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LFR is currently the only one on the list that you can freely and easily run for a group such as a college club. Simply go to the LFR site, download the adventures, make sure PCs are made with the Character Creation Guide (on the same site), and play. You can also order Living Divine for a fee...

I really worry about the rogue if their sneak attack is a damage boost, but they don't get it all the time. That creates the classic problem of the rogue's player trying all the time to get sneak attack every round and either being frustrated or breaking the game if they succeed. What if Sneak...

I find myself agreeing with just about everything but the final rating. I think docking an in-development copy for presentation isn't particularly fair. I've playtested 13th Age both as a DM and player and we had a really good time. I also recently was treated to a session at PAX run by Rob...

Gen Con and PAX have now concluded. Both saw many tables of the D&D Next Playtest, as well as other organized play events and demos. It is worth noting that D&D now offers a mix of experiences at conventions, from traditional 4-hour events to classics to short board game demos. For example, the...

Yeah, I'm confused. On what day and at what time is this taking place? What is the format? Live auction and must be present? Tables and bids until time runs up?

As I said somewhere else, we shouldn't be mad at companies for wanting to be profitable and to grow. It is unlikely there are any mid-to-large RPG companies that have created a VTT just because they love us. They might very well love us (I believe most RPG companies do), but they have limited...

13th Age backgrounds are descriptive in nature and you would gain bonuses to anything you and the DM agree would qualify. The game encourages you to select backgrounds with minor DM oversight. You might go for Royal Cook, for example, and gain bonuses in a variety of situations. While some of...

The problem is that they created a catch-22 on various levels. At the simplest level, they kept desired functionality (such as sharing adventures and various levels of import/export) from working because some day they might want to sell that. Combined with a lack of true integration (you could...

Specifically on this Paizo announcement, Paizo should well understand the lessons of WotC's approach. Having screenshots of the VTT but not understanding pricing schemes is not a good start. It is seldom a good idea to undertake an IT project (and begin incurring costs) or promise a...

I'm a big 4E fan and I'm a sensitive person, but I don't buy that explanation. No team should be set up such that it was going to fall apart if a single person left the team (for any reason). Since that initial time many years have passed with many changes in strategy, goals, approach, software...

I'm a huge fan of Wizards. Nonetheless, I took this news pretty hard, not because I liked the VTT*, but because it demonstrates systemic problems with project management. I love the vision, but the execution is almost never there. In the end, I want to see these visions continue, but for future...

Thanks, Keterys, that is extremely nice of you to say. I have a long history of being envious of great DMs. I try to surround myself with as many as I can, absorb from them as much as I can, and steal from them every chance I get!

Along those lines are the card Ancient Tales (mentions Grak's Pool), and Strength to Survive (mentions defiling). All three of the cards were part of the Encounters season.

Is this supposed to be snarky? Domains in Pathfinder come from Domains in 3E. D&D Next is trying to speak to previous editions. Because of that, many of its mechanics and approaches reflect previous editions.

That may have been me. I've run Caves of Chaos as a DM 3 times at D&DXP, plus once for my home group. At that point I was a bit tired of the Caves when the Open Playtest came out. Another DM decided to run Next with Temple of Elemental Evil, starting with T1, and getting as far as the first...

13th Age's timeline is actually pretty typical. It is important to realize that behind the scenes is a very tight writing/development/publishing schedule. An RPG company really needs to get the feedback quickly so they can address major issues. Here's the reality: they don't need a specific...

In general I tend to be overly concerned with any NDAs I make as part of playtesting. I tend to take a conservative approach in part because I am thankful to the companies that give me their trust and allow me to influence a game's development and in part because I want to see them prosper...

The playtest packet actually does a great job of providing new instructions and plot hooks not available in the original. The Bestiary together with the Caves of Chaos provides many tools for DMs to still do an accurate playtest but make the playtest interesting. I've started a blog series on...

The survey was a good one, as was the one before it for the friends&family playtest. It dug deep into various aspects of gameplay and had fields in each section for additional comments. Along those lines, there is a current survey out which everyone should check out. It includes questions...

Opinions will always differ. For many players, combat speed is an issue in 3E and 4E as compared to previous editions and lighter RPGs. 4E is fairly uniform in time spent across levels, while 3E tends to be faster (slightly) at lower levels and both editions are slightly longer at higher levels...