Some brief time after that I was invited into the Friends and Family playtest, and have been on that ride ever since, so yeah, I’ve been playtesting 5th Edition D&D.  That’s why there has been so little D&D content on this blog.  I am no longer playing or participating in any 4e stuff, although I had a chance to playtest some of the Encounter season stuff and one of the books you are seeing on the shelves this month.   So what do I think about it?  Well, it certainly looks and smells like the D&D I played when I was younger, no doubt.  If that’s the feel that they are going for, they’ve succeeded.  There are some aspects of it that are downright cool (themes, I’m looking at you), and some things that make me wonder why they weren’t always part of the game (the way ability scores interact with DC’s, for example.) I love the fact that minis and a grid aren’t assumed, although I’ve been playing D&D Next with a grid, as it’s just easier for me.   One thing I still don’t like:  conditions.  I really prefer the way Star Wars Saga handled those, and it’s a shame that mechanic has been discarded.  In the playtest that went out today, there are a far less number of conditions than in the version I tested, which had 21!   Too many, and I’m glad that number was reduced.

I think this playtest material is a great way to introduce somebody new to D&D to the game.  The rules are fairly simple, and you have everything you need to start a game. I would encourage people to not just play with experienced roleplayers, but to also try and play with somebody new to rpg’s, as it may give you a different perspective on the game.  The input and feedback that they can offer to the playtest may also let the designers see things from a newbies point of view, which at this point in time may be lost on them.

I’m going to ask the community a few things.  First, even if you don’t like something, try to be critical but in a positive way.  Don’t be a troll for the sake of being a troll.  If you don’t like a mechanic, explain why.  ”Because I think it sucks” is not an answer, and you aren’t helping anybody that way.  Second, lets try and remain civil, and not turn this into a 4e vs. D&D Next edition war.  D&D Next is coming, there’s no turning back.  You don’t want to switch?  You don’t have to. Your 4e books aren’t going anywhere.  Don’t troll people who have switched and are enjoying D&D Next.  Nobody’s dancing on 4e’s grave, relax, it’s just a game.

One last thing.  This game is not complete.  My guess is that they need the basic core of the game to be tight first, and that’s what we are seeing.  Something missing?  Bring it up, but don’t assume it’s gone for good, it may be in the works or not relevant to the playtest.

So in closing, that’s the reason why I’ve been kind of silent on the D&D front.  I was muzzled.  I expect to do a little more writing as I get deeper into the latest version of the playtest packet.  I need to check what’s changed from the previous one!  Good times.

Oh, and once you go through the playtest, take a look at my prophetic article from February 2011, where I predicted 5e was coming.  I think I nailed it.

Have fun in The Caves of Chaos this weekend!

It’s no secret that the WOTC playtests for DNDNext are being played with a theatre of the mind assumption, leaving the option open to play with minis and a grid if you want. This is the assumption made in Dragon Age, and it works well for us. But I’ve found something pretty interesting is going on at my table, and I wonder how many other folks experience the same thing.  I think that my group *likes* the idea of a game not needing minis (the main reason for dropping 4e was the length of encounters due to the tactical combat), but in practice prefers the minis and grid (even if just as a reference).

When we played 2e many moons ago, we played with a grid, and while positioning and movement wern’t really all that important to us, it helped us visualize the scene.  We do the same with DA, terrain and movment aren’t to strict at my table, and the minis serve as a reference.  So I’m finding that when I try to run a gridless combat, most people would prefer to see minis at the table.  This is surprising to me, because for as much as we may have wanted to drop the 4e baggage,  some things just work better. It’s an interesting thought.  In fact, I think the only game we may play without really needing any minis is the Star Wars d6 game.

So yeah, grids.  I find my recent experience interesting.  Where do you stand, and why?

On DNDNext

I’m not going to talk much about DndNext (use your imaginations), but I will say this.  I’m seeing some 4e fans feeling burnt by the talk coming out of official columns, public playtests and nda-breaking writers regarding the game.  All I can say is relax.  First, you are experiencing what 3e fans felt when 4e was announced 5 years ago.  Now it’s y(our) turn.  Such are the breaks.  Also, the game is nowhere near finished.  it’s unfair to judge a game based on snippets of information and marketing speak.

I personally have stuff to say about the game, and when the time comes, I will, trust me.  But for now, I urge you to wait for the public playtest, where you’ll have your chance to help shape the game.  Everything else right now is noise.

On a last note, I know I’ve been slacking here on the blogging front, but life’s kicking my ass.

If you would like to support NewbieDM.com, perhaps you’d consider visiting Amazon.com for your next rpg related purchase. Check out the following products:

World of Greyhawk AD&D Boxed Set

Menzoberranzan AD&D Boxed Set

Conquest of Nerath: A D&D Boardgame

Legend of Drizzt: A D&D Boardgame

I was contacted by Johnn Four (roleplayingtips.com) and Tony Medeiros of fastercombat.com about publishing an article regarding the WOTC D&D virtual table, and a guided tour that they were given by Game Table Online (the group managing WOTC’s virtual table I believe).  I agreed to publish the article, so here it is, by Tony Madeiros.

Digital tools that help us run games better and make combats faster are always welcome. Recently, I met with Rory Madden of GameTable Online who offered to run a demo of the D&D Virtual Table and answer some questions.

Let the Adventure Begin

Rory guided me through a demo combat that spanned two floors of an inn, orcs and hobgoblins. As I was minding my own business, foes were climbing to the second floor on the outside and busting through the front door on the ground floor. So much for a quiet night loading up on ale!

Scene of the crime - both floors of The Lonely Inn where my short adventure took place.

My 1^st level dragonborn paladin, imported from my D&D Character Builder files, did what he could to fight them off. Even the peasants jumped in. Many misses and corpses later, I could not find the digital die-throwing skills I needed to finish off the last hobgoblin upstairs.

The great battle versus the hobgoblin - no storybook ending this time!

Sadly, in true Gygaxian form, my clumsy (or perhaps drunk?) fledgling paladin succumbed to the horde, dying on the floorboards of The Lonely Inn.

Fade to black…the brief adventure and demo was over.

The VT’s Primary Purpose

The big takeaway? The D&D VT is primarily a digital battlefield tool, intended for combat-focused encounters and purely digital sessions – more standalone rather than a full adventure suite for the DM at a live tabletop game, such as Master Plan.

Think of a manual, turn-by-turn version of Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games such as League of Legends, except you fight monsters controlled by the DM instead of other parties.

What I loved about the VT:

• Measure distance in squares tool
• Area effect and line of sight visual tools
• Fog of war tool – the DM can hide and later reveal certain areas of the battlemap
• Private tells/whispers
• Import PCs directly from the online D&D Character Builder
• 3 visual condition markers: bloodied, marked, and misc “!” for all other conditions
• Auto calculates and shows hit and damage
• Apply rest-based recoveries
• Scrolls on map: nice visual queue; hover over them for more info on terrain/map (i.e. fireplace damage) and they can be marked private/hidden for DM (i.e. trap)
• Make monsters invisible at start (fog of war)
• Direct access to all DDI monsters via Compendium for DDI subscribers
• Tiles and paint options for maps
• Voice fonts can be used to alter your voice coming through the mic as DM. Best used occasionally for key enemies or elites/bosses: i.e., a rough, gravelly voice distortion comes through when you talk into your mic after selecting the “orc” voice font
• Attacking sound effects for DM (swords, bows)
• 1-2 weeks advance announcements of what’s coming to VT
• Forum has a maintained community list of desired features

Here are some things I didn’t like about the VT:

• Waiting for DM turns sometimes takes awhile in large fights
• Doesn’t autocalculate critical hits
• Combat advantage not added automatically (via flanking and condition)
• Lots of manual tracking, very little autocalc beyond basic attacks and base damage
• Primary intent is standalone virtual game, and I wish its intended purpose was to support both digital sessions and be a supplement for live games
• Mic issues – while my mic works fine on Ventrilo and other applications, I couldn’t get it to work properly with the VT, even with all the tremendous support Rory offered for weeks afterwards as they researched the problem
• No public list of prioritized or upcoming features

Here are some of Rory’s favorite features:

• Easy map creation, tile options, paint
• Rules automation, tracking of conditions

Here are some things Rory wished were better:

• No community sharing/trading capability
• More map creation flexibility – need more small area customization tiles, more art, more variety, smaller terrain feature options

Here are some potential goodies Rory said might come to the VT some day:

• Monetization options, extra art, tokens – micropayment options, pay extra bucks to unlock more virtual real estate
• More sharing with friends, including non-subscribers
• More community sharing options, including rating other adventures

Bottom Line?

If you’re looking to play sessions online at any time with friends or family across the world, it’s a pretty cool option, despite a significant amount of missing automations and autocalculations. As you might know from my site fastercombat.com, I am always looking for ways to improve combat speed. This VT offers some, but not enough for a combat system as complex as D&D 4e.

If you’re looking for a supplement to help your live tabletop D&D game, like I was, then the VT is fair at best. Again, it’s not intended for that right now, and I didn’t get a sense that would change. It’s no Master Plan, which is unfortunate, as I was hoping for an official D&D version of Master Plan someday. If it’s it in the works behind the scenes, great, but the VT simply isn’t it.

Still, it was a wonderful demo and it’s still a promising, fun option for D&D gamers and D&D Insider subscribers, especially those who find meeting digitally the best option they have to play D&D at all.

Still have questions? There’s a handy D&D Virtual Table FAQ. Plus, you’ll find several colorful player-side and DM-side VT screen shots below, taken directly from my demo experience – plus shots of a few other gems I found exploring the uploadable sample adventures and maps.

Uploaded dungeon map from a sample adventure.

Your Turn

What have your experiences with the D&D VT been? Have you used it for purely digital D&D games? Have you used it a supplement to your live tabletop sessions? What features do you like most and which features do you think are poor or lacking?

The following day I researched Terraclips online, including watching their videos and reading their forums. By the time my husband got home from work I was feeling like giving them a try. I showed the same videos to him and he was also impressed. The next day we swooped up a lucky catch: all three available sets at our local game store!

Unboxing
If you plan on buying some of these – do watch the videos. They are full of truth. I’ll repeat one thing they say for emphasis: the clips do not come in the tile boxes. You have to purchase them separately. The videos recommend purchasing one box of clips per box of tiles – which is what I did. Now I’m going to make my own recommendation: think first, then buy.  If you’re going to use your Terraclip tiles to make small encounter-sized maps for your groups then you can probably get away with one box even if you get two or three tile sets.  If you’re planning on using more tiles, making medium to large layouts, possibly sprawling complexes covering your table, then yes a box of clips per tile box is appropriate.

It took me nearly 45 minutes to finish unboxing my first set (and I haven’t had the energy to sit down and unbox the other two yet!). I’m not going to give an exhaustive list – you can get that on the website. Besides a generous supply of floor, wall, and roof tiles, the set includes four stair sets: three 2” stairs and one 4” stair. It also included three ladders. I noticed the ladders had interesting notches on each rung and realised they were intentional – you can seat a mini on one of the rungs and it won’t fall off! Genius!

The box is large and hefty. Inside the Buildings box was 16 sheets of die-cut cardstock. The cardstock is about as thick as D&D tiles, but feels a little bit denser to me. The die-cutting is excellent and they clearly tried to use as much space as possible, filling even archways and nooks with extra tokens and bits. The cuts are clean and the pieces pop out easily but you do still need to pay attention to any tile with small cuts – like the doors and the ladders – where the paper can tear. I did slightly tear the printed layer on one door when I carelessly tugged it the wrong way.

The artwork is top-notch. In the Buildings box you get a mix of wooden and stone floors, a mix of wood & plaster walls and stone walls, and clay versus wood roofing tiles. There is an excellent level of attention to detail on every tile. These aren’t simply shaped tiles with generic textures slapped onto them. Each tile has something unique about it. Walls have drapes, half-melted candles, cracked plaster, shutters, etc. Floors have different planking or stone work, mold, occasional rugs scattered about, trap doors are placed suggestively but are also subtle enough you can effectively ignore them if appropriate. The color palate is consistent and seems to match well with the other two sets – I can see using all three sets on the same layout and not have that jarring effect you sometimes get with D&D tiles from different series.

Storage
The box is ideal for storage. A single baggie holds all my tiny pieces, the rest stack up neatly in the box. Note: the ladders have very snug slots and you may want to leave them assembled instead of risking tearing them by disassembling and reassembling them. Thankfully, the box is just high enough you can lay the ladders down inside the box and close it without crushing the ladders. The stairs are easily dissembled without problem and stored flat. The clips are already loose and require no prep – open box and pour out. I’m storing mine in their boxes as-is because boxes stay neatly on my shelf versus bags or a different storage bin.

Assembling
All the tiles have small notches on them. They might seem intrusive, but once things are in place you won’t even notice them. The plastic clips are designed to bring the edges of the tiles together snugly. The clips themselves are also more unassuming than you’d think. On the walls you really won’t be bothered by them, and on floors they’re only slightly intrusive – they did not prevent our minis from occupying the same squares but they are *there* and that might bother some people.

The clips grip tiles quite strongly, in fact removing tiles was sometimes more difficult than placing them. Still, the result is a structure that is surprisingly not flimsy at all. I built a house I could throw across the room – it bounced off the wall and landed on the floor without bending. (Note: I don’t recommend doing this, it was an experiment!)

The videos recommend having a plan before you sit down to build. This is sound advice. With my D&D tiles I can sit down and tool around with tiles until something strikes me. The D&D 3D tiles are few in number and are basically simple accents to your 2D map. The Terraclip tiles are specifically 3D tiles with a handful of foundation tiles. Because you don’t  have an infinite amount of tiles you have to think about what you want to build. Other than that, its really just as simple as Legos – think of what you want to put here, find piece, clip into place.

One really fun aspect of the Terraclips is the stacking. The clips have small ridges in them so that when you build up levels, you don’t actually clip the levels together. The ridges rest naturally on the top edges of wall tiles, making it sturdy enough to stand on its own but as easy to lift off as a lid on a pot. Unstack to access every inch of your map without interrupting your game.

Feel free to experiment: I took a piece of railing that would normally be placed vertically on the edge of a balcony and instead placed it horizontally along a wall to create a narrow shelf. My friend used the clips to combine Terraclip tiles with D&D tiles to create a larger network of catwalks over a sewer system. The clips will grip D&D tiles, although the result is not as neat looking as the Terraclip tiles because D&D tiles do not have the built-in notch that makes the joints look smooth and evenly joined. Heavy usage might damage the D&D tiles, so be careful when applying and removing clips.

Price
Terraclips tiles were $49 each at my local store, and $18 per box of clips – making that an investment of $67 just for one working set. On one hand, yes that’s a bit pricey, but on the other hand you do not get ripped-off for dropping big bucks on the set – you’re given an ample amount of quality product for your purchase. Now if your group spends very little time in an urban setting then of course you’ll want to skip these. If you’ve never in your life enjoyed Legos or some other adolescent building toy, then you’ll also want to skip these.

Recommendation
If you liked D&D 3D tiles but feel they were a little underwhelming, if you use regular tiles or poster maps but wish they were more immersive, or if you simply enjoy any sort of 3D terrain I recommend you give these a try. I highly recommend them if your group enjoys rich urban settings and you could see yourself making their favorite inn, the local mansion, or ambush alley. If you’re positive you’ll build entire layouts of streets, sewers, and buildings: for DMs like you it may be worth it to get two or more sets.

Terraclips Website

TheSheDM.com

I wonder if Elminster will wake up next to Bob Newhart and realize it was all a dream.

Funny, right?  Yeah, he’s pretty clever.  But while he was probably trying to be cute, the question about what the heck to do with the post-Spellplague Forgotten Realms as D&D moves into a new era is a valid one.  I’ll admit up front that I am not a big Realms lore guy.  I’m not up to speed on the history of Faerun, don’t know all the NPC’s, don’t read the novels, and can’t answer too many basic geography questions.  However, I can tell you that I am a fan of the Realms in a rather casual way, and have always loved the flavor, maps, and fluffy articles through the years.  My favorite D&D product is a Realms boxed set after all…

So what do we know about the Realms regarding the 5th Edition of D&D?  Well, we know it’s going to be supported at the game’s launch, and that WOTC’s hired a video game company from China to detail the Realms.  Bizarre, right?  A video game company from China?  Well, I did some digging around and Cryptic Studios, the developer of the Neverwinter MMO was recently purchased by a video game company from China named Perfect Worlds.  Coincidence?  I’d bet on the answer being no.

Here are the quotes from ENWorld when the question on the Realms came up at the now famous December gathering at Wizards of the Coast:

The Forgotten Realms will be supported from the start, and a video game art studio from China has been hired to fully detail the Realms. We asked if going forward support would be continued for the current time after the Spellplague and the Neverwinter Campaign. A WotC spokesperson answered, “The Forgotten Realms has a rich history and we will support all of it. It is for the gamers to decide which time they would enjoy playing in.” That would allow Wizards to take advantage of a massive back catalog of products.

Okay, so lets look at this bit by bit.

• A video game company is “fully detailing” the Realms.  My prediction:  Expect a Forgotten Realms MMO to launch along with D&D 5e at launch.  Obviously using its ruleset.  Art from both the MMO and the pen and paper game would then be used back and forth between the products, and in a way the video game company is indeed detailing the world.  Remember WOTC getting the digital rights back from Atari?  Bingo.

• “The Forgotten Realms has a rich history and we will support all of it. It is for the gamers to decide which time they would enjoy playing in.”  That’s a heavy statement.  I’m not getting a sense of an advancement in the timeline, but rather a chance to play anywhere you want within the current timeline.  I can see articles in Dungeon and Dragon taking chunks of the timeline and updating the npc’s to the game’s stats, and releasing adventures that fall under “The Time of Troubles” or “Spellplague”.  You are given options to play in different eras, and guys like me can use their good old boxed set by pulling out the converted npc stats from the Avatar Crisis and play a game in old Faerun using shiny new rules.  That could be cool.

So these are some of my thoughts regarding the Forgotten Realms and the newly announced D&D Edition.  An MMO, releases updating NPC’s of different eras to the new system stats, and adventures and fluff detailing different eras of the realms rather than concentrating on a specific campaign year.

This is all going to be so interesting to watch unfold… Oh hey, here’s a thought… What if the Realms were actually 5e’s assumed setting?   That would be interesting!  I think I like that idea…

If you would like to support NewbieDM.com, perhaps you’d consider visiting Amazon.com for your next rpg related purchase. Check out the following products:

World of Greyhawk AD&D Boxed Set

Menzoberranzan AD&D Boxed Set

Conquest of Nerath: A D&D Boardgame

Legend of Drizzt: A D&D Boardgame

So what do we know about this new D&D?  Well, since it is still early, there’s not much to tell.  I’ll share this with you though:   Last month I was invited to Seattle by Wizards of the Coast to participate in what was billed as an “organized play conference”, but I had to turn it down due to a scheduling conflict. [EDIT:  I'm told that there indeed was an OP conference on that date, along with the new edition stuff.]

That’s where certain bloggers and members of the press were invited to participate in a playtest/demo of the new D&D.  From all accounts, everybody seems to think that the rules they have so far are fun.  Combat was described by the Forbes reporter as quick.  I am excited, and a little upset that I couldn’t make it.  Such is life.  :)

So as a guy that built a website devoted to 4e, how do I feel about this announcement just 4 years after the launch of the edition of the game that brought me back to D&D?  I’m optimistic and excited.  It’s no news to regular readers of my blog that 4e ran its course for my home players some time ago.  While I still run an online 4e game, my home group lost faith in 4e and never looked back, and we moved on to Dragon Age.  But you know what? They miss D&D, they just won’t play 4e.  Perhaps this next version of D&D will do the trick and bring them back, lets see what it looks like and what it brings to the table.  I have my wish list of what I’d like to see, and I also wrote a post last year predicting what a new D&D may look like.

My wishes for what a new D&D would include are relatively simple.  For one, I’d like to keep the ease of DM prep that 4e brought to the game, along with the advancements in design it introduced  (I mean things like monster stat blocks for example).  I’d also like combat to move fast.  Really, really fast.  I’d enjoy a grid less experience if I wanted to resolve a fast enough combat.  For players, I’d want a real multiclass system, and a move away from powers.  Also, bring Vancian spell casting back, as that’s a big part of D&D for me.  Give me the flavor that D&D has in some of the old 2nd Ed. books for example, not just pages and pages of mechanics.  Give me a sense of exploration, not just set pieces showcasing shiny rules.  4e has moved in a great direction in this respect so far, so I’d love for the trend to continue from the launch of the new edition.

What am I expecting?  Well, like I said I wrote an article not too long ago predicting what I expected the new game to be.  I’m going to cherry pick quotes from various news sources from today’s coordinated media release and compare to my prediction post.

From Forbes:

Combat was quick and satisfying; we got through most of an adventure in just a few hours.

And I get the sense that fifth edition will bring back some of the good complexity of previous versions, allowing players to create unique characters and new worlds.

Most of all, it feels like D&D, not a console video game, or an MMO, or a card game. That’s the first step towards bringing old players home.

From The Escapist:

Mike quickly got the party investigating a lost relic, and after three hours of adventuring we quickly discussed what we liked and didn’t like about what we played. It’s a compliment to the new rules that I was rarely aware of them. It might have been Mike’s expertise as a DM, but the new D&D does feel like a pleasant amalgam of every edition and the elegance of the rules allowed us to concentrate on the adventure’s plot.

“We hope to create a system that allows players to use much of their existing content, regardless of the edition. Our goal is to make sure we are on course for a game that hits the broad spectrum of D&D,” Mearls said.

From EnWorld:

I did get an opportunity to playtest some of the materials… it felt, in many ways, very retro. The new edition will be designed as a basic rules set which can be expanded upon with stack on rules to suit the tastes of mechanics complexity to suite the players and DMs.

From Critical Hits:

…since the designers are trying to bring forward the best parts of every edition of D&D, expect this edition to be very DM-friendly.

So those are a few of the early reports, and I’m pretty excited by what they’ve had to say.  Here’s what I predicted in my post:

So what do I expect this “Ultimate 40th Anniversary D&D” to look like?  I’m seeing a game that combines both old school mechanics, with newer game design theories.  I’m seeing a game that can be both grid based, or gridless, depending on your style.  I’m seeing less focus on encounters, and more focus on roleplaying and story, while still easily enabling a heavy tactical nature to it for those players that enjoy it.  I’m seeing conversion documents for easily translating older AD&D adventures to the “Ultimate” format.  Adventures that, of course, will be available for purchase on their site as pdf’s….

…. So to close this out, I’ll restate my prediction:  Dungeons & Dragons Ultimate Edition, released in 2014.  It will incorporate rules for both abstract, and tactical combat, it will be heavily influenced by early D&D, and it will be made to hopefully appeal to old school players, as well as current players of the game.  It will be announced in 2013, and is currently in development.  It will bring back the sale of older pdf’s to the market, as it will be made to easily use that material with some easy conversion work by the players.

Only time will tell what this game will look like, but I can tell you that I am excited as hell.  I’ve been very close at times to walking away from D&D, but I have to admit that the allure of beholders, illithids and displacer beasts is too strong.

I have confidence in Mike Mearls, he’s a guy that knows what makes D&D what it is, and with him at the helm, at the very least I know he’d at least give an honest effort in bridging the gap and bringing D&D back to what it can be, and should be, as a cultural icon.  Of this I have no doubt.

So a new D&D? I’m on board for the ride.  Roll for initiative.

In his column, he tends to ask questions regarding rules in the game, and about how much or how little they are needed.  The following quote comes to mind, it appeared in this column.

Since the launch of 3rd edition and continuing on into 4th edition, the game has focused more on providing rules directly and overtly. This approach also made it easier to adjudicate situations that the rules didn’t cover explicitly. Prior to 3rd edition, however, “the DM decides” wasn’t just a fallback position; it often was the rule.

Now, as I’ve read the columns, I can’t help shake the feeling that a decade later, Monte may be wondering if the direction that he helped take D&D in the year 2000 was the right one or not.  I’m not saying if it was or not, I’m saying that I get the feeling that he himself is wondering, but he hasn’t found an answer yet.

One thing that I’ve thought about a lot lately is the role of the DM through the years, and it came back to me because I am currently running two very distinct fantasy role playing games, with two very different roles for the DM (apart from crafting the story, of course).

image courtesy Mike Shea

Dragon Age is a game with a different approach than modern D&D.  It’s fairly rules light, and a lot of calls are left for the Dm to decide on using his judgement.  Fairly similar to the experience that AD&D, or the D&D boxed sets  provided.  The DM is a judge and arbiter, his rules are the law at the table.  ”Do I have cover from the archer?” “Sure, you have light cover, provided by the boulders, he attacks at a -2″

4e D&D, which I still run weekly, is a different animal.  There are plenty of rules for both the players and the DM to learn and memorize.  The DM’s job changes a bit then, he has to remember the rules, rather than judge the situation and make a call.   ”Do I have cover from the archer?” “Lets trace a line from the corner of your square to a corner on the archer’s square.”

Two very different ways of judging cover.  One is in the DM’s hands, the other really isn’t.

So the open question I want to ask is the following:  How much do you think the role of the DM has changed throughout D&D’s lifespan, if at all?  And if that’s a good thing or a bad thing?  What do you prefer? Am I completely off base? Lets discuss.

___________________________________________________________

It’s time for another giveaway, and this time we are celebrating the holidays (and in my case Christmas) by giving stuff away!

We are giving away a copy of the latest  D&D Dungeon Tiles set, Shadowghast Manor! Only the cool folks at Gator Games make things like this happen.

How to enter?  Well, leave us a comment here on the post, and then also send us a tweet via twitter, to both @newbiedm and @gatorgames, and you are entered.  It’s that simple!

The contest will run from December 19th  2011, until December 23rd at 11:59pm pacific time.

This contest is only available to U.S. addresses, there will be no international shipping.

Please take the time to go check out Gator Games, who make these giveaways possible. They are consistently doing these giveaways with other bloggers too, so they deserve some love back from the gaming community.

This is the last giveaway of the year, so lets make it memorable.  When you check out Gator Games, tell them I sent you so we can keep doing these giveaways that you guys love so much!

Gator Games is an FLGS (Friendly Local Gaming Store) operating in San Mateo, CA., and if you are in the area then do yourself a favor and make them your gaming store.  But if you are not, it doesn’t matter, because Gator Games has a website with a great “Used Items” online store that is certain to satisfy all of your hobby needs with some really great deals.

Gator Games also offers German games and an expanded selection of RPG’s, card games, miniatures, dice and boardgames.  Visit Gator Games’ revamped website today at www.gatorgames.com.  You can also find them on Facebook (Gator Games & Hobby) and Myspace.

Gator Games & Hobby
4212 Olympic Ave
San Mateo CA 94403
650-571-PLAY(7529)

The tiles match the grey color found in the regular Dungeon Tiles set, and the green grass matches the outdoor sets quite well too.

This set also introduces a new type of tile for Dungeon Tiles, 2″ long, 1/2″ wide.  It looks like a gate or fence.  It’s an interesting design, but with there being only 4 of these, I’m not sure of what the intent was.

Here are the full set of pics, and a close up of the new sized tiles:

If you’d like to support this site, you can order this Dungeon Tiles set from the newbiedm.com Amazon store, here.

One of the things I expected to see one day in the life of 4e was a pair of robust boxed sets for the Shadowfell and the Feywild. While it doesn’t look like we’re going to get that any time soon, we’ve gotten a couple of things that attempt to bring the two 4e additions to the D&D cosmology to life. For the Shadowfell we got Gloombrought and Beyond, a kinda, sorta boxed set detailing the city of Gloombrought and it’s surroundings. To be fair, it’s probably more than enough to run stories set in the Shadowfell, as it includes tons of tokens and encounters with which to make Shadowfell based adventures from. A player’s book, Heroes of Shadow was also released, allowing players to create heroes touched by the power of the Shadowfell. It looks like one half of the mirror images of the world is covered, and now it’s time to move on to the Feywild.

Sadly, we don’t have a Feywild boxed set yet, and a scan of the upcoming release schedule doesn’t show one on its way either, but now we do have Heroes of the Feywild, a 160 page 4e D&D book on player’s options revolving around fey creatures and the like. I figured I’d scan the book and write my thoughts from the point of view of a DM, keeping in mind that PC based books aren’t really my thing, and I won’t get into the mechanical aspects of powers and feats and so on, as you can find better analyses of that elsewhere.

At first glance, my thought of the book and the presentation of it is that it’s a very whimsical and fairy-tale like experience. The authors (Rodney Thompson, Claudio Pozas, Steve Townshend) have tried to not only create a 4e sourcebook, but also an entertaining read regardless of whether you’re a player or a DM. There’s something here for you if you’re headed to the Feywild. With plenty of sidebars, story material and flavor, this book provides just enough setting lore that it can at least get a Feywild campaign going. It’s obvious upon reading that story and fluff were a very important part of this book. It’s a trend that WOTC’s books have had of late, and it continue with this latest release.

Chapter 1: Into the Bright

The first chapter of the book greets us with a beautifully rendered hand drawn map of the Feywild by cartographer Mike Schley, whom I am a huge fan of. With names like Kingdom of the Sea Lords, Fortress of Frozen Tears, and The Fading City, the map alone is a nice source of inspiration. There are little touches as well, like sea monsters, “Here There Be Dragons” labels and satyrs marching on the plains. nice stuff from a great artist.

This chapter serves as an introduction to the Feywild, describing it as a land of enchantment, a storybook land, and a land of unknowns. It also talks of how the Fey creatures see their world and their place in it. Along with that, we get actual descriptions of locales within the Feywild. Described are places like Shinaelestra, a city overrun by wilderness that fades into the natural world every night at midnight; or The Isle of Dread, a treacherous tropical island shifting between the Feywild and the natural world at different points in the ocean of time.

One of the great things about this book, and they begin in the first chapter, are the “Bard’s Tales” sidebars. These sidebars are basically fairy tales, even starting with the “Once Upon a Time…” which provide you with not just stories set in the land of Fey, but also hooks or story ideas for your campaign.

While it can’t obviously provide a complete look at the Feywild, the first chapter of the book certainly does enough to give you a good flavor beyond what Manual of the Planes did for the Feywild. you can certainly jump start a campaign set here with the information presented on the Fey, their factions and the locales involved.

Chapter 2: Races of the Fey

And here we get into one of the the crunch-heavy parts of the book, the races. The book gives players three new races from which to create a character with: Hamadryad, Pixie, and the Satyr.

Hamadryads are described as the incarnate spirits of living oak trees. Part flesh, wood, and fey spirit, these plant based creatures (whom are all female), are beautiful creatures who present themselves in two aspects: nymphs and dryads.

Pixies, perhaps the most talked about race in the book, are presented just as you’d imagine. Resembling diminutive Eladrin, pixies don’t bother me nearly as much as I thought they might, and I actually have some interest in running a game with them in it. Pixie dust makes an appearance, of course, granting an ally the ability to fly up to 6 squares as a free action. I really like one of the story elements of the pixie, where they come from. Legends say that whenever a human child is born, a pixie almost comes into existence. Their personalities indistinguishable for as long as that human is a child, until adolescence comes and casts away those childlike ways. While they are immortal, some pixies are so bound to their human reflection, they also perish when that human dies.

Satyrs, male creatures resembling humans with the legs of goats are described as mischievous and investigative tricksters. It goes on to describe their communities (small clans), how they live life to the fullest, and what sort of adventuring classes a Satyr would prefer to be.

As a DM, of the three races presented, I think I actually like the pixie the most. When I first saw the race, and some of the artwork in it, I had an idea for a Neverland based campaign involving an all fairy party rescuing Peter Pan from… something. It just seems like it would be a fun character to play and create stories for, using its size for interesting locales, and its story of human bonds for an emotional type story. Yeah, I dig the pixie, it gets my seal of approval.

Chapter 3: Classes

Tis is the section of the books I admittedly tend to gloss over: classes with the never ending list of powers and options. This book provides the following material:

• New Barbarian powers, and a Berserker subclass
• New Bard powers and a Skald subclass
• New Druid powers and a Protector subclass
• New Wizard powers and a Witch subclass

I find myself really wondering how many more powers the game really needs at this point. As an aside, I found this post by The Id DM interesting related to powers and player options…

Chapter 4: Character Options

This chapter includes more material for races and classes, including the typical sections of themes, feats, paragon paths and epic destinies. Of interest to me as a DM are the sections on mundane gear, magic items, and Fey gifts. The mundane gear, or at least mundane in the Feywild, is neat because it has by its nature a bit of magic attached to it. So for example, Cold Iron Shackles can be used to prevent fey from teleporting, since cold iron is anathema to fey. They are normal, mundane shackles, yet have a bit of extra umph to them. Another example is the Doppleganger Mask, made by gnomish artists. It specifically states that it isn’t magical, but rather so well crafted that it perfectly adopts the features of the creature it means to depict, granting a +5 bonus to Bluff checks to pull the disguise off.

Fey gifts fall into the largely (and sadly) unused category introduced in the DMG2, the alternative rewards. They share the same rules as magic items in the game, and work alongside divine boons, legendary boons, and grandmaster training in replacing magical items as rewards for players. The book introduces 13 fey magic gifts, and if I’m correct, it may be the largest published addition since the DMG2 of alternative rewards to the game.

Fey magic gifts are said to only be available in the feywild, where they change hands as part of a bargain between a powerful Fey and an adventurer. This could be a quest reward, or an incentive of some sort. These are good story tools to use, while at the same time rewarding your players.

Here’s an example:

Scent of Gold

A favorite trick mastered by gnomes during their days of enslavement, this gift allows you to actually sniff out gold and other treasures. Thieves from the natural world often seek out fey creatures that can bestow this gift, which allows them to quickly locate valuables at the sites they are robbing.

Chapter 5: Build Your Story

The final chapter in the book is an interesting one, and a new addition to 4e D&D. It allows players to determine their characters’ background and upbringing through an almost Choose-Your-Own-Adventure type setup. It seems like an interesting way to build a background for a pc, and I’m curious as to whether or not something like this may pop up again in other books. In the end, you not only finish with a background, you also determine where your ability scores may go based on aptitude tests you take along the way. I have to say I’m intrigued by the chapter, as it seems to be another way of adding more story to the game.

So in closing, I like the book, while obviously made for players, there’s enough there for DM’s to draw from in order to create games centered on the Feywild. I really enjoyed the presentation of the sidebars as fairy tales, and was glad to see alternate rewards included as well. The book follows a recent trend of D&D books where it’s obvious that including more story has become the norm, and that’s a welcome sight. Boring player books like the old power books for example, can be bid good riddance if what we have to look forward to are books like these. The crunchy chapters aside, it was a joy to read and the presentation was top notch.