Wizards of the Coast announced today that the new version of Character Builder will be released on 11/16. As has been previously rumored, the new version is web-based, and will support Essentials and Dark Sun characters, which the previous version was not updated to do. The old, downloadable version will still work, but will not receive any further updates. Monster Builder (and other web-based tools) are to follow later. The FAQ on the character builder goes over some of the issues as well, and below is some of my take on the whole thing.
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.
Magic Item Wishlists and You
I spend most of the week working out the story elements and building an exciting and dangerous, yet balanced, encounter or two. By the time I get to treasure allocation, I’ve spent my creative energy and it’s usually less than an hour to game time. What the heck do I give them? Enter wish lists.
Critical Hits Podcast #24: Tomb of Horrors Actual Play (Part 3)
In part 1, our party ventured into the Tomb. In part 2, the party came across three chests and fought the denizens of those chests. Part 3 picks up after the combat when the cleric had dropped and was starting to bleed out. The party explores a bit more and comes across a hallway filled with glyphs of varying descriptions… and comes across another mysterious portal.
Booty Talk
One of the problems with the usual take on magic items is that most of them provide simple mechanical benefits without doing anything truly interesting. This isn’t a fault in and of itself, since magical trinkets need to affect the game in some way. The essence of the problem is when the game renders such mechanical bonuses mundane by assuming the characters have them. The developers increase the challenges in the game based on such assumptions, rendering the potentially fantastic merely necessary.
Essentials, Choices, and Jams
At a certain level, probably high Heroic and certainly in Paragon and Epic tiers players might have twenty four possible choices on their turn including at-wills, encounter powers, daily powers, utilities, and items. This high number of choices mixed in with the already tactical nature of combat in 4e often leads to analysis paralysis. Players simply can’t figure out what the right move might be.
Designing is Redesigning
Progress is only made through mistakes. However, recognizing those mistakes and fixing them are not always easy.
The D&D Essentials DM Kit: An Editorial Review
In which Phil writes a review that veers into murky editorial waters when he realizes that the D&D Essentials Dungeon Master’s kit is not exactly what he expected. Follow is arguments and his interesting conspiracy theories… is Chatty due for a medication adjustment? Have a look!
Mutate Your Game
The new D&D Gamma World game is a crash course on reskinning. Character creation, from concept to equipment, is a real-world exercise in putting your imagination’s images over a mechanical chassis in a simple game. Sections in the rules cover the process, from the “Reconciling Contrary Origins” segment to the “What Does it Look Like?” sidebar on equipment.
Review: “Gamma World” RPG
What is the Gamma World RPG? In a nutshell, it’s a standalone post-apocalyptic RPG that uses, almost whole cloth, the 4e D&D rules, with the main differences being in the characters. Instead of having your Elven Fighter or Human Wizard, you play a Half-Yeti Half-Android with a giant nose or a Pyrokinetic Rat Swam hefting a plasma sword. I feel like you could either already be sold on the game or totally turned off, but I’ll continue on.
Recent Comments