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You are here: Home / Archives for D&D

The Perfect DM

July 11, 2008 by Dave

According to players, the Perfect DM should be able to… Create an evocative world with every tiny detail thought out for whatever the players decide to investigate or whichever NPC they decide to converse with. Be able to improvise an entire adventure based on the whim of the players, in case they decide they don’t […]

Filed Under: Editorial, Featured, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: D&D, DM, DMing, dungeon master

Let’s Talk About Fluff

July 2, 2008 by Bartoneus

I was reading through a discussion on Paizo’s message boards that grew out of a post linking to our coverage of the panel with Mike Mearls at Origins, and one discussion in particular caught my eye.  Several people began to discuss the amount of content provided in the 4E core books vs. the amount provided […]

Filed Under: Editorial, Featured, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4th Edition, D&D, Dungeons and Dragons, fluff, mike mearls, origins, roleplaying, roleplaying games

4th Edition: Class Acts

June 25, 2008 by Bartoneus

In the convoluted web of intrigue that blogs create, Phil (the Chatty DM) led me to a link via a guest post at Geek’s Dream Girl, to a very cool fan-created Bard class for 4th Edition.  Unlike some other fan-created classes for the new edition, this one actually boasts a complete list of powers/’sploits from […]

Filed Under: Critical Bits, Editorial, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4E d&d, 4th Edition, class roles, D&D, Dungeons & Dragons, Dungeons and Dragons

Gaming in Ancient Rome

June 13, 2008 by Bartoneus

A friend sent me a link for something really interesting, it’s an auction by Christie’s for a d20 from Ancient Rome! It looks like the Caesars may have been playing D&D pre-1st Edition. From the site: A ROMAN GLASS GAMING DIE Circa 2nd Century A.D. Deep blue-green in color, the large twenty-sided die incised with […]

Filed Under: Critical Bits, Featured, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: ancient, artifact, D&D, d20, Dungeons & Dragons, Dungeons and Dragons, roman, rome

How to Compare Birds to Fish

June 11, 2008 by Bartoneus

A common topic has come up several times throughout various discussions that has been wracking my brain lately. The discussions it has been most prevalent in are ones that pertain to game design, and specifically tabletop games or computer games. About two days ago a reader commented on my post which was mostly ranting about […]

Filed Under: Editorial, Featured, Roleplaying Games, Video Games Tagged With: Board, Card, and Miniature Games, D&D, Dungeons and Dragons, game design, Roleplaying Games, world of warcraft, WoW

Inq. of the Week: Which Edition?

June 9, 2008 by Bartoneus

Just over a week ago Dave wrapped up his 18 Adventure long, and final, D&D 3.5 Campaign with a definitively epic finale.  This inspired him to ask you all how many campaigns you’ve been in that have seen completion, to which a huge 30% of you voted that you’ve never had a campaign finish, or been […]

Filed Under: Featured, Inquisition of the Week, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4th Edition, D&D, Dungeons and Dragons, Inquisition of the Week

Wizards Lets Loose The Cool

May 22, 2008 by Bartoneus

Wired has posted an exclusive preview of the 4th Edition Character Sheet, which I have to say I’m happy to see. Since playing Keep on the Shadowfell, all of us were very concerned because the pre-generated character’s stats were hidden way down at the bottom of the back of the page. We assumed this was […]

Filed Under: Critical Bits, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: D&D, Dungeons and Dragons, keep on the shadowfell, roleplaying, roleplaying games, Roleplaying Games, tabletop RPG, wizards of the coast

Session Report & Review: Keep on the Shadowfell (Part 1)

May 20, 2008 by Bartoneus

We were very privileged to receive a promotional copy of the first Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition adventure module, entitled Keep on the Shadowfell, which comes with a small set of quick start rules as an introduction to the yet-to-be-released edition of the game. Dave and I took the opportunity to gather a group of […]

Filed Under: Featured, Reviews, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4th Edition, D&D, Dungeons and Dragons, keep on the shadowfell, roleplaying, roleplaying games, Roleplaying Games

So what IS D&D anyway?

May 16, 2008 by Dave

An interesting meme has seemed to pop up among those who dislike where D&D 4e headed. It’s one simple declaration: This is not D&D. I’ve touched on this idea before: in many people’s minds, there’s one definition of what a product/line IS. Whether this is determined by the original creator, the fans, or whomever happens […]

Filed Under: Editorial, Featured, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4th Edition, Board, Card, and Miniature Games, D&D, Dungeons and Dragons, game design, games, gaming, Roleplaying Games

A Game of Epic Numbers

May 15, 2008 by Bartoneus

There’s a lot of buzz going around about the soon-to-be-released 4th Edition D&D Adventure Keep on the Shadowfell, some people even did a ridiculously thorough read through of it, though Phil does provide a great review / preview there for it. One thing that he mentions is the hit points of monsters at such low […]

Filed Under: Critical Bits, Editorial, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4th Edition, D&D, Dungeons and Dragons, epic destinies, Musings of the Chatty DM

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About the Author

  • 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.

    Email: dave@critical-hits.com

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