A while back — a year ago, maybe more — I had a character I really enjoyed playing, a chaotic neutral fighter/wizard named Zilanderan who was obsessed with the planes and alternative realities. He was a fun character, but alas doomed — he died fighting the thralls of the Temple of Elemental Evil. After he … Read more
Here’s my list of the RPG products I’d like to buy this spring, including Torn Asunder (a critical hits source book for d20), the Conan: The Role-Playing Game, and Gamma World: Out of the Vaults. Torn Asunder Bastian Press 96 pages $22.95 Buy it from Amazon One of the things that occasionally bugs me about … Read more
In Wish 90 (Internet Archive), Ginger asks: What do you think about system updates (Paranoia XP, Amber 2.0, DnD 3.0/3.5) and conversions (d20 Silver Age Sentinels, GURPS Traveller)? What about world/setting updates that result in system reboots (the end of the Age of Darkness)? Do you buy them, run them, or use them for resources? … Read more
Draconomicion — “The Book of Dragons” — is a supplement for Dungeons & Dragons dedicated entirely to its signature reptilian scourges. The first chapter — “All about Dragons” — presents a comprehensive look at the physiology and ecology of dragons. It dissects the physical characteristics of the beasts, reviewing everything from their eyesight to their … Read more
For decades, Dungeons & Dragons players have cobbled together custom soundtracks for their games from diverse sources, including various movie soundtracks (Conan the Barbarian, Lord of the Rings), game music tracks (Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights) and even specialized albums (Midnight Syndicate, Toxic Bag Productions). But now they have an official soundtrack, one sanctioned by the … Read more
This edition of my semi-quarterly wish list includes a few non-RPG items for the first time, partly because there I’m there’s not a lot of D&D stuff out there that I’m interested in buying, but mostly because stuff like the Return of the King Soundtrack and the Two Towers Extended DVDs are must-have additions to … Read more
Tome of Horrors is a 400+ compendium of monsters for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition culled from the first and second editions of the game.
I watched High Fidelity the other night with my wife. It’s a movie in which the main character, played by John Cusak, is a music geek in love with vinyl. The movie’s peppered with his top five lists (both of music and break-ups) and it got me thinking about my own top five lists with … Read more
I got my latest issue of Dragon yesterday and discovered its section dedicated to a “countdown” to the revised edition of D&D, which is supposed to be released this summer. The new release includes revisions and tweaks based on customer feedback, rules integrated from the various handbooks, and about 25% new material. I’m ambivalent about … Read more
3rd Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide introduces five new non-player character classes (NPCS) to the game which provide Dungeon Masters with some non-adventuring options for the common (and uncommon) folk of their campaign. This article, inspired by a debate on the Greytalk listserv about the merits of having dedicated NPC classes, looks at how I use them to enhance combat, role-playing and meta gaming in my campaign