One trick I use when playing Dungeons & Dragons is to eliminate as much arithmetic as I can when rolling to hit. It makes the game run faster. The simplest way I do this is by determining what my target number is on the d20. If I have a +5 to hit, and I’m attacking a monster of AC 15, then I need to roll … Continue reading A Method for Players to Speed Up Combat
Ill Met in Ylraphon uses a lot of skill challenges (or a similar mechanic) in its text. I didn’t discuss them in the review, but the skill challenge is a form of mechanic that I dislike intensely, mainly because most people use it so badly! For those unfamiliar with the mechanic, the basic way is to describe a challenge as a sequence of skill checks, … Continue reading Problems with Skill Challenges
It’s tremendously important when writing an adventure to have a sense of its audience. When writing a D&D Adventurers League adventure, doubly so. For a CCC adventure, it’s easy to think you know the answer: it’s the audience at the convention. Unfortunately, if you write it only for them, anyone buying it from the DMs Guild is likely to be confused; the intended audience isn’t … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: Ill Met in Ylraphon
The warning bells went off when I read the hook for The Secrets of Imaginary Friends, a Tier 1 CCC adventure for the D&D Adventurers League. It stated that the adventurers are hired as labourers. This was the only hook presented. Oh boy. The stuff of exciting adventures this wasn’t. Look, there are plenty of perfectly fine hooks for adventures. They may not be inspired … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: The Secrets of Imaginary Friends
Mike “Sly Flourish” Shea is in the final stages of a kickstarter for his latest 5E-compatible adventure book: Sly Flourish’s Fantastic Adventures: Ruins of the Grendleroot. I’ve read a lot of it. It’s awesome. Of course, Mike paid me to have a look at the book and help develop it, but part of the reason I said “yes” to him (and not the other offers … Continue reading Ruins of the Grendleroot – Thoughts on a Kickstarter
In the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons, there’s a place known as the Temple of Elemental Evil. Although it was originally situated on the World of Greyhawk, I’m sure it’s appeared on many self-created worlds over the years. In its most recent incarnation, a new Temple of Elemental Evil was built in the north-east of Faerun, in the Forgotten Realms. Here’s a very quick summary … Continue reading Thoughts on Elemental Evil
A few years ago, my party were trying to liberate a dwarven mine from the forces of the Scarlet Brotherhood. As they emerged from the mine, they found soldiers waiting for him. Ever quick-thinking, the wizard created the illusion of a great demon emerging from the mine behind them. Ever not quick-thinking, the paladin turned around and charged the demon, as he didn’t realise that … Continue reading The Dangers of Illusions and other Versatile Magics
There’s a tendency in a lot of Dungeons & Dragons settings to have a vast number of deities. The World of Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms are typical examples of such, with over fifty deities (not including non-human deities) described for each. Back in the day, I thought the Dragonlance setting had a small list of deities with a “mere” twenty-one! As I get older, … Continue reading Limiting the Pantheon
Last Friday, I took my players on an excursion to a great peak in the Yatil Mountains – that’s just to the north of where they’re staying in Veluna. Why were they going there? Well, while they were staying in the Deepfathom Mine (found in Sly Flourish’s Fantastic Adventures), a stranger came to them with a tale of a friend who had disappeared on that … Continue reading Greyhawk – the Wind Dukes of Aaqa?
Down Came a Blackbird is an adventure for level 1-4 characters set in Saltmarsh. The children of the village have discovered a strange egg, and crazed birds are attacking villagers. The heroes need to find the source of the unrest before great misfortune comes to the village. Darker things are afoot than just the birds! It could go very poorly, however. The first encounter sees … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: Down Came a Blackbird
