|
Earlier is Good: WotC's Anthony Valterra confirms that
the street dates for the D&D products up through August are
actually a little earlier than previously planned. "The reason for the change is that we are trying
really really hard to sync up our release dates in all channels (books,
hobby, direct, etc.). We had to back up our original dates about a week
and a half in order to do this," Valterra explains. You'll see
to the left that I've added the specific street dates for as many
products as I have accurate info for. Of particular interest is
confirmation that tomorrow is the release date for Defenders of the
Faith. Thanks to Eric (no, not me you goof!) for the scoop.
Official Website Updates: What's new at WotC?
- Realmswatch features Sean Reynolds on magic in the Realms,
and the details of three magic-related feats: Persistent Spell,
Spellcasting Prodigy, and Twin Spell.
- New PC Portraits.
- New Map-A-Week.
- The next chapter of this month's Cliffhanger.
- Scoopers: Dark Blackshield, Erik Jensen, jhixson.
2002 Product Titles: Anonymous passed me a tip that
included the names of two books that are not on the 2001 schedule. It's
a good guess that Masters of the Wild
is the barbarian/druid/ranger class book; and Tooth
and Claw is apparently some sort of guide to playing
monstrous characters.
Eagle-eyed scooper Mike Mearls points out another intriguing product
title, found in this article by Matt Forbeck:
This column is actually just me
sticking my head up for a brief second to gulp some air before I dive
straight back into The Stronghold
Builder’s Handbook, a new
Dungeons & Dragons book for Wizards of the Coast. Who knew that
building a floating castle could be so much fun?
Boards are Back Up: My message boards are back up. For
now... ;)
Dragon #283: The May 2001 issue of Dragon
arrived in my mail today. Let's look inside...
- The theme is Clerics and Deities. Defenders of
the Faith co-author James Wyatt presents four new prestige classes
(Shining Blade of Heironeous, Radiant Servant of Pelor, Fleet Runner of
Ehlonna, Mighty Contender of Kord) and an article about roleplaying
cleric characters. Stephen Kenson provides tips for designing
pantheons. "Realistic Religion" deals with combining real-world
religious mythic elements with game mechanics for greater realism in
campaign settings. Monte Cook offers up the Flamesteward prestige
class, which uses mystical fire to heal as well as harm.
- Realmsworthy: "Countdown to the Realms" shows us how
the FR map takes shape. New Realms-related columns will appear in Dragon
starting with #284 -- "Faiths of Faerun" ("new paths and powers for
clerics") and "Elminster's Guide to the Realms" ("a new location each
issue").
- D&D Goodness: Rogue's Gallery, how to fight
Treants, Sage Advice. Here are official corrections from Sage Advice:
- Skeletons take half damage from
piercing or slashing weapons.
- The retriever should have fast
healing, not regeneration.
- Planetars and solars should have
fast healing, not regeneration. They can reattach lost limbs.
- Any blessed or holy weapon of +2
or better enhancement can deal normal damage to a kyton (as do fire and
acid).
- The pit fiend's damage reduction
should be 30/+3.
- Other Stuff: Fiction, the final installment of Gary
Gygax's articles on the elements of RPGs, articles on plot hooks,
fantasy movies, PC portraits, DungeonCraft, miniatures, etc.
Reviews: RPG.net has posted new reviews of The
Standing Stone (WotC), Demons & Devils (Necromancer
Games), and Dark Fire (Dark Portal Games). (thanks to Yves and
Oren Douek for the scoop)
D20 System News:
- Sword & Sorcery Studios have posted errata for their Creature
Collection book. Mostly it's a list of corrected challenge ratings
for the monsters in that book. (thanks to Gish Makai and Forge for the
scoop)
- Scrollworks Press, the publisher of the monthly print 'zine
Scrollworks, has
enjoyed a recent web facelift. Scrollworkspress.com now offers forums,
downloads, news updates via e-mail, and more.
- Green Ronin's Chris Pramas sent along the cover for Hell
in Freeport, to be released in July. He mentions that the authors
of this high-level adventure are "'WotC
All-stars.' It's that Jim Bishop, plus Jess Lebow, who's an editor in book
publishing, and Paul Bazakas, who sells D&D into the core hobby
market."
Community News:
- The 3rd Edition has a new selection of character sheets and
a rating system for them.
- Astelbania is a D&D MUSH that uses a combination of
D&D rules including those from 3E.
- The Netbook of Classes is looking for reviewers. If you'd
like to participate, please visit the website and contact them.
- The Alcove of Leenar the Green has some new materials
including house rules for improving the Toughness feat.
- Updates at Eyru: A few
house rules including: a "fix" for Sorcerers, a minor tweak to the
Cleric, and a minor tweak to the Bull Rush tactic. Also, new background
information has been added in the Eyru World section, and a new session
log is up.
- OmegaOdd, formerly webmaster of the venerable Return to the
Dungeon website, is now running OmegaOdd's Random d20, a D20 System
resource site. He'll be offering new stuff for both D&D and Star
Wars.
- Update from EN World: The
EN World Site has moved due to increased hosting requirements. Our new
address is http://rpg-e.com/enworld/. We have also secured two domain names,
d20reviews.com and daemonforge.com, which should be active by the endof
the week. We are still seeking your opinion on how we can make this
facility better for you. If you have any thoughts, please post them on this thread in Eric's
forums.
The d20 Reviews page is a resounding success - over 80 reviews have
been posted so far and over 1500 votes have been cast via our automatic
product rating system. We have received overwhelming support from the
d20 publishers, who are kindly donating products to be used as prizes.
With this in mind, we would like to announce our first competition
which, if successful, will become a regular monthy feature.
We have copies of NeMoren's
Vault, The Silver Summoning (Fiery Dragons Productions) and The Longest Night (Privateer Press) to give away to the winner
of our Best Review Competition. To enter, you need merely to post a
review on the EN World D20 Reviews page; all reviews posted so far and
all those received up until the end of April will be eligible for this
competition. We will be judging the reviews on a number of factors,
such as depth and attention to relevant details (content, production
quality etc.) The winner will receive copies of each of the modules. If
you have already posted a review, you are welcome to edit it with this
competition in mind.
We will also be previewing new D20 products on the website. The first
product previewed will be To
Stand On Hallowed Ground by
Fiery Dragons Productions.
Finally - news of Daemonforge. We have now moved onto the 'Places'
topic, and invite you to compose a detailed description of one of the
major locations (cities, strongholds, islands etc.) found in
Daemonforge. Your submission should include a physical/geographcal
description of the location and any major landmarks, details of major
personalities, organisations or
buildings, and demographic information about the population, culture,
laws and customs found there. You may detail a location already
mentioned, or you may describe a new location of your own making. The
many independent island-states of the Shattered Isles region allow for
vast diversity, so you have great creative license when designing your
'place'.
Poll Results: What features are "must haves" in the
initial release of Master Tools? Not surprisingly, you want it all. Character Generation and Management came out on
top at 16%, with Create Custom Classes/Prestige
Classes and Make Maps w/Encounters and
Adventures not too far behind (13% each). Party
or Campaign Management came in next (12%). You also wanted to
make Custom Races and Monsters, Custom Treasure and Equipment, and Custom Spells/Domains and Feats/Skills (11%
each). You were slightly less interested in One-Click
Random Generation (9%), and Mac/Other
Platform and Other pulled in few
votes. For full results view the poll archive.
New in the Conversion Library: A whole lotta stuff....
- Adventures -- Chapter 4 of Scourge
of the Slave Lords, and The Quest
for the Silver Sword.
- Cyberpunk 2020
converted to D20.
- Forgotten Realms templates -- Chosen
of Mystra, and Chosen of Eilistraee.
- Monsters -- stone guardian,
templates for winter werewolf and drider, giant lobster,
guardian angels.
Message Board Roundup:
- Bruce Cordell on psicrystals: The combat stats of psicrystals are as those described in the
Psionics Handbook (AC 13, Hardness 8, HP 20, Speed 30). They do not
gain offensive capacities, nor any other capacities not described in
the rulebook. As far as type goes, yes, Construct is perfect. Their
senses are akin to ‘blindsight’ as described on page 9 of
the Monster Manual, and as such is an Extraordinary ability.
- Bruce Cordell on customizing displays and detecting psionic
activity from displays: ...the language
could be better where the display rules are presented. Therefore, I'm
going to submit for consideration wording changes to Au, Me, and Ol
displays--the new wording will indicate that these displays can be
tempered both in obviousness and in length (in fact, the default will
be an instantaneous display, with the option for longer at the psion's
option). Under customization, I'll also clearly call out that the
indicated previous displays can be considered as examples (that all
important word, which never made it into the text!). Though this next
bit is not being added as errata, generally speaking a psion being
subtle with a display in an attempt to not be noticed should provide an
onlooker (in range, which is usually about 15 feet of the origin, or
the endpoint of a manifestation) with a Spot or Listen check of DC 10
(this is consistent with the spot of listen check needed to see a
wizard with verbal and/or somatic components casting a spell).
- Sean Reynolds on Lords of Darkness: Think of it as the Cloak and Dagger of the new FR campaign setting, with crunchy
spells, magic items, character stats, and prestige classes.
- Sean Reynolds on game mechanics penalties vs. roleplaying
penalties: Never balance a game
mechanic advantage with a roleplaying disadvantage, and vice versa. A
drow with no mechanics penalties can circumvent your roleplaying
obstacles with a change self spell or a hat of disguise,
and suddenly that character is more powerful than the others with no
drawbacks.
- Scoopers: The Shadow of My Former Self, Kyle, Melfast.
Reviews: You can read new reviews of Rappan Athuk
(Necromancer Games) and Thievery 101: Joining the Watchers
(Wyvern's Claw) at RPG.net.
Official Website Updates: What's new at WotC?
- WotC has a whole new D20 System section. You can find the
various licenses, a D20 System FAQ, the first sections of the D20
System Reference Document that have been officially released, and a
bunch of other useful tidbits.
- WotC now has a mailing list for their Wheel of Time RPG.
The list is called WOT-L. To subscribe to the list send an email to
listserv@oracle.wizards.com, and put this in the body: SUB WOT-L <firstname lastname without the
brackets>
- New Map-A-Week.
- Scoopers: Robert Kozak, Pat, and Kevin.
Defenders of the Faith Table of Contents: Scooper
"Renshai" scored a copy of Defenders of the Faith and was kind
enough to share the table of contents. A number of scoopers have
reported either purchasing this book recently or that they'd be able to
starting this Friday.
Introduction
What this book Is and Is Not
How to use this book
Clerics and Paladins
Playing an Effective Cleric
Healing
Turning
Evil Clerics and Undead
Divination
Divination and the DM
Clerics in Combat
Weapons
Armor
Spells
Advancement
Playing an effective Paladin
Where Paladins excel
Weapons
Armor
The Code
The Code and the DM
Tactics
Paladin Spells
Turning
Duty
Duties and the DM
Advancement
Special Mounts
Variant Special Mounts
Aging Mounts
Dragon Mounts
Training your Dragon
Keeping your Dragon
Losing your Dragon
Leadership and Mounts
Dragon Cohorts
Special Dragon Mounts
Channeling
Neutral Alignment and Channeling
Divine Intervention
Converts
Skills
New Craft and Profession Skills
Same Skills, New Uses
New Feats
Virtual Feats
Divine Feats
Sacred Gear
Magic Items
Churches and Organizations
The Role of Churches
Joining the Church
Church Structure
How to use this Chapter
Missions from the Church
Contacts within the Church
Church Support
Chruches and Other Organizations
Lawful Good
Neutral Good
The Solarium (Temple of Pelor)
Chaotic Good
Lawful Neutral
The Mausoleum Hall (Temple of Wee Jas)
Neutral
Chaotic Evil
The Cup of Blood (Temple of Erythnul)
Justice Blade
The House of Death
A House of Death
Council of Blades
Laughing Knives
Order of the Chalice
Stargazers
Mount Baden Chapterhouse
If I ran the Temple
Expenses
Income
Church Activites
Adventuring Clerics
Prestige Classes
Church Inquisitor
Consecrated Harrier
Contemplative
Divine Oracle
Holy Liberator
Celestial Companion
Hospitaler
Hunter of the Dead
Knight of the Chalice
Knight of the Middle Circle
The Inner Circle
The Stargazers
Master of Shrouds
Ghosts and Vampires
Summoning Undead
Sacred Exorcist
Sacred Fist
Templar
Warpriest
Divine Magic
New Cleric Spells
New Paladin Spells
New Druid Spells
New Ranger Spells
Prestige Domains
Granted Power Note
New Spells
Appendix: Monstrous Clerics
The Dragon Deities
The Giant Deities
Outsider and Elemental Lords |
Cleric Spells
1st Level
Burial Blessing
2nd Level
Brambles
Divine Flame
Divine Zephyr
Knife Spray
3rd Level
Beastmark
Blessed Aim
Briar Web
Chain of Eyes
Curse of the Brute
Flame of Faith
Lesser Telepathic Bond
Spikes
Sweet Water
Sword Stream
4th Level Clerics Spells
Beast Claws
Castigate
Harrier
Recitation
Unfailing Endurance
Weapon of the Deity
Weather Eye
5th Level Cleric Spells
Bear's Heart
Blight
Divine Agility
6th Level Cleric Spells
None
7th Level Cleric Spells
Righteous Wrath of the Faithful
Slime Wave
8th Level Cleric Spells
Brain Spider
Chain of Chaos
9th Level Cleric Spells
None
Paladin Spells
1st Level Paladin Spells
Divine Sacrifice
2nd Level Paladin Spells
Blessed Aim
Curce of the Brute
Zeal
3rd Level Paladin Spells
None
4th Level Paladin Spells
Lesser Aspect of the Deity
Weapon of the Deity
Druid Spells
1st level Druid Spells
None
2nd Level Druid Spells
Beastmask
Brambles
Briar Web
Sweet Water
3rd Level Druid Spells
Beastclaws
Harrier
Spikes
Weather Eye
4th level Druid Spells
Blight
Bear's Heart
Chain of Eyes
7th Level Druid Spells
Slime Wave
Ranger Spells
2nd level Ranger Spells
Briar Web
New domains
Beastmaster Prestige Domain
Celerity Prestige Domain
Community Prestige Domain
Creation Prestige Domain
Divination Prestige Domain
Domination Prestige Domain
Exorcism Prestige Domain
Glory Prestige Domain
Inquisition Prestige Domain
Madness Prestige Domain
Mind Prestige Domain
Mysticism Prestige Domain
Pestilence Prestige Domain
Summoning Prestige Domain |
D20 System News:
- Sovreign Stone D20: Sovreign Press announced that
they would be developing Sovreign Stone as a D20 System campaign
setting, and plan to release two hardcover books at GenCon. You can
read the press release here, and I've created an entry for Sovreign
Press in my D20 System guide. (thanks to Claus Olesen and Chris Morency
for the scoop)
- Other updates to the D20 System Guide include a new entry
for new D20 System publisher Sell Out Ink, new products on the schedule
for Avalanche Press, and updates to the product schedule and new cover
art from Troll Lord Games. (Thanks to Daniel for the Avalanche scoop)
Message Board Roundup:
- Monte Cook revisits harm: Maybe it should be a Will save [instead of a Fortitude save].
There's another solution that I saw on Eric Noah's site, which was to
make harm have a maximum of 100 points of damage that
it can inflict. I'd almost be tempted to put the same limitation on heal. [MonteCook.com boards]
- T'Ed Stark on wizardly defenses: In many of our playtests, Mialee (the iconic elf wizard) has mage armor (it lasts 1 hour/level), but she usually prepares sleep
or magic missile as well. While shield is nice, at a certain point, it becomes less valuable. At
1st-level, Mialee can have an AC of 17 for one hour (13 thereafter) if
she uses mage armor. While she could bump it to 24 for a minute,
that's not that much of a help (most things she's fighting have a +1 or
+2 attack bonus, so there's four points of AC "wasted"--since a 20
always hits). [Official boards]
- T'Ed Stark on the cost of creating magic items: ...in reality the XP cost is the only "real"
cost in the game. It measures your characters' advancement. It keeps
them from doing nothing but cranking out magic item after magic item.
[Official boards]
- T'Ed Stark on whether sorcerers should be able to
effectively use the Quicken Spell feat: My
recommendation: Don't let sorcerers use Quicken without paying the cost
they pay for using all metamagic feats (ie, increasing the casting time
to a full round). It was written that way for a reason. Sorcerers have
plenty of advantages, especially in combat situations--they don't need
Quicken as well. [Official boards]
- T'Ed Stark on shurikens, bows, and crossbows: Shuriken have the special rule that lets you
throw three of them with one attack. They also have the special rule
prohibiting damage additions based on Strength bonus (so a shuriken
does one point of damage, maximum); they're poison-delivery systems,
mostly. Since they are a weapon, you have to draw them to throw them,
thus making the Quick Draw feat very useful to someone who has a BAB of
6+. Arrows, being ammunition, can be loaded and fired through the bow
without the Quick Draw feat (if they are readily available--in a
quiver, set up next to you deliberately, etc.). Crossbows have the
special that they need to be loaded as a move-equivalent action. If you
are using a crossbow at low levels, you're fairly happy because of the
extra damage (and probably because you didn't have to pick up a feat to
use it, if you aren't someone who automatically knows bows). Once your
BAB hits 6+, however, you're a little annoyed because you can't take
advantage of the second attack (you have to reload). [Official boards]
- Scoopers: Gargoyle, The Shadow of My Former Self.
Githyanki, Githzerai and Thri-Kreen PCs: WotC's Bruce
Cordell offers some thoughts on balancing three psionically-minded
races for use as PCs (thanks to WanderingMonster for the scoop):
Githzerai and githyanki have
an ECL (equivalent character level ) of +2 (so bring in 1st levle
githzerai and githyanki when you'd normally bring in regular 3rd level
characters -- your githyanki and githzerai characters are considered to
be 'character level' 3 as well, as for as experience and advancement is
concerned). Thri-kreen, off the top of my head, I'd put at ECL +5 at
minimum. If you need a thri-kreen with a lower ECL, reduce it's base HD
and abilities down to a more reasonable level.
The Sage on Magic and Sneak Attacks: Scooper Jay Hafner
sent along some clarifications from Skip "The Sage" Williams:
- Does a Grease spell cause the victim
to fall "prone" or just "off balance"? Prone. (I suppose you could call a character
who has just fallen off balance, at least until his/her turn comes
again.)
- If a character misses on his attack
roll while using one charge from the Ring of
the Ram, is the charge lost? Yes.
- Which of the following spells cause an
affected creature to be eligible to be hit by a rogue's sneak attack? Stinking Cloud, Grease, Animate Rope, Web, Suggestion, Animal
Trance, Confusion, Dominate (person or
monster), Hypnotism, Charm (person or monster). Potentially, all of them, since a rogue can sneak attack foes
he/she flanks or who are denied their Dex bonus. I suspect, however,
that you really want to know which spells deny Dex bonus.
- Grease does not (you don't lose Dex bonus when
prone).
- Web doesn't, nor do any of the other entangling
spells on the list (see page 278 in the PH).
- No aspect of the confusion spell denies Dex bonus.
- Hypnotism does not deny Dex bonus (though you might be
able to surprise a hypnotized creature more easily.
- Dominate or charm could (in the same manner as a bluff), but
doing so definitely allows the subject a new save. A charm is
automatically broken by the sneak attack. Dominate is not.
D20 System News:
- AtFantasy.com has posted a new review of Demons &
Devils (Necromancer Games).
- I've updated two D20 System Guide entries. Scooper
"Bertman4" has provided scans of distributor catalog ads for AEG's Farscape
sci fi game, and an adventure module from Troll Lord Games.
- Privateer Press has opened up ironkingdoms.com, a website
devoted to their Iron Kingdoms campaign setting. (thanks to Jaldaen for
the scoop)
- Dark Portal Games has opened up www.arekoz.com, a website
devoted to their Arekoz campaign setting. DPG's Darrin Drader
elaborates: ...the world of Arekoz will
be a developing setting. We'll give the reader as much information up
front about what our plans are, and over time it will be developed in
more detail. Eventually we intend to make the world open source.
Currently the known gods have been posted, a (very) brief overview of
the lands by one of the more distinguished adventurers of Arekoz, a
continental map, and there is a new prestige class - the fellderu (or
the fell druid) there as well. In the coming weeks the area surrounding
the city of Gateway will be fleshed out in much more detail. The
staffmaster prestige class will be posted, and some NPC's of the world
will find their way up there.
Community News:
- RealmsCrafters posted another weekly update: This week Jamis talks some more about the
work on the NPC generator and modeling modifiers, which are just about
anything that can be specified to "modify" an NPC. Jamis also lets out
a big secret.
- The Netbook of Classes at DNDCommunityCouncil.org has
posted its first entry -- The Artificer.
- Creature Catalog has new and updated monster conversions.
- The Shards is a D&D campaign world with new races and
other house rules.
- A new prestige class has been posted at The Iron Keep.
- Black Falcon Aerie has added a selection of NPC and PC
stats and backgrounds for you to download.
- Rasta's Folly has been updated with new monsters.
- Updates to the martial arts system have been posted at The
Sleeping Imperium.
- The Oriental Adventures Project has a Yahoo Club message
board associated with it so you can discuss related maters such as new
rules.
- Updates at 3oni.com include printer-friendly versions of
their D&D indices.
- Ral-Auth is a D&D campaign setting site; you can follow
the exploits of adventurers there in this Story Hour thread on my
message boards.
D20 System News:
- RPGAction.com has posted a company profile for Privateer
Press, an interview with Privateer's Matt Staroscik, and the stats
for the mechanical steamjacks of Privateer's Iron Kingdom setting.
(thanks to Jaldaen for the scoop)
- Creature Collection II: Here's scooper
"Black Falcon" -- Sword & Sorcery Studios' new Creature Collection II: Dark Menagerie is a step closer to completion. Recently the
company notified all of the authors who had submitted material for the
book which contributions they were going to use. There are 70+ authors
on the list with at least one entry being used per author, so it looks
like it is going to have a diverse selection of goodies.
- Guildmaster Games announces a new adventure module
on thier product schedule -- The Sunken Temple, due in July.
- Mystic Triad is a new D20 System publisher, with
plans to produce a monster book and cardboard miniatures to accompany
it this fall.
- Scarred Lands Gazetteer: Scooper Jeffrey
Robbins attended Atlanta Comiccon recently and scored a look at Sword
& Sorcery Studios' Scarred Lands Gazetteer: Ghelspad: It's very similiar to the D&D Gazetteer that came out before the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. It's 48 pages with a pullout poster sized
map of the continent of Ghelspad. The border of the map has the
heraldry for various nations and city-states. Inside its divided into
six chapters. Chapter one is basically a reprint of the history of the
Divine war from Creature
Collection and Relics and Rituals. Chapter two has a short history of Ghelspad
since the end of the Divine War. Chapter three has the entries on the
nations and city-states. These are put together very much the same way
as the Greyhawk gazatteers. Chapter four details the topography of
Ghelspad, namely what the destruction and corruption of the Titans has
done to the land. Also included are a few man-made wonders, such as the
Wall of Bones. Chapter five details organizations that are the movers
and shakers of the continent. Included are groups of mercenaries,
assassins, paladins, and arcane orders. Chapter six reprints some
information on the Gods and Titans. This can also be found in CC and
RR. But it also includes information of the Scarn calendar, holidays,
the number of moons, and a short essay on the planes.
Cover Art: TalonComics was kind enough to send me scans
of black-and-white covers for two products we haven't seen covers for
yet: Manual of the Planes and Lords of Darkness. He
actually sent me a third scan, this one of the Forgotten Realms
campaign setting book, and you can see it here, but the scan is such
that you really can't make out much (and so I'll use the WotC mock-up
until I can get something a bit more readable).
Master Tools Update: Fluid's Scott Mathews provides a look
at the different levels of customization in this week's update. Here's
a snippet (thanks to Mark, Greg Currie, :
Customization in Master Tools
comes in two flavors: simple and not-so-simple. Let's talk about the
simple approach first.
Simple
The simple approach to customization involves launching the product,
opening up the appropriate dialog, setting a myriad of parameters to
your desires, and watching the parameters cascade through your
character (or your dungeon, or whatever).
Most of the simple approach to customization takes place through
something we call a generator. For example, Master Tools contains a
race generator. In the race generator, you can create a 7 HD Huge
aberration that swims, has damage reduction of 15/+1, the Multiattack
feat, and attacks with a claw for 1d10-2. Let's call this new race a
blargmeaux. Using the character generator, you can go on to make a
blargmeaux paladin, or an advanced state 11 HD blargmeaux, or equip
your blargmeaux with a lance. Whatever you like.
It's fairly straightforward and very robust. Areas that you can
customize using the simple approach are: race, character, encounter,
treasure (including magic items), dungeon elements (pits, traps, doors,
map layout, and so forth.), and familiars.
Not-So-Simple
You can still customize other aspects in Master Tools, it just requires
a bit more sophistication and dedication. The not-so-simple approach is
intended for those hardcore D&D players and DMs out there.
The not-so-simple approach to customization involves using a
third-party software package called MS Access. MS Access is a database
management program, and it is the database we have used to store many
of the statistics and rules embedded in the new edition of D&D.
Master Tools won't provide any documentation on how to customize things
through Access, but if a user out there is familiar with Access, doing
so should come with a minimum of difficulty.
The areas that you can customize through Access are fairly limitless.
We've worked hard to ensure that much of the rules-based information
rests in Access, and not deep within our proprietary code. Some of
those areas are: skills, feats, spells, weapons, armor, deities, all
classes, schools, special attacks, special qualities, speed types,
attack types, languages, gems, art, equipment, climates and terrains,
roles, and more. There are over 200 databases that can be customized.
Official Website Updates: What's new at WotC?
- A new splash page touting the return of the Forgotten
Realms in June.
- This month the Spotlight's on John D. Rateliff, an editor
and game designer, most recently author of The Standing Stone.
- Something’s Cooking is a new free adventure by Andy
Collins.
- Info on the Origins gaming convention.
- Meet some of the Playtesters for Defenders of the Faith,
and read up on prestige classes and magic items that were considered
for that product.
- Scoopers: Bertman4, Dark Blackshield, and Darwin.
Kalamar "Special Preview" Sneak Peek: Scooper
"Bertman4" has scored a copy of a distributor freezine called "Kingdoms of Kalamar Sourcebook Special Preview." He sent along
scans of the Kingdoms of Kalamar table of contents, two
interior pages [first, second], a map, and some ad copy for upcoming
adventures. Visit Kenzer & Co.'s website for more information on
this licensed D&D campaign setting.
Message Board Roundup:
- Bruce Cordell on psionically charged weapons [Official
boards]
- Monte Cook's opinion on harm: I think harm is a mistake. Harm
should allow for a Fort save, with the target losing 4d8+caster level
hp on a successful save. [MonteCook.com message
boards]
- Monte Cook wants your opinion: Have any of you downloaded the free adventures on the
Wizard's website? Did you use them? What did you think? [My message boards]
- T'Ed Stark on Enemies & Allies: It is more a DM's supplement, though there is
some player information in there, too. The player information will
mostly consist of some pregenerated player characters (with PC amounts
of stuff, etc.) you can use to work new players into higher-level
games, or for other purposes. The bulk of the book will be NPCs,
however. [Official boards]
- Scoopers: The Shadow of My Former Self, Bob Huss.
New Oriental Adventures Section: I've added a
place for Oriental Adventures news and details over on my
Settings page. Nothing new if you've been following the news closely,
but now those news bits have a permanent home. :)
Official Website Updates: What's new at WotC?
- A new Map-A-Week.
- A brief report on the unveiling of Chainmail at GAMA.
- Monte Cook's true legacy lives on in a new installment of
Miniatures Playhouse.
- Scooper: Bertman4.
D20 System News:
- Atlas Games announces Instrument of Destiny, a new
D20 System adventure set for a July 2001 release. (thanks to Oren Douek
for the scoop)
- Chaosium announces Straits of Chaos, a new
adventure for Dragonlords of Melniboné D20, due in July
2001. (thanks to Oren Douek for the scoop)
- Troll Lord Games is producing a hardcover D20 System book
for the World of Erde, the "After Winter Dark" camapaign setting.
- Swords & Sorcery Studios is looking for short fiction
submissions set in their Scarred Lands setting. (thanks to Scorched for
the scoop)
- You can read a review of Madness in Freeport (Green
Ronin) at AtFantasy.com.
- You can read a new review of The Silver Summoning
(Fiery Dragon) at RPG.net.
Community News:
- If you haven't visited Claudio's Art Gallery, you're
missing some fantastic D&D-inspired artwork.
- New converted monsters at the Creature Catalog: Moon Dog,
Meenlock, and Jermlaine.
- New feats at Michael's Imagination.
- New races, monsters, and templates at PS3e.com.
- Version 2.11 of Steve Mulhern's character spreadsheet is
available.
- The Gaming Table is a new RPG site featuring player/game
master database, automated review submission, message boards, and
articles about RPGs. They're loooking for submissions.
Poll Results: Should the Lord of the Rings RPG be
D20? Most of you (72%) said yes. You can view the complete results in
the poll archive. The current poll asks about Master Tools and the
features you most want to see. Click here to comment on this poll over
on the Software message board.
Community News:
- DNDHelp.com is running another of their bi-monthly chats
tonight:
IRC= Sorcery.net
Channel= #DNDHelp
Time= 8:00pm to 10pm CST
Date= April 11th, 2001
- Ssendam's RPG Homepage has D&D adventure reviews and
new magic items.
- James Wyatt has updated his personal RPG page with campaign
info and a few Oriental Adventures tidbits. (thanks to The Shadow of My
Former Self for the scoop)
- Charles Greathouse's Generators have been updated. (thanks
to The Shadow of My Former Self for the scoop)
Message Board Roundup:
- Monte Cook on the "secret surprise" in the August 2001 Dragon
Magazine: Don't worry. I can assure
you that Dave's not talking about anything ... drastic. He's talking
about one issue of the magazine, and he's talking about some special
content, not an of overhaul of the format. [My
boards]
- Keith Strohm on a 3E book of deities: ...there was some hope that WoTC would put out a book that
would offer stats for gods plus details on creating your own pantheons.
This has been part of the strategy from the start, and such a book will
eventually be released. I just can't say when.
[My boards]
- Bruce Cordell on why psionics are balanced: ...psionic characters were playtested for
several months with and against their mundane and magical counterparts
from the core rules. Over a hundred playtesters, both internal and
internal, with several months of experience under their belt with this
permutation of the rules, agree that the psionic characters are not
weak (if anything, many worry that they are too strong). [Official boards]
- T'Ed Stark on what to do when you're out of ideas: Pick up an issue of DUNGEON. Download the
free stuff off the website. Break down and pick up one of our published
adventures. There's some good material out there if you'll take a look
at it. Even if it isn't exactly what you need, it can spark ideas and
give you lots of raw material to work with.
[Official boards]
- T'Ed Stark on dragonhide armor: "One dragon produces enough hide for a single suit of
masterwork hide armor for a creature up to one size smaller than the
dragon. By selecting only choice scales and bits of hide, an armorsmith
can produce one suite of masterwork banded mail ..." Basically, a
Colossal dragon could yield enough hide for your PCs to manufacture one
suit of masterwork full plate and a masterwork shield--when they found
someone to make it for them--assuming they are Medium-sized
(Medium-sized is four sizes smaller than Colossal). The armor is only
masterwork, as well. [Official boards]
- Scooper: The Shadow of My Former Self, WizO_Cayle.
Realmswatch Updates: What's new with the Forgotten Realms?
- The Runecaster Prestige Class is adept at creating potent
magical symbols that last for multiple uses and can be triggered
without being touched.
- Gerti is a frost giant cleric/runecaster NPC. Note that
even though she has 23 effective levels (14 levels of frost giant, 5
levels of cleric, and 4 levels of runecaster), she only has a total of
20 hit dice; also note where it says "epic-level benefits" -- that's
the magic phrase that deals with powers beyond 20th level.
- Thanks to Bertman4 for the scoop.
D20 System News:
- A new D20 publisher called Wyvern's Claw has released its
first D20 System adventure. Titled Thievery 101: Joining the
Watchers, it's a one-on-one adventure (one DM and one PC) designed
to give a rogue PC a "side trek" style scenario.
- Cover art for Shadow of the Exile (Witchfire
Trilogy II) has been posted at Privateer Press. (thanks to Art for
the scoop)
Community News:
- Midgard, a new online D20 adventure 'zine, has posted the
first of two adventures slated for their grand opening. The other is
scheduled to appear shortly.
- Scott Greene of the Creature Catalog has converted The
Vaati (from The Rod of Seven Parts) and created six new
prestige classes to represent their caste system.
- Concerned that Master Tools
is being rushed out the door too quickly? Greg Currie has set up a
brief poll to gauge people's feelings on this issue. You can stop by
the message boards to comment in this thread as well.
- 3oni.com has updated its feat, skill and class indices.
- Updates at Fizzygoo's D&D Reference Site include new
classes.
- de onofficiële Belgische Dungeons & Dragons
website is just what the name implies. ;)
- Twilight of the Dawn is a D&D Mystara campaign site
featuring house rules and fan fiction.
- D&D 3E Adventure E-mail Site is the home page for a
play-by-email game. Stop by if you're interested in joining the game.
New in the Conversion Library: The Slavers Series is
complete with In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords (module A4),
plus revisions to other files.
Official Website Updates: What's new at WotC?
- New PC Portraits.
- Part II of this month's Cliffhanger.
- Thanks to Dread for the scoop.
Message Board Roundup:
- T'Ed Stark on sneak attack combined with charge: Sure, you can sneak attack as part of a
charge action. If the target is flat-footed or denied his Dex bonus, go
ahead.
- T'Ed Stark on the benefits of Readying an action: Normally, if someone attacks you, casts a
spell, runs away from you, etc., the only time you can "interrupt" the
process (and do something about it) is if they intentionally give you
an Attack of Opportunity. When you ready an action, you're,
essentially, giving yourself an attack of opportunity.
- Sean Reynolds and Rich Baker on historical information in
the FR campaign setting: It has about 6
pages of world history and 6 pages of timeline.... In addition to the
History chapter, each entry in the Geography chapter includes at least
some discussion of local history. For example, the Cormyr entry
includes about a column on the history of the kingdom, including brief
summaries of the recent events surrounding King Azoun's death.
- Sean Reynolds on Sword & Fist feats, etc., appearing in
the Realms: If there is a feat from
Sword & Fist that we want an FR character to have, the book that
gives stats for that character will have to copy & paste that
feat's info from S&F. We do _not_ have any plans to reprint S&F
in its entirety as an FR book. So if you want S&F stuff in your
campaign, cool. But we'll never "force" you to buy another book just to
get info on a feat/spell/item mentioned.
- Rich Baker on FR Campaign Setting release date: We expect the new 3rd Edition Forgotten
Realms Campaign Setting to go on sale around June 4th...
- Scooper: The Shadow of My Former Self.
D20 System News:
- I've updated the D20 System release schedule, noting
products due in the next couple of months; and I've added a new D20
System publisher -- Scarab Games. (thanks to Kenny Lewis for the scoop)
- Necromancer Games has posted downloads that accompany their
recent release, Demons & Devils. You'll need the password
printed in that product to access the files. Of special note is that
Scott Greene of the Creature Catalog is credited in the "Epic Quests"
download for providing monster conversions, and Jamis Buck receives
credit as well for the use of his generators. (thanks to Clark, Pat and
Scott for the scoop)
- Mystic Eye Games has posted the cover The Pit of
Loch-Durnan, a low-level adventure they're releasing in May.
- From Dark Portal Games: Dark Portal Games wishes to thank all of the people who
participated in the recent monster contest. We are proud to announce
the following entries and winners: Blithemen by Charles Dunham, The
Mist Runner by James Stubbs, and the Maticat by Alex B. Goodwin.
Fall 2001 Lineup Spotted at Amazon.com: A single tip
about spotting Oriental Adventures at Amazon.com has led me to
a whole lot of D&D goodies coming out this fall. View the panel to
the left or the Product Schedule for more covers -- and if you spot
more products coming out between September and December, let me know!
- October brings us Oriental Adventures and Chainmail,
which we knew about, but also Enemies and Allies: This invaluable resource manual contains
information, statistics, and tables that any Dungeon Master can use to
quickly and easily ßesh out a campaign. The pregenerated,
nonplayer characters, both heroic and nefarious of various classes and
levels, are ready to use in any campaign. The book also contains a
quick character generator "tree" that allows Dungeon Masters to either
create a quick character or modify an existing character to Þt
any style of play.
- In November not only will we see the long-awaited Wheel
of Time RPG, but also the sixth of the "core" D&D Adventures, Deep
Horizon by Skip Williams, and a Forgotten Realms product
by Sean Reynolds -- Lords of Darkness: This volume provides game-ready information
featuring evil groups and individuals from the Forgotten Realms
universe-the most popular fantasy campaign setting ever created.
Dungeon Masters will find this product extremely useful, as it provides
information and descriptions of major evil organizations and groups. It
also includes details about prestige classes, secret lairs, and maps of
villains' dungeons that can be used in any Dungeon & Dragons
campaign.
- December is the month for Song and Silence,
the bard/rogue handbook: ...contains information
on new prestige classes, feats, equipment, and suggestions for building
specifc character types. The book also contains additional applications
of existing skills.
- Missing in action: So far no sightings of either Master
Tools (August) or Manual of the Planes (September) at
Amazon.
Dragon Magazine Chat Highlights: Scooper
"CreativeMountain" attended Friday's WotC chat and pulled out the juicy
bits for you in this chat log. Here's a snippet from Dragon
editor Dave Gross:
We're working on our 25th
Anniversary issue right now, and Todd Lockwood just turned over the
art. It's probably the single most amazing dragon I've ever seen in a
fantasy painting. I can't think of one that looks more majestic and
just plain awesome. It might turn out to be the best cover of the year.
After that, we have a very cool halflings issue. I don't want to
mention the cover artist yet, because I haven't seen the painting, but
let's just say he's a fan favorite. Also, the main article in that
issue is just amazing: 12 pages of cool information about halfling life
with some of the meatiest and coolest rules bits you've seen for any of
the races in many sidebars.
I can't tell you about the August issue yet. It's a big secret, but if
all goes as planned, it should blow some people away. We're hoping it
brings new gamers to the magazine and, thus, the game. Gamers will also
dig it.
Oh, and one more thing: Later this year, we'll give you something
extremely special, but it's going to take us four issues to do it. I'm
not sure how much I should say just yet, but fans of the Realms might
want to buy two copies of the September, October, November, and
December issues.
Master Tools Update: You can find a recent update to the
status of Master Tools from Fluid Entertainment's Wayne Cline right
here. Here's an exerpt:
Treasure Generator: You can generate any treasure by the book as laid out
in Chapter 7 of the DMG. You can also customize your treasure with
specific items. So, if you want a treasure with 1 cp and a +4 holy
brilliant energy dagger that is intelligent (with complete stats), you
can. It's a cool little app in the grand scheme of things.
Race Generator: The race generator is done. Scott and I are building
all the races for the Monster Manual now. It's a bit tedious, involving
quite a bit of reverse engineering. (How many skill points does a
constrictor snake start out with? 10? 15? From the perspective of a
generator, what does a human look like? What are the racial ability
modifiers for an ettercap based on the rules found on page 23 of the
DMG?) So far we've gotten each of the standard races entered (human,
dwarf, elf, halfling, half-elf, half-orc, and gnome) and each of the
standard familiar animals entered (bat, cat, hawk, owl, rat, raven,
snake, toad, and weasel.) This way we can start using the races to
build characters. Remember that the race generator will allow you to
build your own race as well as modify those found in the Monster
Manual. (Want a Martian rogue? Or a beholder paladin with Strength 7
who burrows? Be our guest.)
Community News:
- RPGAction.com has posted a review of Madness in Freeport
(Green Ronin).
- RealmsCrafters recently posted another of their weekly
updates. In this update Robert talks about Dungeon Crafter, the SDK and
scripting engine and introduces a new member of the team.
- Updates at The Iron Keep include new product reviews.
- Updates at Realms of Evil include new spells and prestige
classes.
- More converted monsters at the Creature Catalog.
- Rasta's Folly is a D&D campaign site with house rules
and new material including new spells, feats, and skills.
Psionic Handbook Web Enhancement Errata: Bruce
Cordell has revised his very brief corrections list for the .pdf web
enhancement for the PsiHB on his personal web site. Here's the complete
list. (thanks to Oren Douek for the scoop)
- Su-monster, Rend 2d6+7
- Thri-Kreen, gythka, attack +6/+6;
chatkcha 1d6 base damage
Official Website Updates: What's new at WotC?
- Custom Feats List allows you to create lists of feats
(complete with prerequisites and a brief description) based on
different criteria such as type of feat or source where it was
published.
- Sneak Peek at The Standing Stone.
- Scooper: Eldar.
Reviews:
- AtFantasy.com has posted a review of The Longest Night
(Witchfire Trilogy I) (Privateer Press).
- A review of Dragonlords of Melniboné has
been posted at an Elric! fan site.
Official Website Updates: What's new at WotC?
- New Map-A-Week.
- Miniatures Concept Sketches.
- New gaming articles at Wizard's Word.
- Scoopers: Cergorach, Kevin, Wraethu, and Erik.
D20 System News:
- As noted below, EN World has set up an automated D20 System
products review site.
- OtherWorld Creations has posted some information on joining
a PBEM game for the purpose of playtesting some of their Diomin
products. (thanks to Scorch for the scoop)
- Privateer Press has posted a list of winners from their
recent contest here.
Community News:
- Calliope Comics has posted an interview with D&D Comics
artist Tyler Walpole.
- A new prestige class and feat have been added at Defenders
of the Muse.
- Vincent Darlage has updated his Conan D20 site.
- RealmsCrafters has struck a deal to license DungeonCrafter
map-making software in their "Maestro" software.
- Creature Catalog has been updated with new converted
creatures, including zombie and foo-creature templates.
- PS3E, the Planescape site for 3E, has opened for business: We are very proud to announce that we are
opening our doors with over 75 brand new Planescape 3e submissions that
range from new Monsters to Product Reviews! We currently offer nearly
20 submission types, each specifically designed and modified to suit 3e
rules perfectly, fully printable versions, a referral system, a fully
functional commenting system, a Ps3e store, 3e links and much, much
more! In fact, so much has changed that I would HIGHLY advise you to
read the FAQ just to catch up! PS3E is part of the official
Planescape website, Planewalker.com.
- Charles Greathouse has updated his generators: The dragon generator supports Forgotton Realms
dragons, the stat block generator includes support for DMG prestige
classes, and I added a magic weapon generator.
- Steve Mulhern has released version 2.01 of his Excel
character spreadsheet that includes standard data and the ability to
add custom data. You really ought to check this one out.
- Lorekeeper has posted a new version of Hero Forge, an Excel
character spreadsheet. It calculates all sorts of stuff for you and
presents it in a format very much like the official character sheet.
(thanks to Mark for the scoop)
EN World Automated D20 System Reviews: EN World has
implemented an automated product review system, as you can read in this
update:
I am proud to announce that
our automated d20 Reviews System is finally up and running! It lists
all d20 products along with publisher, a short description, a picture
of the product amd a link to the publisher's website, and features a
rating system that automatically calculates the average ratings given
by users. You have the choice to rate a product or to review it. Any
products that score highly enough are automatically listed in a 'Pick
of the Best' box so that you can see instantly which products are the
essential purchases. Please head on over to the EN
World Site and review a couple of
products - if everyone who reads this reviews two products, we will
have a comprehensive library of reviews in no time!
Before you review a product, you will be asked to create a member
account. You will only have to do this once, and the system will
remember you when you visit the site again in future. The account will
be used for all of the planned automated services. We will run the
Reviews system for a couple of weeks before launching the automated
submissions systems, which will operate on similar principles and look
much the same.
On the Daemonforge front, we have finished the 'Miscellaneous' topic
and have moved on to 'Arcane and Divine Magic'. Here we are trying to
determine exactly how magic works in Daemonforge, and we have several
interesting ideas already which add great flavor to the magic system
without drastically altering the core rules. Pop on over and contribute
to our efforts!
Official Message Board Roundup:
- T'Ed Stark on stacking bonuses: ...check out the reference to bonus types and stacking under
"Combining Magical Effects" in the PH, page 153 (the index points you
there to discuss "bonus types"): Under the "Different Bonus Names"
sub-head, the 2nd paragraph states "A bonus that isn't named ... stacks
with any named bonus or any other unnamed one." We tried very hard to
make sure that we meant that statement. Every once in awhile, I'm sure,
a bonus that should be named but isn't slips through--but the majority
of the unnamed bonuses (I can't, off-hand, think of an exception to
this, but maybe you can) are meant to stack with each other.
- T'Ed Stark on monk multiclassing restrictions: The primary (not sole, but primary) reason
monks (and paladins) have restrictions on multiclassing is flavor. If
you think (YOU, not him--you're the DM, so you should consider his
needs but you have to serve the needs of the campaign) that letting him
multiclass this way wouldn't hurt the campaign, then go ahead.
- T'Ed Stark on strategies to deal with opponents with reach:
Beginning of battle; you are
armed with a sword giving you 5 feet of "reach", your opponent has a
pole arm with 10' of reach. Let's say you start out 15 feet away from
each other. You both roll initiative, and you get the higher score.
Round #1: On your action, you ready a partial action--you want to take
a 5' step and attack if he comes within 10' of you. On his action, he
moves to within 10' of you (with the intention of sticking you with his
pole arm). You 5' adjust and attack him. Since you are only making a 5'
adjustment, you don't incur an attack of opportunity for moving out of
a threatened area. Yeah, that works. You're allowed to make a 5' step
with a partial action (page 121 of the PH), so no problem. Good
strategy, and it makes sense.
- T'Ed Stark on the deck of many things: The Deck
of Many Things is a hideous,
unbalanced, crazy item ... in short, an artifact (and one of my
favorites). It isn't supposed to be balanced and it is supposed to be
incredibly rare (or unique). Its effects can change the tenor of an
entire campaign--or maybe even wreck it. Be careful using it. I would
actually recommend waiting a few levels to the point where your PCs
have a chance of working through some of the deck's negative effects.
- Monte Cook on magic items that work when held or carried: "Held or carried" means that the item should
be visible or placed in some significant way on the character's person.
Stuck in a bag shouldn't count (bag of holding or backpack).
- Monte Cook on activating a rod of lordly might.
- Scoopers: The Shadow of My Former Self, DMaple.
Older Dungeon Magazine Adventures Online? As
pointed out by alert scooper Damian, a response to a letter in Dungeon
#86 indicates that some older Dungeon adventures will make it
to the web, updated for 3rd Edition:
In lieu of a Dungeon Magazine
CD-ROM Archive, we are planning to make previously published adventures
available for download on our website. If everything goes according to
plan, the first batch of adventures should be posted and ready for
download by the time you read this. [They're not, but hey... :)] More
significantly, these old 1st- and 2nd- Edition adventures have been
updated for the 3rd Edition rules! This seems like a good time to ask
which adventures from past issues you'd most like to see. Write us a
letter, and we'll try our darndest to present your favorites.
Community News:
- Updates at Michael's Imagination, including four new feats.
- Updates at Spelljammer 3E include several new monsters and
a new magic item.
Reviews:
- RPG.net has new reviews of the Freeport adventures
from Green Ronin as well as the Psionics Handbook. (thanks to
Bertman4 for the scoop)
- RPGAction.com has posted reviews of AEG's Adventure
Boosters (9-12) and The Longest Night (Witchfire Trilogy I) (Privateer
Press).
Sword & Fist Approved for RPGA Living City
Play: Those who play in the RPGA's Living City campaign can use the
material in Sword & Fist, with a few limitations or
changes. Take a look at the press release to find out more details.
(thanks to Will for the scoop)
Defenders of the Faith Tidbits: A scooper on my
boards has provided a brief look at the inside of the new
cleric/paladin accessory due in May.
Ch1: Clerics/Paladins
(includes ideas on how to play, use best features of the classes,
combat, advancement, Paladains code, options on special mounts, dragon
mounts, channeling energy, use of skills, new feats (see below), new
gear and several new magic items (my favorite is the "Called" armor
which on standard action will done itself.)
Ch2: Churches and organizations
Ch3: Prestige classes (including Hunter of the dead but many well
balanced others as well, I like the "Contemplative" and "Divine Oracle")
Ch4: Divine Magic-new spells (paladin,cleric,ranger and druid) and
domains.
Appendix: Dragon Deities, Giant Deities, Outsider and Elemental Lords.
Feats: Six "Divine Feats" which add/modify the use of positive/negative
energy and 4 "Special" feats with deal with turning undead (Example:
Divine Might [Divine] you can channel energy to increase the damage you
deal in combat. Prerequisite: Ability to turn or rebuke undead, Cha
13+, Str 13+, Power Attack. Benefit: Spend one of your turn/rebuke
undead attempts to add your Charisma bonus to your weapon damage for a
number of rounds equal to your Charisma bonus.)
There are 2 general feats (Shield Charge and Improved Shield Bash) and
one metamagic (Reach Spell). Total of 14 feats, all seem well thought
out and fairly balanced.
Overall a VERY nicely done book that will add many new options to
clerics and paladins without breaking the bank (ie: new spells flesh
out obviously missing areas [Burial Blessing (Clr1) keeps corpse from
being risen as undead or body disturbed] or adds useful cleric type
stuff [Sweet Water(Clr3): locates fresh water w/in 100 feet of surface
to range and digs a well shaft] but doesn't change balance of classes)
Official Website Updates: What's new at WotC?
- Realmswatch: April is devoted to magic. This month's Ed
Says is about magic too.
- Dungeon Magazine Reader Survey: Evaluate issue #85
for a chance to win a copy of Defenders of the Faith.
- Scoopers: Heather, Black Moria, Sonny Mendoza
D20 System News:
- Holistic Design will be creating a line of pre-painted
miniatures accompanied by D20 System "stat cards." (thanks to Joe for
the scoop)
- Sword & Sorcery Studios has posted exerpts from its
forthcoming Scarred Lands Gazetteer: Ghelspad. (thanks to Steve Vogel
for the scoop)
- Updates to the product release schedule for Paradigm
Concepts.
D20 System News:
- Mystic Eye Games has posted another free monster drawn from
the "honorable mentions" in their recent monster contest.
- The D20 System Guide has been updated with revised product
schedules for Fiery Dragon Productions and Monkey God Enterprises.
(thanks to Nik for the scoop)
Official Website Updates: What's new at WotC?
- New PC Portraits.
- The beginning of a new Cliffhanger Adventure.
- Announcement of a chat with Dragon editor Dave Gross and
Dungeon editor Chris Perkins on Friday, April 6, at 5pm PST.
- Psionics Character Sheet (look on the right under Hot
Downloads)
- Scoopers: Erik Jensen and Charles Allen.
New in the Conversion Library: Several converted monsters
(tyrannabyss, epadrazzil, animus template, bloodworm, gem dragons
revised, manes demon), magic items (granite cube, serpent sphere),
harlequin prestige class, and alternate ranger and cleric core classes.
Community News:
- Realm of Geeking has a D&D resource section including
character sheets and player aids.
- From Treyvan RP MUX: Welcome
to Treyvan! Treyvan is a D20 creation. We are a 100% original world
that has been designed by the staff members and players on the game. We
are a game that will be focusing on roleplaying your character to the
fullest and bringing the D&D gaming system to life on a 24/7
realtime environment. The game forges forth to create a path of its
own, diverging from any of the standard fantasy worlds into a unique
example of creativity. Feature characters, new races, new monsters, new
prestige classes, and a completely original history make up the game
that you will be playing on. The adventure begins in Tronmaar, a
frontier city bustling with activity, a city brimming with excitement.
Adventurers, nobles, shopkeepers, guards, and races of -all- kinds
coexist and move through the streets. Occasional fights seem to break
out between random groups before they are pulled apart by the Black
Watch, the ever present Tronmaar guards. Across the river to the west,
a ransacked city is splayed against the horizon, the once-proud spires
of the ruined city jutting brokenly into the air, allowing vegetation
to fester and the sun glints off of the remaining bare rock to show how
precarious living in Tronmaar can be. The monsters who walk the streets
of Tronmaar's sister city are a constant reminder of the dangers at
hand.
- Updates at Realms of Evil include new monsters, spells and
prestige classes.
Poll Results: As you can see in the Poll Archive, the
vast majority who have heard of Dragon Fist want a full-blown D20
System treatment of it if possible. Thanks to all who participated, and
be sure to weigh in on the new poll.
Official Message Board Roundup:
- Sean Reynolds on multiple attacks: To make multiple attacks (no matter the source), you have to
use the Full Attack action. Using a standard or partial action only
allows you a single attack.
- T'Ed Stark on one way to handle a challenging group of
players: Here's a strange suggestion:
Stop roleplaying. Now, hear me out. Do you come up with most of your
adventures yourself, or do you use published adventures? Either way,
stop doing it. Instead, come up with some interesting encounters set at
various levels. Have your players construct their characters at various
levels (I recommend 1, 6, and 11, personally) and tell them you want to
playtest different encounters at different levels for the night. Tell
them they have to go "by the book" (use the rules in the DMG for
constructing characters at different levels) and that they should not
be trying to "break" character generation, as that's not what you're
testing.... [more]
- T'Ed Stark on errata: Right
now, we're working on a better (than existing) way to collect feedback
from outside playtesters and proofreaders, as well as customers who buy
the end-product. We'll see that come together soon, I hope.
- Sean Reynolds on elves: Elves
(and drow) die of old age just like everything else.
- Sean Reynolds on halflings: We
changed the halflings to what they are now because before, to play an
adventuring halfling, you had to be a freakish outcast member of your
race. Even other halflings would think you are a freakish outcast.
- Scoopers: The shadow of my former self and Roland
Delacroix.
Community News:
- Midgard, an online D20 System adventures magazine,
announced that it's delaying the release of its first two free
adventures until April 9th.
- WotC's James Wyatt has updated his personal campaign
journal. (thanks to Masked for the scoop)
- Tempest's Lore has been updated and has a new look.
- The Iron Keep has been updated with a new look, more
prestige classes and an update to the Magic: the Gathering-to-D&D3e
conversion.
- Eyru has been updated with three new prestige classes:
Clagh Leir (Stoneseers), Gynfakin (The Unseen), and the Inquisitor.
- The Dragonlance Nexus is seeking submissions in the areas
of geographical information & maps, racial/cultural information,
and general articles. Read this message on the Dragonlance Forum at
WotC for more information. (WotC message board was down at posting
time.)
- GuildCompanion has an article with D20 System variant rules
for a spell point based magic system. (thanks to Isidorus for the
scoop)
Official Message Board Roundup:
- T'Ed Stark on WotC involvement on the boards: We cruise the boards, jumping into
discussions that interest us or seem to need help, but we don't really
want to interfere with you guys helping each other, even if we had all
the time in the world. Which we don't.
- James Wyatt on Oriental Adventures: ...not all of the options available in the
book are available if you're playing in Rokugan. If you want a campaign
that's true to previously-published Rokugan material, you won't want to
allow korobokuru or hengeyokai characters in your game. Tricky? Maybe.
We're trying to make it as clear as possible what options are available
in Rokugan and what options aren't. You'll find graphics highlighting
Rokugan-legal options, and charts listing what's kosher and what's not.
Of course, you're free to ignore that if you want to play a variant
Rokugan, and naturally you're free to create your own campaign.
- T'Ed Stark on alignment "assumptions" in published D&D
adventures: ...the suggestions for
neutral "antagonists" that all of you provide are pretty interesting,
and I'd certainly like to see some of that. In fact, I'd like to see it
so much that we have an interesting adventure coming out called THE
STANDING STONE where, depending on how your PCs act in the early parts,
could put them against neutral (and perhaps even good) characters
throughout.... We write our adventures with the clear expectation that
all PCs are either good or neutral in alignment, unless otherwise
specified. For those of you who are wondering, yes, we will have some
"otherwise specified" material coming out in the future...
- T'Ed Stark doesn't think half-orcs got the shaft: ...half-orcs are engines of destruction on
two legs. I recently got through playing about 10 levels of Krusk (the
iconic half-orc) through the RETURN TO THE TEMPLE OF ELEMENTAL EVIL
playtest, and it was amazing to see the stuff this guy could do! And he
was just an iconic (that means, among other things, he used the
standard array for ability scores; he couldn't hide that -2 to Charisma
or get a 19 or 20 Strength at first level).
- T'Ed Stark on boots of striding and springing cost:
...check out boots of striding and springing. Unofficially, I strongly recommend a price
bump on this bargain-basement increases to your speed score. I can
pretty much guarantee you'll see an official change soon.
- T'Ed Stark on magic items: One
of the least-known design philosophies behind D&D adventures is
that there should be something in just about every adventure that has a
chance of breaking or destroying a "permanent" magic item. That's the
back-side of allowing people to go out and purchase items; you have to
allow for the chance that they'll go away.
- Scooper: The shadow of my former self.
More April Foolery: Yes, the day is (sadly) past, but in
case you need more...
- Here's a hilarious spoof of my own message boards. Careful
what you say here, though, or I'll close the thread on you...
- The Dragonlance Nexus has some foolery here. (thanks to
Antrion for the scoop)
D20 System News:
- The Tide of Years (Atlas) has been reviewed at
AtFantasy.com.
- Minor updates to my D20 System Guide, including new
products listed for Green Ronin and RPG Source, and new products
spotted in stores from Paradigm and AEG.
Community News:
- Nyambe (d20 setting inspired by African legend and history)
now has a mirror site at http://www.angelfire.com/games3/nyambed20/.
- From RealmsCrafters: In
RealmsCrafters' regular update for this week, Sai discusses the work he
his doing with RPG Companion(tm). He also talks about the Maestro port
to Palm and some details about the plugin system. It gets a little
technical but it is a good read.
- Fizzygoo's D&D Reference Site is a D&D resource
site with house rules.
- Mouse's Musings is a D&D resource site that will focus
on villanous NPCs. The webmaster is looking for submissions.
- Creature Catalog has been updated with new converted
monsters.
- Updates at The Shadybrook Adventures.
- From Ken Hood of The Sleeping Imperium: I've posted a downloadable set of variant combat rules
on my site. These rules are designed for a dark fantasy or horror
setting. They're not cinematic, like the standard D&D rules, so
combat becomes a nasty, short, and brutal affair. They're called the
"Grim-n-Gritty Hit Point and Combat Rules."
- MsgBot.com is a Usenet archive with an RPG section.
(thanks to Gerard for the scoop)
April Foolery: Thanks to all of you who endured my April
Fool's edition of the news.
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