Like many of you, I was dismayed at the cancellation of the D&D minis line. Understandably, this raised some questions among the community. “Are minis really that expensive to make?” “Why can’t I just buy a box of assorted monsters?” “Isn’t it stupid to reuse sculpts?” I hope to be able to answer some of these questions, with what limited knowledge I have about the situation.
Can 4e Be Old-School D&D?
My most recent design project for Wizards of the Coast has left me thinking a lot about old-school D&D. I have been reminiscing about my early days of playing, when my Jr. High school friends and I could play first-edition AD&D for 72 hours straight without having to worry about jobs or families or responsibilities […]
Junk Punch
You have been sucker punched. As a gamer, you’ve been categorized and used as a negative stereotype to illustrate points about terrible movies. Video games and gamers get a bum rap in film criticism. Film critics seem to like to use video games and the people who play them as a culturally understood idiom. This practice makes the critics look as bad as what they might be criticizing.
The Architect DM: On Dungeons
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the iconic “Dungeon” concept that many of us think of when we think of it in the context of Dungeons & Dragons. Also because only a month or two ago Dave wrapped up his 4E run through the Temple of Elemental Evil with custom mechanics to add to the “large dungeon crawl” feel of the adventures. Now I find my own campaign on the verge of the epic tier (the characters are currently level 19/20), and I am beginning to brainstorm a series of elemental dungeons that they will have to go through as a form of the Temple of Elemental Evil now fractured and embodied in five separate temples. Yes, I loved The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and I plan on stealing liberally from it.
Dealing the Wildcards
Anything adventure designers can do to help DMs run their games will mean a better experience for players. In this column, I explore the concept of the wildcards, elements adventure designers can add to encounters that provide DMs with choices.
Danny’s PAX East 2011 Recap
Just over a week ago we returned from Boston and from my first PAX ever, which I’m very happy to say was incredibly fun for both myself and my wife from start to finish. Without a doubt the highlight of PAX East for me is much the same as other conventions like GenCon, and that’s meeting great people and getting to play games with people that I don’t normally have the opportunity to game with. However there are a few big differences that I noticed which really made PAX East stand out from the other conventions that I’ve been to.
So You Want to Write RPGs?
How does one get into the freelance RPG business? I cannot tell for sure, but I can make some observations.
RPGs and Fiction: An Interview with Alana Abbott
D&D and other RPGs owe much of their development to fiction, and they in return have spawned an entire industry of game-related novels and stories. Can you write good fiction that is still true to the game? I talk to someone who has done so to learn the tricks of the trade.
Brief Encounters…
And lo, a new FLGS opened within easy reach of a lost gamer. And it was good.
Digging Deep (Gnomes)
How does one designer take a creature that once ruined a campaign for him and re-imagine it to be something that could be the major piece of a campaign? With a little help and a lot of imagination.
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