Gaming Tonic
Explorer
[news]With Gen Con Indy right around the corner we have a lot of D&D Next excitement building. The feedback is being gathered and some of the stuff you will see is absolutely amazing. I can't say anything more about that at the moment but you will see for yourself. In the news are lots more to do with the drow, a great look at how to use books in your game, and more. Check back next week for a D&D Next interview if all goes well.[/news]
- Playtest Update, Part 2 by Mike Mearls in Legends and Lore arrives just in time to clue you in at what sort of things you might see if you get to play a game at Gen Con Indy this year. Mike quickly covers what we saw in the playtest rules and with fighters, hit die, healing, resting, and surprise, and how that feedback may or may not change those parts of the rules. I think fighter superiority and the skills and the rogue, are a great example of how instead of one set of rules fits all we are seeing each class given a unique potential to shine.
[*]Stocking the Shelves by Matt Sernett for Dungeon 205 offers many examples of how you can get books to tell a story in your game. There are many great examples of tomes to use in your game as well as some maps. A great list of hooks that you can use to get your players into the game is provided and even if you don’t use them there is a lot of great information gathered in one place for you to use in your campaign.
[*]What’s Up in Downshadow by Sterling Hershey in Dungeon 204 is a Forgotten Realms adventure set in Undermountain for characters level 2-4. This is a great adventure for players who want to fight against opponents that feel high level with their low level characters. The drow are usually bad guys that challenge a party who is experienced so this will really surprise your players. I really appreciate the unusually high amount of roleplaying encounters in the adventure.
[*]This week Rodney Thompson answers questions over on the D&D Next Q&A which replaces Rule of Three. A few things may have changed, but he still answers three questions. This week the questions are about party size, how NPC villains will be built, and what will be considered an adventuring day in the next edition. I am glad to see the designers appear to be leaning towards a more complex way to handle how NPC villains will be built. 4E sometimes left me feeling a little lacking in campaign villain depth of ability. Readers here at EN World had a lot to say about this, check it out here. I have my own questions for Rodney about D&D Next but you got to check back to see what was asked and how it was answered.
[*]James Wyatt lays out what goals are being worked towards in the next edition in Orcs and Gnolls for Wandering Monsters. Examples of what the designers may have in mind are given for the orc and gnoll. It sounds to me like they may be looking heavily at what was done for 2nd Edition with the Monstrous Manual. That whole series was excellent so why not take another look at it?
[*]The End is Nigh in The Dungeon Master Experience by Chris Perkins explains how to wrap up an epic level campaign by looking at what has happened earlier in the campaign. I like this approach to make sure all the players feel satisfied and it was there character’s story that was the loose end. As long as it can take to get to this high of level, I for one wouldn’t want to have it fall flat. This is good advice so that it won’t.
[*]Denizens of the Demonweb by Michael E. Shea in Dungeon 204 is a pretty straightforward article that offers a bit of fluff and set-up and a lot of monsters for a DM to throw at the party. Overall there wasn’t a lot in this article that wowed me, but the Characteristics of the Demonweb is a handy reference that can be applied to all kinds of dimensions and effects. If you need some epic level opponents for your game than this article is the place to find them.
[*]Da Ga-Noll by Jon Schindehette this week in Dragon’s Eye View is a companion article to this week’s Wandering Monsters article. The visual representation of the gnoll is explained, as well as what steps were necessary to get there. A lot of different pictures of gnolls are presented and at the very end a poll is ready to gather your opinion. I really like the picture and think the gnoll is just fine the way it is.
