I got a call last night from my FLGS, the Fantasy Shop in Florissant, that the GamingPaper MegaDungeon I had requested had arrived. After work today, I swung by there and picked it up (along with a few booster packs of Magic cards). That was $25 very well spent!
The GamingPaper MegaDungeon is 100 8.5"x11" sheets of dungeon geomorphs that are usable at the table, in game, for Fantasy Role-Playing Games that use 1-inch square grids for combat and exploration. It's basically perfect for building dungeons in 4E and 3.x D&D and Pathfinder. The sheets are double-sided, with one side furnished (thrones, crates, tables, chairs, etc), and the other side is the same map, just blank.
I'm very much looking forward to assembling some dungeons for my kids to explore. I will say this: these are a lot easier to use than WotC's Dungeon Tiles. I like the Dungeon Tiles, don't get me wrong, but they are a pain in the butt to assemble, quickly, in a usable fashion. This GamingPaper product seems like it will be incredibly easy to use. Each individual sheet is labelled with a letter and number (and a fully assembled map sheet of all 100 geomorphs in a 10x10 grid is included). I imagine I will be investing in 100 lamination sheets for them so I can draw on them with wet-erase markers.
Oh, and I'm thinking I may have to use these to really start doing some adventure design, so hopefully I'll have some dungeons up for you to use in the near future!
New-School Rules, Old-School Style
Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Free RPG Day Review and Giveaway: Arcanis, the World of Shattered Empires Fast Play Book
Out of all the booklets I got for FreeRPGDay, Arcanis: the World of Shattered Empires intrigued me the most, probably due to the Ancient Roman style guy and vampire mage on the cover. I wasn't familiar with the setting, as I never really got into the 3rd Edition of D&D, but it was apparently an award-winning setting of the D20/OGL era, and now its publisher is giving it its own system.
The booklet clocks in at 30 pages and includes basic rules suitable for a night of play, four characters, a short adventure, and a blank 2-sided character sheet. The art inside is excellent and I imagine it will probably all appear in the full rulebook when it is released at Origins.
The resolution system seems to me to be an amalgam of mechanics cobbled together from different sources. Arcanis' roots are in the d20 system. The core mechanic of this system is to roll 2d10 (your Action Dice), roll the die associated with whatever attribute is appropriate (from among the following: Might, Prowess, Quickness, Vitality, Charisma, Insight, Logic, and Resolve), add any relevant modifiers and try to beat a target number. All the attributes have both a score (all the pregenerated heroes have scores from 3-7) and a die size (d4, d6, etc).
There is an exploding die mechanic.There are "Fate" points which can be used in a number of ways to bend the rules. Characters have three different defense scores: Avoidance, Discipline, and Fortitude (which might as well have been d20's Reflex, Willpower, and Fortitude, but I digress). Armor has a Rating that soaks up damage.
Characters also have access to weapon tricks and spells, which seem pretty similar to 4E's powers.
There are two different types of damage a character can sustain: Stamina and Wounds. Typically, a character has a high stamina score, and when it is depleted from damage, you fall unconscious. A character can handle only a few Wounds before possibly dying.
It seems to be expected that combat be handled using a 1-inch square mat or Dungeon Tiles and miniatures. It features an interesting Initiative Clock feature for combat. Basically, instead of having set turns and rounds and such, each action you take happens after so many ticks of the "Clock".
Overall, it is definitely interesting, but too many fiddly bits for my liking. And I like 4E D&D!
The included adventure is a fairly straightforward affair designed to introduce the basics of the combat system with a bit of roleplaying thrown in for good measure.
I'm also a bit of a grammar nazi. Poor grammar, syntax, and misspellings stick out like sore thumbs to me. There aren't a whole lot of those types of errors in the booklet, but there were enough to make me take notice. It seems as if it may have needed another edit.
I know this hasn't been the most glowing review I've done, but it's my two cents. If you were a fan of the Arcanis setting in the good ole days of the D20/OGL, and are interested in getting the upcoming game, it's definitely worth a read-through! I will select one winner at random from among all the comments left below.
The booklet clocks in at 30 pages and includes basic rules suitable for a night of play, four characters, a short adventure, and a blank 2-sided character sheet. The art inside is excellent and I imagine it will probably all appear in the full rulebook when it is released at Origins.
The resolution system seems to me to be an amalgam of mechanics cobbled together from different sources. Arcanis' roots are in the d20 system. The core mechanic of this system is to roll 2d10 (your Action Dice), roll the die associated with whatever attribute is appropriate (from among the following: Might, Prowess, Quickness, Vitality, Charisma, Insight, Logic, and Resolve), add any relevant modifiers and try to beat a target number. All the attributes have both a score (all the pregenerated heroes have scores from 3-7) and a die size (d4, d6, etc).
There is an exploding die mechanic.There are "Fate" points which can be used in a number of ways to bend the rules. Characters have three different defense scores: Avoidance, Discipline, and Fortitude (which might as well have been d20's Reflex, Willpower, and Fortitude, but I digress). Armor has a Rating that soaks up damage.
Characters also have access to weapon tricks and spells, which seem pretty similar to 4E's powers.
There are two different types of damage a character can sustain: Stamina and Wounds. Typically, a character has a high stamina score, and when it is depleted from damage, you fall unconscious. A character can handle only a few Wounds before possibly dying.
It seems to be expected that combat be handled using a 1-inch square mat or Dungeon Tiles and miniatures. It features an interesting Initiative Clock feature for combat. Basically, instead of having set turns and rounds and such, each action you take happens after so many ticks of the "Clock".
Overall, it is definitely interesting, but too many fiddly bits for my liking. And I like 4E D&D!
The included adventure is a fairly straightforward affair designed to introduce the basics of the combat system with a bit of roleplaying thrown in for good measure.
I'm also a bit of a grammar nazi. Poor grammar, syntax, and misspellings stick out like sore thumbs to me. There aren't a whole lot of those types of errors in the booklet, but there were enough to make me take notice. It seems as if it may have needed another edit.
I know this hasn't been the most glowing review I've done, but it's my two cents. If you were a fan of the Arcanis setting in the good ole days of the D20/OGL, and are interested in getting the upcoming game, it's definitely worth a read-through! I will select one winner at random from among all the comments left below.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Free RPG Day Review and Giveaway: Dungeon Crawl Classics Adventure Starter
This is the second of a series of reviews and giveaways of my FreeRPGDay haul! So leave a comment below if you want a shot at getting this copy of Dungeon Crawl Classics Adventure Starter. Note that if you live outside the United States, I must request that you pay for shipping. More details here!
I must admit first that I have not yet had the time to dig into my download of the Dungeon Crawl Classics Beta Test Rules, even though they are pretty much necessary to use this booklet. It says so right there on page 1. Of course, that's just if you lack imagination and resources. Ninety-nine percent of the content of this book is system-neutral (or at the very least, system-vague), that it would be entirely too easy for even a fair to middling Dungeon Master to convert it to whatever system might be running at your table. Seriously. The stuff in here is gold, but just rip it off for your own system at home. Don't bother with the zocchi dice. That's just a bullshit marketing ploy to try to get you to buy a bunch of goofy dice you'll only ever use a few times. Is Goodman Games getting into the dice business? Actually, yes. Yes they are. Imagine that.
That being said, this is still a pretty excellent sixteen pages, which is why I am hesitant to let it go as part of this contest. That, and the art. The art is great. There are three full-page illustrations (out of sixteen pages!), plus two full-page dungeon maps that are works of art in their own right, and art on several of the other pages. However, I'm thinking I will make a copy for my DM binder and then send it off to our lucky winner, purely on account of the fact that Goodman Games gave away dead-tree copies of this booklet on FreeRPGDay, and is now selling PDFs of it for $5.
Wha?
Now, I don't know anything about the guys behind Goodman Games. I haven't read their Beta Test rules for DCC. All I know it, a couple weeks ago the OSR Blogosphere blew up, out of nowhere, over this Dungeon Crawl Classics thing. I kind of have a feeling that it will fade away as quickly as it blew up. I certainly don't speak for anyone in the OSR but myself, but I can see this being a "niche of a niche" game, kind of like Lamentations of the Flame Princess.
The two dungeons are solid and interesting, although they feel pretty similar to a lot of what I've seen published in the One-Page-Dungeon format. They are short, but offer plenty of opportunity for interaction with the environment and creative problem-solving, as well as plenty of killing-stuff-and-taking-their-stuff. I'm looking forward to adapting these two dungeons to work in 4E, but that's a whole different post.
Want it? Leave me a comment!
I must admit first that I have not yet had the time to dig into my download of the Dungeon Crawl Classics Beta Test Rules, even though they are pretty much necessary to use this booklet. It says so right there on page 1. Of course, that's just if you lack imagination and resources. Ninety-nine percent of the content of this book is system-neutral (or at the very least, system-vague), that it would be entirely too easy for even a fair to middling Dungeon Master to convert it to whatever system might be running at your table. Seriously. The stuff in here is gold, but just rip it off for your own system at home. Don't bother with the zocchi dice. That's just a bullshit marketing ploy to try to get you to buy a bunch of goofy dice you'll only ever use a few times. Is Goodman Games getting into the dice business? Actually, yes. Yes they are. Imagine that.
That being said, this is still a pretty excellent sixteen pages, which is why I am hesitant to let it go as part of this contest. That, and the art. The art is great. There are three full-page illustrations (out of sixteen pages!), plus two full-page dungeon maps that are works of art in their own right, and art on several of the other pages. However, I'm thinking I will make a copy for my DM binder and then send it off to our lucky winner, purely on account of the fact that Goodman Games gave away dead-tree copies of this booklet on FreeRPGDay, and is now selling PDFs of it for $5.
Wha?
Now, I don't know anything about the guys behind Goodman Games. I haven't read their Beta Test rules for DCC. All I know it, a couple weeks ago the OSR Blogosphere blew up, out of nowhere, over this Dungeon Crawl Classics thing. I kind of have a feeling that it will fade away as quickly as it blew up. I certainly don't speak for anyone in the OSR but myself, but I can see this being a "niche of a niche" game, kind of like Lamentations of the Flame Princess.
The two dungeons are solid and interesting, although they feel pretty similar to a lot of what I've seen published in the One-Page-Dungeon format. They are short, but offer plenty of opportunity for interaction with the environment and creative problem-solving, as well as plenty of killing-stuff-and-taking-their-stuff. I'm looking forward to adapting these two dungeons to work in 4E, but that's a whole different post.
Want it? Leave me a comment!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Free RPG Day Review and Giveaway: D&D 4E Domain of Dread: Histaven
This is the first of a series of reviews and giveaways of my FreeRPGDay haul! So leave a comment below if you want a shot at getting this copy of Dungeons & Dragons 4e Domain of Dread: Histaven. Note that if you live outside the United States, I must request that you pay for shipping. More details here!
I'm going to say right up front that I really like these 14 free pages. I haven't even read my new Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond yet, which Domain of Dread: Histaven is supplementary to, but this little booklet is exactly what a 4e module should look like.
There are no balanced encounters here. There are no tactical maps. There are stat-blocks, there is a chilling, deep story that must be solved by roleplaying and not combat, with numerous facets that can be discovered in multiple ways, and just enough sideways treks, distractions, and red herrings to keep your players curious and asking questions.
It's very similar to the "Vor Rukoth" adventure setting in that regard, but more elegant in its focus and simplicity. Erik Scott de Bie has done a fine job writing this. It is well thought out and perfectly delivered.
I was totally expecting some worthless 3-combat delve with a shadowfell twist to it. Domain of Dread: Histaven is just the opposite. This little module exemplifies everything the Shadowfell should be about; and I haven't even read Gloomwrought and Beyond yet!
I'm going to say right up front that I really like these 14 free pages. I haven't even read my new Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond yet, which Domain of Dread: Histaven is supplementary to, but this little booklet is exactly what a 4e module should look like.
There are no balanced encounters here. There are no tactical maps. There are stat-blocks, there is a chilling, deep story that must be solved by roleplaying and not combat, with numerous facets that can be discovered in multiple ways, and just enough sideways treks, distractions, and red herrings to keep your players curious and asking questions.
It's very similar to the "Vor Rukoth" adventure setting in that regard, but more elegant in its focus and simplicity. Erik Scott de Bie has done a fine job writing this. It is well thought out and perfectly delivered.
I was totally expecting some worthless 3-combat delve with a shadowfell twist to it. Domain of Dread: Histaven is just the opposite. This little module exemplifies everything the Shadowfell should be about; and I haven't even read Gloomwrought and Beyond yet!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Review of Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale
Yes, I got this shrinkwrapped package set on Free RPG Day. No, I did not get it for free, though I did get it for half-off as part of my FLGS's sale that day. No, I'm not giving it away as part of my Free RPG Day Review Giveaway. Sorry, but I like it too much!
Contents first. There is a 127-page book, which is the full size of a regular 4E book, but soft cover. In the shrinkwrap are eight sheets of heavy cardstock with the monster tokens we've all come to know and love, and also a double-sided battlemat with four different maps to do battle on. Honestly, I like the poster-maps, but I really can do without the tokens. I'm sure a lot of people use them, but I like my miniatures. I would have preferred a hard-cover book, but that's really just niggling details. Let's get to the meat of things.
I've already given a glowing review of the Essentials Monster Vault. This book, honestly, is even better. This is probably because all the fluff is specific to locations and history in the Nentir Vale, the default 4E heroic-tier "Points of Light" setting that is described in the Dungeon Master's Guide. This book is so good, in fact, that it is the main reason I have decided to use the Nentir Vale as the setting for my 4E campaign with my kids that just got started. This book provides you with all manner of villainous groups to harry your PCs with, from dragons and barbarians to fell creatures and twisted monstrosities from the far realm.
Some of my favorite monsters from the book:
Blackfang Gnolls: what's scarier than pirate gnolls riding dinosaurs? Gnolls with giant bat wings that eat your face on their way to sacrifice you to Yeenoghu, that's what.
Cadaver Collector: A golem that collects cadavers for its necromancer master. When left along for too long with no bodies to collect, will go searching for some. If it can't find any, it will make some.
Calastryx the three-headed red dragon. Nuff said.
Harken's Heart: a group of cursed druids? Return of the Heirophant druid? Yes please, I'll have some more of that please.
The Hunter Spiders: a cave-in has left a group of drow stranded on the surface. They're up to no good, obviously.
Hurly-Burly Brothers: Troll brothers who hate each other and can only be killed when they are close to each other, and often cause all kinds of havoc beating the shit out of each other.
Mooncalf: This one kind of came out of left field for me, but it's a giant octopus with bat wings that flies around causing all manner of destruction and death. From the Far Realm, naturally.
The Wandering Tower: an ancient, gigantic mimic that disguises itself as a building and eats you after you go inside. This one single entry is probably the best read in the whole book.
The majority of the monsters presented in the book are in the heroic tier, and a good chunk are paragon-level threats. There are a lot of unique, named NPCs/monsters in the book, with enough history and personality to give any halfway-decent DM plenty to work with in-game.
Overall, the Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Go pick it up. It was officially released today.
Contents first. There is a 127-page book, which is the full size of a regular 4E book, but soft cover. In the shrinkwrap are eight sheets of heavy cardstock with the monster tokens we've all come to know and love, and also a double-sided battlemat with four different maps to do battle on. Honestly, I like the poster-maps, but I really can do without the tokens. I'm sure a lot of people use them, but I like my miniatures. I would have preferred a hard-cover book, but that's really just niggling details. Let's get to the meat of things.
I've already given a glowing review of the Essentials Monster Vault. This book, honestly, is even better. This is probably because all the fluff is specific to locations and history in the Nentir Vale, the default 4E heroic-tier "Points of Light" setting that is described in the Dungeon Master's Guide. This book is so good, in fact, that it is the main reason I have decided to use the Nentir Vale as the setting for my 4E campaign with my kids that just got started. This book provides you with all manner of villainous groups to harry your PCs with, from dragons and barbarians to fell creatures and twisted monstrosities from the far realm.
Some of my favorite monsters from the book:
Blackfang Gnolls: what's scarier than pirate gnolls riding dinosaurs? Gnolls with giant bat wings that eat your face on their way to sacrifice you to Yeenoghu, that's what.
Cadaver Collector: A golem that collects cadavers for its necromancer master. When left along for too long with no bodies to collect, will go searching for some. If it can't find any, it will make some.
Calastryx the three-headed red dragon. Nuff said.
Harken's Heart: a group of cursed druids? Return of the Heirophant druid? Yes please, I'll have some more of that please.
The Hunter Spiders: a cave-in has left a group of drow stranded on the surface. They're up to no good, obviously.
Hurly-Burly Brothers: Troll brothers who hate each other and can only be killed when they are close to each other, and often cause all kinds of havoc beating the shit out of each other.
Mooncalf: This one kind of came out of left field for me, but it's a giant octopus with bat wings that flies around causing all manner of destruction and death. From the Far Realm, naturally.
The Wandering Tower: an ancient, gigantic mimic that disguises itself as a building and eats you after you go inside. This one single entry is probably the best read in the whole book.
The majority of the monsters presented in the book are in the heroic tier, and a good chunk are paragon-level threats. There are a lot of unique, named NPCs/monsters in the book, with enough history and personality to give any halfway-decent DM plenty to work with in-game.
Overall, the Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Go pick it up. It was officially released today.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Happy Free RPG Day to Me!
So, I already posted once about my FreeRPGDay excursion to the Fantasy Shop in Florissant, where I picked up the D&D 4E offering and the Dragon Age quickstart booklet, along with dropping a good chunk of change on the sale they had going.
Well, my father-in-law is a gaming and comic geek going way back and is in pretty tight with the owners of his FLGS, and Sunday morning he handed me a big stack of FreeRPGDay material that mostly wasn't even at my FLGS, or that I passed over to observe the 3-item limit (although I only took 2!).
So here's the addition to what I pulled in for FreeRPGDay:
Savage Worlds: The Wild Hunt by John Goff
World of Darkness: A Nightmare At Hill Manor
Dungeon Crawl Classics: Adventure Starter
Pathfinder: We Be Goblins by Richard Pett
Arcanis, the World of Shattered Empires Fast Play
XD20: Laser Squid Nemesis by Stephen Furlani
Now, clearly I have a surfeit of goods here, and far more than I will probably ever use. In the interest of blog material, I am planning on doing full reads and possible playtests for each FreeRPGDay item, and doing a proper review here.
Now, I know that there are a lot of folks out there who didn't have a FLGS that was participating in FreeRPGDay. I also know that I certainly won't use the majority of this booklets at all. So, after I do each review, I'll be randomly selecting an American commenter to receive my copy (apologies to anyone living outside the United States, but I just can't afford international shipping. I do have paypal, though, so if you live outside the U.S. and want to pay for the shipping, by all means, you can enter!). More details soon!
Well, my father-in-law is a gaming and comic geek going way back and is in pretty tight with the owners of his FLGS, and Sunday morning he handed me a big stack of FreeRPGDay material that mostly wasn't even at my FLGS, or that I passed over to observe the 3-item limit (although I only took 2!).
So here's the addition to what I pulled in for FreeRPGDay:
Savage Worlds: The Wild Hunt by John Goff
World of Darkness: A Nightmare At Hill Manor
Dungeon Crawl Classics: Adventure Starter
Pathfinder: We Be Goblins by Richard Pett
Arcanis, the World of Shattered Empires Fast Play
XD20: Laser Squid Nemesis by Stephen Furlani
Now, clearly I have a surfeit of goods here, and far more than I will probably ever use. In the interest of blog material, I am planning on doing full reads and possible playtests for each FreeRPGDay item, and doing a proper review here.
Now, I know that there are a lot of folks out there who didn't have a FLGS that was participating in FreeRPGDay. I also know that I certainly won't use the majority of this booklets at all. So, after I do each review, I'll be randomly selecting an American commenter to receive my copy (apologies to anyone living outside the United States, but I just can't afford international shipping. I do have paypal, though, so if you live outside the U.S. and want to pay for the shipping, by all means, you can enter!). More details soon!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Orcish Horde!
So it was probably a few weeks ago that this was released...
http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/duad/20110408
But we finally got a chance to run it with the minions and my father-in-law this Easter afternoon. In case you didn't click on the link, it goes to an official WotC mini-campaign for the D&D Adventure System that combines monsters, encounters, and treasure from both the Castle Ravenloft and Wrath of Ashardalon board games.
Once again we played with four kids and my father-in-law, and I took care of running the monsters. Dragonborn Wizard, Eladrin Wizard, Dragonborn Fighter, Human Rogue and Human Ranger. They would have won the scenario if the kids had a better grasp of class roles and strategery. As it was, I kept reminding the wizards that they didn't have to get right next to the monsters to attack them with their spells. Hopefully, the more we all play, the more of the strategy and tactics they'll figure out. I don't want to tell them how to play their characters, of course, but it's difficult sometimes when they're completely missing very clear and obvious courses of action.
However, the more I think about it, the more I see how well-suited these games are for introducing new players to full-on D&D 4E. So, once the minions are consistenty kicking Ravenloft and Ashardalon's butts, we'll start introducing more and more concepts from D&D into the games until they are ready to take on a regular game. That's the plan anyway!
Regardless, the new adventures/mini-campaign combining the two games are solid entries in the franchise. The chosen monsters and encounters definitely give these adventures a unique feel apart from the two games they're take from. We played the first scenario, in which the goal is to save the kidnapped villagers from the orcish horde.
It would have been an easy win if the kids had any tactical sense about them whatsoever. As it was, the tile that flipped over that had the villagers was 2 tiles away from the Start tile, which was the escape route for the kidnapped villagers. By that time, the heroes were pretty well beat up and started needing to use healing surges pretty quick, and within a full turn around the table, the game was over with a downed hero.
Maybe next time we'll do some combat and tactics gameplay theory, but I'm not sure it'll hold their attention. We'll see.
http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/duad/20110408
But we finally got a chance to run it with the minions and my father-in-law this Easter afternoon. In case you didn't click on the link, it goes to an official WotC mini-campaign for the D&D Adventure System that combines monsters, encounters, and treasure from both the Castle Ravenloft and Wrath of Ashardalon board games.
Once again we played with four kids and my father-in-law, and I took care of running the monsters. Dragonborn Wizard, Eladrin Wizard, Dragonborn Fighter, Human Rogue and Human Ranger. They would have won the scenario if the kids had a better grasp of class roles and strategery. As it was, I kept reminding the wizards that they didn't have to get right next to the monsters to attack them with their spells. Hopefully, the more we all play, the more of the strategy and tactics they'll figure out. I don't want to tell them how to play their characters, of course, but it's difficult sometimes when they're completely missing very clear and obvious courses of action.
However, the more I think about it, the more I see how well-suited these games are for introducing new players to full-on D&D 4E. So, once the minions are consistenty kicking Ravenloft and Ashardalon's butts, we'll start introducing more and more concepts from D&D into the games until they are ready to take on a regular game. That's the plan anyway!
Regardless, the new adventures/mini-campaign combining the two games are solid entries in the franchise. The chosen monsters and encounters definitely give these adventures a unique feel apart from the two games they're take from. We played the first scenario, in which the goal is to save the kidnapped villagers from the orcish horde.
It would have been an easy win if the kids had any tactical sense about them whatsoever. As it was, the tile that flipped over that had the villagers was 2 tiles away from the Start tile, which was the escape route for the kidnapped villagers. By that time, the heroes were pretty well beat up and started needing to use healing surges pretty quick, and within a full turn around the table, the game was over with a downed hero.
Maybe next time we'll do some combat and tactics gameplay theory, but I'm not sure it'll hold their attention. We'll see.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Review: Players Option: Heroes of Shadow
So I picked up Heroes of Shadow at my FLGS (The Fantasy Shop in Florissant) on Friday, along with a few other goodies. I am definitely impressed. This is WotC's first hardcover book since all the Essentials trade paperbacks, and I am very happy they made the choice to delay the book's release so it would be hardback instead. The trade paperback Essentials books, while nice to hold and read, are just awful for when it's time to put a character together. You can't lay them open flat without bending into the binding, which is kind of necessary for being able to take notes and scribble things on a character sheet.
Anyway, on to the actual content. It is all presented in the Essentials format, and there's a reason for that: it's an Essentials book. Don't let the big hard cover fool you. There are a few things that could be used by classic 4e characters, particularly clerics, wizards and warlocks, but nowhere in the book is mention even made of a character class or race that has not been presented in the Essentials format. I think this is a big mistake on WotC's part, for a couple of reasons. First, it reinforces the notion that Essentials is D&D 4.5. Second, by limiting themselves and this book to Essentials, they've missed out on some great options for characters. Seriously, why was the Avenger class ignored for this book? If any class is dying for a Shadow-based write-up, that's it. Maybe that's just me and my campaign speaking (hello, Revenant Avenger of The Raven Queen who used to be a Shadar-Kai), but still. Other classes who could benefit from a bit of shadow power: Shaman, Sorcerer and Bard. Yeah, Bard. Death Metal Bard. Bring it!
All griping aside, this book actually has a lot of great stuff in it. The fluff is deep and heavy, and the crunch is solid to match. Kinda like a death metal song. Deep, heavy, crunchy. Yum. Makes me look forward to the Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond book even more. I think this Heroes of Shadow book is proof that WotC is really hitting their stride with their 4th Edition material. It's the first (and only) Player's Option book
I have purchased. So, if you want to run a dark and twisted campaign full of anti-heroes and moral ambiguity, this book is definitely for you.
Anyway, on to the actual content. It is all presented in the Essentials format, and there's a reason for that: it's an Essentials book. Don't let the big hard cover fool you. There are a few things that could be used by classic 4e characters, particularly clerics, wizards and warlocks, but nowhere in the book is mention even made of a character class or race that has not been presented in the Essentials format. I think this is a big mistake on WotC's part, for a couple of reasons. First, it reinforces the notion that Essentials is D&D 4.5. Second, by limiting themselves and this book to Essentials, they've missed out on some great options for characters. Seriously, why was the Avenger class ignored for this book? If any class is dying for a Shadow-based write-up, that's it. Maybe that's just me and my campaign speaking (hello, Revenant Avenger of The Raven Queen who used to be a Shadar-Kai), but still. Other classes who could benefit from a bit of shadow power: Shaman, Sorcerer and Bard. Yeah, Bard. Death Metal Bard. Bring it!
All griping aside, this book actually has a lot of great stuff in it. The fluff is deep and heavy, and the crunch is solid to match. Kinda like a death metal song. Deep, heavy, crunchy. Yum. Makes me look forward to the Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond book even more. I think this Heroes of Shadow book is proof that WotC is really hitting their stride with their 4th Edition material. It's the first (and only) Player's Option book
I have purchased. So, if you want to run a dark and twisted campaign full of anti-heroes and moral ambiguity, this book is definitely for you.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Review: Return of the Iron Lich
Save Versus Death has published the first of his Saturday Night Delves with an incredibly vicious dungeon: The Return of the Iron Lich. Let me tell you, for starters, this is way more than any mere delve. It comprises several keyed locations, which feature nefarious tricks and traps, haunting images, and terrifying monsters. Oh, and as the heroes progress through the dungeon (IF they progress!), we learn more and more about the history of the eponymous Iron Lich. Holy moly Batman, there's actually a story hidden in this adventure!
I'm not going to give away any details of this adveture except this: you get exactly 4 hours of table time to complete it. If the 4 hours are up and the Iron Lich is still floating around, the PCs die.
Needless to say, this module is not for newbs. Any DM running it had better know it backwards and forwards and have an excellent understanding of the 4th Edition game mechanics. If your group typically gets bogged down in single combat scenarios for an hour or so, you don't have a chance. But if you have a group that's looking for a truly unique challenge, this monster of a dungeon is for you!
Seriously, WotC, take notice. This is the way that truly challenging 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons adventures should be written. If I were running things there, Sersa, the guy behind Save Versus Death, would have a very good-paying job.
I'm not going to give away any details of this adveture except this: you get exactly 4 hours of table time to complete it. If the 4 hours are up and the Iron Lich is still floating around, the PCs die.
Needless to say, this module is not for newbs. Any DM running it had better know it backwards and forwards and have an excellent understanding of the 4th Edition game mechanics. If your group typically gets bogged down in single combat scenarios for an hour or so, you don't have a chance. But if you have a group that's looking for a truly unique challenge, this monster of a dungeon is for you!
Seriously, WotC, take notice. This is the way that truly challenging 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons adventures should be written. If I were running things there, Sersa, the guy behind Save Versus Death, would have a very good-paying job.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Review: DDI: Eye on Dark Sun: Aldaarich
Review of DDI Article: Eye on Dark Sun: Aldaarich
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/dueods/201102eods
I've never been a huge fan of the Dark Sun Campaign Setting. Yeah, I think it's a great concept, and I'm sure the folks who adventure in Athas love it, but it's not my cup of tea. I've always been more into Dragonlance and The Forgotten Realms; call me a traditionalist, I suppose, but that's how I like my D&D. I have yet to pick up any of the 4th Edition Dark Sun products except for the Free RPG Day offering last summer.
That being said, I loved this article. It details an area that is far enough removed from the areas detailed in the Dark Sun Campaign Setting that it can be easily dropped into any world. And an intriguing place it is! The ruler is a paranoid-schizophrenic type, and a nasty level 20 sorcerer at that. The main city is a prison; none of its people ever leave, and no one is allowed entrance. Its people are all infected with the King's madness.
The article also fleshes out a few of the local military leaders, and gives DMs a good starting point to build some intrigue-heavy plotlines. No one in Aldaarich trusts anyone, and that should definitely be a theme of any adventure here.
This is definitely a terrifying place, and I can't wait to send my players there! Like I said before, this is the kind of place that could easily be dropped into any campaign with very little, if any, modification. This kind of article is the reason I keep my D&D Insider account active.
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/dueods/201102eods
I've never been a huge fan of the Dark Sun Campaign Setting. Yeah, I think it's a great concept, and I'm sure the folks who adventure in Athas love it, but it's not my cup of tea. I've always been more into Dragonlance and The Forgotten Realms; call me a traditionalist, I suppose, but that's how I like my D&D. I have yet to pick up any of the 4th Edition Dark Sun products except for the Free RPG Day offering last summer.
That being said, I loved this article. It details an area that is far enough removed from the areas detailed in the Dark Sun Campaign Setting that it can be easily dropped into any world. And an intriguing place it is! The ruler is a paranoid-schizophrenic type, and a nasty level 20 sorcerer at that. The main city is a prison; none of its people ever leave, and no one is allowed entrance. Its people are all infected with the King's madness.
The article also fleshes out a few of the local military leaders, and gives DMs a good starting point to build some intrigue-heavy plotlines. No one in Aldaarich trusts anyone, and that should definitely be a theme of any adventure here.
This is definitely a terrifying place, and I can't wait to send my players there! Like I said before, this is the kind of place that could easily be dropped into any campaign with very little, if any, modification. This kind of article is the reason I keep my D&D Insider account active.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Review: DDI: Windswept Lord
Review of DDI Article: Windswept Lord
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/drfe/201101kord
Windswept Lord is an excellent article specifically about the god Kord's relationship with the Dwarven race. The first page is all mythical background and fluff, further exploring the gods' myriad connections and history in the Points of Light setting.
After that, we get some usable goodies: a divine boon, a new magic weapon, and a reagent, all flavored for dwarves with Kord's blessing. There is also a new background, the Clan of Kord, which is basically a clan for dwarven orphans and ne'er-do-wells,
Overall, in four pages you get a whole lot of fluff and plenty of usable crunch. Dungeon and Dragon magazines have recently scaled back their schedule of articles to give themselves more "flexibility" with when they put things out. This Channel Divinity article is a great example of why that decision was a good idea, as this is a very well-written article that had something usable for any player of a dwarf, and any DM with a dwarf in the party. I know in the last couple of weeks we've seen fewer DnD Insider articles, and some have been pushed back, but if this is a sign of what is to come, then I am all for it. Don't get me wrong; I loved the monthly content calendar and used it frequently. That is definitely missed. But this is one of the better articles I've seen in a while. In fact, most of the stuff I've been seeing since that change took effect has been top-notch. Keep up the good work, D&D Insider!
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/drfe/201101kord
Windswept Lord is an excellent article specifically about the god Kord's relationship with the Dwarven race. The first page is all mythical background and fluff, further exploring the gods' myriad connections and history in the Points of Light setting.
After that, we get some usable goodies: a divine boon, a new magic weapon, and a reagent, all flavored for dwarves with Kord's blessing. There is also a new background, the Clan of Kord, which is basically a clan for dwarven orphans and ne'er-do-wells,
Overall, in four pages you get a whole lot of fluff and plenty of usable crunch. Dungeon and Dragon magazines have recently scaled back their schedule of articles to give themselves more "flexibility" with when they put things out. This Channel Divinity article is a great example of why that decision was a good idea, as this is a very well-written article that had something usable for any player of a dwarf, and any DM with a dwarf in the party. I know in the last couple of weeks we've seen fewer DnD Insider articles, and some have been pushed back, but if this is a sign of what is to come, then I am all for it. Don't get me wrong; I loved the monthly content calendar and used it frequently. That is definitely missed. But this is one of the better articles I've seen in a while. In fact, most of the stuff I've been seeing since that change took effect has been top-notch. Keep up the good work, D&D Insider!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
First Impressions: Castle Ravenloft Board Game
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| All the pieces on the board... |
Since I mentioned it in my last post, I thought this would probably be the best thing to review next.
Just like the Monster Vault, this box comes with a whole lot of stuff, and requires a certain amount of organizational capability to get the most out of it. There are so many different pieces of heavy cardstock that get used in the game, from Hit Point counters to Dungeon Tiles, item markers and Player Character cards, if you can’t keep them organized you’ll have a hell of a time getting the game to run smoothly. Plastic baggies worked pretty well for me.
There are forty plastic minis, 35 monster and 5 heroes, including a big nasty Dracolich. I’m probably more looking forward to using these minis in my actual D&D 4E game than with Castle Ravenloft..
Same goes with the tiles that make up the dungeon as well. They could very easily be used for a proper D&D game.
You also get a d20 with the game. Woohoo!
It is very much a simplified D&D 4E. So simplified, that it’s kind of confusing. There is no Dungeon Master, for starters! The monsters are controlled by the individual player that encounters each monster, and the monster’s actions are dictated by what their little playing card says they’ll do. Oh, and did I mention that the monster always wins initiative? Pretty much every time a monster is discovered, it gets to make the first attack, usually against the hero that finds it. It was definitely an exercise in frustration to roll for the hero to attack and miss, and then roll for the monster to attack and have it hit, almost every time, which was what happened to my eight-year-old son. His wizard was the first to run out of hit points are require a healing surge (of which there are 2, to be shared by the whole team). I’m surprised he still wants to play again.
For its faults, the system still seems to work pretty well. It is not an easy game to win, certainly, but it’s not too terribly difficult either. Like any D&D game, a string of bad rolls can really cause some damage.
I would have preferred to have some kind of Dungeon Master running the monsters, with a little more freedom to choose what they do. Maybe that would make this game a little too much like “HeroQuest” but I think it would give it more of a D&D feel. My plan is to work up some houserules to incorporate a DM into the game, and find a happier medium between this system and the 4E rules as written.
Hell, I may just teach the kids 4E and be done with it, and use the pieces and adventures of Castle Ravenloft for our D&D game instead!
Review: Essentials Monster Vault
Holy cow there’s a lot here! For $29.95 plus tax, you get all these tokens:
You also get the Monster Vault book, which clocks in at 318 pages and has an excellent balance between fluff and crunch. There are plenty of ideas for how to use the different monsters in your adventures, and there is plenty of variety in powers, even among all the different orcs, gnolls, medusa, demons and devils, etc. The book is definitely heaviest on the Heroic end of campaigns, with well over a hundred individual monsters between levels 1 and 10, and then something in the range of 80 or so Paragon level threats, and only a handful of Epic level creatures. I was happy to see they didn’t bother to include any of the gods
The adventure is decent, pretty much standard fare for WotC. It’s a lot better than Keep on the Shadowfell, while still expanding upon the history of the Nentir Vale and surrounding areas. It is easily adaptable to any homebrew campaign.
There is a double-sided battlemap. One side is a wintery village, and the other is part of the dungeon featured in the adventure. The rest of the dungeon is easily assembled with basic Dungeon Tiles; they conveniently put the most complex part of the Dungeon on the included map. Unfortunately, in play, you have to cover most of it once you place it down, lest the players gain too much metagame knowledge, as it comprises some 8 rooms, including the throne room where the boss is waiting.
The tokens themselves are great. One side is regular and the other is bloodied. They are heavy enough to be easy to pick up and move around. There are an awful lot of them, and I highly recommend finding a good way to keep them organized before popping them all out of the cardstock. And don’t expect to be able to quickly find certain tokens in the middle of a game session, either. They definitely require a DM to be prepared, tokens and all, ahead of time.
This product is highly recommended, especially if you are a fledgling DM and don’t have minis to use in your game (especially now, since WotC is discontinuing official D&D Minis, but that’s a whole different post). The book itself is well worth the price, the tokens look great, and the map looks great. I got this as a Christmas present from my in-laws, and of all the Essentials books, I have definitely spent the most time with the Monster Vault.
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