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Yep.

I disagree with using a different system or trying to make 4E "rules light". 11-years-old is old enough to play the game as written. And D&D is totally playable with just 1-2 players. NPCs, animal companions, and thoughtful adventure and encounter design will be able to make up for missing 2-3...

Thanks. I'd like to start playing next weekend (Halloween!) so waiting for the campaign next year won't work. I do have Open Grave, though, and was planning on leaning on it. I didn't realize Strahd was in it. Good to know.

Every time an adjacent monster doesn't move away for fear of getting wacked, Combat Challenge is being used. No, the rules text might not trigger, but that does not mean the feature is not having its desired effect.

As has been said (it's worth saying so I'll say it again): This all started with MM3 and rules updates over the summer. There are new monster creation guidelines and damage per level tables that can be used to adjust pre-MM3 monsters. Also, monster ability design philosophy changed during...

I'm about to dive into a conversion of the original AD&D adventure "I6: Ravenloft" to 4E. Has this been done? I don't want to reinvent the wheel, just slightly update this classic to use 4E idioms. See: the Tomb of Horrors DM Reward I'm particularly interested in any skill challenges that have...

Life expectancy in the western world is 75-80 years, so 31 is definitely in the middle-third. :-/ "We have a saying in the movement that we don’t trust anybody over 30." -- Jack Weinberg, 1965

Ah, the point I meant to make was: if you asked "Do people who haven't played previous editions or other RPGs like 4E or not?" the answer would be "Yes, very much so.". I didn't mean to imply anything about any other group of players. That said, I agree that 4E is great because the core...

Encounters, Encounters, Encounters, Encounters. I've been encouraging 4E haters to try just one session of the current season of D&D encounters. In two hours you get to experience much of what 4E post-Essentials has to offer. Granted, a bad DM might turn it into a boring combat. But you...

I spent the weekend at a small sci-fi/fantasy/gaming/anime convention demoing 4th Edition--the new Red Box and DM Kit in particular--for my FLGS in exchange for a free vendor badge. My take-aways: The new Red Box is a huge hit and a huge draw to middle-aged dads who are playing with their...

Having run Essentials-only games for the past four weeks I can say with experience: Healing surges are still the coin of the realm post-Essentials. Also, the Essentials feat that gives extra healing surges should be very early on every character's list, not just knights'.

My FLGS asked me to help demo 4E/Essentials and promote D&D Encounters at the gaming, fantasy, and sci-fi convention in town this weekend. Anyone have any tips on demonstrating an RPG at a con? How about showing the strengths of the much maligned 4E to a crowd that will likely be full of...

Mike Mearls has his name tied to Instant Friends because his name is on the cover. But he's also been the loudest voice supporting skill challenges, as evidenced by his long-running 'Ruling Skill Chellenges' column in Dungeon among other things. How do these two facts square? It's probably...

All other DMs can houserule as they see fit. Like every other mechanic in the game.

This calls for a new YouTube video from WotC: Orcus & the Gnome "So I called my mom last night and I was like 'Guess what?' and she was like 'What?' and I said 'Me and Orcus are best friends forever!' and she was like 'Who's Orcus?' and then the power wore off and Orcus ate my soul. Rawr!"

Charm Person spells take power away from the DM and give it to the players. It reminds me of the Magic: the Gathering card Mindslaver. Some people really like playing that card and controlling their opponent. Generally opponents don't like having it played against them. It's an especially...

There is a big problem with rituals being subsumed into utility powers: a Heroic-tier Wizard (Mage) gets no more and no less than 3 utility powers by level 10, 2 more as a Paragon-tier Enigmatic Mage, and only 1 more when they become an Epic-Tier Indomitable Champion. By contrast, you can have...

I agree that it seems really old school, and definitely made me think of charm person. Does anyone have the 1st Edition or Basic D&D charm person spell at hand to compare this to? I've been playing Labyrinth Lord by email off and on over the past couple years and my magic users almost always...

It's a more interesting exercise if you houserule that powers with the Weapon keyword can't be used without wielding a weapon from the equipment list with which they have proficiency. Ditto for powers with the Implement keyword.

I think I have a problem with this being a Wizard Utility 2 power (Heroes of the Fallen Lands, page 209). I'm having a hard time articulating it. It doesn't "feel" right. The crux of the power is the target gets a saving throw with a +5 bonus if it's your level or higher and -5 if its lower...