How I’ll be watching the New Edition Wars unfold
Number of Views :511[...]Read on >>
5 Things I Want From 5th Edition D&D
So in case you've been asleep the last 24 hours or so, Wizards of the Coast announced that they are working on a new edition of D&D. Now, unlike about 90% of the blog posts I've read concerning this, I actually real[...]Read on >>
New edition of D&D – OnlineDM’s first take
So, the big news announcement on January 9 was indeed about the next iteration of Dungeons and Dragons. Lots of folks have been chiming in with their thoughts; here are mine. Modularity Wizards of the Coast has said that[...]Read on >>
A new edition of D&D is coming
So the cat is out of the bag… Not that I was hiding the cat in the bag, because I didn’t know anything, but the cat’s out of the bag. There’s a new D&D in the works, and an open playtest wi[...]Read on >>
Madness at Gardmore Abbey: Session Three
Past sessions: Session One, Session Two As always, SPOILERS AHEAD! The group left Winterhaven, escorting Sir Oakley to Gardmore Abbey on his quest to purify the main temple on top of the mountain. He explained that he [...]Read on >>
ANNOUNCEMENT: D&D 5e Coming, Will Use Fan Input
Number of Views :343It’s coming! According to the NYT, 5e’s announcement is imminent, coming around 10 EST. According to the article: “On Monday, Wizards of the Coast, the Hasbro subsidiary that owns th[...]Read on >>
Kobold Quarterly #20 Now Available
Here in the Old Margreve, adorable woodland creatures are running hither and yon…FOR THEIR LIVES. That’s because Kobold Quarterly issue #20 is out today and this time the focus is on archers! With an all-new elven ar[...]Read on >>
Truename Rituals (Part 1 of 2)
None are certain of the precise origins of truename magic. Some claim that with the act of creation undertaken by the gods and primordials, existence was shaped by the words of power used by these beings. Reality consequ[...]Read on >>
Dust of Appearance, leveled
Cullen's Dust of Appearance Any creature who enters the Dust of Appearance's zone will sparkle. invisibility will be impossible, stealth will be at -5, and removing the sparkles requires either a wash or an extended rest[...]Read on >>
How do you find Online Dungeon Master?
As we move into a new year, I thought about the fact that my blog is pretty well established now and has a good stream of traffic (typically about 200-250 hits on days I don’t post and 400+ on days I do post). I kn[...]Read on >>
rituals and alchemy as daily powers
Using money to restrict the use of rituals and alchemical items doesn't work particularly well: the D&D designers have admitted this and aren't exploring the ritual/alchemy design space much these days. Here's how I[...]Read on >>
Received my rejection letter from Wizards of the Coast
Number of Views :5610So, on December 14th, I received an email from Stan! at WotC, informing me that the three pitches I submitted were rejected. While this is very disappointing, I understood where the production team w[...]Read on >>
Opening for a gamer: Friday night MapTool game
Spread the word all: You could be the lucky person chosen to join an actual OnlineDM-run campaign in MapTool! Calooh! Callay! All right, so maybe this isn’t the most exciting news ever, but I do have an opening in [...]Read on >>
Make Your Own Introductory Box
Number of Views :622I just read an article over at How Not To Run A Game Business in which the author, Fugaros talks with John from Merlyn’s, the game store in my hometown. In a few months, I’ll be returning [...]Read on >>
The Translated Letter
Number of Views :166I apologize for not getting out session reports of our last few games of The Godfell Stone. Whenever I sit down to write them, I realize there’s so much that’s happened in the session it w[...]Read on >>
Ouroboros University: An Introduction
The fey city Ydalir is home to the oldest known university and the madrasah of the City of Brass educates creatures from across the planes who can survive voyage to...Visit the original post, Ouroboros University: An Int[...]Read on >>
Dungeons & Dragons: Shadowplague
Number of Views :314 For Christmas, besides getting the Pathfinder Beginner Box (which will get a full review soon, trust me), I recieved the D&D Comic Book: Shadowplague. This hardcover book, which is conveniently[...]Read on >>
Relic: Taleblade
The tale’s the thing with the artifact known as the Taleblade. Take a look at what it could bring to your campaign—it just might add another story element that your players will remember for quite awhile. The Tal[...]Read on >>
Madness at Gardmore Abbey: Session Two
Earlier sessions: Session One My party of three recovered from their run-in with giant spiders in the feygrove of Gardmore Abbey and continued making their way toward the orc village. Before long, they came upon a spring[...]Read on >>
The Heroes of 4E
When it comes to heroes, I can’t help but think of the heroes that braved the waters of 4E D&D when it was first released. None of us knew how...Visit the original post, The Heroes of 4E, at Nevermet Press. Subscr[...]Read on >>
Character Theme: Knight of Giri (Part 2 of 2)
We continue our look at the Knight of Giri character theme in this second part of two parts. You can read the first part here if you missed it! Optional Powers Level 2 Utility Power The honor of a knight of giri comes no[...]Read on >>
Krampus Christmas Carnival: Enter the Krampus! (Part 2 of 3)
The dark cohort of old St. Nick, the Krampus is the sinister creature tasked with punishing the little boys and girls who fail to listen to their parents throughout the year. Presented here for your holiday entertainment[...]Read on >>
The Hope Day Massacre [4E D&D]
Often times in RPGs an opportunity is missed to spice up the game with celebrations and holidays for the PCs that coincide in time with real-world holidays. I am guilty...Visit the original post, The Hope Day Massacre [...]Read on >>
Madness at Gardmore Abbey: Session One
At Christmas 2010, my wife’s brother and his wife came to visit us for a couple of weeks. During that time, I introduced them to Dungeons and Dragons, and they were hooked right away. We started off with a Living F[...]Read on >>
Open Discussion: The changing role of the DM
Monte Cook’s “Legends and Lore” columns at Wizards.com have been interesting. In them, he seems to be painting a picture of a theoretical future version of D&D, and while I can’t say for su[...]Read on >>
A plea for good PR for D&D
I’m not an edition warrior, and edition wars make me sad. I know they’ll always exist, but I hope for a day when they are barely noticeable. I came to D&D too late for the last edition war. I played a li[...]Read on >>
Win a copy of Dungeon Tiles: Shadowghast Manor
It’s time for another giveaway, and this time we are celebrating the holidays (and in my case Christmas) by giving stuff away! We are giving away a copy of the latest D&D Dungeon Tiles set, Shadowghast Manor! O[...]Read on >>
Character Theme: Knight of Giri (Part 1 of 2)
Honor is found in loyalty, courage, and sincerity of action. A knight of giri does not fear death—at least not death that is purposeful—so they do not fear battle. Instead these honorable men and women fear failing t[...]Read on >>
7 feasts and 6 fasts
"Did you not know that Lord Dillan is also a healer? He has taken the Inner Path, been a disciple of the Forest, with the Seven Feasts and Six Fasts behind him these many years." -Andre Norton, Star Gate (1958) When I sa[...]Read on >>
The RPG podcasts I enjoy (and participate in)
I’m guessing that lots of folks who read RPG blogs like Online Dungeon Master probably also listen to some RPG podcasts, and I wanted to take some time to discuss the podcasts I listen to. I’ve also been luck[...]Read on >>
Dungeon Tiles: Shadowghast Manor
WOTC has released their latest Dungeon Tiles set, Shadowghast Manor. This set is certainly nice to look at, it’s basically a large manor or mansion, with the underground catacombs for it on the flip side. I thi[...]Read on >>
Monster Monday: Psyclone
When a catastrophe strikes or a massacre takes place, and the lives of thousands are extinguished, some might come to believe that the place where it happened is accursed and that the very stones remember the agony of th[...]Read on >>
Campaign session zero: Group character creation
I’ve mainly been a 4th Edition D&D Dungeon Master. I had a little experience with 3rd Edition, but nothing before that, and I hadn’t run any games regularly until mid 2010. Because my players have had ac[...]Read on >>
99 rites of fairy creatures
All fey creatures have a secret weakness rite - roll d100 on this table - and a secret strength rite - roll d100 on this table. If you accidentally perform a fairy's secret weakness rite, you gain power over it - it is "[...]Read on >>
Kristmas Kobold Adventure (feat. Krampus)
Every year I have a holiday tradition. I invite a few friends over, make pancakes, and have a Kristmas Kobold 1-shot. I suppose it’s a sort of (sometimes dreaded) holiday-themed adventure, but the cheese factor is [...]Read on >>
The Letter: A Mystery in the Godfell Stone
Number of Views :318At the end of the next session of the Godfell Stone, the players will find a letter on the body of one of the NPCs. This is that letter. You can, of course, click to enbiggen. The writing is draconic,[...]Read on >>
Striker bonuses for every class!
I recently wrote about how monsters take more hits to kill at higher levels and offered some solutions. Instead of (or in addition to) lowering monster hit points, you could use the following system to boost the damage o[...]Read on >>
Actions Have Consequences
Number of Views :319What is it about D&D that turns ordinary people into the gaming equivalent of Insanity Wolf: One minute you’ll be running a perfectly normal adventure, the next, the players will want to ki[...]Read on >>
A look at Heroes of the Feywild
One of the things I expected to see one day in the life of 4e was a pair of robust boxed sets for the Shadowfell and the Feywild. While it doesn’t look like we’re going to get that any time soon, we’ve [...]Read on >>
A Trip Down Memory Lane….
Or “How I Learned to Stop Playing 4e and Love Pathfinder” So it seems I am not along on my trek across the desert to the promised land of “plagues, floods, and pillars of mother@##$%ing salt“. B[...]Read on >>
Pathfinder is sweeping the gamersphere. Here’s why.
Number of Views :553 Tycho is right. They have grown fat. Lately, I’ve been looking over the Pathfinder rules (I love the fact that all the rules can be found online at Paizo’s site). During the point at whic[...]Read on >>
Here Comes The Plot Train! *Choo Choo*
Number of Views :473Everybody climb aboard the Plot Train, it’s time to get railroaded! My group (as it currently stands) loves the Plot Train. I tell them what’s going on, and they just enjoy the ride, letti[...]Read on >>
Faster and More Deadly Combat – New House Rules for D&D 4e
Premise: Monsters and PCs should take about 3-4 hits to reduce to 0 Hit Points with most attacks across all levels. Thus, critical hits, lucky damage rolls, or high damage powers have a decent chance of bloodying or even[...]Read on >>
Mouse-Guarding your 4e
Number of Views :309Did that title confuse you? Mouse Guard is one of the best RPGs out there, hands down. The unique method of combat, the Player vs. GM turns; all of it works together to create a unique and enjoyable e[...]Read on >>
The Godfell Stone Rises Again
Number of Views :213From the ashes of a fallen campaign, the Godfell Stone has returned. After some heavy disappointment by a few of my players that the campaign was going to be cancelled, one player having more availabi[...]Read on >>
Character Theme: Mountain Priest (Part 2 of 2)
In Part 1 of the mountain priest character theme, you read about mountain priests and learned the rules benefits for using the theme with your character. We continue the theme by providing you with the optional utility p[...]Read on >>
the give and take of D&D and fiction
Here's an example of cross-pollination between D&D and pulp fantasy: Roger Zelazny began his series of "Dilvish the Damned" fantasy short stories in 1964. Zelazny was influential on D&D: Gygax says that Zelazny[...]Read on >>
Win a Copy of Heroes of the Feywild
It’s Thanksgiving and it’s time for another giveaway, and this time we are giving thanks for the great gaming year we’ve had by giving stuff away! We are giving away a copy of the latest 4e D&D book, H[...]Read on >>
escape the city within an hour
"You might call it a game," said the youth. "When the bell completes its song, several strokes hence, the maze will be laid. You will then have an hour until it strikes again. If you have not found your way out of town a[...]Read on >>
D&D: It hurts so good
November 18, 2011 from DM Samuels RPG Musings
Filed under: 4e DD, Advice/Tools, Game Design, Legacy D&D, RPG Hub
A couple weeks ago I wrote up a bit about how I was doing D&D wrong, but I didn’t feel like I was wrong to do it. Happily, that garnered quite a bit of discussion, more specifically on Twitter (where you can f[...] Filed under: 4e DD, Advice/Tools, Game Design, Legacy D&D, RPG Hub
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