D&D Next? or 3E revised..again.

So I got the email, everyone in the D&D world has been waiting for today. The play test of D&D Next email in my inbox at 930am CST. Of Course clicking on the link, resulted in nothing but a long hang time until it gave me can not open message.

Apparently Wizards screwed up on the first link, apologizing to its fans in the forums and sent out a new link, which also hung.

Finally after a bunch of tries. I got in, signed the agreement and got the documents.

I popped open the documents, and it gives you 5 pregens. Fighter, two Clerics (a healer and a battle like), a rogue and a wizard. As well as a mini adventure, a bestiary, a "how to play document" and finally a DM Guidelines document.

After reviewing them, and reading over the documents carefully, its basically Third Edition D&D well organized. WHAT?

This is what we waited for? Wizards to bring out 3E rules, nicely organized for us?

How is this Old School? Its not. Unless you consider 3E "Old School".

How does this represent Moldvay D&D like they said in the blogs? Oh wait. I know how, its how the sheet is set up. Everything nicely squeezed into one sheet.

Just in case you are wondering, the DM guidelines document, doesn't tell you anything interesting except how to control a DC or set up an save. Something anyone can pick up in the "how to play".

Also the bestiary, does exactly what they did in 4E, tells a DM How to play the monster. A good DM doesn't need this.

I'd like to put up an image, but I guess that would violate terms and get my Blog taken down. Feel free to go download it if you can and comment.

Let's hope round two of the play test makes this look better, otherwise, just pull your 3E books off the shelf or go play Pathfinder.

Inteviewing Bruce Heard

Today, I had a chance to chat with Bruce Heard from TSR's past for the Save or Die Podcast. We chatted about how he got into gaming. His story about getting into gaming and finally working for TSR was quite interesting.

During the interview, we also chatted about Mystara, and one of my favorite box sets, Hollow World.

All in all a wonderful interview with some nice insight how things were done back in the day. IF you are interested in listening in, check out SoD #47: Bruce Heard Interview for more details

What the hell, Wotc is killing my game? No it's just greedy bastards out there.

Today I was looking through some prices on amazon.com for 1e books. What did I notice since the announcement of the 1E reprints by WOTC? Prices on the rise, I mean like outrageous prices. Not only that, but used book prices are pushing up. After hearing from various people there used book orders had been returned, I went on amazon and ordered a ad&d 1e phb, dmg, and mm. All prices had been under $7, and I made sure to note the company names. Sure enough, a day later my orders were refunded, and canceled. What the hell? Do these people really think because the reprints are going for so much, they can jack up the prices of these old musty used books? I indirectly blame Wizards for this, because they knew, doing what they would, would only inflate the current market prices. Anyone who says they wouldn't is a liar. So the prices have gone up,for a book that doesn't compare to the shit being rolling out by wizards, or ccp, or any company...quality style wise. Now a new person looking at this, is like why should I pay $35 for a book from the 80s with just type and line art, when I can buy a full color fancy book? It's simple they don't. Thanks again, WOTC!

Legend of the 5 rings rpg

Today I grabbed a copy of l5r 2e, for $3. The gm and players guide. I've played this edition of the game, but I am sure its similar to 3E and 4e for that matter. I've always enjoyed the Oriental Adventures book from AD&D 1e, and glad this whole thing kind of spawned out of it. I am also sick of hearing that Oriental is a racist term and I shouldn't support that book. First off, it was the '80s when this came out, the term was acceptable. Then Polictial correctness came along in the mid '90s and anyone who is anyone, that got a hair crossed the wrong way on their ass, started shouting and bring up lawsuits. Now suddenly the term Oriental is offensive. I can see the point of it being offensive IF USED that way. But I am not using it that way, I a describing a book and a setting... not a person.

Anyhow... back to fun.

Random Generation

As of recent I have been looking over some old games from the '80s and noticed a pattern. A pattern we all used in the games and we took for granted, and more then like fudged numbers or just picked it. What is it you say? Well random rolls for character generation. I am talking about games like Marvel RPG, or TMNT. Where you took your dice, and rolled it, where it landed, was the start of a new character for you.

It was fun, making a story for the odd character got "stuck" with. I look back and some of my old characters and laugh. In playing TMNT, I had a Camel Ninja, that spook with a british accent, and he acted like he was part of the royal family. Ah it was fun. Just thought I would share this moment that I was thinking with you all.

Mazes & Perils Monster: Reanimated Hand

In efforts to make the Mazes and Perils free clone rpg noticed, I've decided to start making up new monsters for use with the game. Of course this monster can be used with any fantasy edition of gaming. 

Reanimated Hand

Move: 120’/turn*
Alignment: lawful Evil
Hit Dice: 7
Attacks: Slam or Trample
Special: See below
Armor Class: 2
Damage: 1-8 or 1-10
Treasure Type: nil

A reanimated hand is a large hand and wrist, normally with a giant fancy ring on its index finger, which it props up as if it was a head while it crawls around on the finger tips.

The origins of the hand and where it came from is unknown, but legends and rumors say it was a hand ripped from an once power immortal that went crazy with power.

The reanimated hand are immune to sleep, poison, paralysis and disease like undead.The Reanimated hand can read and write any and all languages, but can not speak. Reanimated hands have the ability of blind-sight and can sense all opponents around it.

The Reanimated hand, has the ability to slam down on a character like fist squashing a bug doing up to 8 points of damage. The Reanimated had also has the ability to run and trample over its target, much like how a stampede does doing upwards of 10 points of damage.

Magical Crossbow.. too powerful?

I was looking up show notes for RFI and stumbled across this one in an old dragon magazine (40), and was considering it for one of my games.

Crossbow of Multiplication.

May be either light or heavy, and uses the range of fire of the proper class. However, the weapon creates its own bolts. These are treated as +0, +0 magic bolts but can hit any target capable of being damaged at all by physical weapons (even those, for example, which can only be hurt by +3 weapons or by blunt weapons). Bolts disappear after hitting or missing. On each shot, roll a 20-sided die for the number of bolts fired, subtracting 5. Results of 5 or less are treated as 0 (that is, there is a 25% chance the crossbow will fire nothing at all—otherwise, it fires 1 to 15 bolts). The bolts spread out in an even cone in a forward direction, from a single bolt straight ahead to 15 in a 90-degree cone. Therefore, unless the target is very wide or very close, no more than 1 or 2 bolts will strike a single target.

After reading it, I was like, this is way too powerful for a low level campaign. But then after reading it a few times, It isn't so bad. So it shoot a lot of bolts..big deal... Will it hit things? There is a 25% chance to no bolts come out and do nothing.  Otherwise 1 to 15 bolts come out to attack my target area, but unless its a big old fat monster, only a bolt or two will hit. So it gets a bonus for looking cool and seeming like an advantage, and double bonus it only will hit one target. Triple bonus is if you have a knuckle head in your group that fires this into combat, its going to hit the whole party lol.

The only advantage a player has on this item, is if they get put up against 5 monsters at once and get first attack or its a really large monster, like a giant or a dragon.

Thoughts?

AD&D Poke-Creature

Since people can't seem to understand this...."how can a pokemon be used as creatures for your custom world?" I went a head and picked a random creature card, and designed one based on the picture and what it says. I came up with a new monster. Of course you can change the picture to make it look a little more interesting, but I just used the card and put it down. This notion of Pokemon for creatures is not my idea, Chrispy originally came up with this idea. So he get's full credit for it. I just rolled with it. Tepig FREQUENCY: Uncommon NO. APPEARING: 6-18 SIZE: Small MOVE: 30ft ARMOUR CLASS: 6 HIT DICE: 2 ATTACKS: 1 (tackle/rollout) DAMAGE: 1d4/1d6 SPECIAL ATTACKS: None SPECIAL DEFENCES: None MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard/None LAIR PROBABILITY: 10% TREASURE: Nil INTELLIGENCE: Low ALIGNMENT: Neutral Tepig are normally found, in groups of 6 or more, roaming around very dense forest areas looking for grass and flowers to eat. Tepig do not show any sign of hierarchy in their group as they seem to just eat and move on. Though the group is very loyal to one another, protecting each other if threatened in anyway. Tepig will not attack, unless provoked. If attacked, Tepigs will attempt to warn their foe with a tackle, by taking its foe off its feet, doing 1d4 points of damage. If its foe continues its attack, the Tepig becomes more aggressive by using its rollout attack. The roll out attack is similar to the tackle, except that it does 1d6 points of damage as the creature rolls out of the tackle using its claws.

D&D 3E is... Old School?

I was sitting around readings some posts today while I was snowed in today, here in PA. When a buddy of mine from a group I played in long ago, sends me an email. Asking me, since I am so involved with the OSR, podcasting and running a forums, " Isn't 3E (not 3.5E) considered old school now? It has to be, its almost 12 years old?"

My first response was no. Its not. But as I was typing back my response, I thought of some great questions to ask myself and others out there. First and for most... Why can't it be? It's past the 10 year mark, its out of print and shunned by its creators and most of the D&D fans out there.

If you are starting to scream here, just wait. Because listen to this. 12 years ago, 3E came out in 2000, which made AD&D 2E only 11 years old. At that point 2E was considered "Old School". Which everyone embraced as acceptable at the time.

Now the once big bad "Beast of 3E" is nothing more then a discarded puppy outside, is 12 years old. Should we not give it a break and allow it to be considered some-what old school now?

Thoughts?

The Avengers Movie - First look

Happened to hear the other day on Howard Stern that the preview of the movie was out, and it could be found on youtube.com. So I went and looked it up, and watched it a few times. The trailer is interesting, it shows all the characters they promised with all the same actors.. well Edward Norton is not playing the incredible hulk. Anyhow the trailer shows the team, gives a minor purpose how they formed the team to protect the world. The trailer shows some great clips, but doesn't really show why or what they are protecting the earth from. Granted I haven't read any spoilers or advanced news, because I wanted to watch the movie with out people's judgement or bitching.. such as I've already seen how people are bitching Nick Fury is not white. Who gives a crap, so what? its Ultimate Nick Fury, and Samuel L Jackson is a hell of an actor with loads of talent.

This kind of crap is what ruins movies, because we get these stupid ass geek morons, screaming its not exactly like the comic book they had under their pillow at night when they were 12, next to the penthouse magazines. Why can't people just watch and ENJOY the movie for the purpose of the entertainment it is? Sigh.

So who's the villian? My guess, is it is, Loki. Due to the ending we saw at the end of Thor movie, as the credits finished. But I could be wrong. What do you think?

This could be a great marvel super hero adventure. If you still play the game, how would you use this set up?