The recently released Player's Handbook 2 offers 4E Dungeons & Dragons players and DMs a new game option: player backgrounds. These are a set of simple rules that allow you to apply in game bonuses to certain skills based on the character backgrounds you might choose at the time of character creation. D&D players who are familiar with the Forgotten Realms' regional benefit system will no doubt see many similarities in this new option as well.

The 4E character background system found in the PHB2 offers up a fairly comprehensive set of backgrounds to choose from. There are 62 backgrounds that fall into five broad categories: Geography; Society; Birth; Occupation and Race. The last of which is the largest since there are two or three backgrounds for each of the 15 player character races in the game (thus far). Each background description is limited to one short paragraph and a set of one or more associated skills.

 This was a welcomed surprise in comparison to the 3rd Edition PHB2 - which only provided 11 archetype backgrounds drawn out over 8 or 9 pages in the book. It was too unwieldy of a system to use effectively.

At the time of character creation, players can choose as many of the modular background components as they like, but one of them will provide any in-game benefits to skill rolls, bonus languages, class skills, or regional benefits. Its very straightforward and provides a foil for players (especially those new to the game) to help shape their characters backgrounds by picking a couple of these and making them work together.

The basic template for each background is:

[NAME]: One or two statements, followed by two or more questions.
Associated Skill(s): A list of skills; one of which can be chosen to give a +2 bonus or be treated as a class skill.

This very simple system is not meant to be all inclusive. It also allows DMs who are home brewing up their campaign worlds with a quick way to add a few backgrounds seamlessly into the mix. While this no doubt may be regarded by some as "too formal" or "too regimented"; its important to remember that not every player is a creative genius, and 60 or 70 backgrounds in a modular format can be just the trick to help fuel their imaginations.

This system also works extremely well with an emerging complexity approach to generating character background. How? Simply don't answer all the questions presented in the background until there is a need to do so in game. For example, below I've included the character background Birth:Among Another Race from the Players Handbook 2.

Among Another Race: Your were born among a race other than your own. Did you grow up among the trees of an elven forest, deep in a dwarven mountain fortress, or in a halfling caravan? Did your family live among that race when you where born, or did some other circumstance bring you there?
Associated Skill: A skill the other race gains a bonus to.

Lets say that you are playing a human that lived in an Elven community as a child. Don't answer the second question at the time of character creation; leave it open ended. Then, later in the campaign you answer the second question to make the storyline a bit more connected. Let's say, for example, the DM introduces a new villain into the game and you decide then that this villain killed your family, which is why you lived with the elves as an orphan.

Another thing to consider is to start with those first questions, and then - without answering them - brainstorm a few additional questions. Write them down on the back of your character sheet or in your notes, and then use those unanswered questions to help build your character's background on the fly as the campaign progresses.

For the DM, remember too that using these background with an emerging character could be applied to any longstanding NPC or villain that needs fleshing out. It works very well.

I am curious to know how other players are balancing character background generation with the in-game rules. How are you limited "power-creep"? So, how are you handling character backgrounds in your campaigns in general? NPC backgrounds? Does this new modular background system presented in the PHB2 work for you?

I've somehow managed to actually read some pretty nifty stuff this week. Its possible you may have seen the same posts as well, but since its Saturnsday -- it's time for me to do my weekly round up of my favorite posts.

1. My wife, the current DM of our group, has been very interested in speeding up 4E combat -- which has seemed to have slowed done a bit lately. So, being the dutiful you know what I am, I've gone out an collected some links to this end:
1. http://www.madbrewlabs.com/index.php/2008/08/21/dd-4e-combat-tips/
2. http://blog.microlite20.net/2009/01/03/speeding-up-4e-dd-combat/
3. http://www.d20source.com/2009/04/five-ways-to-speed-up-combat
4. http://at-will.omnivangelist.net/?p=509
   
2. Uncle Bears' back. Check out these awesome posts from Tucson
1. http://unclebear.com/?p=3403
• More campaign setting posts. Wohoo! this is one is my favorite for the week. If only we can hope..
2. Notes on Character-Driven Campaigns
3.  Gnome stew has a couple articles on "emergent complexity" -- the basic idea is sketches of information in your game that evolve over time. Check these posts out -- worth the read:
1. http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/player-characters-emerging-complexity-is-a-ok
2. http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/emerging-complexity-for-gms-it-rocks-for-npcs

That is about what its worth this morning. Have a great weekend!

The Farchives is featured on most Fridays at The Core Mechanic. Its a series where I re-post a popular TCM post or revisit a hot-topic from the previous year. This week, we are looking back on the post that kicked off the first RPG Blog Carnival - which I'm very happy to say is still going strong in its ninth month. The original was posted August 7th, 2008. Hopefully you'll enjoy this revisionist history...

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The RPG Blog Carnival has included nine blog hosts covering a wide variety of topics. Below you'll find a linked list of all the carnival summaries, where the hosts close out the carnival and highlight what posts they really liked.

1. Character Death, Resurrection and THE UNDEAD (10 blogs)
2. HOMEBREW (32 blogs)
   
3. Super Heroes in RPGs (37 blogs)
4. Religion in RPGs (45 blogs)
5. Transitions & Transformations (27 blogs)
6. New Year's Resolutions (25 blogs)
7. Monsters & Maps (20 blogs)
8. WAR (?? blogs)
9. Humor & Gaming (in progress)

WOW!!! That's over 200+ blog posts, all organized and tidy under unified themes, in nine months! The carnivals are great too because they all interlink to each other and provide the RPG community with a connected network of topics. It just flows. I hope the blogging community keeps this up... anything, its a monument. Its testament to how a much of like minded geeks can organize themselves like a hive mind and churn out tons of high quality material. Think about it. For example, if you were a GM looking for some inspiration on how to revamp religion in your homebrew game -- there are two whole carnivals and over 77 blog posts right there at your finger tips. OK, some round ups are better than others -- but what the heck, these carnivals will be on the net for years.. decades. A permanent record of what the RPG blogging community was thinking, buzzing, and writing about during this past year. For some reason that just makes me go "Cool!".

When I first posted about the idea for an RPG Blog Carnival, I had no idea it would last thing long. I was thinking "OK... maybe one or two other blogs will pick it up for a month". I guess, in a way, the RPG Blog Carnival thing was the beginning of my thoughts about the RPG blogging community -- and what we might be capable of doing as a group. It wasn't too long before the idea for Open Game Table popped into my head. The latest in this RPG blogger hive mind is that we are developing our own campaign setting... as wacky as it may be, its true (props to NewbieDM for taking the lead on that!).

As I said it before, I'll quote myself and say it again:

"The RPG blogging community is no doubt a fantastic source for gamers across the globe. This community has brought together gaming minds from all over the globe - and is no doubt going to be a source of inspiration, tips, advice, concepts, mechanics, and material for game masters and players of PnP RPGs everywhere. Our blogs serve as a permanent source, for all time, of creative effort bent on making gaming better."

The goals were simple; but have we met them? Do you, as a reader of blogs, think that the RPG blogging community has improved your experience at the game table? How effective do you think the RPG blog carnivals are at improving your game? Do you enjoy following them?

Everything could be improved. Everything. So I guess, what do you think the RPG blogging community could be doing better?

What do you want to see more of?

There's a schedule for the RPG Blog Carnival that's already full for the next year -- so your comments here can go a long way towards helping the future of this monthly event reach new levels of excellence. Please share your thoughts.

The first part of this series, "The Half-Empty Glass: What is missing in 4E D&D", asked this basic question: In terms of crunch... what, if anything, is missing for you?

Now let's look at 4E D&D campaign settings. Is the default D&D campaign setting viable (the so-called Points of Light Setting, aka Nentir Vale)? If so, who is the intended audience of this setting? Noobs? Or are more experienced D&D veterans (who play 4E) satisfied with this setting? What about the new FRCS? Is it broken / overly shoehorned into the new rule set?

How well does 4E D&D do homebrew campaigns?

What works for 4E D&D, in my opinion, is that in less than a year they (WotC) have already provided enough options for an interested DM to create any homebrew campaign setting they want. I've said it before and I'll say it again: 4E is the New Old School D&D. By presenting an open, flexible, and relatively loosely defined campaign setting in the Core Books (the DMG), the new D&D is all about the homebrew. It's like "Here .. take this tiny Nentir Vale and make it your own". To answer my own question above (who is the audience?) - I would say both new and experienced DMs alike can make great use of the Points of Light campaign setting. Furthermore, the approach the designers have taken thus far might be viewed as classic power creep, more options more options more options (in even shorter time) -- but the thing to keep in mind is that you don't have to use all the options on the table. No, you're expected not to use all the options on the table. I look at the recent releases of the PHB2, Martial Powers, and Open Grave as what they are -- options -- to be included in your own campaign setting at your leisure. What's more - I would argue that DM's should take this one step farther and reexamine every character class, race, feat, etc in their own campaigns and ask "Does this make sense for my campaign world?" For example - Tieflings and Dragonborn are not your stock swords and sorcery racial types.

So, I suppose in terms of campaign settings - I would say the glass is half full for 4E D&D. The system presents a flexible framework that allows DMs to prototype a wide range of workable campaign settings.

As for 4E FRCS? Well... that goes towards the bottom of my list of worst "official" D&D campaign settings.

4E Darksun? Robot Viking thinks the writing may be on the wall - hopefully they are right.

What about you? Have they hit the right balance with published campaign settings thus far? Is 4E D&D flexible enough, even for new DMs, to create their own settings with ease?

I am very pleased to announce that as of today, I have entered into a contract with Studio 2 Publishing for the exclusive retail distribution of Open Game Table: The Anthology of Roleplaying Game Blogs (Vol. 1). S2P currently publishes and distributes games such as Savage Worlds, Deadlands, The Edge of Mignight, and many many more. It's very likely you already have many games they distribute on your game shelf.

This is huge huge news!!!

One of the original goals of Open Game Table was to place a physical book on the shelves of bookstores and game hobby shops all over the country to draw attention our excellent RPG blogging community. With this new contract in place, this will no doubt be a success!

The anthology will not be seen in your FLGS for another 3 or 4 months though, as S2P needs time to ramp up and put the anthology through their usual retail promotion cycle. For example, the book will be listed in the next edition of the Greater Games Industry Catalog with a "vendor code" (OGT0001), and retail stores need to be given time to order a few copies, etc. So, I have to exercise my patience... but in the meantime, Open Game Table will still be available online through Lulu.com and Amazon.com. So, if you can't wait PLEASE jump over there and pick yourself up a copy.

So... thanks again to EVERYONE who has pitched in to make this book at success! And thanks to Jim Searcy at S2P for being so damn awesome!

Wohoo!!!

I confess. I'm addicted to using Google's tools for everything imaginable. I think the best thing that could happen to the RPG industry would be for Google to buy Wizards of the Coast; but I digress...

Today I'm going to walk you through a tutorial on how to use Google Docs to build an interactive timeline that you can use for your campaigns. What's even cooler is that both players and gamemasters alike can enter in the dates and times of events in the past or present (with a few caveats). Since I'm a data junky, and love to catalog my campaigns; I'm psyched about this tool. Now let's get started:

If you want to skip to the cool online tool I've set up for people to use, scroll to the bottom; otherwise keep reading and maybe you'll learn something.

How To Build An Interactive Timeline Using Google Docs

Note: All the screenshot images below can be enlarged by clicking on them to get a better view.

STEP 1 - If you don't already have one, you'll need a gmail address and you'll need to activate your Google Documents application. Once you managed to reach the internals of Google Docs, you should see a screen something like this ->

STEP 2 - Create a new Google Form by clicking in the menu on the upper left New --> Form. Immediately, a new window or new tab will open with a blank form that will need some editing. The screenshot below will show you what you'll start with.

Title the form, add some Help Text, and create enough fields for the following: the form MUST have the following fields (aka "Question Title" in the form editor) - title, start, end, description, image, and link. THEY MUST BE LOWER CASE for some reason. As you add fields / questions to the form - make sure title and start are required. You may also want to add some Help Text to inform the use what the formatting requirements are for the dates (must be mm/dd/yyyy format). By the time you are done - you should have a form that looks like the one below

STEP 3 - Once your form is done, you'll now need to make some tweaks to the spreadsheet that was automatically created to store your form data and add a Timeline widget to the spreadsheet as well. Click the button at the top of the form that reads "See Responses" then click "Spreadsheet". This will take you to the underlying spreadsheet that is tied to the form. It should look something like this:

Step 4 - Next, click on the menu above the sheet and choose "Insert" -> "Gadget...". A pop-up menu will appear, select the "Featured" category on the left and scroll down the list on the right to find the Timeline Gadget.

Click the bubble button that reads "Add to Spreadsheet". This will plop the gadget right down in the middle of your spreadsheet, which is less than ideal. Will fix that up next.

Step 5 - Customize the Timeline Gadget by making the following changes:

• Set the range to "Sheet1!B1:G100". Google spreadsheets by defauly only have 100 rows on a new spreadsheet. If you get more than 100 entries from your form, the spreadsheet will expand to include the new entries, but you'll have to remember to come back to this configuration menu to change the range for the cells.
• Retitle your timeline -- I named mine "FRCS Interactive Timeline". /wink
• Change upper interval to "month"
• Change upper interval width to "narrow"
• Change lower interval to "year"
• Change lower interval width to "xx-narrow"
• You can play around with the color schemes later - for now just leave them as the default.

Here's a screenshot of what it should look like.

Click "Apply". Since the spreadsheet is empty, you will no doubt recieve an error from the Timeline Gadget; don't worry -- we'll fix this next. But before we do... you see that little tiny grey triangle above the [X] in the very upper right hand corner? Click that, and choose "Move to its Own Sheet".

That should result in you being bumped over to a new sheet with a blank timeline. You may also see another error about Headers being fouled up.. we'll fix that next.

Step 6 - Move back to "Sheet1" by clicking on the tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet. Now click the menu above "Form" -> "Go to live form...". Here's a screenshot

Once your live form launches, enter your first event into the timeline. Remember, the dates MUST be in a mm/dd/yyyy format. I mentioned caveats before... well... negative dates is one of those caveats; using them might break your timeline. Here's an example of my first entry:

After entering a few of these, you will note that your spreadsheet automatically gets the entries. Here's a view of the spreadsheet.

Not pretty, but that's not the point. Now, if you click over back to your Timeline Gadget worksheet (the tab titled "Gadget1" at the bottom), you should see the following (or something similar).

Step 7 - The last step is to publish your spreadsheet, form, and gadjet for everyone to see and play around with. You DO want your players to be able to add events into their own campaign history log, right? To do this, first click the blue "SHARE" button at the top right and choose "Publish as Web Page". Make sure that you choose "Automatically republish" when the next menu pops up. When you are done, click the [X] and return to your spreadsheet.

Now you want to know how to embed the form and spreadsheet into another website? Well, for the timeline click back over to the Gadget1 tab and click the grey "Publish" button in the upper right hand corner of the timeline. The code that you end up with should be pasted into any HTML document and ... voila... it's magic.

To embed the form someplace, switch back to "Sheet1" and then select "Form" -> "Embed Form..." from the menu along the top. A new window will open and you'll get some iframe source code. Drop that code into any HTML page and you'll be ready to roll. In my experience, it helps to edit the width/height values of the iframe to eliminate scroll bars (yeck!). There's also similar parameters in the script URL for the Timeline widget that you can play with.

Both the timeline and form are LIVE below. If you have any questions or comments, please go back to the top of the post and click "Comments". I'd love to hear what you think of this latest tutorial.

BELOW IS THE LIVE INTERACTIVE FRCS TIMELINE
Use the form below the timeline to update and enter whatever events you want. Click on the events to get more information, images, and links. It's awesome!

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Last week The Core Mechanic featured Reputation (Part 1) by guest author Ameron of the D&D blog Dungeon’s Master. The first reputation article was aimed at the DM and provided direction for using reputation as a campaign tool.

A few days later Dungeon’s Master followed that up with Reputation (Part 2). The second article in this series provided players with tips for developing the positive aspects of their PC’s reputation in D&D.

Today, Reputation (Part 3) appears on Dungeon’s Master. The third and final article in this series provides players with advice for how to work on their reputation when things don’t go quite as expected.

• False Heroes
  You’ve been credited with someone else’s deeds, what do you do?
  

• Anything But Heroes
  Your misfortunes and failures precede you. How do you make things right again?
  

• Larger Than Life Heroes
  Can you live up to a reputation run amok?

Check out the final installment in this series on reputation in D&D on Dungeon’s Master.

"Dragon Egg" by David "Darkarts"Thierree

 

 

Yeah... Easter's kinda like that around here.

Restarting this series to be a weekly feature has seen some false starts... hopefully this will be the last. Here's a short of list of things I've been reading and keeping up with:

1. This page has an absolutely crazy number of links to webpages about Worldbuilding.
2. Monster Cards for 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons... extremely useful; although rapidshare is annoying...
   
3. /HACK has a great list of current D&D / RPG fanzines and magazines here. Between all those subscriptions, DDI, and all the blogs I subscribe to - how do I get anything done?
4. Crystal Frasier, one of the artists who contributed to Open Game Table, has started blogging about RPGs. She's got a great article, "Are you Threatening Me? Kobolds!" over here.
5. Looking for a bit of randomness in your game? At-Will posted about a Minor Deck of Many Things for 4E. Very kewl IMHO.
6. The Church of the Radiant Polyhedron is upon us!!! MadBrewLabs scares the hell out of me with "The Libris Mechanica Sanctus", it's almost as if he's making a parody of our hobby....
7. UNnatural 20, a great resource for original monsters, has written "4E Magic Items Leave me Cold and Indecisive". He may have a point, but it seems that this is an opportunity for the community churn out some really cool 4E magic items.
8. Encounter-a-Day, aka ASMOR, has released a kick ass standalone version of their monster maker application.
9. Speaking of software - NewbieDM also points us to Masterplan, a really sweet campaign planner and combat tracker etc etc.
   
10. And The Society of the Torch, Pole & Rope reminded me that DungeonCrafter was actually a great way to chalk up old school dungeons in no time.

That's it - I try to limit it to 10 links. Of course there were tons of links I could have tossed in about Dave Arneson (may he rest in peace) and about PDFGate. I should also add that there are tons of reviews of Open Game Table out and about on the blogosphere - I counted 18 last time I looked - since the book has been released. While it hasn't helped sales much, it's still a way cool feeling to know everyone who has received it has enjoyed it!

Here's the second in a new series on The Core Mechanic: The Farchives. Every Friday I will re-post a popular TCM post from the previous year. I've included a post that was one of the first "popular" ones I had the first month the blog was in existence. This post was originally posted on July 30th, 2008. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.

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There is a super ridiculously large amount of chatter in forums, blogs, and other websites about the over- or under- powered effects of multiclassing in 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. So, given the way that Wizards of the Coast designed the new game: why have classes at all?

Think about it...

• All the classes use the same progression table (p28 PHB1 I think).
  


• The powers, at each given level, are comparable across classes. Level 1 powers are just as "powerful" no matter what class you choose. OK, sure, some people will no doubt argue this fact - but that's a topic for another day.


• Removing the choice to multiclass from the game entirely eliminates the bitching associated with it.

The way I see it, 3rd Edition D&D (and 3.5) was already heading towards a super-hybrid play style already. Every character had dozens of choices for so-called prestige classes; there was no limit to the number of multi-classes you could choose; and everyone chose Rogue for first level (for the skill bonus) and had 2 levels of Fighter (for the free feats and BAB, right?). By eliminating classes completely, then the game system would be wide open for people to make whatever kind of character they want.

Now, from a game designers point of view (not that I am one, but...) I could see the need to keep the whole notion of classes in D&D

1. It's just the way things should be. Without classes, the game would not be D&D anymore.
2. It provides easy, self-contained choices for new players to choose from. This facilitates people learning the game, and wanting to play. Too many options at the start can be daunting and will scare people off.
3. An open, class-free game system would be too hard for a DM to keep track of and the level of player to DM abuse would skyrocket. Munchkins and PowerGamers would be roaming the streets, frothing at the mouth - and that is something we just can't have.

No, but seriously.. why not? Another way to look at it is to examine the Monster Manual. Each monster presented therein is, in many respects, a new class. Obviously, the secrete-cabal-of-game-designers must have used some sort of system for assigning powers and abilities to each monster. You think Rob Heinsoo ever said to James Wyatt, "Hey man... you can't make Goblins have that power, they first need to take the [Acolyte of Doom] feat so that can qualify for it!" No, not likely. They just made them; and they made them using a class-free system that was balanced and scalable.

The way WoTC has encapsulated each class's abilities into fixed powers, at nearly every level of the game makes me scratch my head and think: Why the hell do we even need classes anymore? If my player wants to make a fireball throwing, healing, rogue who wears plate mail -- FINE! I mean, you could do that in 3.5, right?

The biggest obstacle I would see about a class-free system would be how to allocate Class Features, starting skills, etc. You know, all the stuff you get at 1st level. But - beyond that - if you make the prerequisites for some power or feat or something; take it!

Let me know what you think. I'm going to be thinking about this hard for a while I think - the idea just seems so "OMFG, of course!" I can't ignore it.

Of course, the pulling of the PDF's by Wizards is all over the blogosphere and even in the news. As is the fact that this move by Wizards, warranted or not, followed closely on the tails of an indictment of 6 individuals for distributing the Players Handbook 2 via file sharing network. Thanks to Wyatt Salazar, a link was provided to Stirge's Suck where (what looks like) a copy of the legal documents filed by Wizards against the 2 of the 6 Defendants. You can read through the whole thing at the previous link, but here's the part that jumped out at me:

WHEREFORE, plaintiff Wizards of the Coast LLC prays for the following relief:

1. A permanent injunction enjoining and restraining Defendants Nolan and Osmena, and all persons in active concert or participation with them from copying, distributing, displaying, creating derivative works or otherwise using protected elements of Wizards’ copyrighted works, including, but not limited to, Wizards’ Player’s Handbook 2;
2. An award of damages sustained by Wizards pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 504(b) and as otherwise permitted by law;
3. An award of statutory damages pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 504(c) and as otherwise permitted by law;
4. An award of Wizards’ costs of suit, including reasonable attorneys’ fees pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 505 and as otherwise permitted by law;
5. An award of prejudgment and post-judgment interest; and
6. Such other relief as the Court may deem just and proper.

DATED: April 6, 2009

So, if you follow through to Title 17  and take a look at "§ 504. Remedies for infringement: Damages and profits" - and keep in mind that -- at the time of this filing the PDF's had been downloaded over 1,000 times from Scribed.com as well as god-only-knows how many times from Bittorrent or other services. These numbers translate into $34,950 (for § 504(b)) plus up to an additional $150,000 in liability for each defendant; plus legal fees.

OUCH!!!

Also... here's an example of a true knuckleheadery...

B.31. The electronic copy of Player’s Handbook 2 purchased by Defendant Osmena included both the visible watermark added by OBS with the name of “Aya Shameimaru” and Defendant Osmena’s order number at the bottom of each page and the micro-watermark added by OBS identifying Defendant Osmena’s account number. Wizards verified Osmena’s actual name and address based on his e-mail and registration information provided by OBS through use of Wizards’ own internal database.

Emphasis mine. So... One word of advice... don't go pirate stuff using the same email address you used to register at the company who stuff you are pirating. Durrrrr.....

On Monday, The Core Mechanic featured the article Reputation (Part 1) by guest author Ameron of the D&D blog Dungeon’s Master. The first Reputation article was aimed at the DM and provided suggestions on how to incorporate and use reputation in your game.

Today Reputation (Part 2) appears on Dungeon’s Master. It’s aimed at the players and explores how the choices you make during your adventuring career will have a direct impact on your PC’s reputation.

• Local Heroes
  You’re famous for all the right reasons. People love you and you take full advantage of having a reputation that was hard earned and well deserved.
• Unsung Heroes
  Try as you might, you just haven’t had any luck gaining praise for your deeds. You’ve done everything right, but people haven’t heard of you.
• Anonymous Heroes
  You’ve chosen not to take credit for your deeds. You’re not in it for the fame, and you’ve taken steps to avoid unnecessary recognition.

Check it out and be sure to look for Reputation (Part 3) on Dungeon’s Master early next week.

Open Design has just released Kobold Quarterly #9. It's my first subscription copy of the magazine, so it was a nice surprise to see it land in my inbox. Hopefully the print copy will show up in a few days. Inside this issue you will find and INTERVIEW WITH DAVE ARNESON plus a new column by Monte Cook, some additions for 3E Bards, a new race for 4E (Fox Folk!), a Bat God, and an ecology of article on the Maenar -- just for starters. There's five 4E articles and ~10 for the 3E/OGL crowd. And... a BANDIT LAIR!! Something for everyone I suspect.

Personally, I think the interview with Dave Arneson is amazing. May the gods be with him. With all the news about his mortal illness, his apparent death, then the news about not having passed, and then finding out that he has passed on. -- it is so damn timely. May he rest in peace; I believe this interview in KQ was probably his last. Frankly, it's historic.

This issue of KQ9 is packed full of goodness, not only does it have the aforementioned interview with the co-creator of D&D (a legend!), but we also are treated to a piece by Monte Cook on game theory titled "Brief Glimpses".

I'd be happy to answer any questions about the new issue of KQ. Oh.. free dice. I've noticed that on the KQ site if you subscribe for a full year of KQ now, you'll get a free bag of awesome dice (until they run out I guess).

Surprise!
The last bit of kick-arse news is that the next issue of Kobold Quarterly (KQ#10) will feature an article by yours truly! I collaborated with authors of the blogs Mad Brew Labs and At-Will on an article for 4E D&D - and somehow it managed to sneak past the QC department at Open Design. MWhahhhahahaha.. wohoo!

OK, it's not even 24 hours old and it's already old news: WotC has pulled all PDF sales from online retailers over concerns of piracy. Check out Chad Perrin's summary over here.

Also, the inset quote to the above motivational is from a comment left by Jeff Reints... somewhere; don't remember where. I think the link it in the above article by Chad Perrin.

But why? Why? Why did they do it?

Here's why -

1. Sales of the printed 4th Edition D&D books have been flat and not met sales expectations, despite being on the Top 20 best selling lists for several newspapers
2. Wizards of the Coast wants to start selling the books exclusively on Amazon's Kindle - where piracy can be limited (ummm.. no?)
3. Hasbro has decided it needs to pull all the extended media sales arms of D&D back before it sells the entire brand off to another game company.
4. Virus infected copies of the D&D PDFs were being sold and circulated.
5. WotC has declared war on old school D&D!
6. DDI sales / subscription have fallen flat and PDF sales by third party sites is the reason.WotC is planning on selling all the PDF versions of the books through their DDI store.
7. The Board of Directors at WotC is a collective hive-mind of cock roaches.
8. The legal and marketing department of WotC is so out of touch with the new reality of digital publishing that they thought they could improve book sales by stopping sales of PDFs. Durrrrr...
9. Hasbro is controlled by a collective - known by companies insiders only as The Swarm. Why this is a reason for pulling PDF is beyond me...
10. Leave a comment and place your bets!

There's a another list of possible reasons why Wizards is being a bunch of knuckleheads over at Vulcan Steve's blog. Maybe one of these days we will find out...

I do it all because I'm evil,
and I do it all for free,
your tears are all the pay I'll ever need.

— Voltaire, "When You're Evil"

Fantasy literature has had its great share of villains. So too have fantasy role playing games, although there's an important difference: villains from fiction tend to be more memorable, more believable. Rarely do we, as players of the game, lament the death of a great villain. Why is this so?

In my experience, the villains encountered in our games are often killed off too quickly or their motives are less-than believable. How many Mad Wizards bent on destroying the kingdom have we seen? How many rapacious Bandits have we captured? If you look at the archetype villains through the history of D&D - very few are memorable and quite a few are just downright forgettable.

There are several important things you can do to make the villains more memorable in your game:

• What kind of villain are they? Are they a Card-Carrying Evil villain (like the Mad Wizard above)? Or something else, such as Knight Templar or a somewhat more subtle Well Intentioned Extremist? Is the villain also the Big Bad of the story/campaign? Figure out what kind of villain they are ahead of time and decide on some guidelines about how they should be role played both in and out of combat (and 'off stage', behind the scenes).
• What is their motivation? The card-carrying types don't need a motivation - they just do evil for Evil's sake. Other villains, however, should have some legitimate goals. At a very minimum a villain should have an elevator pitches worth of description that outlines their motivation. When mooks or minions are captured and questioned - bits of their boss's motivation might be revealed. Clues left behind in dungeons, urban settings, or other adventuring areas also give some clues. Believable motivations lend credibility to the villain, and the PCs can act on their expectation of those motivations.
• Give them Managers. And their Managers Minions. Unless the villain is a solo "bad guy", they should have at least one layer of mid-level managers. Those mid-level managers in turn should have a whole collection of minions and mooks. These are the guys that do all the villains boring grunt work. You know... things like burning villages, plundering tombs, capturing slaves, etc. Establish the motivation of the mooks and their managers too. Are they serving out of loyalty? Are they being paid? The managers (tribal chiefs, elites, etc) might have one set of motivations and the minions another. Regardless, setting up and defining these motivations can help shape the PCs perception of who this super villain is, and what they are up to.
  
• Don't Kill Them. Not Yet. Memorable villains show up more than once throughout the campaign either in spirit ("Dr. Madevil was just here!") or in the flesh ("Dr. Madevil, you won't escape us this time!"). Change up the ways in which the PCs face the villain or encounter their minions. Avoid making it expected that the villain is going to escape. You can also really keep the players on their toes by having several layers of villains; minor villains don't escape (cRPG equivalents of 'mini-bosses'). It's a bit of balancing act - one method I employ is to have the villains show up when the players are lowbies (somehow they escape or survive), again when they are mid level, and then have a big face off battle once they are 9th or 10th level. Spread it out over a few levels and the effect is amazing. That last battle, when the PCs finally defeat or capture the villain, is a gaming moment sometimes on par with the best that fantasy literature has to offer. I also like to use the Boss in Mook's Clothing Trope.

You no doubt have noticed I've included tons of links here to the TV Tropes Wiki. Phil, over at Chatty DM, turned me on to this website as a great resource for adventure and campaign design. One thing I've figured out along the way is that players have expectations and often like to be part of a known tropism. It plays on their expectations, builds anticipation, and gives the DM the opportunity to mix things up.

One of the best Big Bad villains of all time: Dr. Doom.

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What to read more? For more villains and how to play them - head over to At-Will's post "The Vicious Virtues of Villany".

Reputation is everything in D&D. Even 1st level characters have a reputation. It may only be a reputation for being eager to prove themselves, but it’s enough to get them noticed. What the PCs do today will have a direct impact on the opportunities afforded them tomorrow. Every adventure will add to their reputation and will impact how NPCs view them. It’s up to the DM to use reputation to enhance the overall game.

This is the first of three articles examining reputation. Part 1 is aimed at the DM and provides direction for using reputation to its fullest potential. Parts 2 and 3 are aimed at the players and provides insight on how the PCs can shape their own reputation and gain the most benefit from doing so. Look for Reputation part 2 and Reputation part 3 at Dungeon’s Master in the days to come.

Many DMs and players overlook or underestimate the importance of reputation in D&D. The DM should use the past deeds of the PCs to shape new storylines. The PCs are supposed to be the best of the best. What they do and how they do it will be closely observed. People will want to hear what kind of creatures they’ve fought, what kind of treasures they’ve accumulated and what they plan to do next. In essence, the PCs are celebrities and should be treated as such.

Reputation – The DMs Perspective

When the PCs visit new villages, towns and cities, there should be a chance that someone there has heard of them. If the PCs are just starting out, the likelihood of being recognized is minimal. As the PCs earn XP and gain levels, news of their heroics will spread and people will start talking. The PCs are recognized more and more often. This can be helpful in some scenarios and detrimental in others. As nice as it is to be famous, there will be times when the PCs just want their privacy. As the reputation of the PCs grows, the DM should apply suitable modifiers as conditions demand.

Positive Reputation

The PCs are heroes and everyone knows it. Their accomplishments are the subject of bard song and legend. Their vast wealth and power are key reasons for their positive reputation. Everyone wants to know more about the PCs. Everyone wants to meet them. The PCs are the points of light in the darkness and all attention is focused on them.

In general, people will open their doors to welcome the PCs. Important figures who may not normally be willing to meet with them are curious, or experience a change of heart and take the opportunity to ride the PC’s coattails. Perhaps a few admirers are genuinely interested in just being their friend.

These skills may be enhanced by a positive reputation.

• Bluff: The greater the reputation, the more likely those listening will accept what they’ve been told.
• Diplomacy: Social encounters are a breeze. People are fascinated with the PCs and will forgive many social blunders.
• Streetwise: Anything the PCs ask is answered.

Being famous does have its pitfalls. If the PCs have earned a reputation that tells of their affinity for all things good and righteous, then attempts to infiltrate the criminal element may meet with harsh resistance. Fame can also be regional depending on the reason for a positive reputation. War heroes will be celebrities in their home country, but may be scorned by their neighbours.

These skills may be more difficult because of a positive reputation.

• Insight: Everyone wants to meet the PCs and when they do, they want to be remembered. There will be so many people spinning so many tales that it may be difficult to tell the truth from the lies.
• Stealth: How do you go unnoticed when you’re famous? It’s possible, but a lot more difficult.

No one is famous forever. The DM should present plenty of opportunities for the PCs to hurt their own reputation. If they choose to do stupid things without thinking of long-term consequences, then it’s their own fault. Just remember to offer opportunities for redemption if the PCs begin to fall.

Negative Reputation

The PCs have run into some bad luck of late. Perhaps they didn’t defeat the Dragon that threatened the local village, they only wounded it. After the PCs left, the Dragon returned and took out his anger on the innocent townsfolk. Suddenly, the PCs are infamous; everybody knows them, but for all the wrong reasons.

There are very few benefits to being hated or despised. If the PCs have caused a lot of collateral damage as they’ve travelled the realm, then they may be turned away when they reach the city gates. People are less likely to talk to them or be outright hostile. Important figures may refuse to meet with them under any circumstances.

These skills may be enhanced by a negative reputation.

• Bluff: Since people already think the worst of you, any attempt to play up that angle may garner success.
• Intimidate: People probably expect you to be mean and hateful. A small show of force, or even a small threat of force, may go a long way to getting what you want.

These skills may be more difficult because of a negative reputation.

• Diplomacy: Nobody wants to risk association with you. Good luck finding people to treat you fairly.
• Streetwise: It’s unlikely that people will want to share any information with you. If they do, be suspicious.

In general if the PCs have a negative reputation they should do something quickly to try and remedy the problem. It’s up to the DM to present opportunities for the PCs to prove themselves. The size of the task should be left up to the PCs. Let them decide if they want to take baby steps or if they want to try and fix things with one grand gesture.

Unearned Reputation

An unearned reputation has potential to be the most fun and the most dangerous. This could be something as simple as a mistaken identity. The PCs match the description of another group of heroes and are mistaken for them. Perhaps the PCs stumbled across the site of a great battle and a witness assumed they were the ones responsible for the victory. There are many possibilities, none of them good for the PCs – at least in the long run. The short-term gains are the same as any other positive reputation. But when the truth comes out (and it always does) then the PCs will go from famous to infamous in a heartbeat.

The idea of an unearned reputation has the most appeal to me personally as a DM. It forces the PCs to decide if the benefits of accepting an unearned reputation are worth it. This scenario provides the DM with the perfect opportunity to begin new adventure hooks, introduce new NPCs and set the foundation for the long-term campaign.

If the PCs adopt the persona of the party they are mistaken for, it could have negative consequences. Here are a few ideas of how to make life difficult (or at the very least, interesting) for the PCs if they decide to accept an unearned reputation.

• The real heroes may be wanted criminals in a neighbouring country.
• An item the PCs are supposed to have is needed but obviously unavailable.
• Past debts owed by the true heroes may be called in by a powerful Wizard.
• A pregnant woman may demand the baby’s father marry her.
• The heroes who actually earned the reputation may show up.

The possibilities are truly limited only by the DM’s imagination. In the end you want the scales to be balanced. Just because the PCs indulge when they’re not entitled doesn’t mean that the punishment should be too detrimental. The DM should always provide opportunities for the PCs to make things right. It doesn’t have to be easy, but it should be possible.

Conclusion

It’s up to the DM and players to decide if reputation will impact their game at all. Using reputation shouldn’t be mandatory and shouldn’t have any adverse affects if the PCs don’t want to worry about it. In the end everyone should agree to what extent, if any, reputation has in your game.

This article was written by Ameron from Dungeon’s Master. This is his first guest post on The Core Mechanic.

I'm working on a small project that is building a time line of RPG history, and during my wikipedia / googling meanderings I stumbled on a 2-part interview with Wolfgang Baur of Open Design and Kobold Quarterly. The interview was convincing enough that I signed up as a "patron" of Open Design's latest project - if anything becuase I'm curious to see how it _really_ works. Nonetheless, for anyone outside the industry (like me), the interview was enjoyable to read with a frank point of view; so I thought I would share the links.

• Part 1
• Part 2

Enjoy!

According to the Associated Press, The Players Handbook 2 reached #14 on the Wall Street Journals Top 15 Non-Fiction book sales list for the week it was released. I guess this is a success for WotC. Interestingly, the PHB1 ranked only slightly better the week it was released in 2008.

Who says nobody plays RPGs anymore ? ...

Inspired by this post over at The Art of the TPK - I'm thinking a gamer can go a long way towards breaking the ice with other gamers by simply telling them what they "do" in their games. This same thing probably applies to blogs as well...

So, what do I do? lemma tell you...

• I do roleplaying with voices and sometimes props.
• I do cryptic runes and burnt, hand drawn maps
• I do riddles and poems
• I do epic campaigns that always aspire for greatness but never (maybe once) actually reach that lofty goals
• I do FRCS (gasp!) and short-lived homebrews
• I do laptops at the table, but recently they've been banned
• I do miniatures now, but only since 3E
• I do fantasy (any game), cyberpunk (shadowrun), and d20 modern
  
• I do espresso martinis, imported beer, and baked goods
• I do cheap beer, chips, and take out Chinese.
• And yes... I do like to post April Fools posts to my blog.
  

What do you do? Leave a comment, or track back, and let me know... I'm curious to see what the Web 2.0 gaming crowd is into.

 

That's right! According to Gary Lively, the director of the 2005 film Dungeons & Dragons 2: Wrath of the Dragon God, "Tricia will definitely be featured in the miniseries. Her success as Caprica 6 on BSG has created a huge fan base which already regularly tunes in to Scifi channel." Already a star on one highly successful SciFi series (BSG), it's not a surprise that Tricia would be featured on another epic series on the same network. Wohoo! If anything, it will be a great show to .... watch.

In other news...

Martians have landed in New York and are demanding that the United Nations pay them a 1 billion dollars to help stimulate the failing economy on Mars. Sheesh!!! The nerve of those guys...

The second part of the title of this post could be a statement or a question.

Hopefully we can look at it as both.

This is the first post in a series that will explore what might be missing in 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons; in terms of crunch, fluff, rules, crank, and couch. I'll begin by looking at the current state of the game, from a "crunch" point of view - then in future posts I'll look back at previous editions and other current games for a comparison. I plan on looking at some of the differences in rule mechanics between editions, the so-called "fluff", and eventually the general audience of the game (which I believe has changed). Let me know if I've missed anything, or if there is something you think I should cover.

The Current State of 4E
When 4E was first released I remember tons of complaints that the game didn't provide you with enough options. That every character was a cut out copy of the same race/class combo used by any other player. In terms of "crunch" (stats/abilities), if this was ever the case it is certainly no longer. A quick survey of the current state of 4E gives us the following numbers...

• 29 playable Races
• 17 Skills
• 18 Classes
• 185 Paragon Paths
• 36 Epic Destinies
• 2621 Class Powers
• 709 Feats
• 186 Rituals
• ...not to mention there are 2124 Creatures and 4477 usable Items currently in the game.

So there are now over 500 different combinations of character races and class alone, not to mention power and feat selections. Something for everyone, I believe - and the available variety at first glance seems to already be on par with 3E D&D. It is a veritable pallet of material for any custom home brew setting or stock bog fantasy.

 

In terms of crunch... what, if anything, is missing for you?

I recently cracked open my old Birthright materials. If you are not familiar with Birthright, it was a 2nd Edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting where the characters were essentially rulers of nations backed by the gods. It was a game of adventure and nation building. One of the cool things about Birthright was the idea of bloodlines, you played a bloodline of kings and queens - not just one character. As you progressed, you increased your regency points and increased your domains (lands, provinces, resources). The setting presented a mix of Arthurian and Tolkienian mythology - a nice diversion from the "standard fantasy" of 4E. In terms of setting, it kind of reminds me of Harn. You can check out the Wikipedia page for more basics.

I really enjoyed reading about this setting; although sadly I was never able to get a game up off the ground. There were some fundamental flaws in rules at the time, and if I remember correctly, D&Ders either loved it or hated it. I was surrounded by gamers who hated it, thus I never played it for more than one or two sessions.

Fortunately this morning I crawled out from under my rock and discovered Birthright is alive and well! There's a very vibrant and growing community tucked away on the net that apparently even once had the tacit approval of WotC to publish a d20 update to the Birthright setting. I also found that there is an effort to convert/update the Birthright rules to 4th Edition. Of course, some major changes to 4E would be needed for this to work, but it should be interesting if it ever gets off the ground.

Have any of you played Birthright beyond a few sessions? What was your impressions of this 'version' of D&D?

I recieved some excellent feedback from you about what I should about my site design and layout. As you can see... I've made some changes. (if you are reading this in your RSS reader, click through and check out the new layout).

What do you think of then new site design? leave a message and let me know. I'm trying to make the site more readable, while improving the overall quality of the layout. The last design was way too cluttered and craptacular. Is this an improvement?

Today kicks off a new feature on The Core Mechanic, The Farchives. Every Friday I will re-post a popular TCM post from the previous year. To kick this new series off, I've included a post that was one of the first "popular" ones I had the first month the blog was in existence. This post was originally posted on July 22nd, 2008. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.

---

After reading Stephen Radney-MacFarland's column "Saying Yes is a Skill", the following paragraph stood out:

...Consider this case in point. The cifal, also known as the Colonial Insect-Formed Artificial Life (I'm not joking), was a critter from the original Fiend Folio that featured a back story and a name I thought was absolutely stupid. And I was not alone; in 2000 the cifal was voted the stupidest Fiend Folio monster by the readers of Polyhedron magazine. Still, this critter showed up a number of times in my game as a swarm-of-flies devil that served Baalzebul. What did I change about the monster? Not much, just the name and alignment. It was that easy. My players were scared to death of the poor, stupid cifal, which they knew as bzazels (heck, not even a vast of an improvement on the name front, come to think of it)...

Then it occurred to me that I had been doing something for years that maybe other DMs don't do, or maybe don't do often enough. I'm talking about Stat Block Masking (SBM). SBM is one of the oldest tricks in a DMs toolbox. It's easy to do, saves hours of prep time, and keeps the players on their toes. The muchkins at your game table hate SBM techniques, the role players love it. So, what is it?

SBM is where the DM uses the stat blocks for one creature, item, trap, spell, class, etc. to replace the stat block of another similar thing. The decription of the thing stays the same, but the stats are VERY different. Two examples should be enough to illustrate my point:

---

Example 1: The Beegguns Goblins
Goblins are easy to kill and the player characters blow through dozens of them in an evening of gaming. After a whole evening of slaughtering scores of them, complete with spell casters, traps, interesting terrain combinations, and the like, you realize that the players need a bigger challenge. But, the problem is that they are in a goblin den. To maintain internal consistency, there's a somewhat limited number of assailants you might throw at them. What can you throw at a group of Level 2 heroes that might scare them out of their wits. Then, you have an idea...

As the PCs turn the corner and see a four 'bigger', foul looking goblins coming down the hall towards them. "These 4 huge goblins come lumbering around the corner, groaning. Their bodies are covered in some kind of black oil, as are their large spiked clubs. They don't seem too happy in general, and are probably going to take it all out on you."

One of the players at the table says flatly "Oh no, these goblins look (sarcasm) scary! I charge them."

Another player metagames a bit and says, "What, they have twice the health or something? My wizard begins casting Ray of Frost."

You simply just chuckle and the battle begins. After 4 rounds of combat, the party has blown all their encounter powers, and nearly everyone has used their dailies. Action points? HAH... those are all gone. These goblins are stunning people with some sort of sap that's on their clubs, and seem like to beat on the same, stunned (panicing) heroes until they are clobbered. Plus, these guys are taking huge ammounts of damage.

Its at this point that the players realize that these are not simply "tougher" goblins; they are something else entirely.

In fact, they are Ghouls. Well... at least their stats are Ghoul stats. But, instead of claws, they use big clubs covered in somekind of toxic (to everyone but goblins) sap. Instead of being vulnerable to radiant damage, you make them vulnerable to fire damage (the sap burns quite well). In the end the PCs are fine, they mostly survive. But, they are all left wondering "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?"

---

Example 2: The Ring of Blades
Your heroes have worked hard pushing through the goblin den. Most of the goblins have either been killed or have fled to find greener pastures. In a final, last ditch effort for "survival" the goblin chieftain surrenders and offers the heroes a 'secrete treasure that will remain buried forever' unless they let the remaining tribe go free. The heroes, always filled to the brim with a lust for more lewt, agree. The chief tells the heroes where he keeps a secrete cache of coins and a few items of value. The heroes find the treasure and among they find a magic ring and a magic axe. They let the chieftain go (these heroes are real goodguys), and begin investigating the items. They seem harmless enough. The axe is a something magical, but harmless.

The ring, however, is something different. "Your skill checks are successful, and you determine it is a Ring of Invisilibility". They PCs actually failed in identifying the ring correctly and on an earlier Passive Perception check, but the game table is filled with a series of 'holy crap!" "wow!" "OMFG!" etc.

Then, one of your players adds "Wait... a Ring of Invisibility is a Level 18 item. We're a bunch of Level 2 stooges..."

"You know Mr. Metagamer, you are right! And, just as your character realizes this existential fact and holds up the ring to inspect it, it seems to unfold. Slowly at first, then faster still until the whole party are enveloped in a whirlwind of flying blades."

The ring is actually a Whirling Blades trap (p.89 DMG), and appropriate but difficult challenge for the party. You might also rule that, if they fail in disabling the trap the ring is destroy. If they succeed, they might just walk out of there with a nifty little gadget to take with them...

---

I've think I've illustrated my point. Statblocks can be stripped of their descriptions and applied to anything in a variety of settings, assuming you keep challenge at an appropriate level for the heroes. The trick is just to think outside the box a little and be creative. Using this technique, DMs out there will never be stuck needing a 'better' challenge in the middle of a gaming session. Players out there will also have to stay on their toes since you'll never know what to expect next...

"What the heck is that?"
"What? His mount? Oh... that's his armored heavy warhorse that was raised in the marshlands of Xuntargak. It was trained for war, and has been subject of many foul rituals by his arcanists. Good luck..." It's a heavy warhorse, but I'm using the Basilisk statblock.

I should note that Unclebear has also come out with a series of posts on "Shemping" - anyone interested in more info on recasting / shemping should check out his blog for his view on the same topic.

I WON!!! The Most Ugly RPG Blog Award!

OK, just kidding... but I do have a very strong desire to eliminate the busy, distracting nature of this blog's layout and design. The problem is that I have very little time to tinker around with CSS and HTML for hours on end. So what do you think I should do?

Drop blogger and jump to WordPress? Or stay here and just redesign using one of bloggers templates?

Fire up my own hosting service and get back into PHP? My mousefinger groans in pain at the thought of hacking php again.

So, since I don't have all the time in the world... should I use a free template or purchase one? Are purchased WordPress templates "worth it"?

Is there anything about my current site design that you like? (I'm so sick of looking at it, I usually use my feedreader to check the layout of my posts...)

My goal is simple: to improve The Core Mechanic by improving the reader's "experience" through increasing the blog's functionality. Simplicity, readability, functionality are the words that make me go "Yeah... I want that".

Any feedback you have, positive or otherwise, is very much appreciated.

A little retrospective:

Back in the day (1E AD&D), there was this notion of the "DM's Blue Bolts from Heaven". The idea was simple - some PC is too annoying to deal with, too powerful compared to their peers, or just plain ignored the warning from the gods. Blue, firey bolts of hot lighting would come down and, potentially, strike them dead on the spot. I think the rule of thumb was 3d6 bolts would come down, each carrying a saving throws vs. Death inside. I lost several characters myself this way. Luckily, a couple of them had friends in high places who could raise people from the dead...

No one doubted that BBFH were a very real threat to munchkin players. Power gamers and munchkins were always justifying their awesomeness as a result.

"He must find the Holy Avenger, like his father before him! It is his destiny!"

Declarations like that early in a character development not only added to the backstory, but it also provided the munchkins among us a foil against future BBFH should they find the sword in some kind of ass'hattery kind of way. Everyone was happy, story gamers and munchkins alike.

Enter 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. You start out as a "hero" at first level. The game is designed for power gamers, munchkins love it, and roleplayers either hate it or are heard frequently defending 4E as just as viable an RPG as any other 'older' one (me included). Regardless though, there's nothing in the rules-as-written about controlling over powered characters. The RAW in fact supports accension to godhood (which, in all fairness, every other edition of D&D has supported as well including BASIC).

Nonetheless, throwing down blue bolts from heaven in a 4E campaign strikes me as a deal breaker. I can already see the players standing up and crying "That's Bulls***!".

So... Are munchkins a problem, or a welcomed part, of your game? If you are running a 4E game, what measures have you taken to limit the obscene power gaming munchkinism that the end-days of 3.5E D&D faced? Or, is this not even an issue for you?

Open Game Table aims to bridge the gap between the RPG blogging community and the broader table-top gaming fan base by showcasing the best talent in the RPG blogosphere. Within these pages are 47 blog posts from 32 top-quality RPG blogs, plus a Foreword written by RPG luminary Wolfgang Baur. After six months of hard work, I am very happy to say this anthology is finally here for your enjoyment!!!

... Check out the review on WIRED Magazine's GeekDad blog ...

Packed with the best in RPG blogging and over 60 illustrations, this book is Pure Gold. The anthology chapters cover a wide variety of topics for fans of all table-top roleplaying games, including:

1. Play Style;
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3. Characters & Players;
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6. Adventure Design;
7. Campaign Setting Design;
8. Classes, Action, and Equipment;
9. RPG History & Commentary; and
10. The RPG Toolbox.

This anthology is the result of the hard work of nearly 100 volunteers, authors, editors, judges, artists, and designers. A true grass roots effort; it is a tour de force of the RPG blogging universe.

The book is shipping from Lulu Marketplace and Amazon.com for $22.95. Soon, it will also be available from Indie Press Revolutions.

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Want to support Open Game Table on your own blog or website? I would be honored! Please grab any OGT graphic on this page and link to the Lulu storefront or this post on The Core Mechanic.

These graphics kindly provided by Lee Barber, a contributing artist to the Open Game Table project.