If you’re a 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons player then the two Essentials books that you most want to look at are Heroes of the Fallen Lands and Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms. Each book is presented in a similar style to a stand alone Player’s Handbook with Heroes of the Fallen Lands introducing new builds for the classic D&D classes (Clerics, Fighters, Rogues, and Wizards) while Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms introduces new builds for Druids, Paladins, Rangers, and Warlocks. Each of these books stands on its own perfectly well and you don’t need to buy both if you’re only interested in the classes presented in one of them.
One-Hour Game Design
A year ago, I went to Nanocon and made friends with the illustrious Richard Dansky. On Friday evening, we were a between commitments, and we were amused at the Dakota State University game design program’s promotional literature. We also stumbled on some loose dice and game pieces. We decided to make a game . . .
How to Read Minds: Body Language at the Gaming Table
Did you ever meet someone whose stories always fizzle without much of a punch? Me too. The issue with their stories isn’t necessarily the content; some other guy or gal might tell the same stories with everyone around them hanging on their every word.
The Littlest Con
Nanocon’s magic is in its intimacy. It presents a great opportunity to meet players and play games. As a guest, I also had the chance to mingle with all the other guests, as well as the faculty and organizers. That type of interaction with others who love games is hard to overvalue. Perhaps needless to say, I’m glad I went.
Review: “Misspent Youth”
In Misspent Youth, you tell the tale of a group of Young Offenders (YOs) – teenagers in a science fiction world under the thumb of oppression who are pushed into rebellion. Over the course of several episodes (sessions) you reveal why they rebel, how they protect themselves from The Authority when it tries to put them back in their place, how the fight forces them to grow up (for better and for worse) and, finally, whether they succeed in bringing The Authority to its knees.
D&D Essentials and the 4.5 Edition Issue
It’s Monday and as of last week the Wizards Premiere stores have been selling Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms and Monster Vault, which means for most intents and purposes the entirety of the D&D Essentials line is now out there for people to play and read. As people absorb and utilize the material we should be able to gain a general sense of exactly what Essentials really is and what it means for the 4th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons. That said, one of the biggest concerns/complaints/or whatever you choose to call it that I’ve heard raised about D&D Essentials is whether or not it is D&D Edition 4.5.
Transmute Veteran Gamer to Newbie
I took introducing my players to this new system as a personal challenge. How would I introduce the system? How would I avoid overwhelming them with the intricacies of the game system, but still get the game up and running quickly? How would I make this new game experience easy for the players while still satisfying my personal urges to immerse them in the world and the story I was developing?
Orgrimmar Politics As Usual
It’s the end of a brutal election season, and the race for key positions in the Horde have never been closer. No one could have expected Thrall to step down from his position as Warchief, but it was no surprise to anyone just how heated the battle to ensue would become. Hit the jump for expanded election coverage!
Are You the Most Interesting Roleplayer in the World?
Somewhere, somewhen, out there in the back rooms of a gaming store, in the basement of some gamer’s house, lurks the most interesting gamer in the world. It is my mission to find that gamer.
Review: L5R “Enemies of the Empire”
The new edition of Legend of the Five Rings (4th Edition, no relation to D&D) published by Alderac Entertainment Group has been out for a few months now and though I’ve been working pretty hard on planning a series of one-shot adventures to run I still haven’t gotten a chance to play it. As much as I enjoy D&D, one of the niche settings that it doesn’t cover that well for me is the oriental/samurai/ninja setting that, if you know me at all, is something I absolutely love to play in. Despite having not played the game yet, I wanted to take a look at Enemies of the Empire, the first supplement book for the new edition that nearly doubles the amount of content that you can use in your adventures.
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