D&D, D&D 5E, Kickstarter, OSR, RPGs

Kickstarters! Shadow of the Demon Lord! Dwarven Forge! 5E Adventures!

A few interesting RPG-related kickstarters are coming towards their closing stages at present… Shadow of the Demon Lord is a new RPG by Robert J Schwalb, which emphasizes play in a land which is menaced by a powerful Demon Lord. Mechanically, it’s going to be relatively light, but with options for more detailed play. There is a strong horror component to this game, and it’s … Continue reading Kickstarters! Shadow of the Demon Lord! Dwarven Forge! 5E Adventures!

MerricBApril 2, 20151 Comment

Design, RPGs

The Book of Lost Spells

The Book of Lost Spells is now available in PDF! (The print copy will follow in a month or so). This completes the series of books that Necromancer Games/Frog God Games put up for kickstarter last year. Go have a look! There’s more I will probably say about it in the future, but for now… it’s out! Continue reading The Book of Lost Spells

MerricBMarch 3, 20151 Comment

Life, RPGs

Role-playing Games I’ve played

RPG Geek is currently having a little micro-badge awarding thread based on a rather interesting topic: How many RPGs have you played or run? In the thirty-odd years I’ve been playing RPGs, I’ve not amassed a list that is extremely long; I’d normally categorize myself as a D&D specialist, although there are certainly periods when I’ve played other RPGs. The lists I created for the … Continue reading Role-playing Games I’ve played

MerricBDecember 16, 2014Leave a comment

D&D, D&D 5E, Design

Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Creation

Well, at last the Dungeon Master’s Guide has been released, which allows all of us playing D&D 5E to finally have the full system and start properly evaluating what it is and what it does. My first impressions of the DMG? Pretty favourable. I’ve been spending a lot of time with the system for creating monsters and – in particular – assigning their Challenge Ratings. … Continue reading Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Creation

MerricBDecember 10, 2014Leave a comment

AD&D, D&D, Design

The trouble with unbounded accuracy

My AD&D campaign is in trouble. After three years of play, it’s getting towards the stage of being an elderly campaign and – quite frankly – I need a break from it. Yes, I know some AD&D campaigns go for year after year after year and by those standards this campaign has only started, but this particular campaign is feeling tired. There are many reasons … Continue reading The trouble with unbounded accuracy

MerricBOctober 28, 20143 Comments

D&D, D&D 5E, Design, Greyhawk

Starting a new 5E campaign: The Onnwal Rebellion

This Friday, I’m beginning a new Dungeons & Dragons campaign, the first homebrew campaign with the new 5E campaign system. As with my other homebrew campaigns, this will be set in the World of Greyhawk. However, I’m going to run the campaign in an area of the world I haven’t visited before: Onnwal. I’ve already written about a few of my early thoughts for the … Continue reading Starting a new 5E campaign: The Onnwal Rebellion

MerricBOctober 15, 2014Leave a comment

D&D, D&D 5E, Design, Play Advice, Tyranny of Dragons

An Ethical Dilemma in Dungeons & Dragons – the Cyanwrath Challenge

At the climax of episode 1 of Hoard of the Dragon Queen, the weary players may see the champion of the enemy, Cyanwrath, come out before them and issue a challenge: Either the defenders of the village send out a champion to defeat him in mortal combat, or he will execute a family that he has captured. As he does so, one of the militia-men … Continue reading An Ethical Dilemma in Dungeons & Dragons – the Cyanwrath Challenge

MerricBOctober 10, 201428 Comments

AD&D, D&D, D&D 3E, D&D 5E, Design

Day of the Thief

The original version of Dungeons & Dragons did not have a thief class. It only had three classes: the Fighting Man, the Magic-User and the Cleric. They have expanded on their capabilities greatly over the years. Gary Gygax introduced the thief in the first supplement, Greyhawk, which has very little to do with the actual World of Greyhawk and a lot to do with the … Continue reading Day of the Thief

MerricBOctober 2, 20142 Comments

D&D, D&D 5E, Design, Play Advice

The Ranger’s Companion

Animal companions have had a long history in D&D. The Animal Friendship spell was not part of the original game, but was introduced as part of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. This spell was usable by low-level druids and high-level rangers, and allowed the caster to permanently gain one or more animals to act as friends or defenders. Exactly what an animal companion could do was … Continue reading The Ranger’s Companion

MerricBSeptember 30, 2014Leave a comment

AD&D, D&D, RPGs

AD&D Review – A2: Secret of the Slavers Stockade

Dungeon Module A2: Secret of the Slavers Stockade is the second adventure in the “Aerie of the Slavelords” series. As I mentioned in my review of the first adventure, they were originally designed as tournament adventures for GenCon XIII. This adventure consists of two parts of the first round, but (somewhat confusingly) also follows on from the other adventure which would have been taking place at … Continue reading AD&D Review – A2: Secret of the Slavers Stockade

MerricBSeptember 13, 2014Leave a comment