Gaming Tonic
First Post
This week was busy as Wizards of the Coast wrapped up everything for October and jumped head first into November and beyond. New D&D Encounters, what to expect in Lair Assault and piles of new stuff to give your games and characters options are just a few of the offerings.
- Take a look forward with Bart Carroll at November: In the Works. Take a sneak peak at the Book of Vile Darkness, Heroes of the Feywild, Dragon Collectors Set, and more. Seems to me like some exciting things are going to help us close out 2011.
- Bart Carroll brings you another Heroes of the Feywild Excerpt detailing Fey Origin Stories. This alternate background system allows you to detail your character background but replaces selecting a background. The samples make me think this is a great mechanic for new players or for perhaps a quick but in depth background for your PC.
- A reminder that the new D & D Encounters season, Beyond the Crystal Cave starts November 16th. Check with your local game store to see if they are participating. While you are there you can check and make sure they will be offering the new Lair Assault, Talon of Umberlee which begins in December.
- Flowers in the Darkness by Tim Eagon is a Bestiary article that gives you four deadly plants native to the Shadowfell. The next time you are in a bit of trouble and try to buy flowers to get out it, I suggest the Vampire Rose.
- Rule of Three by Rich Baker once again answers your questions about player skill vs. character skill, the role of MMO's and other games in the development of D&D, and lessons learned in game design since the release of 4th Edition. The answer to the third question is something that has boggled me since the beginning of 4E, so now I can move on.
- Sterling Hershey goes Greyhawk in History Check: Rary the Traitor. We get a look at the Circle of Eight and great sidebars include what your characters would know about the premier power group in Greyhawk based on what skills they used and what DC they rolled. Even if you didn't grow up gaming on Oerth this is still a great read.
- Chris Perkins brings you Catapult in The Dungeon Master Experience. The story of Garrot is great but the point being made is much more entertaining. Fortune favors the bold and the foolish alike and DM's are reminded of that in this regular column.
- Heroes of the Feywild is the focus of Design & Development by Rodney Thompson. More of what you can expect to find in the soon to be released book is revealed. If you want an in-depth look at the races, classes, builds, and more that Heroes of the Feywild has to offer than give it a click.
- Dragon 405 kicks off with Wild Times by Chris Perkins. Readers are given some insight on where the Feywild springs from. Chris also looks at how the Feywild took shape in the 4th Edition and how both the magazines will celebrate the Feywild in November.
- Monte Cook takes a look at the rulebooks in Getting the Most Out of the Rules and what players and DM's alike want and need in their game materials. Several poll questions follow that relate to the article and we all know how important feedback is from the audience.
- A Miniature Games Survey has been posted. The questions are about the D&D Miniatures Game and the miniature games in general. Seems like a positive to gather feedback from the players of the games. Go and give your two coppers to Wizards of the Coast.
- You can go ahead and get a good laugh with Epic Campaign #9, #10, and #11 by Aaron Williams. Three new strips in a week, somebody is trying to gain levels quickly.
- Finishing off an excellent month of Kara-Tur content Dragon 404 gives you two new Character Themes, The Samurai and the Yakuza by Jeff Morgenroth. The samurai theme really shows off the speed of these warriors, and the yakuza intimidate opponents into submission.
- Dungeon 195 starts off with the Ghost Knight of Galardoun by Ed Greenwood in Eye on the Realms. What is the haunting knight and how can you use it in your campaign? Check it out and you answer that question for yourself.
If you have a question that you would like to ask Jeremy Crawford, whose design credits include Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium, the Dungeons & Dragons Essentials line, and all three PHB's, post it here and I will select a few to ask him, since he has been so kind to help us out.
