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Based on recent events, such as the open playtest, cancellation of VTT, online tool support (Adventure tools/Character builder), 1st edition and 3.5 edition reprints, interaction with players, and news from articles like "legend & lore" and "The DM Experience (I think that's what Chris Perkins'...

About us My family and I recently moved to the Kingdom of Tonga, a small group of islands in the South Pacific. With the move came a SHORTAGE of opportunities to play D&D. My son and I were going crazy. Luckily, my wife and daughter decided to alleviate our suffering, and have started playing...

I was reading through the "Caves of Chaos" (haven't been able to playtest it yet) and I noticed that the rats carry a disease (I believe that feature is called pestilence). Then I say the effect: 1d6. That puzzled me. "Pestilence" causes an immediate 1d6 with no lingering effects? I hope that...

I've always enjoyed D&D books. Now that D&Dnext is in the works, I started thinking about what kind of a book I would want to use with the new edition. I love the size of the 4e Essentials books. They are easy to handle and are portable. I had my copies spiral bound which made them even easier...

As I read the design team's blogs and articles about the development of D&Dnext, I feel generally optimistic about the next iteration of the game. However, once in a while, a little "something" will catch my eye and shakes that optimism a bit. Sometimes this is a temporary "jiggle" and sometimes...

Hello all, This is my first post regarding Pathfinder (so please forgive me if this question has been previously asked or run into the ground), but with all the discussion surrounding D&DNext - people are digging in to their "favorite edition" positions, and one of those isn't a D&D product...

The recent announcement that Monte Cook has left the design and development team for D&DNext is surprising and disappointing, but I think we need to keep a sense of perspective. Monte and the rest of the team are professionals and I believe they are going to do what is best for their careers and...

I've been playing 1st AD&D with my family for about a month now. The primary reason is because my son, who has played D&D with me for about 10 years now (he started when he was 10), wanted to have the "classic D&D experience." With the "classic" D&D experience in mind, I started to plan out what...

I recently changed from a 4th edition campaign with a group of 4-5 players to playing 1st edition with my family (my wife, son and daughter). My daughter played D&D periodically through 3.5 and 4e. My sons (only one lives at home now), started playing D&D when 3.5 was introduced. This is my...

Mike Mearls' latest ruminations on character abandonment (or rather, when players get bored with their PCs), got me thinking about class features and levels. In the next version of the game, when should PCs (a) reach the zenith of their class features, and (b) what do we do with PCs once they've...

Thank you for adopting an "open playtest" approach as you develop the next iteration of D&D. I've enjoyed many of the articles on the WotC website and the conversations they have raised in forums like this. However, as a researcher, I've been frustrated with the surveys accompanying many of the...

I was rolling up a 1st edition drow magic user tonight. The PC was 4th level and as I was choosing spells, I decided to choose "Find Familiar." First, I spent the $ for components, etc... then I rolled a D20 and got a 15! - that's a special familiar. We look at my options and decide to choose...

My son and I recently conned my wife and daughter into playing D&D. My son wanted to play 1st edition because he wanted to see D&D from my perspective (someone who's played through all the iterations of D&D since 1981). We all sat down together and started making characters, and at that point...

Disclaimer: This post includes a discussion about “Armor Class adjustments” and “Weapon speed factors” from previous editions of D&D, but this is not an argument for their inclusion in the next iteration of the game. Rather, it is a discussion of what I believe was a design shift from a choice...

Hello all, I was wondering if anyone knows of, or knows how to develop, a program that will take an existing monster, slap a class template on it, and output that things as a statblock. I know. I know - my brain.... but apart from that, has anyone heard of such a thing? I like having the...

Hi all, Our gaming group has decided to run the Age of Worms, and one of the players has decided to play a dread necromancer. I've only played a few sessions with this AP, so I know a little about it and its focus on undead, but that's about all I know. So, I have a couple of questions: 1)...

Hello all, Our group recently finished its first 4e campaign. We've played solidly since the release of 4e and defeated Orcus and Tiamat as the capstone of our campaign last month. That group has since dissolved as college, life, and other things take their toll. There is a possibility of a...

Hello all, I just had a quirky idea and was wondering if anyone would be willing to help me think it through to see what kind of impact it might have on a 4e game. What if wizards could use at-will powers from arcane classes via a scroll? For instance, perhaps a wizard had Magic Missile and...

Ridiculous. Here is a story from Salt Lake City. I lived in UT for a long time, and I found most people there surprisingly open-minded to D&D. In light of my personal experience, I find it interesting that the report places D&D as the primary cause for assault in this case, with very little...

Hi all, I'm working on turning the Water Temple from Ocarina of Time into a dungeon for my 4e group. I've written a basic outline - a VERY barebones, skeleton type of guide that I would like to develop further. I was wondering if anyone has already done this, or if anyone would like to...