Saturday, May 2, 2009 by Dan Hughes
Another form of encounter that plays out well is the Puzzle Encounter. The encounter challenges the players directly, and relies little on either skills or combat. The ever popular "what do we need to do to move on?" gag is pretty standard fare, as is the "gotta figure it out before we die" method, but more basic encounters can include figuring out a map, piecing together clues, or actually solving a simple physical puzzle in a dungeon.
(Continued)
Thursday, April 30, 2009 by Dominic Hamon
Wizards of the Coast recently announced the release of a starter kit that gives a player everything they need to get started with 4th Edition D&D. The kit includes a basic ruleset, the first published adventure (Keep on the Shadowfell) and the free version of Character Builder, the last of which has been available for a while.
(Continued)
Saturday, April 25, 2009 by Dan Hughes
To keep things interesting, to give variation to play, and to keep characters from getting too awful strong in any one category (imbalance), DMs want to make sure that different types of encounters are placed into their campaigns. The primary encounters are categorized into three broad spectrums: Skill Challenges, Puzzles, and Combat. It is important that all of them are included in your campaign. Doing so, and rewarding appropriately, will ensure that the characters use the widest range of skills available to them.
(Continued)
Monday, April 13, 2009 by Dominic Hamon
Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed a trend at my DnD table as more players have moved from the traditional pen(cil) and paper to having a laptop, notebook or, more frequently, a netbook or smartphone in front of them instead. In this article, I’ll explore some of the tools available to facilitate this move and explore my own experiences.
(Continued)
Thursday, April 2, 2009 by Dominic Hamon
Whether you’re writing a novel or playing a role-playing game, there comes a time when you have to develop a character. There are a number of ways you can approach this and this series of articles will explore some of those.
I’ll start with the character development that I’ve dealt with the most: Developing a character for a role-playing game, specifically DnD.
(Continued)