Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition’s greatest innovation

Last weekend I found myself playing Dungeons & Dragons 3E for the first time in nearly a year.  I was happy to get the opportunity since I consider myself pretty neutral in the edition wars and I was happy to ge[...]
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inns & taverns: the goblin’s head

The Goblin's Head is solidly-built, a long two-storey stone building amid taller wooden tenements at the corner of a street of smiths.  The rooftop is thickly thatched, ivy clings to the walls... Click the title if[...]
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flattening the learning curve

This month's RPG Blog Carnival is courtesy of Evil Machinations where Jade has broached the subject of teaching others how to role play.  Articles on what is roleplaying, how to bring new... Click the title if you [...]
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recession-proof gaming X: pixel-stained technopeasant revolt

Image courtesy of Drollerie Press More financiapocalyptic musings means it's time to look at what makes  good gaming without breaking the bank (assuming the banks don't do a good enough job... Click the title if yo[...]
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GLAIVE Mini: Weapon Builder System for GURPS

Don't just settle for off-the-rack weapons from the local blacksmith. Build your own! T Bone's Games Diner is proud to present GLAIVE Mini, your super simple, single page weapon builder system for GURPS. Read more... [...]
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inns & taverns: the crooked roost

A rickety, tarred wooden shack balanced on the ruin of an abandoned tower in the poor quarter decorated with baskets of flowers.  It lurks some thirty feet over the streets it serves. The sign... Click the title if[...]
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What I Learned DMing for 10,000 Players

My first blog, in which I reveal how little I know, and probably would tick off E.M. Forster if he wasn't dead.[...]
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three things: rubies

Eye of Courage - This scintillating ruby pendant worn around the neck and over the heart inspires bravery in those who see it.  Those wearing it are immune to fear-based effects and grant a +4... Click the title if[...]
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Campaign Concept Pt. 3: The Empire of Tel

Following the last couple of days, we have a new campaign concept, the Empire of Tel. Magic, as we know it, vanished over 200 years ago. The fey races have faded, leaving humanity as the sole power in the world. Magic i[...]
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harvest festival – review: kobold quarterly #14

Overall (4.5 kobolds): A big issue that captures the frantic activity of convention season.  96 pages of gaming goodness, the themes of honour and generosity are mentioned not just in terms of... Click the title if[...]
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Campaign Concepts Pt. 2: There Is Only War

Continuing on from yesterday’s post of campaign concepts, I present the idea of running a campaign in a war-devastated world: There Is Only War. One hundred years of warfare takes its toll. The once great cities of[...]
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Campaign Concepts Pt. 1: The Colonists

I’ve been thinking about new campaign concepts recently, how to break the mold from the traditional fantasy game, and have come up with a series of different concepts I think could make for some pretty great rolepl[...]
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inns & taverns: the minotaur’s horn

This busy two-storey inn is the heart of a small village crouched over a rocky hillside spring.  The inn is a simple whitewashed stone building with a neat courtyard shaded by lime trees and... Click the title if[...]
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Ritual Magic

http://beyondtheblackgate.blogspot.com/2010/07/house-rule-ritual-spell-casting.htmlThis post at Beyond the Black Gate is so good I am thieving it!!I like how elegantly simple it is.  I like how it feels so familiar [...]
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Magic Item Charges – too much book keeping?

D&D has traditionally used the concept of charges for limiting the number of times a magic item may be used. A wand might have 2d10 charges when found and once all the charges are expended it "fizzles", becoming[...]
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Natural 20 and 1 on a roll

 An interesting house rule we have added to our 3.5 game is the chance of fumbles or more popularly known as, 'the epic fail'.On the roll of a '1' on the d20, something bad happens.  In combat this usually mean[...]
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Some thoughts on D&D Essentials

Since the D&D Essentials line was announced, there has been a lot of speculation that it is meant as a ‘stealth’ edition.  In fact, Bill Slavicsek took the time in his most recent Ampersand column to debunk [...]
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Missile fire in 3rd Edition

One thing we have noticed in this later version of the D&D game, is that missile ranged attack is much less deadly than melee attack.  Our 5th level heroes are capable of delivering massive additional melee dama[...]
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recap: inns & taverns

Table: Random Fantasy Inns & Taverns (roll d20). Re-roll if you've been barred or if you can't show your face there again because of that time when... you know.  You don't know? ... Click the title if yo[...]
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Review: Pathfinder GameMastery Guide

It may seem a bit strange for me to be reviewing a Pathfinder rule book, since, well, I play neither Pathfinder nor D&D 3.x. Still, when I read a brief synopsis of what was in the book I was intrigued, and a perusal [...]
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inns & taverns – the resting pond

Known to travellers as a fine place to watch the condemned die over a pie and pint, the Resting Pond is named for a small yet deep freshwater pond (for drownings) and nearby sycamore tree (for... Click the title if you [...]
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The Deck of Many Things

One horrifying artifact from older editions of D&D was the Deck of Many Things, an object of supreme power that could either shape or destroy campaigns on a whim. For those of you who are new to D&D via 4e, here&[...]
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inns & taverns – the pickled troll

There are many fine places to enjoy ale and wine in the city. The Pickled Troll isn't but it's ambiance as a former alchemist's shop piques curiosity. The sign shows a green, warty troll capering... Click the title if[...]
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D&D Trivia Archive May 2010

On Twitter, I give out little tidbits about D&D history as I know it or experienced it. This means I might not always be right, but at least it's interesting. You can challenge me on twitter or by email. Here's [...]
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summer thoughts – review : kobold guide to game design volume 3

Lots of words have been written on the concepts of game design in the last few years and there's a lot of wisdom to be found using a search engine.  Game design has become one of those... Click the title if you w[...]
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inns & taverns – the throne and ferry

A ferryside inn sat on the shore of a river island, the Throne And Ferry has faded like it's royal founder, now dead forty winters.  It's sign, a gilded throne over waves is lit by a sheltered... Click the title if[...]
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Off the Shelf Review: Cityworks

It’s been more than a year since I’ve done one of these, so I decided to do an Off the Shelf Review. For those who don’t know what that means, it means I grab a random game book off my shelf and talk ab[...]
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Review: Conflict Roleplaying Rulebook

I was sent a free review copy of the Conflict Roleplaying Rulebook recently by Conflict Roleplaying, and have perused it. Conflict is a roleplaying game supplement by Mark M. Scott for the Pathfinder and OGL d20 rule sys[...]
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inns & taverns – the widow’s cherry

In a very different quarter of town to The Wooden Sword where horses are not permitted is The Widow's Cherry, an affluent three-storey townhouse of solid stone, wood trellis and black canvas... Click the title if you wa[...]
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Granting yourself situational bonuses

We players invest a lot of time during character generation trying to set up the right combination of abilities, feats, weapons, and powers to make sure we have a high chance of success in whatever situation our characte[...]
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Spells Not Worth Memorizing

Have you ever looked over a spell list and wondered what it’s doing among such powers as polymorph and fireball? I found a post up online titled “Spells Not Worth Memorizing.” Here it is, for your amuse[...]
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inns & taverns – the iron pot

In the sleepy village of Applebrook, the Iron Pot is one of two taverns. It serves the south road next to the famous orchards for which Applebrook takes it's name. The inn is L-shaped, made of... Click the title if y[...]
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Characters Paragon Wild

I hear the latest 4e rules update brings a lot of big changes especially in the realm of plugging holes in broken character combos. In light of these updates, Ameron from Dungeon’s Master has retired his broken Sor[...]
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D&D For Kids

Big applause for Wizards, who have released, for free, a version of D&D for kids entitled Monster Slayers: The Heroes of Hesiod. Apparently, it’s based on a new book D&D is coming out with. What I really li[...]
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spring fever (review: kobold quarterly #13)

Metric: Kobolds (one bad, five awesome). Overall: 4.5 kobolds. More entrails! The quality of the articles is consistent and while there are articles that I feel needed more oomph compared to last... Click the title [...]
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inns and taverns: the shadovar

On the northern road of an exposed crossroads of the Eastern Road looms the stone-walled inn and waypost known as the Shadovar.  The sign is of a stag-like beast with sharp teeth stood watching... Click the title i[...]
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Why You Should Use Variant Races

Tired of the same ol’ boring classes, 3rd edition players? Tired of listening to our new 4E friends talk about the cool new races and classes they can play? (Especially if they use the Character Builder provided by wiz[...]
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3.x Anime Character Stats: Dragon Half

Another obscure old ’80s anime I statted out… why did I ever stat out Dragon Half? It must have been one of Phanes’ favorite anime or something… I do think the half-dragon template was pretty awe[...]
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3.x Anime Character Stats: Bastard!!

Bastard!! is another one of the most well-known D&D-esque fantasy manga/anime of the late ’80s and ’90s. It’s sort of a classic in that way, although actually, most of the references are limited to[...]
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3.x Anime Character Stats: Slayers

Around the time that I was just getting into RPGs, some older anime fans said “Have you watched Slayers? It’s an anime about RPGs! I bet you would like it!” I have to admit I was not impressed. Even ac[...]
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3.x Anime Character Stats: Shamanic Princess

To be honest, I never saw Shamanic Princess, so I don’t know why I statted out a character from this obscure anime. -__-;; I just felt that the pregen characters needed a druid-type. My lack of enthusiasm about th[...]
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Legacy of Fire #1 – Howl of the Carrion King Review

After 12 sessions of brutal desert action, RPG Ike dishes on whether Paizo's last 3.5E adventure path measures up.[...]
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3.x Anime Character Stats: Berserk

Now this character was fun to design. Berserk is one of the best fantasy manga out there — one of the few series which depicts its pseudo-Medieval setting as a world of decay, mud, blood and death as opposed to th[...]
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My Take on Gaming in Remote Locations: The U.S. Navy

Over at Stargazer’s World, Youseph interviewed one of his buddies about playing D&D while in the Navy. It’s a great interview, and you should check it out. I had a similar experience while deployed back i[...]
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inns & taverns – the silver dagger

This narrow three-storey tavern and free house lurks on the edge of a port marketplace, sandwiched between a chandler's and a hardware store.  The Dagger fronts onto two streets and it's aspect... Click the title i[...]
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3.x Anime Character Stats: Sorcerer Hunters

Sorcerer Hunters is not a series that I like. :P It’s much too cheesy and silly and the heroes never suffer any real setbacks. Nevertheless, I statted out the heroes for my D&D 3.0 convention games, and not ju[...]
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Clarity on Parting with 3e

I realized I didn’t fully clarify yesterday, in reference to my post Parting with 3e. I’m not getting rid of all my books. Only the ones I truly know I will never use ever again, not even if I went back to 3e[...]
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3.x Anime Character Stats: El Hazard

My second set of D&D character stats based on old anime came from El Hazard, a fantasy from the same studio that did Tenchi Muyo!. -_- It was mostly famous in my group for the lesbian sidekick character who followed[...]
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Parting with 3e

Steadily, more and more, my collection of 3.0 D&D books is dwindling. I’ve been slowly taking them into the game store, knowing I’ll never be using some of them again. I just put a big collection of them [...]
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3.x Anime Character Stats: Record of Lodoss War

Awhile ago, when I was in late elementary school/junior high, I used to run D&D games at anime conventions. ^^ At the time in the early 2000s there was not much awareness of tabletop RPGs, and I didn’t like se[...]
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