fools stole my ride!” These cards are very close to the bonuses I grant players through my Bonus Action Points house rule. Next I thought, “Oooo! Pretty!” I like pretty things at the table. Lastly I...
Read MoreAural Encounters, Part II
This is Part II of a 2-part series that discusses using themed music for your campaigns. A few of the steps from Part I were distilled down to a beginners version of what I actually do for my own games. Part II details the advanced versions of those steps, as well as outlines some other music techniques I perform during game sessions, such as song editing, timed speeches, and a slicker way of controlling the music. This article is provided more for a sense of completeness than as an assumption that DM’s should or are running music in their games this way. Though it can be used as a...
Read MoreAural Encounters, Part I
I’ve been asked a few times over the years to explain how I run music during game sessions. A large part of the mystery is that players don’t even realize the music is being switched between encounters; scene appropriate music always appears to be playing of its own accord. Once, a player told me that he didn’t enjoy music during D&D games because DM’s were always distracted, either from setting up the next track or fiddling with the volume. However, when I did it, my attention was always on the game. So how do I do it? This is Part I of a 2-part series that...
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 MoreMiniatures and Motivations
The D&D Miniatures line features hundreds of ready-to-play miniatures from the Dungeons & Dragons universe. You’ll find heroes, villains, and monsters of all types. Each miniature uses the 30mm scale and ranges in size from Tiny to Colossal. Included are stat cards with descriptions and rules for running them in combat. The best part of D&D miniatures? All are fully assembled and painted. In my mind, not only is that an amazing innovation, but it also lessens the time and money I spend as DM for the group. Now that Will’s getting the DM bug, he’s also adding...
Read MoreCinematic Maneuvers
As a long-time member of EN World, I decided to post a question about my group’s “clotheslining” dilemma—just to see what the community at large would have done in a similar situation. Not only did the thread provide me with a resource for adjudicating clotheslines and similar combat maneuvers, it also pointed out the fact that charging overruns have been errata’d out of the game. “What’s errata?” Will asked me yesterday. It’s pretty simple: errata are fixes to the mistakes that got past the publisher in the editing process. Wizards of the...
Read MoreA New Toy
They’ve been a year and a half in the making—and now they’re finally here: BattleCards. Such a simple concept, yet totally revolutionary. Ever since I saw a similar item in Fiery Dragon Productions’ BattleBox, I knew I had to have them. Yet after purchasing the BattleBox at my friendly local gaming store, I was stunned. The cards were… tiny! Not only that, but they wasted so much whitespace—whitespace that could have been used to reprint the entire rule from the SRD. Instead, each card displayed a watered-down summary—and not a good watered-down...
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