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You are here: Home / Archives for 2009

Archives for 2009

4th Power Project: Classes, Part 3 (Other Powers)

October 9, 2009 by Dave

The beginnings of some at-will powers were posted last week– not all of them by any means, but I figured it was a start. Now as I mentioned then, at-will powers should come up fairly often, and be the stand-bys. The other powers are Per Scene (formerly Per Encounter) and Per Session (formerly Per Day.) […]

Filed Under: Critical Threats, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4th power, 4th power project, classes, d20 modern, game design, powers

Our Ladies of Sorrow: Modern Gaming, Scary Women

October 9, 2009 by Dave

I’m always on the lookout for solid modern adventures. But many of them fall into the more cinematic style where everyone is an action hero, spy, or both, thus making the subset of adventures I’m looking for even smaller. That’s why I was happy to be provided with a review copy of Our Ladies of Sorrow, a new adventure collection for Call of Cthulhu RPG by Miskatonic River Press.

Filed Under: Featured, Reviews, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: call of cthulhu, horror, modern

Friday Chat (Early edition): Are you a Backseat GM?

October 8, 2009 by The Chatty DM

I’m posting this early since I will have limited net access tomorrow. On Friday night, I get to lay aside my Dungeon Master’s Screen, maps, stack of books and other DM paraphernalia to grab a lone piece of paper, one rule book, a set of dice, a pencil and a mini.  I get to play […]

Filed Under: Musings of the Chatty DM, Player Psychology, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: Friday Chat

City of the Overmind: Rumble in the Vats 3D, Part 2

October 6, 2009 by The Chatty DM

See part 1 here. The interesting thing about a D&D session that consisted entirely of one fight is that I can relate it through the classic phases of a D&D combat encounter. What’s that you say? Over the last 10 years, ever since I started playing 3e, I noticed that all fun combat encounters shared […]

Filed Under: Campaign Logs, Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 3D terrain, 4e, Chatty's 2009-2010 Campaign, Primal/Within

Interview: Matt James, Co-Author of “Monument of the Ancients”

October 6, 2009 by Dave

“Monument of the Ancients“ was published in Dungeon #170 and is an adventure set in the Forgotten Realms for 13th level characters. The capsule description is thus: If myth and legend are to be believed, the antediluvian monument defends a region of Faerûn where the boundary between the world of Toril and the Elemental Chaos […]

Filed Under: Interviews, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e, D&DI, dungeon, forgotten realms

Inq. of the Week: RPGs in Various Flavors?

October 5, 2009 by Bartoneus

I’ve really enjoyed reading Dave’s posts about his 4th Power project and adapting the 4E D&D system to a modern setting game as well as the comments on those posts, but it’s started me thinking about the genres of RPG that people play and in addition to that the settings we play in as well.

Filed Under: Featured, Inquisition of the Week, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: genre, Inquisition of the Week, Roleplaying Games, roleplaying games, setting

City of the Overmind: Rumble in the Vats 3D, Part 1

October 5, 2009 by The Chatty DM

Previously in Chatty’s Game. Our heroes arrive in the Overmind’s re-education camp, finding several brainwashed monsters and losing their Warden comrade, who he went chasing after another Shifter.  Once the commotion abated, the party sought out the camp’s Beholder foreman and defeated it, finding a 3rd key part and discovering how the city’s brainwash portals […]

Filed Under: Campaign Logs, Musings of the Chatty DM Tagged With: 3D terrain, 4e, Chatty's 2009-2010 Campaign, Primal/Within

The 4th Power Project: Classes, Part 2 (At-Will Powers)

October 4, 2009 by Dave

So here’s what I think of as the next step, or at least a defining portion of the next step: at-wills. At-will powers accomplish a few important things in the game. They serve as the powers you will use the most, and throughout your entire career adventuring. They are the fall backs when you don’t want to use any of your encounter or dailies (expendable resources) and are more all purpose.

Filed Under: Critical Threats, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4th power, 4th power project, at-will

Critical Bits for the week ending 2009-10-03

October 3, 2009 by Gato the News Robot

i4e iPhone app released (site, iTunes store) Ari Marmell takes on Skill Challenges Using Chessboards for Skill Challenges (via Asmor) D&D camp, circa 1982 Come preview the BRP project, Red Eye of Azathoth! http://bit.ly/TK8kb and http://bit.ly/zkLRd (via KoboldQuarterly) How one guy got his foothold in the game industry. (via Thiefofhearts) DDI compendium search tool: Wizbook […]

Filed Under: Critical Bits Tagged With: twitter

Friday Chat: Oh Wait!

October 2, 2009 by The Chatty DM

I can’t write a long post today (rejoice) because I’m about to start work.  However, I wanted to bring a hot 4e subject and wanted to launch a discussion about it over the weekend. My players are sick and tired of me harping on and on about the length of combat in 4e.  Apparently I’m […]

Filed Under: Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e, advice, Friday Chat

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  • Dave

    Dave "The Game" Chalker is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of Critical Hits. Since 2005, he has been bringing readers game news and advice, as well as editing nearly everything published here. He is the designer of the Origins Award-winning Get Bit!, a freelance designer and developer, son of a science fiction author, and a Master of Arts. He lives in MD with e and at least three dogs.

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