Dungeons & Dragons has an underlying tension between the power of the monsters and the power of the characters. There will be combat in a D&D campaign, and what happens then is of paramount importance to how the game plays. If every combat ends with the monsters being destroyed in one round, then it’s not a very satisfying game. Likewise, if the characters end up … Continue reading Monsters, Adventure Design and Balance
We’ve had a lot of dungeon-crawling in my AD&D campaign. This can be attributed to my love of the form, but also to it being the easiest way of entertaining a group of players whose membership changes from week to week. In the dungeon, you don’t need to be so worried about little details like “plot”, you can just enjoy each encounter as it comes. … Continue reading AD&D: Marching Order in the Dungeon
My AD&D campaign, which I run on Saturday evenings, has now been running for 2¼ years with no sign of stopping any time soon. The last session involved me as DM and nine players(!) and the numbers for this week’s session may be similarly challenging. The group has returned to Rappan Athuk, which they’re now tackling with much more experience. In total, we’ve played over … Continue reading AD&D Initiative
When you get down to it, the mechanics of D&D are firmly based around combat. This was a truer in the earliest versions of the game, where there were very few other mechanics, but there’s still a kernel of truth to it. The relationship between hit points, armour class, attack bonus and weapon damage is so key to the game. The relationship has been expressed … Continue reading Combat and the Fighter in D&D Next
There isn’t a cleric to be seen amongst the current players of D&D Encounters at my FLGS. There has been in previous seasons, but this season is heavy on the rogues, rangers, paladins and mages for some reason. As a result, the groups are struggling somewhat to heal between encounters. It’s a dynamic that is unfamiliar to the 4E players of the group. Of course, … Continue reading D&D Next: Healing and the playtest Cleric
Over the past few months, I’ve seen a fair deal of the playtest rogue from D&D Next. Tait’s been regularly using one in our D&D Encounters game, and it hasn’t been unusual to see another player with a rogue at the same time. Mechanically, it reminds me of the way D&D Essentials handled the thief. I’m very fond of the Essentials thief. You’ve got a … Continue reading D&D Next: The Playtest Rogue
One of the best feelings I have when reading new material is when I see an innovation which makes me think, “Why hasn’t anyone done this before?” I got that feeling when initially perusing 3E on two matters. The first was Armour Class scaling upwards and being the target number. So obvious – so brilliant. And the other was the 3E Wizard being able to … Continue reading D&D Next: The Wizard and Spell-casting
I have mostly kept out of the online debates on the future of D&D. The basic problem is not that I don’t care, but rather that many of the debates are completely and utterly pointless, there simply as an exercise in breeding ill-will. The other problem with engaging in the debates is that, quite simply, I don’t know enough about the final form of D&D … Continue reading Thoughts on D&D Next
The latest updates to the D&D rules have been posted and there are some significant changes to powers and rules we’ve been using. First off, Adam has been nerfed. How did this happen? It’s a change to the Orb of Imposition power. “You can designate one creature you have cast a wizard spell upon that has an effect that lasts until the subject succeeds on a saving throw. … Continue reading Adam and Greg get hit by the nerf bat in D&D
Another enjoyable weekend that was really somewhat overbusy – like most of my other weekends recently. I wasn’t able to do anything with the “Weekend in the Realms” D&D event. I managed to completely forget it was on, and I was busy with my other gaming anyway. I think Mick may have run a session this afternoon, but perhaps not. Thursday night was BattleTech night, … Continue reading Castle, Castle and Firsts
