Archive for April, 2011

The Big 3 Potions

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

alt textAre you packing the big three potions in your campaigns?  In the midst of a pitched battle, they can mean the difference between the infamous trifecta of dying, unconscious and helpless and a turn filled with spectacular tide-turning heroics.

A Tactical Choice

It’s important to understand the nature of curative or protective magic and potions has changed in 4e.  While you’d pack sometimes half-a-dozen or more of potions of cure light/moderate/serious, etc. wounds in the past, and the cleric would pray for just as many each day, there’s no longer fire-and-forget stockpiles of healing magic.  The greatest strength of D&D 4e is its wealth of meaningful tactical situations and choices

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D&D 4e: Turning the Corner

Monday, April 4th, 2011

alt textNow that Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition has been out since the summer of 2008, I feel it’s turning the corner on its originally highly mechanical and gamey feel and presentation, now striving for the wise balance of game and roleplay or storytelling D&D truly is.  The game has matured, the products have matured, and between us all – from designers to players and DMs – we’ve now learned that this precious balance of D&D’s core aspects is its driving force, like it is for nearly every roleplaying game.

Product Evidence

Look at the layout in Monster Manual 3 or Monster Vault, where monster lore, fluff, history and ecology all get plenty of attention – by far the most inspiring amount of campaign, adventure and encounter-generating ideas in any monster book we’ve seen in 4e.  An emphasis on personality or instinctive traits, temperaments, motivations and relationships with other monsters is found in each creature’s entry. 

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D&D 4e: Top 12 Ways to Stop Sounding So Damn Metagamey

Friday, April 1st, 2011

My single greatest pet-peeve of Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition is how gamey it can sound during play. 

That is, we tend to use gamespeak or metagame terms far too often during our favorite roleplaying game.  Want to stop?  Or at least cut back? 

Here’s a start – another Leonine 12 to the rescue! (more…)