Icosahedrophilia Podcast, Episode 100: The Valley of the Shadow of Death, Part 5
I fell a couple of days behind schedule, adventure fans, but here for your listening pleasure is the monumental, historic 100th episode of the Icosahedrophilia podcast, presenting “The Valley of the Shadow of Death[...]Read on >>
Review of Libri Necromantica by Three Sages Games
“Are you saying that I put an abnormal brain into a seven and a half foot long, fifty-four inch wide GORILLA?” ~ Frederick (Young Frankenstein, 1974) Necromancers have long been part of heroic fantasy. Magicians wh[...]Read on >>
Review of Eureka by Engine Publishing/Gnomestew.com
“Now let me ask you a question: Would an imbecile come up with this?” ~ Norville Barnes (The Hudsucker Proxy, 1994) In some respects, Dungeon Mastering might be considered a hobby within a hobby. Players of Role-Pl[...]Read on >>
News in Review for Aug 23 to Aug 29 2010
Feeling a mite under the weather today, so did not have time to prepare my usual commentary on this week’s D&D 4E News – there is nothing is quite so obnoxious as coming down with a head cold in hot summe[...]Read on >>
Icosahedrophilia Podcast, Episode 99: The Valley of the Shadow of Death, Part 4
Once more into the breach, adventure fans! Episode 99 of the Icosahedrophilia podcast presents “The Valley of the Shadow of Death, Part 4,” played on August 14, 2010! Please listen now or subscribe via iTunes[...]Read on >>
What’s in the (fortune) cards?
Having spent far too much time today reading and reacting to other people’s opinions about the forthcoming fortune cards for D&D from Wizards of the Coast—including opinions from people who don’t play D[...]Read on >>
The Psyclone: A King of the Monsters Contest Reject!
“Ars prima regni posse te invidiam pati.” ~ Seneca (The Madness of Hercules, d. 65 AD) Translation: “The first art to be learned by a ruler is to endure envy.” This week, the list of the ten finalists for Kobold [...]Read on >>
Aarakocra Player Race
I was fairly disappointed that the Aarakocra didn’t get a player race write-up for the new edition of Dark Sun so I went ahead and started making my own. Below is my 100% not play tested idea. Explanations of why I[...]Read on >>
The Balance Restored: New Rules for Magic Item Rarity
“But I want it NOW!” ~ Veruca Salt (Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, 1971) This week, WotC’s Mike Mearls posted a new “Countdown to Essentials” article regarding some rather major changes to magic item[...]Read on >>
The New D&D Starter Red Box: A Chatty and Nico Review
August 24, 2010 from Critical Hits
Filed under: 4e, D&D 4e, RPG, RPG Hub, Reviews, dungeons & dragons
The first product of the D&D Essentials product line, while likely to be the target of hordes of people who will complain that it is not what it could never be... is what I wished I opened in 1986.
It is an introd[...] Filed under: 4e, D&D 4e, RPG, RPG Hub, Reviews, dungeons & dragons
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Icosahedrophilia Podcast, Episode 98: The Valley of the Shadow of Death, Part 3
Episode 98 of the Icosahedrophilia podcast is here, adventure fans, to present you with “The Valley of the Shadow of Death, Part 3,” played and recorded on August 14, 2010! Please listen now or subscribe via [...]Read on >>
D&D 4e Vidya Gaem
I don’t normally do these short little posts for other people’s news items, but I wanted to point out this interview about the new Neverwinter Nights. I want to point it out because it sounds pretty awesome. [...]Read on >>
Review of Dark Sun Campaign Setting by Wizards of the Coast
When the original Dark Sun was released back in 1991, I recall that I was not terribly interested in a new campaign setting. My Players and I were still trying to get a handle on how 2nd Edition was going to mess with [...]Read on >>
News In Review for Aug 16 to Aug 22 2010
While the GenCon frenzy has died down a bit, it has still been a busy week for Dark Sun and D&D Essentials articles and blogs, with several new reviews and previews posted. There was also some great new content arti[...]Read on >>
Embracing Chaos: Randomizing the Random Encounter
“Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I’m an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It’s fair!” ~ The Joker (The Dark Knight, 200[...]Read on >>
Icosahedrophilia Podcast, Episode 97: The Valley of the Shadow of Death, Part 2
Let the good times—and dice—roll, adventure fans! Episode 97 of the Icosahedrophilia podcast presents “The Valley of the Shadow of Death, Part 2,” played and recorded on August 14, 2010! Please listen now[...]Read on >>
Icosahedrophilia Podcast, Episode 96: The Valley of the Shadow of Death, Part 1
It’s an exciting day, adventure fans! This hasn’t happened since episode 1—in episode 95 of the Icosahedrophilia podcast, you’ll hear actual play published only a few days after the actual game sessio[...]Read on >>
Review of Kobold Quarterly #14 Summer Edition
“They stretched their beloved lord in his boat, laid out by the mast, amidships, the great ring-giver.” ~ The Saga of Beowulf Kobold Quarterly #14 was released the week of GenCon 2010, and although I had a review cop[...]Read on >>
Icosahedrophilia Podcast, Episode 95: Well Met in Markathesh, Part 4
Welcome back, adventure fans! Episode 94 of the Icosahedrophilia podcast presents part 4 of our adventure “Well Met in Markathesh, Part 4,” played and recorded on May 15, 2010! Please listen now or subscribe [...]Read on >>
Investigating “The Lost City”: A Q&A with Logan Bonner and Wolfgang Baur
“Now you know… and knowing is half the battle.” ~ G.I. Joe A week or so before GenCon, amidst the hustle and bustle of preparing for my trip to the “Best Four Days of Gaming”, I received an email from a Kobold [...]Read on >>
Icosahedrophilia Podcast, Episode 94: Well Met in Markathesh, Part 3
I fell behind, adventure fans—but I didn’t fall overboard! I had intended to publish this podcast on August 12 or 13, 2010, but I ended up spending extra time preparing for the August 14 play session instead of w[...]Read on >>
News in Review for Aug 9 to Aug 15 2010
Well it is no surprise that the week following the “Best Four Days of Gaming” is full of great news items, reviews, and reports from GenCon 2010! This year’s GenCon was a phenomenal success, as you can[...]Read on >>
Tizzbin’s Tirades: Dying to play Essentials
Greetings and salutations, and welcome to the first installment of Tizzbin’s Tirades. I know what you’re thinking, “who is this Tizzbin chap and why should I care about his opinion?” Well, first and foremost, don[...]Read on >>
Support The Lost City Project
Open Design has done a series of well-received patronage projects where people pay to have a level of involvement in the design of an RPG product. The nice thing about the projects is that you get to chat with RPG …[...]Read on >>
An Essentials Meeting – with Mike Mearls & Rich Baker!
“The more you know, the more you realise how much you don’t know – the less you know, the more you think you know.” ~ David T. Freeman The Backstory At the beginning of July, Wizards of the Coast announced thei[...]Read on >>
Icosahedrophilia Podcast, Episode 93: Well Met in Markathesh, Part 2
Ahoy there, adventure fans! The latest adventure—and I really mean that this time—of the crew of the Broken Promisecontinues in “Well Met in Markathesh, Part 2,” played and recorded on May 15, 2010 and pr[...]Read on >>
Can you solve the runic cubes?
In episode 86 of the Icosahedrophilia podcast, the adventurers noticed a strange structure in the desert—a structure that resembled a large stone hoop standing perpendicular to the ground. I used a printable model from[...]Read on >>
Building the dragon’s lair
The following picture drew a flurry of “how’d you do it?” questions on Twitter this morning: In case you don’t recognize the tiles themselves, they come from the old Dire Tombs set of Dungeon Tile[...]Read on >>
Icosahedrophilia Podcast, Episode 92: Well Met in Markathesh, Part 1
Ahoy there, adventure fans! It’s time again to join the crew of the Broken Promise—now once again in control of their ship—on the Icosahedrophilia podcast! In this episode, we present “Well Met in Markath[...]Read on >>
Reporting In from GenCon 2010 (Part 3)
My final day at GenCon 2010 this year was Saturday, which I would deem my “Seminar Day”, spending almost 6 full hours over in the Indiana Ballroom G at the Marriott Hotel, where all the major Wizards of the Coast pan[...]Read on >>
News in Review for Aug 2 to Aug 8 2010
Coming back after an absolutely awesome GenCon 2010 experience, it is a bit hard to get back into the swing of things. The “Best Four Days of Gaming” is a ton of fun, but it can also be a bit exhausting from lack o[...]Read on >>
Reporting In from GenCon 2010! (Part 2)
“No, there is too much. Let me sum up.” ~ Inigo Montoya (The Princess Bride, 1987) I could not help but have that quote from The Princess Bride rambling through my thoughts as I reviewed my notes for Day 2 of GenCon [...]Read on >>
Reporting In from GenCon 2010! (Part 1)
There are many kinds gaming conventions and game fairs around the United States, but for D&D Gamers and Magic the Gathering deckmasters, GenCon is the “Super-Bowl” of them all. Located at the Indiana Convention[...]Read on >>
Icosahedrophilia Podcast, Episode 91: Keeping the Promise, Part 5
Trim your sails, adventure fans, for the thrill ride known as episode 91 of the Icosahedrophilia podcast! In this episode, we present “Keeping the Promise, Part 5,” played and recorded on April 24, 2010. Plea[...]Read on >>
A Monkey Wrench In The Deus-Ex-Machina: Limiting Divine Power
August 5, 2010 from Campaign Mastery
Filed under: 3.x, 4e, Adventure Prep, Campaigns, D&D 4e, DM Advice, Encounter Design, Inspiration, RPG Hub
This article deals in subjects that are sensitive issues to a lot of people. Everything contained within is written from a roleplaying context and no judgements are intended regarding the validity of any individual pers[...] Filed under: 3.x, 4e, Adventure Prep, Campaigns, D&D 4e, DM Advice, Encounter Design, Inspiration, RPG Hub
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Yet Another GenCon Itinerary
Last week, I was hard at work plotting out some D&D 4E Characters for various LFR Events going on at GenCon 2010 this week. But I came to realize I probably will not have much time to actually play much D&D as [...]Read on >>
News in Review for July 26 to Aug 1 2010
With GenCon 2010 looming on the horizon, this week’s news has understandably been very convention oriented, from both Wizards of the Coast staff and D&D 4E Bloggers alike. If you’re planning on attending the “B[...]Read on >>
Icosahedrophilia Podcast, Episode 90: Keeping the Promise, Part 4
You’ve been wondering when this would happen, adventure fans … and the time is now! Episode 90 of the Icosahedrophilia podcast proudly presents “Keeping the Promise, Part 4,” played and recorded on A[...]Read on >>
“Mini-Me”: Inspiration for Character Creation
“I’ve already had someone created in my image. He’s evil, he wants to take over the world, and he fits easily into most overhead storage bins.” ~ Dr. Evil (Austin Powers 2, 1999) I was making lists earlie[...]Read on >>
Pulling That Lever: The Selection Of Leaders In RPG Societies
July 29, 2010 from Campaign Mastery
Filed under: 3.x, 4e, Adventure Prep, Campaigns, D&D 4e, DM Advice, Inspiration, RPG Hub, campaign setting
Okay, so for the first time since we started this online magazine/blog, one of us has missed getting a post up. Johnn struck problems with his planned post at the last possible moment, and then tried to rewrite it but mi[...] Filed under: 3.x, 4e, Adventure Prep, Campaigns, D&D 4e, DM Advice, Inspiration, RPG Hub, campaign setting
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Icosahedrophilia Podcast, Episode 89: Keeping the Promise, Part 3
Preparations for retaking the Broken Promise continue as the PCs gather intelligence and solidify their plans. Witness the PCs’ next steps toward retaking their ship in “Keeping the Promise, Part 3,” pl[...]Read on >>
Review of Demonomicon by Wizards of the Coast
“I’ll swallow your soul!” ~ Possessed Henrietta (Evil Dead II, 1987) Demons have long been the stuff of High Fantasy Fiction, long before Dungeons & Dragons began to cram them into a small corner of a Monster M[...]Read on >>
Icosahedrophilia Podcast, Episode 88: Keeping the Promise, Part 2
Our heroes have been in Markathesh for half a day, and the Broken Promise still remains in the hands of bugbear pirates! Witness the PCs’ next steps toward retaking their ship in “Keeping the Promise, Part 2,[...]Read on >>
News In Review for July 19 to July 25 2010
From the Editor of Neuroglyph Games: I wanted to take an opportunity to apologize to the Readership for the lack of blogs and news updates this week. Due to rather tragic circumstances, my normal three-blog-a-week sche[...]Read on >>
DriveThruRPG reviews for July 18–24, 2010
During the week of July 18–24, 2010, I reviewed the following items at DriveThruRPG: Caltrops by Quentin Hudspeth for Hudspeth Games. This entertaining system-neutral supplement offers two games that you can play with [...]Read on >>
Dungeon Master Tips
Although I’ve been DMing for thirty years now (albeit with a long hiatus during the D&D 2e era) and consider myself a pretty good DM (listen to the Icosahedrophilia podcast and judge for yourself whether I̵[...]Read on >>
Icosahedrophilia Podcast, Episode 87: Keeping the Promise, Part 1
The Broken Promise has apparently been commandeered by bugbear pirates! What will our heroes do about that? Find out in our adventure “Keeping the Promise,” played and recorded on April 24, 2010! Episode 87 o[...]Read on >>
The Great Tree: Arcane Study In Eden I
Practitioners of Esoteric Magic in Eden divide their studies into a “Great Tree,” a chart that displays the myriad branches of esoteric magic. Even the most brilliant mind has a limit, and very few arcanists [...]Read on >>
Icosahedrophilia Podcast, Episode 86: Exit the Dragon, Part 4
What do you do after killing a dragon? Find out the Broken Promise crew’s answer in “Exit the Dragon, Part 4,” recorded on April 3, 2010 and presented in the Icosahedrophilia podcast, episode 86! Please[...]Read on >>
Underdark Encounter: Bloodtainted Marauders
In my last blog, Monster Theme: Bloodtainted, I discussed working on some possible encounters for a new Underdark mini-campaign I was preparing for one of my D&D 4E groups. I had created a Monster Theme, similar to[...]Read on >>
