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Browsing All Posts published on »January, 2010«

Some ways new dm’s can create roleplaying opportunities

January 31, 2010 by newbiedm

One of the things I find that most gives new gaming groups problems are finding and encouraging ways to make role-playing part of the table experience. 4th Ed, which is designed with a big slant towards combat encounters, seems to also be a source of concern for groups, if what I read on forums, groups, […]

Random treasure tables built from wish lists

January 31, 2010 by newbiedm

I’ve never really liked the idea of wish lists, and much less the idea of treasure being included in the Player’s Handbook. Unfortunately, that’s now the way it is, and as a DM you’ve got to adjust to the fact that your players have full access to a list of treasures that are available in […]

Before your first game, know your party, and know them well.

January 26, 2010 by newbiedm

As a newbie DM, it’s easy to get caught up in the things that seem important right before you start your campaign. Your maps, your minis, and your epic Tolkien-esque storyline all take up your undivided attention right before your first game. You are so caught up with what’s happening on your side of the […]

rpgKids at play

January 25, 2010 by newbiedm

EDIT: If you are looking for rpgKids, it now has a permanent webpage here. So yesterday I pulled out the minis and tiles for another game with my 4 year old daughter. One thing immediately stood out: if you aren’t consistent with the gaming, the rules will be forgotten. In her defense though, this is […]

Win a copy of Dragonborn (we speak Canadian now)

January 25, 2010 by newbiedm

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Edit: So the winners were @richardphipps on twitter, and Patrick from Ontario. You see Canada? We like you here at newbiedm.com. Stop bitching. 🙂 —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- So here we go with another contest, courtesy of Gator Games and myself. The good thing is that we’ve learned to speak Canadian for this contest, eh, so you canucks […]

NewbieDM Review: Underdark

January 25, 2010 by newbiedm

Let me get this out of the way quickly. I’ll start the review with what should really be the last sentence in it: Underdark may very well be the best 4th Ed. supplement written to date. It gets right what to me “Plane Below” got all wrong. It feels like a complete book that doesn’t […]

4e DDI and fluff

January 22, 2010 by newbiedm

I had a thought today thinking about the Dragonborn book (see my review, btw), in that that book serves as a perfect companion to a DDI subscription. If you have a DDI account, and you don’t get any of the books because you assume that all you need is in the compendium, character builder or […]

NewbieDM Review: Dragonborn

January 22, 2010 by newbiedm

And so the era of 4e softcover splat books begins with the release of “Player Handbok Races: Dragonborn”, a $9.95, 32 page fluff-filled primer on playing as a Dragonborn. As a DM, there’s some good use you can get out of this book, so lets get to that. The good thing about this book is […]

Volcanic Adventure Tiles

January 19, 2010 by newbiedm

I write this post with apologies to Paul King, from the excellent Kingwork Creative Blog. The other day I was messing around on Photoshop trying to create volcanic Dungeon,- ahem- *Adventure* Tiles. It was mostly an exercise in learning a bit more on Photoshop, while also designing something I wanted for my game. After posting […]

On rpgKids…

January 17, 2010 by newbiedm

EDIT 9/2010 – If you are looking for rpgKids, you can find it here. ——————————————————- I’ve received numerous comments and emails about rpgKids, and I have to say that I’m extremely happy with the response so far. Parents seem to really be digging playing the game with their kids. I stumbled on this guy’s blog, […]