Unboxing the DM's Kit

The Human Target · Sep 2, 2010

I have a lot of maps, tokens, minis, tiles, and books at my disposal.

I still want to get this.

AngryMojo · Sep 3, 2010

The Human Target said:
I have a lot of maps, tokens, minis, tiles, and books at my disposal.

I still want to get this.

Here here. One of the best ways to speed up a game is not not proxy any figures on the map.

The Human Target · Sep 3, 2010

AngryMojo said:
Here here. One of the best ways to speed up a game is not not proxy any figures on the map.

More Maps- Always good.

More tokens- Always good.

New updated portable DMG- Great.

New updated DMG screen- great.

Adventure ideas- always useful.

Daddy wants.

I have no urge to pick up the actual player Essentials books but this and the Monster Vault make me happy.

AngryMojo · Sep 3, 2010

The Human Target said:
More tokens- Always good.

My greatest hope is that they'll release a monster token set that has nothing else with it. Just tokens. Package it like Dungeon Tiles and call it a day.

fjw70 · Sep 3, 2010

So the only thing random in the random magic item table is the rarity of the item? Then the DM selects an item of that rarity?

Scribble · Sep 3, 2010

fjw70 said:
So the only thing random in the random magic item table is the rarity of the item? Then the DM selects an item of that rarity?

Yeah... Sounds like it's kind of splitting the difference between the parcel system and oldschool random.

If they did start selling magic item cards, you could shuffle up a bunch in stacks of the three rarities, then roll to see which stack you drew from.

fjw70 · Sep 3, 2010

Scribble said:
Yeah... Sounds like it's kind of splitting the difference between the parcel system and oldschool random.

If they did start selling magic item cards, you could shuffle up a bunch in stacks of the three rarities, then roll to see which stack you drew from.

Thanks.

I will probably use wish lists to make my own random tables. I can have a table of 20 items for each level.

Scribble · Sep 3, 2010

fjw70 said:
Thanks.

I will probably use wish lists to make my own random tables. I can have a table of 20 items for each level.

Thats probably what I will do too, based on the limited info we have now.

TikkchikFenTikktikk · Sep 3, 2010

fjw70 said:
Thanks.

I will probably use wish lists to make my own random tables. I can have a table of 20 items for each level.

At risk of hijacking the thread: This epitomizes everything that I find wrong about wish lists.

Call me old school and call me guilty of promoting "the right way to play D&D", but if a player is asking for a magic item by name:

1) He's metagaming, unless his character has been told in game as a plot point the the Sword of Foo will help him defeat the evil lich king. My game culture strongly discourages metagaming.

2) If she has been told the Orb of Reckoning will help defeat the hobgoblin menace, it becomes a plot point and an adventure to find it is called for, the result of which is the defeat of a miniboss and the Orb as treasure.

3) If you find the Fiddle of Happy Times and Sad Times Too and you don't want it, deal with it in game. Find someone in a major city to sell it to, pick up a new hobby, or trade it to a minstrel for a tip on where to find that Cape of Neck Slot Checkbox Ticking. Don't cry about it like a poorly-raised three-year-old.

Dropping "wishlist" items at random just seems really lame: it devalues what should be special items and it deliberately ignores opportunities to add those little side-treks that flesh out campaigns and develop characters.

fjw70 · Sep 3, 2010

TikkchikFenTikktikk said:
At risk of hijacking the thread: This epitomizes everything that I find wrong about wish lists.

Call me old school and call me guilty of promoting "the right way to play D&D", but if a player is asking for a magic item by name:

1) He's metagaming, unless his character has been told in game as a plot point the the Sword of Foo will help him defeat the evil lich king. My game culture strongly discourages metagaming.

2) If she has been told the Orb of Reckoning will help defeat the hobgoblin menace, it becomes a plot point and an adventure to find it is called for, the result of which is the defeat of a miniboss and the Orb as treasure.

3) If you find the Fiddle of Happy Times and Sad Times Too and you don't want it, deal with it in game. Find someone in a major city to sell it to, pick up a new hobby, or trade it to a minstrel for a tip on where to find that Cape of Neck Slot Checkbox Ticking. Don't cry about it like a poorly-raised three-year-old.

Dropping "wishlist" items at random just seems really lame: it devalues what should be special items and it deliberately ignores opportunities to add those little side-treks that flesh out campaigns and develop characters.

I haven't used wishlists before, but I am not a big fan of "shopping" trips in D&D. I want to spend session time exploring dungeons or defending villages from marauding orcs, or petitioning the king to help you in a quest. I don't want to spend a lot of time in session trying to sell/buy a magic item or have worlds with Walmarts of magic items.

Like I said I haven't used them before, but if it gets the players to keep the items they find then that will be an improvement. I will probably follow the new rules which makes many item difficult or impossible for the PCs to create themselves. So this gives the players some control over the item they acquire.