|
Rewards of Experience: I have read through my old news
and have updated the Experience Point Chart. It doesn't contain new
numbers, but it does summarize what we know (or think we know) about
gaining Feats, Skills and other level-related perks not tied to any one
class:
3E Character Experience Point Chart
|
Level
|
XP
|
Rewards of Experience
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Able to multiclass |
|
|
|
Gain Feat |
|
|
|
Increase Attribute |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gain Feat |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Increase Attribute |
|
|
|
Gain Feat |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Increase Attribute; Gain Feat |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gain Feat |
|
|
|
Increase Attribute |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gain Feat |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Increase Attribute |
|
Notes:
Able to Multiclass: Current info is that 1st level
characters will be unable to multiclass. You can add your first
additional class once you've earned enough XP for 2nd level.
Gain Feat: The only semi-solid information I have
about acquiring Feats is that characters gain one every 3 levels.
Humans gain a free feat at 1st level, and certain classes gain certain
feats for free.
Skill Points: It is unknown how many skill points
characters gain each level, but I have been informed that the initial
allotment of skill points depends on Intelligence, and that later
acquisition of these points is tied to character class.
Increase Attribute: Characters can increase ability
scores (STR, INT, etc.) by one point every four levels. |
Spelljammin': WotC has declared Spelljammer: Beyond the Moons the
official D&D Spelljammer fan site. (thanks to Jens Schnabel for the
scoop)
Spikey Armor: In the latest issue of Dragon, 3E artist Todd
Lockwood addresses complaints and concerns about the spike-laden
armor of some of the characters that have appeared in the magazine and
on the web site:
- Knee Spikes: "When the knees are bent, they point upward,
so as to make a memorable impression on the lower quarters of an
opponent's anatomy. [The character with knee spikes] can kneel just fine
[without finding himself stuck to a wooden floor]."
- Armor is Weaponry: "... [armor] spikes are considered a martial weapon [in
the 3E rules]. In the
event of a grapple, a character wearing spiked armor can cause lethal
damage.... In fact, a character in spiked armor with a skill in martial
weaponry is never really disarmed. Historically, spikes were used on
armor to prevent grapple attacks, specifically from elephants."
- Spiked Shields: "The [spiked] shield is still a shield, unless the warrior
chooses to use it as a weapon. A shield bash delivered with a spiked
shield will do more damage."
- Closing Comments: "... the D&D game is truly flexible. It's
an option. If your fighters don't want to wear spikes, they don't have
to."
Combat Chart: As I gather info from the 3E Message Board
and elsewhere, I continue to add details and examples to the newly
revealed Attack Bonus chart. I always make sure the "permanent" one on
the Combat page is accurate, so you can check that one at any time to
see the latest info.
Gold Logo: Another version of the new D&D logo was
spotted on the Pool of Radiance II site by Joseph Provenzano:
Ryan Dancey on Multiple Attacks: Never let it be said
that Ryan Dancey isn't responsive to questions! Mere hours after
posting the revised Combat Bonus chart, Ryan clarified the issue of how
this works with multiclassed characters. If you scroll down about a
screen you'll see his comment. (on the 3E Message Board)
Bard Spell List: "Anonymous" from Winter Fantasy has sent
along the list of spells that Bards can use at first level. Note that
this list is a subset of the recently posted list of 1st-level Arcane
spells (which should properly be called "1st-level Wizard and Sorcerer
Spells" -- my fault). The surprising thing about this list is that
Bards apparently don't get any spells unique to them, which is contrary
to some of the rumors we'd been hearing. Then again, this was a
simplified demo with single-sentence spell descriptions too. So you
never know. Here's the list from Winter Fantasy: Alarm, Cause Fear, Charm Person, Detect Secret
Passages, Erase, Expeditious Retreat, Feather Fall, Grease, Hypnotism,
Identify, Mage Armor, Magic Weapon, Message, Protection from
Chaos/Evil/Good/Law, Silent Image, Sleep, Unseen Servant, Ventriloquism.
Combat Table, Again: I've posted a couple of variations
of the Combat Bonus table over the past few months. I've had the table
below in my mail for some time but held back posting it at the request
of the anonymous scooper. I think we know enough about how the combat
bonuses work, and the fact that all character classes have the
potential to gain extra attacks per round, that posting the final chart
won't be too much of a revelation. So here goes...
|
3E Combat Bonus Table (revised 1/23/00)
|
Class
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
19
|
20
|
| Fighter |
+1
|
+2
|
+3
|
+4
|
+5
|
+6
+1
|
+7
+2
|
+8
+3
|
+9
+4
|
+10
+5
|
+11
+6
+1
|
+12
+7
+2
|
+13
+8
+3
|
+14
+9
+4
|
+15
+10
+5
|
+16
+11
+6
+1
|
+17
+12
+7
+2
|
+18
+13
+8
+3
|
+19
+14
+9
+4
|
+20
+15
+10
+5
|
| Cleric/Rogue |
+0
|
+1
|
+2
|
+3
|
+3
|
+4
|
+5
|
+6
+1
|
+6
+1
|
+7
+2
|
+8
+3
|
+9
+4
|
+9
+4
|
+10
+5
|
+11
+6
+1
|
+12
+7
+2
|
+12
+7
+2
|
+13
+8
+3
|
+14
+9
+4
|
+15
+10
+5
|
| Wizard |
+0
|
+1
|
+1
|
+2
|
+2
|
+3
|
+3
|
+4
|
+4
|
+5
|
+5
|
+6
+1
|
+6
+1
|
+7
+2
|
+7
+2
|
+8
+3
|
+8
+3
|
+9
+4
|
+9
+4
|
+10
+5
|
How the chart works: The numbers that correspond with
the character's class and level are bonuses to a d20 roll. The
total of the roll and the bonus (plus bonuses for Strength, Dexterity,
Specialization, Magical Items, etc.) is the Armor Class hit. The first
number is for the first attack in a round, the second (if present) is
for the second attack in the round, the third (if present) is for the
third attack, and the fourth bonus (if present) is for a fourth attack
in a round. So this chart shows not only the attack bonuses, but at
what levels the different classes gain multiple attacks.
For Multiclass Characters:
Ryan Dancey indicates that a good way to determine if a multiclassed
character is to add up your combat bonuses; if you can subtract 5 and
still have a remainder, you get another attack with the remainder as a
bonus. So if you've accumulated +6 in bonuses, you get a first attack
at +6, and a second at +1. However, later Ryan amended this to mean only
class-derived attack bonuses; you don't get to factor in your magic
sword or your muscular arms into the equation, at least for figuring if
you get multiple attacks. You can see the effect on multiclass characters here (modified
versions of Tweedledee and Tweedledum I created a while back).
Examples:
- 7th Level Fighter gains two attacks per round -- the
first at +7, the second at +2.
- 14th Level Fighter gains three attacks per round --
the first at +14, the second at +9, and the third at +4.
- 20th level Wizard gains two attacks per round -- the
first at +10, the second at +5.
- Two-Weapon Fighting Feat: If a character has
the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, the "first attack" is really with both
the primary and the secondary weapon, each at the bonus for first
attack; the second and subsequent attacks are made only with the
primary weapon, at the given bonus. Put another way, Two-Weapon
Fighting gives the character only one extra attack [with his secondary
weapon] at his highest bonus, per round. Of course, there are penalties
for fighting with two weapons, and those must be factored in as well,
just like any other modifier (ST, magic items, etc.).
- Two-Weapon Example: A 13th-level Ranger
with two-weapon style fighting with long sword (primary weapon) and
hand axe (secondary weapon). Not including any other bonuses (for STR,
magic items) or penalties (for fighting with two weapons, etc.), the
attack sequence for each round will be...
- Long sword at +13 (first attack)
- Hand axe at +13 (counts as part of first
attack)
- Long sword at +8 (second attack)
- Long sword at +3 (third attack)
|
The Mimir: You probably know that the Kargatane web site
is the official Ravenloft site now that the setting will no longer be
supported by print products from WotC. Well, there's a new official
setting website -- The Mimir, the official Planescape site. The
Mimir has long provided rich and deep content for DMs and players who
explore the planes. As a long-time Planescape DM, I want to say
congrats to Mimir webmaster Jon Winters and good luck!
- Update: Don't forget Birthright.net, the official
Birthright fan site. Scooper Jens Schnabel reminds us that there's an
official Mystara web site as well. And checking the WotC D&D site,
I see that we have a fairly recent addition: The Burnt World of Athas
for Dark Sun.
Julia Martin Chat info updated: Earlier today I posted a
few tidbits about the Julia Martin chat. Since then I've added some
detail, including the link to the log. Scroll down a screen or two and
you'll see the changes.
Official Facelift: As scooper Mark Triant pointed out to
me when he sent the scoop about Charging (see below), the official 3E
site has gotten a facelift. The color scheme is similar, but the most
obvious change is the disappearance of the 3E logo. Instead, we have a
new Dungeons & Dragons logo, as shown below. It makes sense
that at some point the 3E site and the D&D site will need to be
merged together, as they will be one in the same. It also makes sense
that the focus will need to move from hyping 3E to hyping D&D in
general.
Charge! The official 3E site has updated the January
Playtest Group of the Month's Playtesters at Work section. The January
group had an impact on the effects of movement in combat, particularly
Charging (thanks to Mark Triant for the scoop): “After moving, you may make a single
melee attack. Since you can use the momentum of the charge in your
favor, you get a +2 bonus on the attack roll. Since a charge is
impossible without a bit of recklessness, you also suffer a –2
penalty to your AC for 1 round (generally until your next
action).”
Ryan Dancey on the PHB and DMG: Responding to questions
posed by Jeff Ibach on DND-L, Ryan Dancey discussed the contents (and
covers) of the two main rulebooks for 3E (thanks to Joseph Provenzano
for the scoop):
- Will the 3E books read as an encyclopedia or will they
be written with commentary, examples, etc? They are written to be used as a reference,
but they're not just extended dictionaries. Each chapter has an
internal narrative, there are lots of examples, and in the DMG, there
is lots of commentary not only on the how but the why of the rules.
- Who has been given the assignment to do the cover art
for the PHB and DMG? Nobody
that you've (probably) ever heard of.
- Will the PHB and the DMG follow the same chapter lineup,
but keeping the data separate, like in the current books? No; they're completely
different books. The DMG is not a step by step "explanation" of the
player's handbook; it's a separate volume that covers different topics.
Julia Martin Chats about Clerics: As with most of the
"official" chats, there was nothing extraoridnarily revealing in
yesterday's chat with editor Julia Martin about 3E clerics. Staffan
"Baloo" Johansson was kind enough to log the chat here. Highlights
include:
- Scribe Scroll is a feat that certain classes
(presumably spellcasting classes) have access to, including the Cleric
and the Druid.
- Druid abilities include: lots of shapechanging,
stealthy movement in natural environments, an animal companion, the
ability to stop natural aging, a different "core spell list" than
clerics with spells that deal with nature, and immunities to natural
poisons.
- "DF" does indeed mean Divine Focus, i.e. holy
symbol. The spell Flame Strike, for instance, has DF listed as one of
the spell's components.
- Any spellcaster can use the Counterspell action.
- Domains: The Winter Fantasy Domains we've seen so
far are accurate.
- Magic Items: There is a "system for creating magic items no matter
what class you are," which will be covered in the DMG.
January 21, 2000
- New 3E Fan Site: A fellow gamer by the nickname
"Weaponsmith" would like to invite you to visit his new 3E site, The 3E
D&D Hall of Adventures. Though there's not much there now (it's
new, what do you expect? ;), he has sections for Adventures, House
Rules and Online Gaming, among others. Take a look. I've added
Weaponsmith's page to my other 3E related Links.
January 20, 2000
- More Cleric Domains from Winter Fantasy: Our
friendly anonymous scooper apparently has a bottomless supply of
goodies. Here are four more Cleric domains.
More Cleric Domains from Winter Fantasy Convention
|
Air Domain
Deity: Obad-Hai
Granted Power: Turn earth creatures. Command air
creatures. These powers work like Turn or Command Undead (limited
number of attempts per day, modified for Charisma).
Air Domain Spells
- Obscuring mist
- Wind wall
- Gaseous Form
- Air Walk (tread
on air as if solid ground; can climb at 45 degree angle)
- Control Winds
- Chain Lightning
- Weather Control
- Whirlwind
- Elemental Swarm (Air)
|
Animal Domain
Deities: Ehlonna, Obad-Hai
Granted Power: Cast animal friendship once
per day. Gain a Skill called "Knowledge (Nature)".
Animal Domain Spells
- Calm animals
- Hold animal
- Dominate animal
- Repel Vermin
- Commune with Nature
- Anti-Life Shell
- Animal Shapes
- Creeping Doom
- Shapechange
|
|
Chaos Domain
Deities: Corellon Larethian, Erythnul, Gruumsh,
Kord, Olidammara
Granted Power: Cast Chaos spells at +1 caster level.
Chaos Domain Spells
- Protection from Law
- Shatter
- Magic Circle vs. Law
- Chaos Hammer
- Dispel Law
- Animate Objects
- Word of Chaos
- Cloak of Chaos
- Summon Monster IX
|
Death Domain
Deities: Nerull, Wee Jas
Granted Power: Death touch once per day: as a spell
like ability, touch a living creature (use rules for touch spells).
Roll 1d6 per cleric's level; if the total equals at least the creatures
current hit points, it dies.
Death Domain Spells
- Cause Fear
- Death Knell (kill
dying creature and temporarily gain d8 HP, +2 str, and +1 caster level)
- Animate Dead
- Death Ward
- Slay Living
- Create Undead
- Destruction
- Create Greater Undead
- Wail of the Banshee
|
January 19, 2000
- RPGA Announces New Magazine: The Living Greyhawk
Journal (on the Living Greyhawk Message Board):
This
August, the RPGA Network will unveil an exciting new magazine: the Living Greyhawk Journal. The Journal, a 32-page bimonthly
publication, will contain updates on the Network's exciting new
shared-world Dungeons & Dragons campaign, articles of interest to
the general Greyhawk fan, and exciting features set in the popular
World of Greyhawk campaign setting. Regular features will reveal
campaign developments, highlight important campaign locations, update
classic monsters and villains to Third Edition Dungeons & Dragons,
and explore new realms and peoples of Oerth.
The Living
Greyhawk Journal will be made available to RPGA Guild-level
members six times a year. This is in addition to six issues of the
updated and expanded Polyhedron Magazine, one of the longest-running
periodicals in the adventure gaming industry. The Journal allows the RPGA to reach one
of its most important goals in recent memory -- to supply periodicals
to members each and every month of the year.
The Journal will be edited by Erik Mona,
RPGA Publications Coordinator and member of the Circle of Six, the
ruling body of the RPGA's Living Greyhawk campaign. Mona edited several
issues of the Oerth
Journal, a
popular online Greyhawk fanzine, and was a key contributor to the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, a forthcoming sourcebook
from Wizards of the Coast that will act as the creative backbone of the
Living Greyhawk campaign.
Submission queries are currently being accepted. Send all article ideas
to Erik Mona at polyhedron@wizards.com. The RPGA pays competitive
rates for articles printed in the Living Greyhawk Journal.
- Character Power: From what we've seen so far,
characters in 3E seem like they are more powerful than their 2E
counterparts. Here's what Ryan Dancey recently said about this issue
(on the 3E Message Board):
At low
levels; say 1-5, most 3e characters are outright better than 1e or 2e
characters. At mid levels, say 6-10, characters will be about the same
in most ways, though characters may already be starting to develop
abilities just not available in stock 1e or 2e games that may
>seem< more powerful (because it's easy to see the upside but
sometimes hard to see the downside).
Above 10th level, its a real mixed bag. Consider the Rogue. In 1e/2e, a
Rogue could get close to a "100%" rating in one of the thieving
abilities by this point. Essentially, that Rogue would almost always
succeed, and the only way to challenge the Rogue was to put in
modifiers to the die roll. That's always dangerous, because there was
no way for a designer to know if any given PC would need to be
challenged. So in general, they weren't used, and Rogues reach a point
where they "always" hide in shadows, move silently, climb walls, etc.
In some senses, 3e characters above 10th level will be flat out better
than a 1e/2e character, because there are things you can do in 3e that
you could never do in either of the previous versions. On example: A
feat called "Maximize Spell". To use this feat, an arcane spellcaster
prepares a spell at a level two levels higher than normal (so a
"Fireball" would consume a 5th level spell slot). When cast, the spell
inflicts maximum damage. On average then, a 3e wizard of the right
level with this feat can deliver more damage in this specific case than
a 1e/2e wizard.
However, high level characters are almost always defined more by their
stuff [i.e. magical items] than by their innate personal abilities. The
stuff in 3e is almost identical to the stuff in 1e/2e - except that 3e
stuff has rational rules for use that preclude things like using a ring, girdle, cloak, hat and boots of protection all at once to get some huge
AC modifier. (There are huge AC modifiers from other things!). So in a
sense, 3e characters may have less useful "stuff" in some cases than
their 1e/2e counterparts.
The dirtly little secret is that the PCs are a >little< better
(and even less better if you're using C&T or Skills & Powers,
or any of a half dozen common house rules [in your 2E game]). The monsters are a
>lot< better. A 3e orc might just be an orc. Or it might be a
10th level Monk/Assassin. And don't even get me started on the
Dragons....
January 18, 2000
- Character Info from Winter Fantasy: A Winter
Fantasy Convention attendee by the name of Neil Maruca has sent along
some detailed information about the character he created for the 3E
demo there, plus other assorted tidbits. Just keep in mind that this
was a simplified version of 3E, so not everything mentioned below is
true for the real deal:
I played a
half orc barbarian during the demo. The alternate character generation
system was used (28 pts total, graduated cost for each score). The
players were allowed to build a stat package. Mine was
18 Str (paid 10 pts for a 16, then added +2 for half orc)
14 Dex (6 pts)
14 Con (6 pts)
10 Int (paid 4 pts for a 12, then minus 2 for Half orc)
10 Wis (2 pt)
6 Cha (paid 0 pts for an 8, then minus 2 for Half orc)
All races have +2 to a single stat. Half orcs were the only race which
had minuses to 2 stats, all others had +2 to one stat and minus 2 to
another stat. Half orcs were +2 to strength, -2 Int, -2 Cha. Halflings
were +2 dex, minus 2 strength.
Half orc ability was 60' Darkvision. The Barbarian (d12 hit die) is
granted +10' movement per round (40' instead of 30'). Barbarian Rage
(+4 Str, +4 Con, +2 Will saves, -2 AC; duration is 3+Con bonus rounds;
fatigue causes -2 Str, -2 Con on skill checks until next encounter);
Weapon Focus in greataxe.
I was not allowed to choose weapons. The weapons assigned to me were
Greataxe (d12 damage, x3 critical, slashing) - I had weapon Focus which
granted my first level character a +1 attack. I asked the gm if
specialization and "Focus" were the same. He said no they were not the
same, but specializiation was "very different from 2e" and beyond the
scope of the demo. Other weapons: Dagger (d4 damage, x2 critical, 10'
range, piercing), Bow (d6 damage, x3 critical, 60' range, piercing).
Rate of fire was not listed, the gm said bows and thrown daggers were
ROF 1, would not answer if all weapons now have the same ROF. The
weapon section of the character sheet didn't contain a space for ROF.
Skills: I recieved (4+Int Bonus)x4 skill points. Skills were things
like Wilderness Lore, Jumping, Alertness, Intuit Direction, Intuit
Danger.
Feats, especially the fighter feats were very simple for the demo and
were pre-chosen for the character.
- More about Dungeon. Editor Chris Perkins
was kind enough to answer a few more questions about the forthcoming
"new and improved" Dungeon Adventures magazine set to debut in
August:
- Q: Can you talk at all about the
price per issue and what subscription prices will be like? Would it be
a good idea to lock in a 3-year subscription right now, for instance? As
the magazine increases both in size and production quality, consumers
can expect a price
increase. The
new price hasn't been determined yet, but it would be wise to lock in
that 3-year subscription now, before the new subscription cards are
printed.
- Q: 128 pages is a pretty big
magazine! Will the increase in pages mean a different kind of binding? Our current plan is to change
to a perfect
binding (much
like current issues of DRAGON® Magazine). This should make the
larger magazine more durable.
- Q: Will you be mostly including
*more* adventures, or *longer* adventures? Both. Right now we publish an average of 5
adventures (of mixed length) per issue. Once we increase the size, we expect to publish
6–10 adventures per issue, including at least one longer adventure (30+
pages). Of course, this will also depend on the adventures we receive
from freelancers!
- Q: Will you be changing your
ratio of generic vs. world-specific adventures? Right now it seems that
you have about 1 world-specific adventure per issue. Also, since there
are no 3E versions of Ravenloft, Dark Sun, Dragonlance, Planescape,
etc. in the works (for the foreseeable future, anyway), will you still
accept submissions set in those settings (and others)?
- Good
question. We
are changing the ratio of generic vs. world-specific adventures and
focusing more on the former. We are looking for adventures that can be
played with only the core D&D® rulebooks, and that means more
"generic" adventures. Of course, as Wizards of the Coast releases new
campaign settings (or updates old ones), DUNGEON® Adventures will
probably support these settings much like we support active 2nd Edition
settings now.
- Virtually
all "generic" 3rd Edition modules appearing in DUNGEON Adventures will
be nominally set in the GREYHAWK® campaign setting (in the year 591 CY), or at
least be GREYHAWK-compatible. (The GREYHAWK setting will become the
static "default" setting for 3rd Edition, from which DMs can derive
inspiration for their own campaigns.) This doesn’t mean that
designers need to know everything about the World of Greyhawk—in
fact, quite the opposite. We plan to minimize the number of
world-specific details in our GREYHAWK adventures. In 3rd Edition, all
adventures that include GREYHAWK references will be written so that DMs
won’t need (or feel the need to buy) any previously published
GREYHAWK products—just the core 3E rulebooks. Recall "classic"
modules like Tomb
of Horrors, The Sinister Secret of
Saltmarsh, and
The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth; these adventures were
originally set in the World of Greyhawk but could be plopped into any
D&D® campaign world with minimal DM effort. DUNGEON Adventures
will publish modules that are similar in this regard.
- DUNGEON
Adventures plans to support the wildly popular FORGOTTEN REALMS®
campaign setting, which will continue to develop and evolve in 3rd
Edition.
Unlike our "generic" adventures, modules set in the Realms will have a
distinctly "Realmsian" flavor. How many Realms adventures we publish
will depend solely on the number of FR submissions we receive.
- We
are no longer accepting adventures designed specifically for 2nd
Edition campaigns other than the GREYHAWK® and FORGOTTEN
REALMS® settings. However, we are still interested in "genre"
adventures; for example, I'm not interested in RAVENLOFT®
adventures, but a generic horror-based adventure is perfectly
acceptable. Similarly, we are not looking for PLANESCAPE®
adventures specifically, but we will publish adventures that take place
in the Outer Planes. One of the elements we plan to include with most
(if not all) 3rd Edition adventures is an "Adapting the Adventure"
sidebar, which will provide DMs with brief but concrete tips for
adapting an adventure to particular, out-of-print campaign settings.
Thus, an author who submits a planar adventure would be wise to include
a brief sidebar explaining how the module can be adapted for the
PLANESCAPE® campaign setting (and other settings, if applicable).
Our goal is to publish adventures that most DMs can use without
completely abandoning TSR's "orphaned" campaign settings.
- Housekeeping:I've moved a few things around, mostly
because of technical glitches. The Feedback Form and my list of Links
have been moved from the bottom of the main page to a new page.
Following the links above (under the 3E logo) will always take you
where you want to go.
- The Wizards of 3E in Dragon: The February issue of
Dragon arrived today, and inside is the promised article about the 3E
Wizard class. Here are the highlights (thanks to Ralph for the heads
up):
- Favored Schools of Magic: Wizards who choose to
"favor" one school may select which of the other schools to sacrifice.
The schools are weighted so that taking one of the more "useful"
schools such as Transmutation would require the wizard to give up an
equally useful school (such as Evocation), or a handfull of less useful
schools.
- Counterspells: In combat, if you see an enemy
spellcaster start casting a spell you have memorized (you'd know this
by means of a Spellcraft check), you can cast the identical spell with
a chance to neutralize the enemy's spell. How this fits into the
Initiative rules is unclear from the description in the article.
- Metamagic Feats: As we've heard, some of the
Feats available to spellcasters include "metamagic" -- the ability to
affect spells. Some of the metamagic feats mentioned include Quicken
Spell (cast a spell and perform another action in the same round, even
casting a second spell), Still Spell (no somatic component), Silent
Spell (no verbal component), and Maximum Spell (achieve maximum
results). The article implies that there will be limits on how often
these feats can be used once they've been taken.
- Spell Standardization: The 3E team addressed
many issues related to spell design, from clearly indicating what
spells can be dismissed by the spellcaster at will, what exactly a
"summoning" spell is, and when certain kinds of bonuses can be stacked
(the example given is a ring of protection and a protection
from evil spell -- they provide the same kind of protection, so the
bonuses don't stack; a ring of protection and a suit of magical
armor, however, provide different kinds of protection, so the bonuses
do stack).
- Spell Criticals: Spells that are delivered by
touch or by means of a "ray" require an attack roll; the drawback of
course is that there's a chance the wizard could miss, but the benefit
is that critical hits can be achieved by these kinds of spells.
- Other Tidbits: Mentioned but not elaborated
upon are...
- "Clear
rules for creating magical items"
- "Your
wizard can use a sword"
- "Create
scrolls at 1st level"
- Illustrations: Three illustrations grace the
article -- two new ones (a youngish looking Human Male Wizard with lots
of pouches and pockets carrying a staff, accompanied by a raven
familiar; and an oriental Human Female Wizard with lots of pouches, an
owl familiar, and a short oriental sword strapped to her back.)
- Familiars: I saved this for last because
there's a table. :) 3E wizard familiars can improve its AC, spell
resistance, and Intelligence as the wizard increases in level, and they
gain the ability to control other animals of their species.
3E Familiars
| Familiar |
Special Abilities |
| Bat |
None |
| Cat |
Wizard gains +2 to Move Silently checks |
| Hawk |
None |
| Owl |
Wizard gains +2 to Move Silently checks;
Familiar has night vision |
| Rat |
Wizard gains +2 on
Fortitude saving throws |
| Raven |
Familiar speaks one language |
| Tiny Snake |
Familiar has poisonous
bite |
| Toad |
Wizard gains +2 Constitution |
| Weasel |
Wizard gains +2 on Reflex
saving throws |
January 17, 2000
- Lordy, more Spells from Winter Fantasy! Our
friendly anonymous scooper sent another tasty treat our way -- the list
of 1st level Arcane spells used at the Winter Fanatasy 3E demo, along
with a brief description of each:
Arcane Spells from Winter Fantasy 3E Demo
|
Abjuration
- Alarm.
Wards an area for 2 hours/level.
- Hold Portal.
Holds door shut.
- Protection from Chaos/Evil/Good/Law.
+2 AC and saves, counter mind control, hedge out elementals and
outsiders.
- Shield.
Invisible disc gives cover and blocks magic missiles.
Divination
- Comprehend Languages.
Understands all spoken or written languages.
- Detect Secret Passages.
Reveals hidden doors within 60 ft.
- Detect Undead.
Reveals undead within 60 ft.
- Identify.
Determines single feature of a magic item.
- True Strike.
Adds +20 bonus to your next attack roll.
Conjuration
- Grease.
Makes 10' sq or 1 object slippery.
- Mage Armor.
Gives subject +4 armor bonus.
- Mount.
Summons riding horse for 2 hrs/level.
- Obscuring Mist.
Fog surrounds you.
- Summon Monster I.
Calls outsider to fight for you.
- Unseen Servant.
Creates invisible force that obeys your commands.
Enchantment
- Charm Person.
Makes one person your friend.
- Hypnotism.
Fascinates 2d4 HD of creatures.
- Sleep. Put 2d4 HD
of creatures into comatose slumber.
Evocation
- Magic Missile.
1d4+1 damage; +1 missile/2 levels above 1st (max 5).
- Tenser's Floating Disc.
3 ft. diameter horizontal disc that holds 100 lb/level.
Illusion
- Change Self.
Changes your appearance.
- Color Spray.
Knocks unconscious, blinds or stuns 1d6 weak creatures.
- Nystul's Magical Aura.
Grants object false magic aura.
- Nystul's Undetectable Aura.
Masks magic item's aura.
- Silent Image.
Creates minor illusion of your design.
- Ventiloquism.
Throws voice for 1 min/level.
Necromancy
- Cause Fear.
One subject flees for 1d4 rounds.
- Chill Touch.
1 touch/level inflicts 1d6 damage and 1 str damage.
- Ray of Enfeeblement.
Ray reduces strength by 1d6 points +1 pt / 2 levels
Transmutation
- Animate Rope.
Makes a rope move at your command.
- Burning Hands.
1d4 fire damage/level (max 5d4).
- Enlarge.
Object or creature grows by 10%/level (max 50%).
- Erase. Mundane or
magical writing vanishes.
- Expeditious Retreat.
Doubles your speed.
- Feather Fall.
object or creatures fall slowly.
- Jump.
Subject gets +30 on Jump checks.
- Magic Weapon.
Weapon gains +1 bonus.
- Message.
Whispered conversations at a distance.
- Reduce.
Object or creature shrinks 10%/level (max 50%).
- Shocking Grasp.
Touch delivers electric charge (1d8+1/level).
- Spider Climb.
Grants ability to walk on walls and ceilings.
|
- Quizlet Results: With 704 votes counted, the
results of the previous quizlet question are as follows:
- Q: From what you've read so far, which 2E class
is changing the most? (of 704 respondents)
- 36% Cleric or Druid
- 23% Thief (becomes 3E Rogue)
- 15% Wizard (Mage or Specialist)
- 10% Bard
- 8% Fighter
- 8% Ranger or Paladin
- Note that the Quizlet will be taking a brief
vacation, but will return as soon as I think of some good
questions. If you have suggestions, send them my way.
- A Few Good Domains: Our anonymous Winter
Fantasy attendee sent along another scoop: the spells and granted
powers of three of the Cleric domains:
Cleric Domains from Winter Fantasy
War Domain
Deities: Corellon Larethian, Erythnul, Gruumsh,
Heironeous, Hextor |
Sun Domain
Deities: Ehlonna, Pelor |
Good Domain
Deities: Corellon Larethian, Ehlonna, Garl
Glittergold, Heironeous, Kord, Moradin, Pelor, Yondalla |
|
Granted Power: Free
Martial Weapon Proficiency (if necessary) and Weapon
Focus with the deity's favored
weapon.
- Corellon Larethian, long bow
- Erythnul, morningstar
- Gruumsh, spear (halfspear, shortspear,
or longspear)
- Heironeous, long sword
- Hextor, great axe
|
Granted Power: Once per day
the cleric can perform a greater turning
against undead instead of a regular turning (or commanding)
effect. The greater turning is like a normal turning effect
except that the undead creatures that would be turned are destroyed
instead. |
Granted Power: Cast good spells at +1 caster level. (See
list below.) |
War Domain Spells
Level 1 Magic Weapon (weapon gains
+1 bonus)
Level 2 Spiritual Weapon (creates
a magic weapon which attacks on its own)
Level 3 Magic Vestment
Level 4 Divine Power
Level 5 Flame Strike
Level 6 Blade Barrier
Level 7 Power Word Stun
Level 8 Power Word Blind
Level 9 Power Word Kill |
Sun Domain Spells
Level 1 Endure Elements (Ignore
first 5 hp damage each round from cold or fire)
Level 2 Heat Metal
Level 3 Searing Light
Level 4 Fire Shield
Level 5 Flame Strike
Level 6 Fire Seeds
Level 7 Sunray
Level 8 Sun Burst
Level 9 Prismatic Sphere |
Good Domain Spells
Level 1 Protection from Evil
Level 2 Aid
Level 3 Magic Circle vs Evil
Level 4 Holy Smite (damages and
blinds evil creatures)
Level 5 Dispel Evil
Level 6 Blade Barrier
Level 7 Holy Word
Level 8 Holy Aura
Level 9 Summon Monster IX |
January 16, 2000
- Neverwinter Nights Interview at Tsnoi's
Taunts: You can read an interview with Neverwinter Nights
producer Trent Oster -- it contains a smidgen of 3E-related info, as NWN
will use the 3E rules. (thanks to Tsnoi for the scoop)
- Minor Magic from Winter Fantasy: A source who
requested anonymity has sent along the complete list of cantrips and
orisons for clerics used in the 3E Living Greyhawk preview at Winter
Fantasy:
Orisons and Cantrips from 3E Demo at Winter Fantasy
Sorcerer or Mage Cantrips
Resistance (subject gets +1 to saves)
Ray of Frost (d3 cold damage)
Detect Poison (on one creature or object)
Daze (creature loses next action)
Light (object shines like a torch)
Flare (one creature -1 to attack due to dazzling)
Dancing Lights (figment torches or other lights)
Ghost Sounds (figment sounds)
Disrupt Undead (d6 damage to undead)
Mage Hand (5lb telekinesis)
Mending (makes minor repair on an object)
Open/Close (opens or closes small light
things)
Detect Magic (detects spells or magic items within 60')
Prestidigitation ( performs minor tricks)
Read Magic (read scrolls and spell books)
Wizard Mark (inscribes a personal rune (visible or invisible) |
Bard Cantrips
Resistance (subject gets +1 to saves)
Daze (creature loses next action)
Light (object shines like a torch)
Flare (one creature -1 to attack due to dazzling)
Dancing Lights (figment torches or other lights)
Ghost Sounds (figment sounds)
Mage Hand (5lb telekinesis)
Mending (makes minor repair on an object)
Open/Close (opens or closes small light things)
Detect Magic (detects spells or
magic items within 60')
Prestidigitation ( performs minor tricks)
Read Magic (read scrolls and spell books) |
Cleric Orisons
Create Water (2 gal / level)
Cure Minor Wounds (cures 1 pt)
Inflict Minor Wounds (damage, 1 pt)
Guidance (+1 on one roll, throw, or check)
Detect Magic (detects spells or magic items within 60')
Light (object shines like a torch)
Detect poison (on one creature or object)
Mending (makes minor repair on an object)
Read Magic (read scrolls and spell books)
Resistance (subject gets +1 to saves)
Virtue (subject temporarily gains 1 hp)
Purify Food and Drink (purifies 1cu ft/level of food or water) |
- 3E Preview at Winter Fantasy: A fellow by the
name of Rick Bruner got a chance to try out 3E at the Winter
Fantasy convention, with Jonathan Tweet (3E Lead Designer) as
the DM. Rick had lots of interesting news to share, and as he
wasn't required to sign a non-disclosure agreement, here are the
highlights:
- "The
skills system, with the d20 rolls modified by skills point granted at
each level was easy to understand.... the biggest problem being
players forgetting to add their bonuses to their d20 rolls."
- The Difficulty Class (DC) for "most skill checks seemed to fall within the
12-16 range, which for a first level [character] with skills bonus
ranging from +0 to +6 proved quite daunting."
- "...one
feat available to human characters [is] a +4 bonus to initiative..."
- "The ...
pregenerated Bard character I was given had the following skills and
used the following attributes as modifiers: Perform (CHR), Spellcraft
(INT), Use Magical Item (WIS), Gather Information (CHR), Listen (WIS),
Decipher Script (INT), Diplomacy (CHR), Knowledge (area specific)
(INT), and Pick Pockets (DEX). The character also had 2
feats: Improved Initiative (+4 bonus for humans) and Dodge (+1 to
AC vs a single opponent)."
- "Skill
points for my character were figured as follows, (human base 4 skill
points + INT Bonus 2 X 4 = 24 skill points to distribute among the
bards initial 9 skills. Added to these skill points are any
ability bonuses. So a Bard's Perform skill check would be his
allotted skills points (in this case 5) + his CHR bonus (in this case
+2 for a CHR of 14) for a total of 7 + his d20 roll."
- "...the
Bard had a -1 penalty to his DEX based skill checks as a result of
wearing studded leather armor."
- The Bard spell list "did not include spells such as color spray or magic missile, although hypnotize, alarm, etc. were included."
January 15, 2000
- Official 3E Site Updates: It's been awhile,
but the 3E site has received some updates -- and when it rains, it
pours! :) There are several new things to chew on: a new
feature called Spell of the Month, a new Playtest Group of
the Month, and an interview with Julia Martin (the deity of
Forgotten Realms deities, among other things). (thanks to David
Hatfield, Mark Triant, and Ralph -- just Ralph -- for the scoop)
- Julia Martin Interview: Julia discusses the
3E priest class; in particular she touches on the differences between
the 2nd Edition Priest and the 3rd Edition Cleric; orisons; spell
swapping; and she mentions a 9th level cleric spell called Miracle (a
divine wish, if you will).
- Playtest Group of the Month for January:
This group of British playtesters helped shape the first impression of
the 3E rogue as a flexible adventurer rather than just a lazy criminal:
- "Rogues
share little in common with each other. Some are stealthy thieves.
Others are silver-tongued tricksters. Still others are scouts,
infiltrators, spies, or thugs. What they share is versatility,
adaptability, and resourcefulness. In general, rogues are skilled at
getting what others don't want them to get: entrance into a locked
treasure vault, safe passage past a deadly trap, secret battle plans, a
guard's trust, or some random person's pocket money."
- Hidden Treasures: In their More
About Us section, each playtester of the January group reveals
their favorite parts of 3E; here are some of the more revealing ones
(thanks to fabio milito pagliara for the scoop):
- The
Sorcerer class. A militant arcane spellcaster with a limited
number of known spells and more combat skill has allowed concentration
of the essential (and most fun) parts of the magic-user without feeling
like one is being a munchkin.
- New
poison rules with clear initial and periodical damage
differentiation.
- Concentration—no more ruining a great spell by
a goblin/kobold/yokel hitting the Mage with a stone/arrow/dart for 1d4
damage.
- Critical
hit rules.
They augment weapons so well that all are interesting: No longer are
weapons classifiable as “Long sword” or “Other.”
- Clear
distinction between arcane and divine magic, with clarification over how
they are learned and cast. The new spell lists are very user-friendly.
- The
new skill system. This exemplifies 3E more
than any other change: it is simple, clear, exciting and very well put
together.
- Spell of the Month: Okay, folks, this is a
big one ... we now have the official format for 3E spells. The
left column is the 3E format, and for comparison the right column holds
the same spell in 2E format.
|
3rd Edition Spell Format
Flame
Strike
Evocation
[Fire]
Level: Clr 5,
Drd 4, Sun 5, War 5
Components:
V, S, DF
Casting Time:
1 action
Range: Medium
(100 ft.+10 ft./level)
Area:
Cylinder (10-ft. radius, 40 ft. high)
Duration:
Instantaneous
Saving Throw:
Reflex half
Spell
Resistance: Yes
A flame
strike is a vertical column of divine fire roaring downward. The spell
deals 1d6 points of damage per level, to a maximum of 15d6. Half the
damage is fire damage, but the rest of the damage results directly from
divine power and is therefore not subject to protection from elements (fire), fire shield (chill shield), etc.
|
2nd Edition Spell Format
Flame
Strike
(Evocation)
Sphere:
Combat
Range: 60
yds.
Components:
V, S, M
Duration:
Instantaneous
Casting Time:
8
Area of
Effect: 5 ft. radius x 30 ft. column
Saving Throw:
½
When the
priest evokes a flame strike spell, a vertical column of fire roars
downward in the location called for by the caster. Any creatures within
the area of effect must roll a saving throw vs. spell. Failure means
the creature sustains 6d8 points of damage; otherwise, the damage is
halved. The material component of this spell is a pinch of
sulphur.
[The spell's level and class availability would have
been indicated by being included in the 5th level Priest spell section
of the PHB.]
|
What can we pick up from this description? Let's
examine it bit by bit, shall we?
- Name: pretty self-explanatory
- School of Magic: As in 2E, cleric spells
have a School designation even though the designation isn't really used
the same way it is for Arcane magic. Here we have an indication
that there are perhaps "sub-schools" -- in this case, Fire. This
info will help the DM determine that this is a fire spell, and as such
could be less effective against creatures that have resistance to the
whole Fire category.
- Level: This seems to indicate that this
spell is on the general Cleric list as a 5th level spell, the Druid
spell list as a 4th level spell, in the Sun domain as a 5th level
spell, and in the War domain as a 5th level spell. A cleric who
had access to either the Sun or War domain would then be able to pick
this spell as a "bonus spell" from their domain list, as this would be
the only 5th level spell for each domain.
- Components: V & S are familiar, but
DF? Probably means something like "Divine Focus" -- i.e. holy
symbol as a required "material component."
- Casting Time: measured in number of
"actions." Interesting ... are there spells that take 2 actions
to cast?
- Range: Numbers are listed as expected, but the
word "Medium" ... what's that about? One possibility: a
"meta-magic" Feat that can increase range? Having them sorted
into categories would help if a spellcaster was going to use a Feat to
bump the range of a spell from Medium to Long, for example.
- Area: Nice, neat definition. As
we've heard that magic is better codified in 3E, there are probably
certain standard "shapes" that area-effect spells can be expected to
take.
- Duration: Nothing surprising here.
- Saving Throw: The victim can attempt a
Reflex saving throw, taking only half damage if successful.
- Spell Resistance: Again, as part of the
improved codification of the magic system, we have an entry that
indicates straight out if this spell is subject to Magic Resistance.
- Spell Description: The damage for this
spell increases by caster level, a change for this particular
spell. Also note the maximum damage -- we've been told in the
past that spells would reach different "maximum damage" caps depending
on spell level, and 15 dice of damage was what was mentioned for 4th
and 5th level spells. Finally, we're told exactly what causes
this spell's damaging forces -- this will help DMs adjudicate the
effectiveness of various types of defensive measures.
January 14, 2000
- Dragon Preview: Editor Dave Gross
posted a preview of what the next six months of Dragon Magazine
will hold (on the Dragon Magazine message board):
- February:
"Arcane Lore"
-- A grab-bag issue full of articles that didn't quite fit another
theme but which all stand alone well. Great new Fool Wolf fiction by
Greg Keyes. If you never read the fiction, read these stories!
- March:
"Wild Things"
-- Sort of a double-theme issue, with features on flora & fauna
(animals & herbalism), plus a terrifically funny story by Rob King.
It fits the theme, too!
- April:
"High-Level Campaigns" -- The theme speaks for itself, but there's
more humor than usual in this year's April issue.
- May:
"Puzzles & Riddles" -- Featuring a terrific article on including
word puzzles in your game by puzzle-meister Mike Selinker. This might
be the most useful article of the year.
- June:
"Dragons" --
Enough said? Including the first appearance of 3rd Edition
monsters—Tiamat & Bahamut, who won't be appearing anywhere
else for quite a while.
- July:
"Swashbuckling"
-- Some great articles on the theme subject, as well as new fiction
from the new FORGOTTEN REALMS novel series. Also, the first 3rd-Edition
"Rogues Gallery."
- August -- I think you can guess what
this one's all about.
- More about 3E Adventures: Tabletop RPG
Business Manager Keith Strohm clarified the WotC strategy for
keeping D&D adventures available, profitable (for them), and of
high quality (on rec.games.frp.dnd):
When Ryan
said that Adventures suck, he wasn't talking about their quality.
He was speaking about their relative performance and effect at the
retail level. A typical AD&D adventure sells about 9,000 to 11,000
copies. Its low price point ($9.95) makes it very difficult to actually
turn a decent profit. Coupled with the amount of resources we
have to expend to bring this product to market, short adventures
require a lot of work for a little return.
We will be
producing only 8 short adventures for core D&D. These adventures
will be specifically designed to highlight the best features of the
D&D game, insuring that anyone who has played or DM'ed all of these
modules will have experienced the things that make D&D the game it
is. It also insures that new DMs gain experience with the major rules
systems for D&D.
The
adventures will be loosely connected, much like the First Edition
adventures. These adventures will represent the baseline D&D
experience. We expect that all new players (and current 2nd edition
players) will play through these adventures, allowing us to keep them
on the shelves for a number of years (thus garnering a greater profit).
Dungeon
Magazine will
become the delivery channel for all other short adventures (and we're
giving it a facelift to make it bigger and better). [see
the news from 1/13/2000 for more on Dungeon's future -- Eric] We will still produce
large Return
to the Tomb of Horror or Night Below type of adventures (probably one a year).
The
quality of all our adventures will remain as high (if not higher) than
ever. In fact, Bruce Cordell is writing the very first 3rd Edition
adventure for D&D.
- Quizlet Results: With 1600 votes counted, the
results of the previous quizlet question are as follows:
- Q: For 3E players: what
will be the race of your first 3E character?
- 33% Human
- 17% Dwarf
- 17% Gnome
- 17% Halfling
- 11% Elf or Half-Elf
- 4% Half-Orc
January 13, 2000
- The Future of Dungeon Adventures: Editor
Chris Perkins kindly answered several questions posed
by yours truly on the official Dungeon Magazine message
board:
- Q: Ryan Dancey was quoted recently, saying that
Dungeon Adventures would be expanded when 3E is released. This is so 3E
adventures can be produced at a relatively low cost. Can you tell us
anything about the expanded Dungeon on the horizon? The big changes won't occur
until Issue #82, coinciding with the release of the new DUNGEONS &
DRAGONS® roleplaying game. At that time, DUNGEON® Adventures
will become a primary, official source for D&D® adventures.
(Note that WotC will continue to produce occasional modules and "super
modules" like The Rod of Seven Parts and Return To the Tomb of Horrors.)
- Q: Will it be published monthly? For logistical and staffing
reasons, we plan to keep our bimonthly schedule. However, we are
expanding the magazine's size by 50%, allowing us to squeeze in more
adventures per issue. Each issue will be 128 pages.
- Q: Will it contain more material from professional
WotC game designers?Two-thirds
of the content (roughly 80-88 pages per issue) will come from outside
freelancers. After all, DUNGEON® Adventures is—and always has
been—a magazine FOR the readers BY the readers. However,
one-third of the content (roughly 40-48 pages per issue) will be
written by WotC game designers. This ensures quality and also saves
money on acquisitions.
- Q: Will it contain color art and maps? Yes. Our current plan is to
make the magazine full color. The "new look" of the magazine will be
unveiled in August.
- D&D Miniatures for sale! Step right up!
Get them while they're hot! I've added the new WotC
miniatures line to the list of products that can be purchased on my Buy
D&D Stuff page. 'Nuf said.
- Conversion Template: Okay, it's still months
and months away, but I've created a very preliminary template for those
of you who might be interested in writing up conversions of 2nd Edition
(or, heck, 1st Edition!) materials to conform to 3E rules. You
can find the template here. The template is in .RTF format -- let
me know how readable it is on various platforms. Right now the
goal is to just test the waters a bit, get some feedback, and try to be
ready when the PHB and the official conversion book are
available. Be sure to read through my 2nd Ed. Conversion page to
get more detail about this project.
- Ravenloft Alive and Well at Kargatane: John W.
Mangrum of the Kargatane web site posted information on a
forthcoming web-only official Ravenloft product, which will be
available in PDF format for free (thanks to Dan Taylor for the scoop):
- As the
official website for the Ravenloft D&D setting, we're proud to
announce that we will be continuing our support into the 21st century
with original, official online products. Our first official
Ravenloft product for 3rd Edition D&D rules will be Children of the Night: Fiends, continuing the series
started by TSR and Wizard of the Coast. This online accessory will be
made available in the fall of 2000, following the release of the 3E
D&D rules, and will be offered for free on the Secrets of the
Kargatane website. This accessory will contain 13 foul and
demonic NPCs, each accompanied by their own short adventure.
While grounded in the Ravenloft setting, this accessory could be useful
for any Dungeon Master. Now here's the great news: We'd like
*you* to help shape the face of the Demiplane of Dread. To that
end, we'll be accepting your proposals for fiendish entities through
the end of February. If you've got a fiend that can creep us out,
we'd love nothing more than to include it in our rogue's gallery.
For more information, including proposal guidelines, please visit us at
http://www.kargatane.com. We hope to hear from
you, and good luck!
January 12, 2000
- Quizlet Results: With 3204 votes counted, the
results of the previous quizlet question are as follows:
- Q: If you switch to 3E, what
setting will you use? (vote more than once if you use more than one)
- 38% Home-Brewed Campaign Setting
- 21% Forgotten Realms
- 19% Other: Planescape, Ravenloft,
Athas, etc.
- 8% Greyhawk, but not RPGA Living World
GH
- 10% Dragonlance/Krynn
- 4% Greyhawk using RPGA Living World
setting
January 11, 2000
- Hablo Español?: A fellow with the
amusing name Air Garcia has started a Spanish-language
"Dragones y Mazmorras 3ª Edición" web site. It's a
little bare right now, but if Spanish is your thing you might want to
check back soon.
- Class Flexibility: According to Ryan Dancey
(posting to the 3E Message Board), using standard 3E classes and feats
will make it possible to customize characters to a great
degree. For example, if you wanted a ranger-like character who
did not have two-weapon style...
- "The only
specific thing Rangers have that no other class has is a 'Favored
Enemy'. Everything else is either a feat given for free, or
things like spellcasting that other classes have (though the Ranger's
specific spell list is custom tailored; it's not just the same list as
the Cleric list). So you could be a Druid that has developed some
skill with arms, armor and tracking, or a fighter who multiclasses into
Cleric with an emphasis on a god with nature related Domains, etc."
- Monster Stats: Designer Skip Williams
addressed the issue of whether monsters would be more complicated to
run given that they now have ability scores that the DM would need to
keep track of: "Monsters
will come 'prepackaged' with ability scores and feats (also attack
values, damage and saving throws)." So it looks like there
will be standard stats for each creature type, with options to make it
deviate from the norm if the DM desires. (on DND-L)
- Forgotten Realms 3E Supplement Updated: Kevin
Rocha, one of the creators of the speculative 3E rules for Forgotten
Realms, informs me that "the
3E Realms Site has been updated. The
new version has incorporated most of the new stuff we have learned
since the first version, as well as a redesigned Skills and Feat
section. The URL is still http://sophia.smith.edu/~krocha/realms/3e.htm." Again, the
standard warning: the site is pure speculation, unofficial, etc.,
etc. Read it anyway. ;-)
- Tiny Tidbits: A couple of itty bitty pieces of
3E news were passed my way thanks to scooper Henry Link:
- Using DEX modifier for melee attack rolls?
According to Ryan Dancey, "There
are ways to accomplish that objective in 3e." Possibly
through selecting particular feats, perhaps? He elaborates:
"There is a
combination of ability scores, weapon selection, class selection, feat
and skill selection that makes it possible and 'good' to use your DEX
adjustment instead of your STR adjustment for to hit modifiers."
(on rec.games.frp.dnd)
- Cleric Heal/Harm swapping: When a cleric
swaps a memorized spell in exchange for healing or harming ability, is
this counted as a spell that can be disrupted in combat?
According to Ryan Dancey, "Yes."
Since these spells must be delivered by touch, an evil cleric would
presumably suffer an attack of opportunity when using this ability in
close combat.
January 10, 2000
- Quizlet Results: With 607 votes counted, the
results of the previous quizlet question are as follows:
- Q: Which of these 3E rules needs
the most additional explanation?
- 53% Skill System and Feats
- 15% New Multiclassing rules
- 14% Cyclical Initiative
- 9% Effects of casting spells in Combat
- 5% New Critical Hit system
- 3% Combat Mechanics (new ACs, combat
bonus)
- Non-Adventuring Types: Ryan Dancey indicates
that the DMG will have information on fleshing out NPCs who aren't
adventurers but who need to have significant Skills or Feats not
necessarily tied to a character class: "There are classes in the DMG for nonheroic
character types. You could have an NPC who is just an average joe
with a few skills and maybe a feat or two.... So there's classes
for people who are "members of the watch" but aren't Fighters, and
"Farmers" who aren't Druids..." (on the 3E Message Board)
- Tracking Tidbits: Okay, so you know Tracking
will be a Feat related to a Skill called Wilderness
Lore. How does it all work? Ryan Dancey provides an
example (on the 3E Message Board):
Tracking Feat Example from Ryan Dancey
First, Ryan sets up the example situation --
tracking a pixie across a stone floor:
bare
stone - DC 25
diminutive
creature - DC +4
[he indicates he gets his numbers from the PHB, presumably a chart or
list of some sort]
Total DC =
29; in other
words, no chance of success by 1st level person without substantial
attribute or skill bonuses.
Then he explains the various bonuses that would
be needed to achieve this roll:
A
character will, on average, need a +18.5 adjustment from whatever
sources to detect this track. (d20 roll average results = 10.5 +
modifiers to reach DC 29). Assuming a Ranger with a relevant
attribute of 18 (+4 adjustment), the character would require 5 ranks of
Wilderness
Lore (or some
magical enhancement) to succeed in this attempt 5% of the time (d20
roll of 20).
Finally, Ryan explains that simple tracking can
be accomplished with a more common skill called Search:
A person
without the Tracking Feat can use the Search Skill (even untrained) but
the DC of the track must be 10 or less. So you're talking about
fairly heavy beasts or monsters (at least size Small or larger) walking
across a surface that would hold a fairly visible track (mud, grass,
fresh snow, etc.) |
|
What this example reveals:
- Skills are much like the old Non-Weapon Proficiencies
-- they can be improved ("ranks").
One wonders if there are "rank benefits" -- i.e., if you've reached
rank X of Wilderness Lore, is there an extra-special perk besides just
getting a bonus to your check?
- Skills that haven't been purchased by a character can
still be attempted ("untrained"),
presumably at a substantial penalty.
- Some skills are related to some feats (as we've been
told before) -- in this example, gaining 5 ranks of Wilderness Lore
provides a +5 to the die roll for the Tracking feat. In fact, it
looks like the way to improve one's Tracking chances is to improve
one's Wilderness Lore skill.
- Ryan does not mention what the "relevant attribute" is for tracking --
probably Wisdom (as it was in 2nd Ed). Either way, high (or low)
scores in this relevant attribute provide bonuses to the roll (as given
on the Ability Score Adjustment chart).
|
- Upcoming Chat on 3E Clerics: "Friday 1/21/00 6-7 PM PST --
Speak with Julia Martin, 3rd Edition D&D editor and the Realms'
Deities and Demigods guru, about what's in store for the priest class
in the new edition of the game."
January 9, 2000
- Feats: Apparently, as the 3E rules are being
developed, terminology is changing. According to Ryan Dancey,
"Heroic Feats" are no more -- these "super skills" will simply be known
as Feats
in the published rules. (thanks to Synaptic Dragon for the scoop)
- 3E Adventures: Role-Play News is reporting
that WotC will apparently be producing fewer individual "adventure
modules" for 3E than for prior versions of the game, according to Ryan
Dancey: "...Adventures
suck. They cost a lot to make, they are very hard to keep at a
consistently high quality, they suck up space in catalogs and on
retailer store shelves, and they're essentially unprofitable.
We're getting out of the regular 'Adventure Module' business with the
advent of 3e..." According to the report, there will still
be occasional "mega adventures" as well as more adventure material
heading to the pages of an expanded Dungeon Magazine. (thanks to
Richard Connery for the scoop)
- 100K!! Sometime today or late yesterday, the
Unofficial Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition News site racked up
100,000 hits! Hard to believe how much 3E news there's been since this
site started just a few months ago. I want to thank all of you
who have sent encouraging e-mail, scoops and quesitons my way!
January 7, 2000
- Quizlet Results: With 715 votes counted, the
results of the previous quizlet question are as follows:
- What new 3E class are you most eager to play or
learn about? (of 715 respondents)
- 30% Sorcerer
- 27% Monk
- 16% One of the other Prestige Classes
- 11% Barbarian
- 8% Assassin
- 8% none of the above
- Der Update to Der Site: Playtester Der
Verdammte has again updated his informative yet still legal 3E Q&A
page. I've posted some highlights below, and you'll find more at
his site:
- The 2e take on alignment always bothered me just
a bit--certain alignments, such as true neutral, chaotic neutral, et
cetera, were described as sorts of "filler" alignments--that is, it
didn't seem like the designers expected anybody to really play these
alignments, and rather included them only for the purposes of
completeness to the law/chaos/good/evil axial system. Furthermore, they
describe the neutral alignments (such as NG, for example) as without
regard to the axial extremes, or as valuing the balance between certain
axial extremes, without really giving them distinct attention. All of the alignments are
playable now, and all of them get equal attention. When I critiqued the
alignment system, my suggestion was that they look at the ethical
portion of the alignment as "means" and the moral component as "ends,"
where a neutral (but not TN) component in one or the other means
"any." This makes LN and CN extremists for order and
individuality, respectively, and NG and NE become beatifics and
sociopaths, respectively. This is similar to the current 3e
system, so I hope this gives you the idea. There are now a few
possible interpretations of TN, also, and there's a nod to the
possibility of non-aligned creatures.
- On many of the 3e rumor sites, it has become
somewhat obvious that the "major stat bonuses" (damage modifier, AC
adj, save bonuses, etc.) increase by one point for every two point
increase in the stat itself. In other words, we know (or we think we
know) that there is a concrete benefit to having a statistic of values
12, 14, 16, 18, and so on. Likewise, there is a concrete
detriment to having a stat of 9, 7, 5, 3, etc. However, it is unclear
whether there is some additional benefit/detriment to the "filler"
values between the listed values. Is there? I certainly hope there
is. Well, it depends on what you
mean by "concrete benefit/detriment." Mostly, the value of having
one of the "filler" numbers for a stat is that it takes less time to
raise your bonus for the stat. There are at least two other game
situations where filler stats have an impact, also.
- Note from Eric: Actually, a rumor about this
was revealed today: Many of the Heroic Feats have minimum
ability requirements, and those minimum requirements are odd numbered.
So the min/maxing type will have to consider whether to position a stat
so it is ready to be bumped up to the next bonus when it comes time to
increase one stat by one point, or whether it just barely makes it so a
certain Heroic Feat can be taken. (Thanks to George Harris, who
found it on the Living Greyhawk message board.)
- Will 3e include enough roleplaying information
about classes that they don't become strange or stereotyped? There is an unprecedented
amount of concrete roleplaying information about the classes in the 3e
PHB. This includes things like possible backgrounds (where the
character might have learned his skills), class-based reasons for
adventuring, and things like that.
- Tracking Feet ... er, Feat: Ryan Dancey
addressed the issue of why Tracking is treated as a Feat
rather than a Skill in 3E (on the 3E Message Board):
- In the
beginning, "Tracking" was a skill. In general, a character will
have more skills than feats, so feats are supposed to be more
"valuable" than skills. One the skills is "Wilderness
Lore". "Tracking" doesn't seem at first to be the kind of thing
you could improve in a vacuum; you might learn the basics of how to
read a trail, but you're going to have to learn a lot more about the
geology, botany, ecology and biology of the wild in order to be come a
really good tracker. These two parts of the game seem to be
working at cross purposes.
What we
found was that for a variety of in-game reasons, characters would
probably not regularly take "Wilderness Lore". It's a very useful
skill, and we want to be able to count on some portion of the
characters in any given situation having a good chance to have it for
the purposes of adventure design. However, when creating a
character there are lots of things that look a lot "sexier".
Plus, we
wanted to make Rangers (and to a greatly lesser extent) Barbarians
"people of the woods" - experienced at surviving in the wild.
So, the
Design Team came up with this interesting twist. Your ability to
"Track" is directly related to your skill rank in Wilderness
Lore. You can track with no Lore skill, but the more you have,
the better you are at tracking. So the rangers (who get Track as
a bonus feat) will almost certainly take Wilderness Lore at some number
of ranks, and voila! We have an excellent in game solution to two
picky problems.
- Power Boost: Designer Skip Williams (the
"Sage" of Dragon's "Sage Advice") talked about the increase in
power of both PCs and monsters in 3E: "PCs get an overall boost in the new D&D
game (espcially rogues and clerics). Monsters get a boost too.
They have ability scores (gotta love those Str, Dex, and Con bonuses),
skills, feats, and sometimes character classes. (Though even a
'classless' giant with a good selection of combat feats is quite good
at squishing PCs -- just ask the players who experienced our in-house
version of Against
the Giants
converted to the new rules and capably run by our own Andy
Collins)." (on DND-L)
- Deities and Demigods and Faiths and Avatars and Powers
and Pantheons: You want info on 3E gods? According to Ryan
Dancey, you got it ... in a year or two: "That product will come in 2001 or 2002 in the
form of a new Deities
and Demigods type book. It will include information
on some of the Greyhawk gods, as well as gods of other mythoi,
and probably extensive information on creating and managing your
own pantheon in your own home campaign. As a guess, it will
be slightly more informative than the entires in the 1e Deities & Demigods book, and far less detailed
than Faiths
& Avatars."
(thanks to Jesse for the scoop)
- Paladins and Rangers: Though it's January,
there's been an update to the December Playtest Group of the Month's
Playtesters at Work section -- actually, two updates. Go
read them. After you've done so, you'll know the following
(thanks to Synaptic Dragon for the scoop):
- Rangers and Tracking: Tracking is treated
as a Heroic Feat, and every Ranger starts out with this feat for free,
though other character classes could earn this feat as well.
- Paladins and Charisma: The Paladin's
charisma modifier applies to all saving throws, the number of hit
points cured with the Lay Hands ability, and influences a new ability
called "Smite Evil."
- New "Smite Evil" Paladin ability: "Once a day, a paladin of 2nd
level or higher may attempt to smite evil with one normal melee attack. She adds her
Charisma modifier (if positive) to her attack roll and inflicts 1 extra
point of damage per level. Note that the Charisma modifier
doesn't affect damage, but it does improve the paladin's chance to
score a successful hit."
January 6, 2000
- Updates to Official 3E site on the way? Though
no new info has been posted at the official site in some time (likely
due to the holidays), you can see two clues to this month's new
theme. At the top where it once said "The Art of the Game" it now
reads "Priests
Profile." And along the side, the featured piece of
art is the dwarven cleric. Looks like we're going to get info on
clerics this month. Hopefully, we'll also get to see a new
Playtest Group of the Month and how they helped shape the 3E rules.
- New 3E Info Site: An unofficial 3E info page,
created by Joe Hardin, has been posted. According to his e-mail,
his main focus will be on converting 2nd Edition spells to 3rd
Edition. As always, links to all things 3E related can be found
in the Links section of my site.
January 5, 2000
- 3E Character Generator Program: I asked Ryan
Dancey for some details on the free CD-ROM that will be included with
the PHB. His response (on the 3E Message Board):
- "The
purpose of the disc is to provide software that will help people make characters - the biggest hurdle to
upgrading is going to be learning how the character generation system
works, and by providing a tool to do it, we hoped to circumvent the
near-certain complaints of people who don't want to take the time to
unlearn up to a quarter century of rules to learn new ones."
- "The
software runs on Macs and PCs. The developer uses one code base and
then can compile for both targets without introducing extra costs, so
we will provide two binaries."
- "The
software is not
designed to import new classes, skills, items, etc. It will include
everything in the core rulebooks, so every character it makes will
be 'standard'."
- "In the
future, there will be a new 'Core Rules' type product. The character
generator will be similar to a much more robust tool that will appear
in that future product, and the files it creates will be compatible
with the larger future product."
- "The
software will probably
not have an import feature - it probably won't be able to work with
existing Core Rules characters."
- "The disc
is not an
integral part of the book. It may not appear in future printings;
it's a special value-added bonus for early adopters. It costs a
surprising amount to have the disc sleeve bound in to the PHB, and at
some point we may decide to drop that cost."
- In a separate e-mail, Ryan also confirmed that the
program will include inventory items from the PHB such as armor
and weapons, and is being produced by a software company called Fluid.
- Keith Strohm also posted on this topic; he
indicates that "the
original plan was to make it applicable to the PHB only" -- so it likely won't
contain DMG or MM specific info such as the prestige classes or
monsterous PC races.
- Quizlet Results: With 897 votes counted, the
results of the previous quizlet question are as follows:
- When the 3E PHB is released, what will you do?
- 57% Immediately start a 3E campaign
- 31% Continue 2E game, study 3E for a
while
- 4% Wait for reviews before buying
anything
- 3% I'm stickin' with 2nd Ed!
- 5% None of the above
January 3, 2000
- The Future of Greyhawk (and other settings): As
you probably know, Oerth (the world of Greyhawk) will be the default
setting for the core 3E rules. Greyhawk will be developed by the RPGA
rather than WotC as a "Living World." TSR VP Ryan Dancey has
answered a lot of questions about the issue of Greyhawk's future, what
current products are considered canon, and so forth, and some of these
issues also touch on the way other settings will be started and
developed (on the official Greyhawk Message Board):
- "Core Continuity": "What is going to happen is that a set of
specific facts, NPC descriptions, maps, histories, cosmologic facts,
etc. will be assembled (in the beginning for Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms
and Dragonlance. Later on, we'll get to other settings as we need
'em.). Those materials will be compiled into a document that will
be given to any person who works on that world in an official capacity
here at Wizards. No deviation from that material will be
acceptable - all facts must check with the core continuitity.
Large portions of that work will see print in the form of the "world
books" we're working on. There is a sense of conservation
attached to these works. Cities will not be destroyed.
Borders will not change. Landmarks will not be altered.
Characters will not change, age or die. The world will become
static when viewed through the lens of core continuity. Those
books will become your primary source for "canon". If you see a
fact in those books, you can be assured that nothing we publish will
directly contravene that fact.... The core continuity material is
not encyclopedic. We are not going to go through every published
product, extract every fact, try to create logical explanations for all
the discrepencies, then ask designers to adhere to that mass of
data. The "core continuity" will be much smaller - an abstract of
the total data, hitting just the most important features. Thus,
you may see materials in print that do not jibe with material published
in the pre-3e era. We are only going to hold ourselves to the
"core continuity" - not to the entire published D&D body of work."
- Grehawk, Forgotten Realms, and DragonlanceTimeline
Advancement:"The
Greyhawk continuity will not advance. For the purpose of
"official" continuity, the year is 591CY, and the timeline will not
advance. All the assumptions in place in the 3e PHB and DMG will remain
constant until those books are revised. The FR continuity will
advance, at a rate yet to be determined. The DL continuity may
advance at a rate tied to the publication of various novels; we're
waiting for Margaret and Tracy to provide some direction at a meeting
being held early in 2000."
- Greyhawk's Development by the RPGA: "The RPGA coordinators are
determining how much "additional" material they want to add to the core
Geyhawk continuity, which all Living Greyhawk participants will be
expected to be able to reference and can expect to be rigorously fact
checked. As the RPGA Living Greyhawk world advances, that world
will become a unique, particular expression of Greyhawk after 591CY;
one derived from the input and play of the RPGA membership. That
world will be no more or less "canon" than any other material created
for Greyhawk - whether that creator is a D&D designer on staff at
Wizards, or a particularly creative poster to rec.games.frp.dnd, or a
solitary DM running a weekly game."
- Two Faces of Greyhawk: "We are planning on a small
(96 pages) product that will contain brief overviews of the domains,
transnational organizaitons, major NPCs and history of the "Greyhawk
World". This book will essentially complete the trilogy of The Adventure Begins and the Player's Guide to Greyhawk. That material, plus
massive amounts of extensions and other material designed to support
the Living Campaign will appear in a second product [created by
the RPGA].... Both will contain the big "poster
map" we attempted to release in '99."
- Character Kits: TSR VP Ryan Dancey mentioned
a possible system to replace the "kit" system for designing
different flavors of character classes (on the official Greyhawk
Message Board): "We're
working on a system that I jokingly call a "Recipe", in other words, a
set of instructions that start at first level and extend as long as
necessary to result in a character with the skills and abilities of a
2e Kit. Since most 2e kits are too powerful at 1st level, the 3e
approach will be to gain powers over the first several levels in a
"programmed" way - i.e., the recipie tells you - at 2nd level, take the
following new Skills - x, y, and z. Raise Skills q, r, and s by 2
points. Some kits just can't be replicated easily with recipies
(because the requisite skills, feats, and multiclassed abilities don't
exist) but we're confident that most of them can be at least reasonably
approximated."
- Alignment of the Gods of Greyhawk (and 3E):
TSR VP Ryan Dancey (he's a busy guy!) talked about some of the alignment
changes that have taken place in the move from 2E to 3E (on the
official Greyhawk Message Board, thanks to Tim Burke for the scoop):
- St. Cuthbert's LN alignment: "The one of the most
significant changes is altering St. Cuthbert to LN, and assigning
Cuthbert the portfolio of "Retribution". There were significant
internal debates about this change, and both sides of the argument did
an excellent job at presenting their various sides of the
argument. Cuthbert's portfolio provided an excellent template for
a god of "Retribution" - not "revenge"; "Retribution" implies that
justice is served in the end, regardless of whether that justice is
good or evil. We believe that this presentation of Cuthbert is
true to the various expressions of the Cutherbertian faith in most of
the existing published products, and jibes with his presentation as "LG
(LN)" in The
Adventure Begins."
- Gruumsh's CE alignment: "In 3e, the default alignment
for Orcs is CE. In our opinion, this alignment default represents
the way that Orcs have been depicted in D&D products and in the way
that they are primarily used by most DMs in play.... We wanted
the Orcs creator god to track with the default Orc alignment, so
Gruumsh appears as CE."
- Lawful Evil: "In 3e, LE is described (in part) thus: 'A lawful
evil villain methodically takes what he wants within the limits of his
code of conduct without regard to who it hurts. He cares about
tradition, loyalty and order, but not about freedom, dignity or life.'"
- Chaotic Evil: "In 3e, CE is described (in part) thus: 'A chaotic
evil character does whatever his greed, hatred, and lust for
destruction drive him to do. He is hot-tempered, vicious,
arbitrarily violent, and unpredictable. If simply out for
whatever he can get, he is ruthless and brutal.'"
January 2, 2000
- New Message Board Available: I have thrown
together a message board for the discussion of 3E rules and
speculations. My guidelines are simple: keep it civil, keep
it clean, and keep it focused. While I do not anticipate that
this board will replace the official 3E Message Board or DND-L, I think
it will serve as a good place for general question-and-answer type
posts. I encourage you to test it out! You can link to it
here, or use the link under the 3E logo.
- New Quizlet: I've also added a pop-up quizlet
to this site, as you've probably noticed by now. I'll try to
change questions weekly, and I'll keep it going until I run out of good
questions. Feel free to participate or ignore as you
desire. If you have a good idea for a quizlet question, send it
my way.
Dungeons & Dragons, D&D
3E and AD&D are all property of Wizards of the Coast. |
