Scripted “In Medias Res” – More thoughts on the beginning of adventures

I wrote an article a last month on techniques used to begin an adventure. I’ve just been reading an Organised Play adventure that commits one of the cardinal sins of such adventures: It allows the players to say “No, we don’t want to play this adventure.” Huh? Why the hell is it giving them the option? I hate weak beginnings like that to an adventure. … Continue reading Scripted “In Medias Res” – More thoughts on the beginning of adventures

merricb@yahoo.co.ukOctober 20, 20152 Comments

D&D, D&D 5E, D&D Adventurers League, Elemental Evil, Review, Uncategorized

Princes of the Apocalypse, sessions 18-19

Two of the adventurers had died in an ambush by the air cult as they had returned from the dwarven city below, and so the group had become indebted to the Zhentarim. This mean that they were obligated to travel down to Bargewright Inn to meet the local Zhentarim contact, Nalaskur Thaelond. The amount of money they owed wasn’t too large, so the job they … Continue reading Princes of the Apocalypse, sessions 18-19

merricb@yahoo.co.ukOctober 19, 2015Leave a comment

D&D, D&D 5E, Pathfinder, Review, Uncategorized

Rogues in Remballo and the Borderland Provinces

Once upon a time, there was a dungeon called Rappan Athuk… Necromancer Games (and/or Frog God Games) have been publishing adventures for a while now. The original incarnation of the company was publishing adventures back in 2000, when Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition came out. One of their products was a little dungeon known as Rappan Athuk. Or the Dungeon of Graves. It’s actually one … Continue reading Rogues in Remballo and the Borderland Provinces

merricb@yahoo.co.ukOctober 19, 20153 Comments

D&D, D&D 5E, Review, Uncategorized

5E Adventure Review: The Rising Knight

Troll Lord Games is one of the venerable companies of the Open Gaming License – which means they’re about fifteen years old. That’s a significant age for a RPG company. They rose to prominence through the publication of many of Gary Gygax’s last projects, especially Castle Zagyg, and through their publication of their Castles & Crusades game, a game inspired by earlier forms of D&D … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: The Rising Knight

merricb@yahoo.co.ukOctober 15, 20151 Comment

Books, D&D, D&D 5E, Forgotten Realms, Review, Uncategorized

Book Review: Spellstorm by Ed Greenwood

I first encountered the Forgotten Realms shortly after it was released as a campaign setting, then drifted away from it in the AD&D 2E days, before reconnecting with it recently. Thus, my knowledge of Realmslore is either very old, or very new. Spellstorm is Ed Greenwood’s latest book, and it combines the very old and the very new. The major characters in the book – … Continue reading Book Review: Spellstorm by Ed Greenwood

merricb@yahoo.co.ukOctober 8, 2015Leave a comment

D&D, D&D 5E, D&D Next, Review, Uncategorized

5E Adventure Review: Confrontation at Candlekeep

The adventure Confrontation at Candlekeep was premiered at GenCon 2013 as a multiple-table event. How many tables? Oh, quite a few. The adventure, as written, assumes that there is a co-ordinating DM, the “First Reader” – a name of particular significance in Realmslore – for every four to nine tables. Set during the Sundering, the adventure sees the players defending the great stronghold of lore … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: Confrontation at Candlekeep

merricb@yahoo.co.ukOctober 7, 20151 Comment

D&D, D&D 5E, Review, Uncategorized

5E Adventure Review: Penchant for Adventure 1

The newest release from Adventures in Filbar, Penchant for Adventure 1, is a short adventure for a single player and DM. AIF refer to it as a “solo adventure”, but to me that conjures memories of the Fighting Fantasy series. However, when I tried to come up with other names for it, they were all taken by different concepts. Oh well. So, what’s the adventure … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: Penchant for Adventure 1

merricb@yahoo.co.ukOctober 7, 20151 Comment

D&D 5E, Design, Uncategorized

Runes and Things: A few thoughts on Prestige Classes

Mike Mearls had a surprise for me (and lots of other D&D players) this morning: his latest Unearthed Arcana column presented the 5E take on one of the more popular concepts of 3E: Prestige Classes. It also introduced a new type of magic item, so for a six-page PDF, there’s quite a lot of content. I really like the idea and implementation of runes, and … Continue reading Runes and Things: A few thoughts on Prestige Classes

merricb@yahoo.co.ukOctober 6, 20157 Comments

AD&D, AD&D 2E, D&D, D&D 3E, D&D 4E, D&D 5E, D&D Basic, Design, Uncategorized

A Short History of Monster Stat Blocks

Including monster statistics – stat blocks – in adventures is a challenge. The earliest adventures – the Giant adventures by Gary Gygax – listed the name of the monster and its hit points and nothing else. It’s a little hard to tell if this was an aesthetic choice or one born from the fact that the rules were still somewhat in flux (the AD&D Monster … Continue reading A Short History of Monster Stat Blocks

merricb@yahoo.co.ukOctober 5, 20155 Comments

D&D, D&D 5E, D&D Adventurers League, Uncategorized

Growing the D&D Adventurers League in Ballarat

Organised Play of D&D has had an occasionally rocky history at my local store in Ballarat. Back in 2010 when the D&D Encounters line first started, I volunteered to run it. And for the first year, we struggled to even have one table running. It ran fairly regularly for a while, but when Christmas came around, almost everyone went away and didn’t come back. It … Continue reading Growing the D&D Adventurers League in Ballarat

merricb@yahoo.co.ukOctober 4, 2015Leave a comment