It’s late June, and that means it’s time for the Elden Ring expansion, Shadows of the Erdtree! Oh, and the previews for the new revision of the Dungeons & Dragons game! I’ve been quietly sceptical of a lot of what Wizards of the Coast have been doing recently, certainly in regard to the revision of fifth edition, but what I’m seeing so far is encouraging. … Continue reading D&D 2024 Preview Season!
Monday, March 4, 2024. We began this session in the middle of Chapter 7. The heroes were in the mind flayer stronghold of Illithinoch, having dealt with a few cult fanatics and actually peacefully interacting with other inhabitants. Their next explorations took them to an old, deserted lecture hall and beyond – into a large room with a diseased Elder Brain. Syzoth did not react … Continue reading The Shattered Obelisk, session 19
What do I want in a campaign setting? Relatability. What am I talking about? Primarily I’m talking about constructing a setting that you understand and relate to. The more elements in a campaign setting that are items you don’t understand, the harder it is to understand the setting. This isn’t to say that a good setting is comprised of entirely familiar elements. However, each aspect … Continue reading Campaign Settings and Shared Mythology
We played our second session of Vecna: Eve of Ruin on Monday, 20th May, 2024. Upon consideration of our party composition at the end of the first session, we chose to replace the Fighter/Warlock with a Life Cleric, as the party was missing a primary healer – something of a problem when events don’t always permit short rests. The party were investigating the disappearance of … Continue reading Vecna: Eve of Ruin, session 2
Greyhawk is, for many of us, generic D&D fantasy. This isn’t surprising. It’s where the game comes from. The baseline to the game. The Forgotten Realms likewise feel like generic D&D fantasy these days, but Greyhawk has some significant differences that make it a lot more fun for me – at least. (I love the Realms; I love Greyhawk more). Most important in that is … Continue reading Things I love about Greyhawk
Today, I woke up to the news that Greyhawk will be included in the new Dungeon Master’s Guide as the sample world. I think this is awesome. (I also am very, very hopeful it means that Greyhawk opens up for the DMs Guild). The original release of Greyhawk was very bare bones. This was intentional. It was a springboard that DMs could set their existing … Continue reading Greyhawk in the new DMG? Yes, please!
On Monday, 13th May, 2024, my group of four players stepped into the 50th Anniversary adventure for Dungeons & Dragons, Vecna: Eve of Ruin. With a combination of two brand new and two existing 10th level characters, they came to the city of Neverwinter, where as recognised heroes they were contacted by Lord Neverember, who had a problem. The problem? Missing citizens. And worse than … Continue reading Vecna: Eve of Ruin, session 1
I’ve had a chance to read through some of Vecna: Eve of Ruin, the new campaign adventure from Wizards of the Coast that takes characters from levels 10 through to level 20.
My initial impressions are cautiously positive. I’m going to refrain from spoilers here for the most part, except for a few things that I believe are generally known. If you want to be entirely unspoilt, here’s your chance to stop reading!
I intend to start DMing this adventure next Monday.
Continue reading “Vecna: Eve of Ruin – First Thoughts”
As I write this, it’s the early access release day of Vecna: Eve of Ruin. Except, of course, I’m in Australia, and it’s still the day before in the US. So, it isn’t out yet. I’m not entirely sure when it will go live. Perhaps in 17 hours when I’m asleep? For the first few years of this edition, I was incredibly excited whenever a … Continue reading Eve of the Eve of Ruin
For those interested, here are my tier rankings of the official D&D 5E campaign adventures. Some may be a little generous, but sort of match how happy I am to run them. For those unaware of tier rankings, “S-tier” is the top, followed by A, B, C, D, and finally F. S-Tier: Lost Mine of Phandelver (original starter set)Curse of Strahd A-Tier:Hoard of the Dragon … Continue reading Tier rankings of the D&D Campaign Adventures
