I've been running D&D Encounters since it started in early 2010. Not continuously; I missed most of seasons 4 and 5, but we've just finished running season 13 so I've run 11 of the 13 seasons. So, I'm somewhat experienced with the format. In my opinion, D&D Encounters doesn't substitute for a normal campaign. I particularly feel that Encounters has worked well due to 4E's … Continue reading Thoughts on paying for D&D Encounters
This is a fuller recount of the events of the recent Game Day than I've given before. Beware spoilers! June 15th. D&D Game Day. Vault of the Dracolich. Leading up to the event, I really didn't know that much about it. I'd read that it was something like a Lair Assault, but I really hadn't done that much research on it. It was late on … Continue reading Vault of the Dracolich – Game Day report – Incredibly awesome!
Well, we've finished Storm over Neverwinter, and I've never been so glad to see the end of an adventure. I just hope that the Game Day adventure is better, because Storm over Neverwinter was FUCKING AWFUL! The last session we ran, as we've run the rest of the series, using D&D Next. This session was probably a lot better in 4E, but whoever was doing the … Continue reading Storm over Neverwinter – Horribly Awful
The last season of D&D Encounters – Against the Cult of Chaos – was fantastic. It was an adventure that pulled material from three other adventures and weaved it into a really coherent whole. What made it really great was how it allowed the players and the DM to create their own adventure – the town was well-detailed, and the PCs could investigate the segments … Continue reading D&D Encounters – Not liking Storm over Neverwinter
After reviewing Paizo's "Dungeoneer's Handbook", it only seems fair to review Wizards' offering on the same topic, "Into the Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook". This is a 160-page hardcover book costing $29.95. It is presented like most of Wizards' 4E products in a clear and readable format with a fair bit of art. The book is designed for both players and Dungeon Masters. Although it … Continue reading Into the Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook – D&D 4E Supplement Review
Going through the levelling up process for Lanharath, my kalashtar ardent in Martin’s Eberron campaign, I first began by looking at multiclass feats to retrain Martyr’s Surge into. (Martyr’s Surge is a great feat, but I’m not getting bloodied enough – that’s Adam’s job). Eventually, I settled on a bard multiclass feat, although – just to be fun – I took the Heroes of the … Continue reading Lanharath has mutated more than first thought…
It is fair to say that the fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons has had a few problems with magic items. After the excesses of 3E, where a character needed about 10 magic items just to keep up (and for them to be continually increasing in value), the designers pared down that list to just three (armour, amulet and weapon) and then depreciated the effectiveness … Continue reading Review of Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Emporium
I’ve spent part of yesterday and today creating D&D characters for the new season of D&D Encounters: Beyond the Crystal Cave. We had 10 people turn up for our Saturday “Let’s Create Characters” session, and through a not-the-most-well-thought-out procedure I’ve ever enacted (we didn’t think about it at all), we first got them to name the two roles they’d like to play most; then the … Continue reading Creating Encounters Characters
When D&D 4th edition was announced, one of the things that really drew me to the new edition was the description of the Feywild: a magical land based on our tales of Faerie. It has taken a long time, but with Heroes of the Feywild, the D&D design team has finally turned their attention fully towards the Feywild. The result was worth the wait: this … Continue reading Heroes of the Feywild review – A marvellous book for D&D 4E
The D&D Encounters campaigns have had a rocky history in our town. We started off when they began, and wandered between one and two tables a week. Then came Christmas of 2010, and everyone disappeared. Not just for the holiday season, but for several months after that. This so depressed me that I stopped running D&D Encounters for a while. I’d run the first half … Continue reading My strangest D&D Encounters session
