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My time as an organizer and DM is no less precious, Saracenus. I have weathered temper tantrums, off nights, lengthy post mortems, and more than a little thoughtlessness. What I won't tolerate is people who walk out because they're told an item won't work as they think it should. It's bad enough...

No, that's one of the most important aspects of Lair Assault. You can tell me why you think the pixie music box would work. I'll tell you when and how it won't. It's not like I'd miss anyone that would walk over something like that. "I'm taking my ball and going home," doesn't impress anyone...

This can be useful if any of your allies deal ongoing damage, but the results tend to be unsatisfying. An executioner assassin can reliably deal ongoing 2 poison damage and you probably want at least regeneration 5. One of the druid implements does generous ongoing fire damage on a critical hit...

Well done. I've yet to have a team even reach the wizard. Today's group of four was closer than anyone's been when we had to close up, but they've still got problems in front of them and behind. They also survived a ridiculous string of bad luck, failing three separate attempts to neutralize the...

After five runs, local players have yet to face the wizard. The first three had to be called because it took too long to defeat the apprentice. The fourth bested her very quickly with a party of four, but got bogged down during its attempts to regroup. (The primary striker got isolated in the...

Yeah, this one has a bit of a learning curve for people who played the previous seasons. I sat in as the healer on last night's session and was taken down by a few nifty tricks in the 8th round. The others came within a hair's breadth of a TPK, but they eventually rallied and turned it around...

Things went well at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo. The first table (4 players) survived until the Big Reveal, but they were completely unprepared for that and were quickly overwhelmed. The second table's start time was delayed by about half an hour because the fire marshal was limiting...

I don't let such powers force creatures to attack themselves because it's more interesting to see the alternatives players will attempt if they don't have that option. That applies to the opponents they face as well.

Tuesday's group was successful, aided by three ballistae, five mercenary hirelings, and a lot of caltrops. They even picked up their award for killing three or more dinosaurs (everything but the triceratops). Three out of five party members perished in turn, two of them devoured (coup de grace)...

A consistent 31 AC, interwyrm? That is tough to beat, even if most of your opponents will still be able to crit on a 20. Your utility suggestion is a bit risky, as it damages anyone other than the creator, including the druid. Your idea with the phantom chasm might also experience a few...

Whew! Last night was the second time the adventure got to TPK. Two wizards made it easier to shield Hyacinth from attack, but one triceratops got in close and hit her near the start, denying them the Dryad Defender award. Things were looking good for their fighter/cleric hybrid right up until...

Rough luck for tonight's group: the last creature to act in the fourth round did just enough damage to finish Hyacinth off. They had a weak start, but they rallied pretty well in that fourth round, cutting off most avenues of attack and laying down a field that prevented anything from charging...

I'm sorry to say I'm a bit too heavy-handed with writing utensils to manage that. Still, photocopying the sheet and recording things on that works. Thanks. The polycarbonate sheet is also a good idea, but I'm not sure how practical it would be for the tables I've been using. Only one player...

Before I report this week's results (and head off to run it again), does anyone have a suggestion for easier ways to keep everything on the map straight before it's turned over? It can get crazy with a party of six that likes to use a lot of crates and zones, especially if they opted to play on...

Last Tuesday's group didn't make it to the end of the second round, as two triceratops and their riders managed to find a hole in the defenses. I will review the rules for creatures squeezing into smaller spaces with the DM who ran the encounter, however, as the triceratops should not have been...

If your players are bored with having their characters lie around for an hour, waiting for revival, I can see why you'd want to change the rules. I think it should come at a higher price, however. At the very least, the player should still have to keep making death saving throws for as long as...

If a dazed solo had the option to choose between the normal dazed status or being slowed, granting combat advantage, and taking a -5 penalty on all attack rolls, would your party be satisfied with the results either way? If a solo could treat the stunned condition as the options giving for...

I had eight players show up on Thursday, which meant running two tables. We got started about an hour late for various reasons, several of which I should be able to avoid if this ever happens again. One advantage to running two tables is that any time a player took too long to take a turn, I...

When I'm preparing setup for several tables, my answer is, "Talk with someone about the elf after the game." At the point you've described, the player is disrupting the game and should be told to table these questions until the session is over.

My latest group opted to tackle nightmare mode shorthanded. At their request, I agreed to hand them two extra turrets. They figured that piling boxes two to three high around the druid, with crossbow turrets on top of the bigger piles, would be enough to stop the attackers while they sniped away...