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New DM’s: Have fun reskinning and playing with keywords

February 26, 2010 by newbiedm

One aspect of D&D 4th Ed. that I like a lot is its simplicity in letting you make the game as customized as you want, both rules wise and story/role-playing wise. The other day on twitter I went as far as calling it “possibly the most abstract D&D yet”, and some people didn’t really […]

Condition cards errata

February 25, 2010 by newbiedm

I was alerted that the PRONE and DOMINATED conditions received a beating with the errata stick, so my original cards are wrong. Here are the corrected cards.

Homemade condition cards

February 23, 2010 by newbiedm

In my quest to speed up the table of players world wide (how presumptuous of me) I offer these homemade condition cards. The text will seem a bit different to you than what you may be used to, and that’s only because I wanted to stay out of trouble, but the meaning didn’t change. I […]

Warstories: The imploding campaign

February 8, 2010 by newbiedm

I have run the same campaign since the release of 4e. We’ve been able to last together as a unit for this amount of time for a number of reasons, primarily because we all love gaming and as adults nearing the age of 40, playing with kids at the FLGS is not an option. Also, […]

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 […]

Is the encounter worth it?

December 23, 2009 by newbiedm

We recently played our last game of the year, I can’t believe it’s been 1 1/2 years already with 4e. I feel I’m getting into a nice groove with my Dm’ing, both on the table and off. My prep time is going quicker than ever thanks to all the digital tools at my disposal, and […]

Improved Initiative: D&D 4e Combat Manager v.1.6.0

December 8, 2009 by newbiedm

This is the third article in Improved Initiative, my series highlighting various combat trackers made for 4e. I first tested out a program called Initracker, and I liked it very much. This program I will write about in this article was brought to my attention via twitter. (As an aside, if you aren’t on twitter […]

Just a newbie dm after all

November 20, 2009 by newbiedm

So this past week we had another session. We usually play every other Wednesday, which is really not a lot of gaming time a year if you think about it. 26 times a year, give or take, remove a few for those days that you just can’t make it and what? We’re looking at […]