d20 Blog

Order of the Stick OOTS is another one of those sites that I...

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 12:00:00 -0500

Order of the Stick

OOTS is another one of those sites that I consider to be pretty well central to modern D&D gaming culture. Rich Burlew is the amazing mind behind this ongoing story. Now some 700 strips in length, running through a growing pile of printed books and increasingly eschewing its origins as a simple ‘gaming comic’, Order of the Stick will surprise you at every turn.

Burlew has just completed the most recent chapter of the story, and it looks like the adventures of Elan, Roy, Durkon, Haley, Vaarsuvius, and Belkar won’t be picking back up until the end of the month. That makes now the perfect time to get caught up!

And there’s a lot to get caught up on. Long gone are the days of just making 3.5 edition jokes and calling it a day. Burlew still happily hits us with regular doses of d20 humor, to be sure, but the comic is so much more than that now. Strong characters, carefully planned storytelling, and fantastic dialogue makes this so much more than your typical webcomic.

Burlew’s touching tribute to Gary Gygax might particularly be of interest, even if you have no plans to read the series. His light touch speaks volumes about how he approaches story. Order of the Stick is a highlight of my time spent online.

If you haven’t read the comic, or you stopped reading at some point, I highly recommend getting back into this fascinating tale. You’ll be glad you did.

Dark Sun Returns! More than a little bit surprising, eh?

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:56:00 -0500

Dark Sun Returns!

More than a little bit surprising, eh?

Critical Hit

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:00:00 -0500

Critical Hit

I’m a Monster!

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:00:00 -0500

I’m a Monster!

Stained Glass

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:00:00 -0500

Stained Glass

The Map

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:00:00 -0500

The Map

Magical d20

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:00:00 -0500

Magical d20

Rolling Big

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:17:00 -0500

Rolling Big

Crunch of the Day: Channel Divinity The above example of the...

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:31:00 -0500

Crunch of the Day: Channel Divinity

The above example of the Invoker’s Rebuke Undead power is a fantastic example of the “Channel Divinity” series of powers. Divine classes often get divinity powers as part of their core package, and a number of them are available via feats connecting divine characters with their deity. In essence, they’re a way of converting and broadening the old ‘Turn Undead’ power that Clerics got in 3.5 and previous editions. Turn Undead, indeed, is a Channel Divinity power that Clerics have in 4E.

What makes these powers really interesting to me, and enjoyable, is how they took a mechanic that nobody was really happy with and made it awesome. The Undead-specific abilities require an enemy type that you were never guaranteed to face in a campaign. The rules for turning undead were also usually pretty arcane; even in 3.5, which arguably made them more approachable than ever before.

In 4E, divinity powers concretize the connection between a character and her deity. Each god has their own specialized divinity power, and the re-introduction of domains to the game in Divine Power added a host of additional divinity options. These powers are all appropriately ‘themed’, of course; Bahamut’s divinity power acts as a sort of divine armor. That mechanically expresses a holy connection players previously could only express through roleplaying.

For making something boring and confusing fun and awesome, as well as giving divine characters something new to lord over everybody else, Channel Divinity powers get the nod for Crunch of the Day.

Fighter Essentials and Item Sets Wizards dropped a...

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:00:00 -0500

Fighter Essentials and Item Sets

Wizards dropped a weekly-kickoff’s worth of new material on us. The freebie-side article talks about item sets in the upcoming Adventurer’s Vault 2. They detail the items in the Golden Lion’s Battle Regalia, a set of armor geared specifically for tribal barbarians. As always, it’s a ton of fun to see how they mesh the mechanics of the gear. In this case we’ve got three pieces of non-armor gear, and two weapons. The weapons are a little strange; in order to get the full-five set bonus you’ll need to jump into combat with a spear strapped to your back and a blade in your hand. Not sure what the logic with that one is?

The other new article is behind the Insider wall, and details all-new Fighter information. The piece kicks off with some basic information about the mechanics of playing a Fighter, and then works through four common builds for the class. The end of the article details a few new feats, powers, and some paragon paths. The paths and feats cover a lot of ground for the class, while the powers are aimed at fleshing out options for the two-weapon Tempest Fighter build. If you’re a Tempest fighter I don’t think you can afford to ignore this article; there’s just too much on offer. Other Fighters can give it a pass, as a lot of this material seems like tweaks on the content from Martial Power.

Still, nothing seems too overpowered or out of sync with previous content. If you’re a big fan of the Fighter class, there’ll definitely be some good stuff to review here.

The Worth of Eberron The Icosahedrophilia (say that five times...

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:05:13 -0500

The Worth of Eberron

The Icosahedrophilia (say that five times fast) blog has a quick post noting the worth of the newly-released Eberron Campaign Setting. While we at d20 haven’t had a chance to look at the book just yet, the site does a good job of pitching prospective buyers on the bang-for-your-buck component in the tome.

While the author isn’t actually running a game in the Eberron setting, he’s already making plans to use Eberron-style game elements and mechanics in the story. Many parts of Chapter 3, apparently, can be lifted mechanically straight out of the book and transported into another game.

A great big thumbs-up in our book, in an era when hardcover supplements cost more and more every few years.

Site Recommmendation: The Tome Show If you aren’t a...

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:00:00 -0500

Site Recommmendation: The Tome Show

If you aren’t a podcast listener already … why the hell not? Grab a copy of iTunes, search around for some tabletop goodness, and bask in the vibrant player community around us.

The Tome Show, a weekly podcast by Jeff Greiner, does a great job of keeping us up-to-date on the latest in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. Not only does he do a great job of covering canonical material from Wizards of the Coast, but he does regular reviews of third-party published works as well.

The Tome also features regular guests from around the blogosphere and D&D community. Recent guests have included notables like Wolfgang Baur, Chris Perkins, and the amazing James Wyatt.

If you’re a D&D 4E player, you owe it to yourself to keep up with the game like this every week. Check out the Tome Show on the Vorpal Network!

High Roller

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:00:00 -0500

High Roller

Site Recommendation: A Rust Monster Ate My Sword If you’re...

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 16:00:00 -0500

Site Recommendation: A Rust Monster Ate My Sword

If you’re a hardcore 4E junkie ARMAMS isn’t going to give you the latest updates on the hobby or some slick character building tricks. Instead, Rust Monster’s schtick seems to be to look at the hobby on the whole with the weathered eye of a veteran. Chris uses the site as an outlet for his Basic Dungeons and Dragons information and viewpoints, and there’s plenty of room on the internets for someone not talking about the latest and greatest.

This week it’s particularly worth reading the site, as Chris it dicing up some fantastic old comic-book style D&D advertisements. He’s already pulled apart one where a green slime is the climactic encounter, and another that sees a party member falling through a trap door. He’s promised to dissect even more ads during the week, so be sure to read today and check back soon, over at A Rust Monster Ate My Sword!

DM of the Rings If you’re a Dungeons and Dragons fan and...

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 14:00:00 -0500

DM of the Rings

If you’re a Dungeons and Dragons fan and haven’t ready this Twenty-Sided tale yet, you’re missing out. Author Shamus Young pens a hilarious script backing still movie captures from all three of Peter Jackson’s epic films. Follow a mercenary Strider, a bored Sam and Frodo, and a downright antagonistic Pippin as they work their way through the DM’s overblown backstory and railroading plots.

Well worth a weekend read!

Videogame RPG Essentials The videogame professional’s...

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 08:00:00 -0500

Videogame RPG Essentials

The videogame professional’s website Gamasutra recently ran a mighty interesting top 20 style article running down some truly great computer game RPGs. Calling these works ‘design essentials’, they run the gambit from Nethack and Wasteland to modern powerhouses like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy.

The analysis of what makes each of these games great is well worth reading. As a tabletop DM, you might want to keep in mind some of the decisions that have worked so well on the PC side of the table. D&D was the building block for most of the modern MMOs … might as well learned from what our hobby hath wrought!

Magic’s Legacy in Dungeons and Dragons The Hero Twice a...

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 16:00:00 -0500

Magic’s Legacy in Dungeons and Dragons

The Hero Twice a Month blog is usually a pretty great read, but the last few posts have been particularly outstanding. In one recent screed the author looks at the influence of Wizards of the Coasts’ other big franchise on Dungeons and Dragons. Magic: the Gathering mechanics have crept into our pen-and-paper experience in some interesting, subtle ways.

Magic: The Gathering is all about customizing your deck. A good deck consists of cards that may be individually decent, but devastating when combined. Dungeons & Dragons 3E added this concept of customization to player characters. Using feats, multiclass, and prestige classes players were able to customize their characters like never before.

A thoughtful discussion of the cross-pollination of game mechanics between the two games, and respectful to boot! Well worth a read this evening.

An 8-bit re-enactment of a classic Dead Ale Wives skit.

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 12:00:00 -0500

An 8-bit re-enactment of a classic Dead Ale Wives skit.

Weekend Artwork: Kieran Yanner Personal Art blog Personal...

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 09:39:00 -0500

Weekend Artwork: Kieran Yanner

Personal Art blog

Personal Gallery

Work @ Paizo

"Can I have comments on my blog? If you’re willing to edit HTML, you can add a free commenting..."

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 09:34:09 -0500

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