There’s one feature of Dungeons & Dragons adventures that anyone who runs the game quickly comes to learn: Adventures are incomplete. Not just incomplete in the sense of “add players and a Dungeon Master”, but incomplete in the sense of “this adventure is missing important things I need to run it!” Sadly, it’s our lot in life to have incomplete adventures. The fact is that … Continue reading The Incomplete Adventure
Mike Mearls’ “Greyhawk” Initiative system has provided a welcome shake-up in the consideration of the Dungeons & Dragons rule system. It’s a completely optional system, and one that seeks to provide a little more unpredictability and tension into combat by removing the predictable order of actions that is part of the basic 5E ruleset. I’ve now run two sessions with versions of these rules. (You … Continue reading Greyhawk Initiative: Another Look
I recently ran a set of three short sessions using the original Dungeons & Dragons rules. I tried as much as possible to keep to the rules as presented in the original three booklets (plus Chainmail), without introducing any of the material added in Supplement I: Greyhawk or in later versions of the game. It was a fascinating experience. I struggled with using the rules-as-written … Continue reading Original Dungeons & Dragons: The Magic-User
One suggestion that has been made to me many times is that miniatures are much cheaper if you paint them yourself. Right… There’s just one problem with that: painting miniatures takes time. And quite an investment up front in the paint and brushes. In the spirit of making sure I know what I’m talking about, I’ve spent time over the past few weeks painting the … Continue reading More on Miniatures
In the beginning, when a party of adventurers encountered a group of monsters, both sides rolled a six-sided die. If a side rolled a 1 or 2, that side was surprised and had to stand by while the opposing side got a free round of attacks (or of fleeing, if the opposition looked scary). As the game developed, certain characters and monsters changed the chances … Continue reading The Joys and Horrors of Passive Perception
At my current point in life, I’m finding myself extremely busy with work and with running Dungeons & Dragons, but with very little time to set aside to preparing adventures (or writing reviews or blog posts). I steal what time I can, but I’m not always able to do the preparation I want to. (I’m hoping things get less frantic later this year; there have … Continue reading More on Improvising Sessions
My first real experience with a DM was with the adventure Keep on the Borderlands, a classic adventure that many, many players had as their first adventure since it was published with the introductory Basic D&D rules for about a decade. The thing is: it’s not a very good introductory adventure if you’re a new DM. Well, half of it is: the dungeon half. That … Continue reading On Introductory Adventures
Throughout the history of Dungeons & Dragons, the primary focus has been on the exploits of bands of adventurers, typically exploring dungeons, killing monsters and gaining treasure. However, every so often, there’s a glimpse of an older style of play: one where the characters hold positions of responsibility and command large armies on the field, often to protect nations they’ve carved out of the wilderness. … Continue reading War and Nations in Dungeons & Dragons
One of the more unusual products to cross my radar was The Ultimate Fantasy Collection. Curated by Glen Cooper, this product gathers together nine adventures from the early days of the DMs Guild, adds in three supplements, and provides the lot at a discount. However, Glen decided to do something interesting. Instead of just offering the adventures in a bundle, he decided to write notes … Continue reading Using Published Adventures in a Homebrew Campaign
As I’ve mentioned before, D&D combat is not really the most realistic of systems. This doesn’t matter much, because it’s fun! However, with Mike Mearls talking about providing an alternative initiative system, it’s revived my interest in the various initiative systems D&D has used over the years – an abiding interest of mine. Mike’s system, for those who haven’t seen it, requires all combatants to … Continue reading More on D&D Initiative: Weapon Speeds, Teamwork and Ranged Combat
