I’ve been reading through the second D&D Next playtest packet, focusing on the character generation stuff and I have to say, I’m impressed! I’m happy to see the return of dice rolling as a default method to create a character, with a nice balance in that both race and class impact how a character’s ability scores end up.
I’m still finding some wonky things. Not as bad as the first playtest draft, but still kind of out there. For example, why would you ever take Ghoul’s Touch when you can take Hold Person? Both are 2nd level spells, and do basically the same thing. Hold Person works at range, the Ghoul’s Touch works by... well, by touch. Hold Person works on stronger creatures, and doesn’t have any fiddly bits about making their move 0 vs full paralyzation.
I’ve written about Magic Missile before. In this updated playtest it still auto hits for 1d4+1 damage and is a minor spell (aka you can use it every round). Ray of Frost received a boost over the previous playtest. Before it merely halted movement, now causes 1d6+3 damage and reduces speed to 10 feet for one round on a successful hit. Unless I’m fighting kobolds or other really low hit point monsters, I’m going to use Ray of Frost. Yeah, I have to roll, but presuming that I hit 50% of the time, over the course of 20 rounds I’ll do 5 points of damage more with magic missile. If I hit 11 times in 20 rounds I do 2 points more with Ray of Frost, and the monsters I hit get slowed for a round with each hit.
I really need to get my hands dirty with the system though, and either play in a game or run one. I played in a PbP G+ game with the first playtest... Maybe I could do something similar for this one. Anyone interested in a PbP G+ D&D Next game?
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
Bone Wrapped - Undead Monster
Is there a reason you picked this as the place to camp for the night? Nimble asked as he looked out into the darkness.
The small fire popped before Rathgar could answer. "We wouldn't have made it to the next inn, and we're fairly sheltered here. Why?"
"Because I don't think those are hills."
Rathgar pushed the stick he was twiddling into the fire and stood up to look out where Nimble was staring. Under the light of the halfmoon rise and fall of the grass covered hills did seem steeper than usual. The sparse trees did nothing to make the view feel anything but desolate.
"What do you think they are?"
"I think they might be barrows."
"What did you see?"
Nimble didn't answer right away. His eyes searched the darkness, and his face tightened. His arm snapped up, finger pointing "It isn't what I saw... I heard..."
A soft, almost gentle keening seemed to rise up from the shadows between the hills. Above the crest of the nearest hill a figure caught the moonlight and seemed to glow as is sped blindingly fast down toward the camp.
Rathgar's sword was drawn in the blink of an eye, ready to meet the creature.
Bone Wrapped
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 3+2** (M)
Move: 150' (50’)
Attacks: 1 claw
Damage: 1d8+3 + 1 point dex
No. Appearing: 1d4 (2d4)
Save As: C4
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: E
Intelligence: 5
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 100
Bone Wrapped are corporeal undead creatures that appear to be gaunt humanoids encased in small finger sized bones from the waist up, and empty shrouds from the waist down. Around their heads are 10 pointed halos created from a pair of interlocked pentagrams. Bone Wrapped hover above the ground, and move with an unearthly speed. They attack with their claws, draining 1 point of dexterity and the cold of the grave seeps into their victim. Anyone reduced to 0 dexterity is dead, and will rise as a Bone Wrapped the next sunset. Those suffering from dexterity damage may recover 1 point/day of rest or with 5th level curative magic.
Anyone attempting to attack a Bone Wrapped must make a saving throw vs spells or suffer a -2 penalty to all rolls until they can take a full day's rest.
Tim Brannan of The Other Side blog is hosting a blog fest in honor of Halloween. On Monday, October 29, participants post a monster.
The small fire popped before Rathgar could answer. "We wouldn't have made it to the next inn, and we're fairly sheltered here. Why?"
"Because I don't think those are hills."
Rathgar pushed the stick he was twiddling into the fire and stood up to look out where Nimble was staring. Under the light of the halfmoon rise and fall of the grass covered hills did seem steeper than usual. The sparse trees did nothing to make the view feel anything but desolate.
"What do you think they are?"
"I think they might be barrows."
"What did you see?"
Nimble didn't answer right away. His eyes searched the darkness, and his face tightened. His arm snapped up, finger pointing "It isn't what I saw... I heard..."
A soft, almost gentle keening seemed to rise up from the shadows between the hills. Above the crest of the nearest hill a figure caught the moonlight and seemed to glow as is sped blindingly fast down toward the camp.
Rathgar's sword was drawn in the blink of an eye, ready to meet the creature.
Bone Wrapped
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 3+2** (M)
Move: 150' (50’)
Attacks: 1 claw
Damage: 1d8+3 + 1 point dex
No. Appearing: 1d4 (2d4)
Save As: C4
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: E
Intelligence: 5
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 100
Bone Wrapped are corporeal undead creatures that appear to be gaunt humanoids encased in small finger sized bones from the waist up, and empty shrouds from the waist down. Around their heads are 10 pointed halos created from a pair of interlocked pentagrams. Bone Wrapped hover above the ground, and move with an unearthly speed. They attack with their claws, draining 1 point of dexterity and the cold of the grave seeps into their victim. Anyone reduced to 0 dexterity is dead, and will rise as a Bone Wrapped the next sunset. Those suffering from dexterity damage may recover 1 point/day of rest or with 5th level curative magic.
Anyone attempting to attack a Bone Wrapped must make a saving throw vs spells or suffer a -2 penalty to all rolls until they can take a full day's rest.
Tim Brannan of The Other Side blog is hosting a blog fest in honor of Halloween. On Monday, October 29, participants post a monster.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Stage Escape - Wizard Spell
The lizard creatures dropped from the trees, surrounding the companions. Each was adorned with bright feathers in headdresses, cloaks, and other ornamental items, and of course weapons. the weapons were all different, though all were made of the same material. A highly polished wood body with what looked like sharks teeth attached at strategic locations.
One of the creatures, adorned with red and yellow feathers on its bright green scales hissed something that was probably a language.
“Did anyone catch that?” Nimble asked
“Nope” Rathgar replied.
“No” Allianora
“It’s a... ah... no actually.” Feris ended with a shrug.
The creature hissed and snapped, and waved its weapon.
“It’s just going to get more upset unless we can figure out what it wants.” Allianora warned.
“Do we care what it wants?” Rathgar asked.
“Sure we do. I’m allergic to... whatever those weapons are.” Nimble replied. “Feris, can you do anything helpful right now?”
“Just this.” Feris raised his hand and in it he held a clear crystal. The creatures looked at it, some tightening their grip on their weapons. Feris closed his hand on the crystal, mumbled a word, and opened his hand, releasing a black powder to the ground. The lead lizard’s eyes opened wide and began to hiss something when the first grain of powder hit the ground. A large puff of smoke enveloped the area, and quickly dispersed, leaving the lizards surrounding an empty patch of jungle.
“No one move” Feris whispered as he watched the lizardmen slashing the empty space where they were just standing.
Stage Escape
4th Level Magic User Spell
Range: 0’
Duration: 1 turn
Effect: caster + allies w/in 10’
This spell causes a great puff of obscuring sulfurous smoke to erupt from the ground, and the caster and allies within 10’ (1 for every 2 levels over 5th) to be turned invisible and teleported up to 100’ within the casters line of sight.
One of the creatures, adorned with red and yellow feathers on its bright green scales hissed something that was probably a language.
“Did anyone catch that?” Nimble asked
“Nope” Rathgar replied.
“No” Allianora
“It’s a... ah... no actually.” Feris ended with a shrug.
The creature hissed and snapped, and waved its weapon.
“It’s just going to get more upset unless we can figure out what it wants.” Allianora warned.
“Do we care what it wants?” Rathgar asked.
“Sure we do. I’m allergic to... whatever those weapons are.” Nimble replied. “Feris, can you do anything helpful right now?”
“Just this.” Feris raised his hand and in it he held a clear crystal. The creatures looked at it, some tightening their grip on their weapons. Feris closed his hand on the crystal, mumbled a word, and opened his hand, releasing a black powder to the ground. The lead lizard’s eyes opened wide and began to hiss something when the first grain of powder hit the ground. A large puff of smoke enveloped the area, and quickly dispersed, leaving the lizards surrounding an empty patch of jungle.
“No one move” Feris whispered as he watched the lizardmen slashing the empty space where they were just standing.
Stage Escape
4th Level Magic User Spell
Range: 0’
Duration: 1 turn
Effect: caster + allies w/in 10’
This spell causes a great puff of obscuring sulfurous smoke to erupt from the ground, and the caster and allies within 10’ (1 for every 2 levels over 5th) to be turned invisible and teleported up to 100’ within the casters line of sight.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
How to Build a Gaming Table
I have previously written about my building a terrain board for miniature war gaming, but it always helps to have something to put those terrain boards on! Now I lucked out and got a full sized dining room table at a yard sale for $5. Not everyone will be that lucky, and honestly for most games you don't need more than a 4x4 playing area, so something that big might be a waste.
Because I already have a table, I don't need another one. However, I did have to build something to hold a pair of guinea pig cages. Before one of them was on a door held up by a pair of saw horses, and the other cage was under it. Not an ideal situation. I didn't want to spend a fortune or a lot of time on it. So after searching the internet for a simple solution I found this basic workbench.
This picture, and the instructions I used, are from this link: A Cheap And Sturdy Workbench For About $20
That $20? That's from 1999. I spent about $40 on Monday evening.
And this is my pig bench. Looking at what I spent, and my scraps, it would have been very little effort to adjust the size of the table out to 48"x48" with a matching shelf below to store terrain or minis. Since my pig bench isn't going to see the abuse that the work bench linked above is going to see, I only used about half the number of screws, but even still, this is a solid (if not attractive) bit of woodwork. I also adjusted the plan to put the legs on the outside so that the cage would fit on the shelf. With slightly better planning I'd have just made the table a couple of inches wider.
So what would you need to build a table/bench like this?
Measuring Tape (every gamer should have this)
Pencil
Circular Saw
Drill
Square
Sander/Sand paper
Clamps (useful, but not necessary)
Level (useful, but not necessary)
3" screws
1.5" screws
1 sheet of plywood (8'x4', cut in half)
6 8' 2x4 boards
2-3 hours
That's it! Depending on how well equipped your personal tool box is, it may be easier to have your lumber supplier cut the plywood and boards in half. That's what I did, then I trimmed everything to the size I needed when I got home.
Game on!
Because I already have a table, I don't need another one. However, I did have to build something to hold a pair of guinea pig cages. Before one of them was on a door held up by a pair of saw horses, and the other cage was under it. Not an ideal situation. I didn't want to spend a fortune or a lot of time on it. So after searching the internet for a simple solution I found this basic workbench.
This picture, and the instructions I used, are from this link: A Cheap And Sturdy Workbench For About $20
That $20? That's from 1999. I spent about $40 on Monday evening.
And this is my pig bench. Looking at what I spent, and my scraps, it would have been very little effort to adjust the size of the table out to 48"x48" with a matching shelf below to store terrain or minis. Since my pig bench isn't going to see the abuse that the work bench linked above is going to see, I only used about half the number of screws, but even still, this is a solid (if not attractive) bit of woodwork. I also adjusted the plan to put the legs on the outside so that the cage would fit on the shelf. With slightly better planning I'd have just made the table a couple of inches wider.
So what would you need to build a table/bench like this?
Measuring Tape (every gamer should have this)
Pencil
Circular Saw
Drill
Square
Sander/Sand paper
Clamps (useful, but not necessary)
Level (useful, but not necessary)
3" screws
1.5" screws
1 sheet of plywood (8'x4', cut in half)
6 8' 2x4 boards
2-3 hours
That's it! Depending on how well equipped your personal tool box is, it may be easier to have your lumber supplier cut the plywood and boards in half. That's what I did, then I trimmed everything to the size I needed when I got home.
Game on!
Monday, September 3, 2012
Stone Spike - Elemental Monster
"By the Bloodlust of Gruumsh, I call forth the Destroyer!" The orc priest chanted "Let the blood of these humans quench your thirst and bring blessings upon our clan." Holding a spike of stone above his head, he plunged it down embedding half of its length deep into the stone floor. The spike slid in as easily as if it was sliding into soft soil.
"This is so not good" Rathgar said to his companions. They hung by their arms, suspended above the ground by a wooden framework in the center of a wide and shallow pit. Orcs lined the edge, chanting.
"What are they saying?" Nimble asked
Allianora answered "Oh, the usual. Our blood will stain the stones of their home. Our bones will become toys for their spawn. Our flesh will-"
"I get it." Nimble interrupted.
Chunks of the stone wall of the pit in front of them began to pull away, and a creature of stone burst onto the floor of the pit. A central maw surrounded by three spike tipped arms.
"Very not good. Everyone swing!" Pumping his legs, Rathgar began to swing his body around, causing the wood frame to creak.
Stone Spike
Armor Class: 2
Hit Dice: 4+2* (M)
Move: 90’ (30’)
Attacks: 2 arm spikes
Damage: 1d8+3
No. Appearing: 1 (1)
Save As: F6
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: Special
Intelligence: 3
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 200
Stone Spikes are enchanted elemental creatures. They are solitary, territorial, and aggressive, but possess only animal intelligence. They are usually found on the prime material plane only when summoned.
Stone Spikes only take half damage from non-magical weapons. When killed its body will crumble and its elemental spirit returns to its home plane. Within the remains can sometimes be found a gem or chunk of precious metal worth 300gp (50% chance).
"This is so not good" Rathgar said to his companions. They hung by their arms, suspended above the ground by a wooden framework in the center of a wide and shallow pit. Orcs lined the edge, chanting.
"What are they saying?" Nimble asked
Allianora answered "Oh, the usual. Our blood will stain the stones of their home. Our bones will become toys for their spawn. Our flesh will-"
"I get it." Nimble interrupted.
Chunks of the stone wall of the pit in front of them began to pull away, and a creature of stone burst onto the floor of the pit. A central maw surrounded by three spike tipped arms.
"Very not good. Everyone swing!" Pumping his legs, Rathgar began to swing his body around, causing the wood frame to creak.
Stone Spike
Armor Class: 2
Hit Dice: 4+2* (M)
Move: 90’ (30’)
Attacks: 2 arm spikes
Damage: 1d8+3
No. Appearing: 1 (1)
Save As: F6
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: Special
Intelligence: 3
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 200
Stone Spikes are enchanted elemental creatures. They are solitary, territorial, and aggressive, but possess only animal intelligence. They are usually found on the prime material plane only when summoned.
Stone Spikes only take half damage from non-magical weapons. When killed its body will crumble and its elemental spirit returns to its home plane. Within the remains can sometimes be found a gem or chunk of precious metal worth 300gp (50% chance).
Sunday, September 2, 2012
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