I remember half-dragons as far back as 2nd Edition, specifically in Council of Wyrms, though I do not remember much about them besides a breath weapon. Despite the considerable benefits package 3rd Edition’s half-dragons were pretty badly executed, partly because of the once-per-day breath weapon, mostly because the +3 Level Adjustment severely gimped you. 4th Edition’s […]
“Elegance means that your game not only works, it works well.” Going off of that definition I would have to say that Next is not elegant. “Well, no duh,” I hear some of you saying, because apparently people have this idea that I venomously hate Next for the crime of merely being different, as opposed to legitimate […]
Cast Junloo, a learned jack who explores dark places Zuko, a swift nano who rides the lightning Now that they had alien worm-things nice and snug against their spines they were ready to meet “mother”. In the adventure exploring the underground complex is represented with an hourly progress check. You roll a d20 and consult […]
My first extended underwater experience was early 3rd Edition, when I ran an all-drow campaign that found its way to the Elemental Plane of Water (do not ask). Otherwise I—like plenty of Dungeon Masters I am sure—have tinkered with it in various encounters here and there, because sometimes it is fun to break out the rules […]
My second Dungeon World adventure, If These Stones Could Scream, is up on Drivethrurpg. You can get it here (or at least check out a preview), or by using the Products link at the top. If you liked the stuff I write here for free, or if you bought Something Stirs in the Blackscale Brakes, then you […]
Our weekly game has moved to a Monday schedule, but given that it has run into several hiccups—which is why there has not been a play report in some time—a few of us have decided to continue getting together on Friday to roll some dice, starting with Numenera’s The Devil’s Spine. So if you are planning […]
There was a time when, though deliberate or even accidental choice, that spellcasters could do pretty much anything they wanted to, including things that other classes could do, and in all likelihood do it better; if you have been playing Dungeons & Dragons for the past decade or so, then you have probably heard that if you […]
Rather than talk about monsters, this week’s Wandering Monsters column talks about the qualities of a good encounter, the purpose of random encounters, and asks how—or even if—you use either in your games. The article states that a great encounter has history, a clear objective, and a meaningful outcome. I guess I can agree with these […]
This is admittedly not a bad start for sphinx flavor and lore. Mind you it still needs some adjustments, but it is much better than many of the previous Wandering Monsters columns. First, the good. Despite kind of treading on the angel’s concept, I do not mind the divine origin: they look different, are more grounded in […]
Great Weapon FightingWhen you miss a target with a melee weapon that you are wielding in two hands, the target still takes damage from the weapon. The damage equals your Strength modifier. The weapon must have the two-handed benefit or versatile property to gain this benefit.–Classes, pg 25 Now that is a very clunky read, but […]
Points of Light 