I’m posting a couple of forum posts I made a few years back, talking about the concept of Balance in RPGs. Balance… is tremendously important to any RPG. If you don’t think it is, then you don’t understand what balance is. It doesn’t help the clarity of discussions that there are actually two types of balance with regard to playing RPG, both of which get … Continue reading On Balance in RPGs
Of all the adventures I’ve run, Danger at Dunwater is one of the most difficult to approach. Why is that? It’s because it’s very hard to discern the shape of it. You’ve got an adventure that well could be entirely played as “you walk up to the lizardfolk, talk to it in Draconic, and part friends”. That’s what happened the first time I ran it. … Continue reading Running Ghosts of Saltmarsh: Danger at Dunwater
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
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?
Beginning with Season 9, the D&D Adventurers League is moving to a new form of character creation, advancement and play restrictions. Dubbed as “Seasonality”, it links characters more to individual seasons. (You can find a brief description in the latest Dragon+) The effects of this are primarily the following: When you create a character, you choose a Season for that character to belong to. Seasons … Continue reading On the new Seasonality rules for the D&D Adventurers League
It’s the start of day 3 of the Conquest Games Convention in Melbourne. It’s Easter Sunday. It’s a slow start for the day – I assume some people are going to church, while others are sleeping in. The main action at the convention at present is the gaming going on at the D&D Adventurers League tables. This pleases me, as I’m the one who organised … Continue reading Conquest Games Convention – midway report
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is an enjoyable adventure set in the City of Waterdeep, where you get to work for some of the factions of the City whilst stopping other factions from looting a great hoard of gold from a hidden vault. The adventure takes you from first to fifth level, much as does the D&D Starter Set adventure, Lost Mine of Phandelver. So, what do you … Continue reading What to Play After Finishing Dragon Heist
Haunted Memories (CCC-MACE01-03) is a Tier 1 CCC adventure for the D&D Adventurers League program. It is the third in a series of adventures revolving around missions for Lord Geoffrey of the Smiths, a rich noble in Hulburg. This adventure sends the heroes into a haunted house to solve a decade-old murder mystery. The adventure uses the conventions of horror stories very effectively. It is … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: Haunted Memories
After the disaster of A Wrinkle in the Weave, it’s a relief to say that the next adventure in the trilogy, Hero of the Troll Wars is quite playable and entertaining. It isn’t without flaw, however. In particular, its links to the overarching storyline are weak. There isn’t an introductory segment where the rules of time-travel are explained and the characters are given their mission. … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: Hero of the Troll Wars
