Gaming Tonic
First Post
We get tons of talk about dungeons, traps, and drow this week. The fans are really clamoring for DnD Next info and are really heating up the boards here at En World so stop by and make sure you check them out. Don't miss the Best Dungeon contest either as all of the candidates are really amazing. Now we can continue with the news.- Greg Bilsland fills in for Mike Mearls and takes A Walk Down Monster Lane in Legends & Lore this week. I am with Greg and tend to think we can never have enough monsters. I always loved reading the new monsters in Dragon as a youth. The readers here are talking about their own walks here.
[*]Run Away! a blog by Robert Schwalb talks about the lost subject, morale. I am not sure where I would land on morale rules in a new edition. I always liked them until I didn't have them, but then I didn't miss them. Fans have a lot to say about this here.
[*]Acerak's Apprentice in The Dungeon Master Experience by Chris Perkins doesn't talk about Iomandra but instead talks about the Best Dungeon contest. The finalists have been narrowed down and now it is up to the fans to declare their favorite.
[*]Vaults of the Father and Master by Rodney Thompson in Eye on Dark Sun gives you some advice on how to lock up your goods. I know one necromancer in my game who would love to get his hands on Tectuktitlay’s Narrows.
[*]Imagination, the Grid, and Points Between by Bruce Cordell talks about how we use miniatures, maps, and other tools to track the combat. I tend to use a whiteboard and imagination as much as possible but miniatures do come up in some situations. Take the poll and let the world know what method you prefer.
[*]Themes: A Dungeon Survival Handbook Excerpt by Bart Carroll reveals all the themes in the soon to be released supplement. We are also treated to a sample theme, the Treasure Hunter. I can’t wait to get a look at the rest of the six other themes in the book. I think that great dungeons and dark depths are always a great place to adventure and I hope the rest of this product is as good as this preview makes it look. The conversation is going on here at En World.
[*]Jon Schindehette says Brown is Nothing but Dark Beige in Dragon's-Eye View this week. We get introduced to the D&D Creative Studio and learn how important a little thing like a color can be when it comes to representing Dungeons & Dragons. I never knew.
[*]Matt Sernett tries his best to describe all the Traps of Undermountain in Dungeon 201. The Trap Design 101 sidebar is good information to keep in mind whenever you build any traps in any edition. The Punishment Arms trap creates hilarious imagery in my mind and I would love to see this sprung on an unsuspecting party in a game. If you need a trap this article has something to help you out.
[*]In Rule of Three this week Rodney Thompson speaks about hit points, crafting mundane items, and time in D&D Next. I think hit points are the one thing that has united all editions and I am glad no resources will be spent there. The crafting items needs all that energy because it has never been something that worked well without consuming your character in one way or another.
[*]Don't miss the Drow Wallpaper by J Kovach. I love the Lolth Symbol for pretty much any occasion.
[*]My Year in Undermountain in Design and Development by Shawn Merwin reflects on the enormous task of doing justice to Halaster’s halls for 4th Edition. With the wealth of material that exists for the mega-dungeon and how some gamers can react to the slightest of tweaks, I am sure it was a lot of work. I hope Shawn put his own stamp on this release.
[*]Types of Dungeons: A Dungeon Survival Handbook Excerpt by Bart Carroll examines the different types of dungeons that a DM can present to challenge the players. This article has so much goodness that I actually had to read it twice. The magical laboratory has always been something that I enjoyed coming across in a dungeon crawl.
[*]The +5 Crossword of Slaying --Part 9 by Chris Perkins arrives to test your brain again. Drizzt's class was a bit confusing because I kept thinking it was second class as a male drow.
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