D&D

Roaming Chult Released on DMs Guild

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I'm happy to announce the release of Roaming Chult, my latest DM's Guild product for Dungeons and Dragons (5e).

Roaming Chult is a collection of new items and resources for players and Dungeon Masters playing in Chult for Tomb of Annihilation campaigns or other jungle adventures.

Player features:

  • 100 New trinkets, inspiried by Chult, its people, and its adventursome visitors.
  • 5 New backgrounds for PCs from Chult (great options for mid-campaign replacement characters).
    • Chult Castaway
    • Chult Dinosaur Racer
    • Chult Merchant
    • Chult Miner
    • Chult Righteous Defender

DM features:

  • 9 New magic items of the trickster gods, with powers and hinderances reflecting each of their personailties and motives.
  • 20 New magic items of the denizens of Chult.
  • Expedition Log for tracking exploration progress and basic supplies through the jungles (or any campaign). Print and fill out at the table during the game. Also PDF form fillable. For DM or player use.
  • Expedition Journal Pages for DM handouts or player journals and notes. One is ruled, the other features a grid for maps and sketches. Print and use at the table. Both are also PDF form fillable.

The PDF file has printer friendly pages, except for the Log and Journal Pages, which are full page color. 

Pick it up today!

Now available: DM Combat Tabs on Dungeon Masters Guild

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DM Combat Tabs is my new product now available at the Dungeon Masters Guild.  

Track initiative, conditions, and more on any DM screen.

The kit includes 37 tab types:

  • Player Character, Monster (2 types), NPC, Ally, Your Turn
  • Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Frightened, Grappled, Incapacitated, Invisible, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained, Stunned, Turned, Unconscious
  • Death Save (Fail), Death Save (Success), Stable, Dead
  • Concentration, Inspiration, Reaction Used, Ready Action, Other
  • Lair Action Active, Legend Used, Recharge
  • Advantage, Disadvantage, Spell Effect, Roll to End Effect
  • "More Problems" tab extension for those unfortunate monsters suffering many effects at once.

DM side.

Fill the PC and Monster tabs out by hand after printing, or use the PDF form fillable options before printing. Forms can be saved for reuse.

Customize tabs for your game. Do you want to track different conditions, spell effects, or other information not provided in the kit? Do you run the same adventure often and want to create tabs for the specific monsters used? Use the customizable tabs to add your own text to the front and/or back of the tabs. Add images to the front of the PC and Monster tabs.

5 fully customizable tab types:

An example of a customized tab page.

  • Player Character (Front and back: character name, class, level, race, faction, player Name. Front only: image. Back only: AC, HP, Passive Perception, Vision type and distance)
  • Monster (2 types)/NPC/Ally, (Front and back: Name. Front only: Image. Back only: AC, HP, minimal notes)
  • Condition tabs: Long and short.

Tabletop Tab Rack.

Keep organized and find the right tab quickly during the game using one of two rack types:
DM Screen Tab Rack: This pair of racks hangs right on the DM's screen to minimize loss of table space. It works with the official standard D&D screens or most any other screen type.
Tabletop Tab Rack: A simpler rack folded into a sawtooth shape to hold the tabs. It sits on the table top. 

Storage options: Assemble the included custom box to store the DM Screen Tab Racks with the tabs still in place. Other storage suggestions are also included.

DM Screen Tab Racks and Storage Box.

Also use on table tents and minis.

Printing on cardstock is highly recommended, but thick or regular paper can be used. Cutting and folding is required to use the tabs and the racks. Assembly of the optional storage box requires glue or tape.

Formatted for US letter sized paper. 

Player side view.

DM side view

Storage box.

DMs Guild: Uncommoners Now Available

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My latest DungeonMastersGuild.com product is now available for Dungeons and Dragons (5e). 

Uncommoners is a collection of 10 new backgrounds for characters starting their adventuring careers from commoner roles and unusual jobs. These backgrounds are suitable for most characters, particularly those starting in villages, settlements, or cities. Some characters may continue to use their backgrounds while adventuring, while others have moved on to greater things.

Uncommoners includes the following backgrounds, complete with features, personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws.

Apothecary
Boat Handler
Butler
Falconer
Lamplighter
Master Builder (Apprentice Builder)
Messenger
Sexton
Shipwright
Town Crier
Each background has flavorful story ideas to spur creativity for players and DMs alike. For example, the Falconer includes advice for using a trained bird in the game. The Butler features a table of reasons for their loss of employment that likely spurring them to a life of adventuring. Many backgrounds include possible ties to individuals at different levels of society. The Lamplighter is an expert on life taking place on the city streets at all hours. The Boat Handler knows vessels and waterways. The Sexton tends a religious site or building, often with a graveyard, and possibly one that requires extra precautions due to restless spirits. 

DMs Guild

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Wizards of the Coast announced the new Dungeon Masters Guild today. It's an online store selling D&D 5e PDF works. Here are a few of basic highlights: 

  • It is selling earlier Adventurers League adventures. 
  • People may create new D&D content referencing official books, though it must be for Forgotten Realms or setting agnostic.
  • Wizards splits the sales with the author for both the author's new works and Adventurers league adventures.
  • The system runs through OneBookShelf / DriveThru RPG / DND Classics / RPG Now, so people with one of the various DriveThru sites already have an account they can use.  

The new open gaming license SDK is also now available, and there are differences between publishing thru the GMs Guild and on your own using the license. 

My Adventurers League Expeditions Tyranny of Dragons adventure DDEX1-07 Drums in the Marsh is available right now for purchase and download. 

I've also updated my Store page for my other titles available on DriveThruRPG.

I have additional content I hope to post soon (the site went live a bit earlier than I expected). 

 

Star Wars Wednesday - GenCon 2014

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Last week was GenCon 2014. As usual, I didn't have time to post, or even the time to prepare a post beforehand. It was a fantastic convention, and record setting at 56,614 attendees, up from last year's 49,000 or so. The dealer hall was even bigger than past years, and I had the least amount of time to see it this year. I had few things going on, and a few things were announced...
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Tyranny of Dragons - Drums in the Marsh

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This past week, Wizards of the Coast announced the Tyranny of Dragons adventure lineup for the all-new Adventurers League. The Adventurers League is D&D's new organized play for conventions, stores, and more.

There are different types of adventures depending on venue and targeted play style/purpose. There are Epics (kickoff events at major conventions), Encounters (core storyline, in-store), and Expeditions (convention premier, then stores and other conventions). 

 

My part in this series is the D&D Expeditions adventure DDEX1-7 Drums in the Marsh, set to debut at Archon in St. Louis, MO in October, then open for wider distribution after that, assuming I've understood the plan.    

 

Here's the official listing:

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Star Wars Wednesday - GenCon 2013

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GenCon Game Fair was a great time once again this year. As usual, new games, new releases, news, previews and more filled the Indianapolis convention center and surrounding hotels. GenCon reported today that there were nearly 50,000 unique attendees, up 20% from last year. So it's big and only getting bigger. Every type of tabletop game seemed to be represented, and there were a lot of board games this year. Clothing booths seemed to expand over past versions, usually with some sort of fantasy or steampunk focus, if not T-Shirts. At least two booths featured quality looking fezzes with logos or art on them, most likely thanks to Dr. Who. Several former kickstarter projects and games also appeared on the show floor.

And, of course, there was the Star Wars gaming news and releases...

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Dragon 424 - Desert of Desolation

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My latest History Check article, Martek and the Desert of Desolation was released in Dragon 424 today on D&D Insider. Subscribers can find it here. Desert of Desolation was my favorite AD&D campaign. It was big, and combined three of the I-series adventures (Pharoah, Oasis of the White Palm, and the Lost Tomb of Martek) into one massive campaign with additional elements, hand outs and puzzles. For any of my old players subscribe and read, at a memorable scene or two makes an appearance...

One cool thing about writing this article is that for the first time in years (I think....) there is new art of to the campaign! It's a good scene from the adventure's lengthy backstory. I don't think it's been depicted before.

Anyway, dndclassics.com has the first adventure, Pharoah, available. Eventually, all of those adventures and the campaign itself should be added to the site (no timetable as to when, though).

Dragon 417 - History Check: The Blood War article

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This month's Dragon magazine / D&D Insider includes my latest entry in the History Check series, History Check: The Blood War. The in-game history of the Blood War is long, varied and complicated...and even more so across the editions and major campaign worlds of D&D. I had a good time wrangling them into a History Check tale, with some additional guidance from Wizards. Fans of Planescape should recognize a few things, but the article also touches on a lot of points from various sources. The article art is also the cover.

Dragon 416 - History Check: Strahd and van Richten

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Dragon issue 416 went live today on D&D Insider. This time, it's a look at Ravenloft, just in time for Halloween. Kicking things off is my article in the ongoing History Check series, featuring D&D and Ravenloft icons Strahd von Zarovitch and Dr. Rudolph van Richten.

Wizards of the Coast is testing a new release method for Dungeon and Dragon magazines this month. They are releasing each as a full issue via PDF, instead of posting the content a little bit at a time throughout the month. Consolidated PDFs has been requested often since they dropped that format some time ago. They used to issue the full PDF at the end of the month after the individual articles were posted. If you like the new method, which I do, be sure to let them know somehow (forums, twitter, etc.).

Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale nominated for ENnie Award!

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Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale for Dungeons & Dragons has been nominated for an ENnie Award for Best Monster/Adversary! My fellow authors Brian R. James, Matt James and Steve Townshend and I would love your support. Voting starts July 20, and the awards are announced at the ENnie Awards Ceremony at GenCon in August.

This is my first ENnie Award nomination for a D&D product.

D&D Insider: Dungeon: Hunt for the Heretic

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My latest Dungeons & Dragons 4e adventure, Hunt for the Heretic, went live today on D&D Insider, Dungeon magazine (for subscribers only):

"Deep in the Astral Sea, a mysterious force has been raiding, plundering, and destroying isolated settlements and astral ships. The heroes must brave the bizarre and dangerous environment to follow this trail of destruction and hunt down whatever force is behind it."


D&D Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale Releases

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Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale is now available in a lot of places, a bit ahead of schedule. You'll find all kinds of great monsters and organizations ready to throw into your Nentir Vale campaign, or any locale of your own devising. My co-authors are Brian James, Matt James and Steven Townshend.

Along with many of the monsters, I designed the swamp map contained inside (though I didn't do the art). The black dragon and the lizardfolk on the cover are also mine, story and stat-wise. They would be Shadowmire and his Witchlight lizardfolk underlings. If you're a D&D Insider subscriber, check out my tie-in adventure, Battle of the Witchlight Hermitage, just released TODAY, to see these guys in action. It uses the the swamp map as well. 

Battle of the Witchlight Hermitage Coming to DDI

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My next D&D adventure for Dungeon magazine issue #191 / D&D Insider is due out later this month:

Battle of the Witchlight Hermitage
Shadowmire, the black wyrm of the Witchlight Fens, doesn’t like his neighbors. Can you protect a poorly defended hermitage from the dragon’s wrath? A D&D adventure for characters of levels 3–5, designed to support Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale.
As you might guess, it builds on some of my sections of Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale, to be released June 21.Check out the issue's cover art on the for a hint to the adventure...(though for some reason, I can't see it in firefox...may be a setting here, since it works in IE and android)

Chaos Scar: Scarblade now available on DDI

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My adventure Chaos Scar: Scarblade is now live in Dungeon Magazine for D&D Insider subscribers. It's my first Dungeon and DDI contribution. Come to think of it, it's my first 4e to be released (though not my first 4e first project).

Somewhere in the Chaos Scar is the Proving Pit, a gladiatorial arena that is associated with an enticing magical sword called the Scarblade. Ruling over the Proving Pit is Morrn Bladeclaw, its foremost champion and former owner of the Scarblade. To claim the mystical blade, challengers must face Morrn Bladeclaw, but not until they've bested the pit's lesser champions first. But the Scarblade, and the Proving Pit itself, might have something to say about the situation. "Scarblade" is an adventure for characters of levels 7 to 9.

Good luck and have fun! 

MV and Product Updates from DDXP

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No, I didn't make it to D&D Experience (DDXP), though I would have loved to go. I haven't been since it was called Winter Fantasy. And 2nd Edition was current. And it was in Wisconsin. Anyway, Wizards is hosting a number of seminars, starting off today with a discussion of new products. There is a bit of new info on Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale, out in June. Much of this has been released before, some not:

  • Includes monsters stats and organizations they are part of.
  • Raven Roost Bandits
  • Ironwood Circle
  • Tigerclaw Barbarians
  • Drow Group
  • 8 Sheets of tokens, monster on one side, bloodied version on the other
  • 2 maps, generic locations usable in any campaign

There are at least two websites liveblogging the DDXP seminars, the host Baldman Games and Critical Hits. It is interesting in that they are both using google docs, but different approaches. For the Products Seminar, baldman's version has a lot of detail, but updates in chunks of information at a time. Critical Hits' version is showing up live as it is being typed. You get more of a feel for the flavor of the event/audience, but less specific info.

Any fan of the game ought to read both. It's the most up to date info available right now. Also, check out the seminar live blogging over the rest of the weekend.