What Kind of Wizard Are You?

Created with QuizFarm.com. You scored as Enchantment. You are an Enchanter. You cast spells to affect another creature's mind. You can make them angry, sad, pumped up, or even your friend. You'd make a great diplomat I'm sure.

Enchantment		80%
Transmutation		70%
Conjuration		70%
Universal		60%
Divination		60%
Evocation		50%
Abjuration		50%
Illusion		50%
Necromancy		40%

Want to find out What Kind of Wizard Are You?

toothpaste for dinner

Visit toothpastefordinner.com for more.

Illustrated Warrior Trade [.jpg]

Meet her in a dark alley or not?

Tabletop Projection :: Pen, Paper, & Pixel

This idea is so cool and so impractical and a bit expensive at the same time. I wish I had the free time and the money to burn on something like this.

Combine the dynamic, visually rich experience of a video game with the fun and intense social interaction of a face-to-face, pen and paper game.

Wanna know more? Visit Pen, Paper, & Pixel.

Dungeons & Dragons v4.0?

I wasn't sure of the credibility of this or if it was a rumor or not. It would appear that Wizards of the Coast is poised to announce the upcoming release of another updated version to the most popular table-top role-playing game ever, Dungeons and Dragons.

'D&D 4th Edition' Announced at Gen Con

Wizards of the Coast is announcing at GenCon today that it will release the 4th Edition of its category-leading Dungeons and Dragon roleplaying game in 2008, the first full new edition in eight years. The three core books will be released next summer on a monthly schedule: Player's Handbook in May, Monster Manual in June, and Dungeon Master's Guide in July. Pricing and page counts of the new products will be consistent with current packaging. Graphics have been updated, art will be used on the covers, and interior design has been opened up to make the books less intimidating to new players.

I'm guessing after review that this is for real. Read the full article at ICv2.

There are other sites that seem to be corroborating this story. For instance, EN World has a thread called 4E: What we know, however, it's not loading for me at the moment so it must be disabled or crashing at the server level from all the traffic.

Perhaps the best possible proof for me was that the Wizards.com server appears to be down right now --also most likely from the traffic.

We're Experiencing Technical Difficulties

Unfortunately, due to an extremely high load on our web servers, we have been unable to bring you our normal web content. We apologize for the inconvenience and ask that you please try again in a few hours! Our technical team is aware of the problem and working on it.

Thank you for your patience!

It seemed to me that they had just released version 3.0 and then they followed it up very quickly with version 3.5. The 2nd Edition came out in the early 80s or something and I didn't buy my copy of the Player's Handbook until 1996 or so. However, they are coming so fast right now that I haven't even had time to get 100% familiar with the new rules.

Thanks to Chris Flipse via del.icio.us for the above links.

The Iron Crypt of the Heretics

The Iron Crypt of the Heretics
Originally uploaded by Rath01

A great dungeon adventure created by Harley Stroh - available in both 1st Edition and 3rd Edition formats.

Wizards.com - Class Chronicles: Truenamers

A recent article I stumbled onto on Wizards.com had an interesting format for listing statistics for a specific location or building, in this case a school. The article outlines a few details and flavor information about a new character class for Forgotten Realms that from what I can tell is not defined in the article, but in an accessory called Tome of Magic. What caught my eye was the way the location called the "House of the Unnamed" was described. After a paragraph of text description…

One of the only academies in the Realms devoted to truename magic is found in Velprintalar in Aglarond. Little more than a cluster of four study groups, the House of the Unnamed is a small haven for truenamers from the eastern Realms. Located in a small grounds building adjacent to the House of the Four Moons (a temple of Selûne), the House of the Unnamed contains the largest library dedicated to truename magic in the Realms. Other libraries such as Candlekeep or the one found in the Leaves of Learning may contain more volumes of interest to truenamers but none are as well-catalogued or concentrated as in this school. The school is run by Elthenhelm Hamastyl, brother of High Steward Nerrol Hamastyl, the Simbul's representative to the Royal Council and the leader of Selûne's faith in Velprintalar.

…The article had a little table with some good details specifically for the DM.

House of the Unnamed (Minor Arcane): AL NG, LG, CG; 13,000 gp resource limit; Membership 19; Mixed (14 humans, 2 half-elves, 3 gnomes); Dues All members must spend 3 hours, 4 times a week, scribing and enhancing the library (at least 26 weeks of the year, though not consecutively).

Authority Figures: Elthenhelm Hamastyl (NG male Damaran truenamer 14).

Important Characters: Study group leaders: Sarlisha Kjenth (CG female Rashemi sorcerer 2/truenamer 7), Maaruel Vench (LG female Rashemi truenamer 8), Nelinarian Tansmith (CG male half-elf fighter 3/truenamer 6), Maerwûn Venedel (NG female Chondathan truenamer 9).

Associated Classes: Truenamer, spellcasters who dabble in truename magic.

Associated Skills: Knowledge (any), Speak Language, Truespeak.

Requirements: At least 5 or more ranks in Truespeak; at least 5 or more ranks in any 2 knowledge skills; ability to speak at least 3 languages.

Favored in Guild Benefits: None.

I have not played in Forgotten Realms. Whereas the details about "truenamers" didn't really interest me, the special way that the notes for this location were laid out was something completely new to me and caught my eye. It's a new kind of statistic block that I'd find useful for my own notes or adventures. I'm not sure if this is something Wizards has used in other places in an official capacity or if it was just the creation of the author of this article, but I think it would be handy to standardize and reuse.

See the full article on Wizards.com.

---

More About Dungeons & Dragons Tome of Magic

Are you interested in learning more? Well it turns out that there was a book called the "Tome of Magic" for both 2^nd edition and 3^rd edition. I recalled the second edition one from years ago as I think I borrowed a copy of it at some point. They are both still available at Amazon.

Tome of Magic: Pact, Shadow, and TrueName Magic (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement)

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Tome of Magic, 2nd Edition

Princess World-Cartoons

Source: Princess World-Cartoons.

Dragon/Dungeon Submission Guidelines

Running and playing Dungeons and Dragons long enough usually inspires most dungeon masters or players to write their own articles or adventures. If you can find a way to make money at this as well, you've made a great leap. Wizards of the Coast makes their submission guidelines for their two magazines available clearly on their site. Check out the following.

Before you submit your complete article or adventure, use the submission process described below to send us a pitch. We’ll look over your pitch, and if we’re interested in your pitch, we’ll let you know within 60 days. Due to the high volume of submissions we receive, we are not able to send you a personal response for every submission. If you do not receive a response (other than an auto-reply) within 60 days, your submission was rejected.

Do you have an idea for an article or an adventure? Be sure to read over the Dragon/Dungeon Submission Guidelines.

"My Art is Being Ignored!"

Like most DMs, I've been in that spot where I've put in a lot of hard work to develop a game session, but the players seem to be trashing it or wrecking it. Who better to dispense advice than Jason Nelson-Brown in his Wizards.com - Save My Game article.

Understand this -- Your players will never, Never, EVER be as interested in the fine details of your world and your campaign as you are.

Pretty much lays it out there plainly.

DDO: Wedding Cake - MMOz Screenshots

Did you ever think that you might see a photo for a wedding cake that was themed for fans of Dungeons and Dragons Online?

DDO: Wedding Cake - MMOz Screenshots

Surprised? Me too. Celebrate the geek in everyone.

Decahedron (d10)

Decahedron (d10)
Originally uploaded by www.DaveWard.net

He rolled a 5!

Another shot from the series I took of my old dice from Dungeons & Dragons. This one is the decahedron, the ten-sided die.

Extra-geeky geometry trivia: This is the only standard die used in role-playing games that is not a regular poyhedra—that is, not a Platonic solid.

If you make a set of dice consisting of the five Platonic solids, plus this decahedron, then you have a full set of gaming dice. (Of course, for practical use you'd probably want more than one of each, but still...)

Uploaded by www.DaveWard.net on 16 Jan 06, 6.31PM CDT.

Jenniverse.com - Toymallet

I don't know if I've mentioned it previously, but I do not play miniatures games, although I must admit the idea caught my interest briefly. A lot of table-top role-players will get into miniatures as an offshoot of their main hobby and for some folks there is no separation. The type of games I'm referring to here are Warhammer, Warhammer 40k, D&D Battlesystem or the newer D&D Miniatures. I really do get the attraction and there have been times that I wished I had the time, energy and finances to devote to these games.

However, one thing has always held me back. There are really two aspects to getting into these games. The first half is the planning, strategy and the actual gameplay. At it's core, this is the fun part. The second half is the preparation, planning, collecting and painting. Mostly, there is a lot of detailed painting that those who seriously get into mass table-top strategy combat. This is where I lose interest. I appreciate the artistry and the patience it must take, but I'm not really going to sit down patiently and do it myself. I've been told that you can buy pre-painted units or just play with them unpainted. But I'd bet the purists that someone might play against would sneer. Perhaps the fact that the miniatures are still expensive would be reason enough.

Warhammer - Romans vs Macedonians

Originally uploaded by oldstudent1955

Perhaps that's why Jennifer Reitz' Toymallet interested me immediately. The book is a free product that is a parody of Games Workshop, creators of Warhammer and Warhammer 40k. The book is readable online or downloadable as a .PDF. It details how to play a table-top war game with terrain and dice and soldiers using whatever random cheap toys and figures that the gamer might already have around the house. Plastic green army men, hello kitty figurines, gumby toys and just about anything can be used to build an army. Now, be clear on the understanding that although this is in some ways a 'parody' of actual miniatures wargames, it is in fact a 100% real game, play-tested and complete. It's also simple and easy to learn with rules that make a lot of sense right off the page.

Miniature Gaming on the Cheap

Welcome to the world of totally cheap tabletop wargaming! Why spend buckets of cash on a superior, worthwhile product when you can download this crappy cheap ass parody of Warhammer 40K? Now you too can roll fistfulls of dice to see who split whos testicl...

I'd love to play this game. I have action figures and little plastic guys that would work well. More importantly, the concept of this game could be quickly dropped into the middle of any campaign if the players are called to lead a battle. Check out Jenniverse.com for more information.

There's a precedent for this in my experience, because at least one Dark Sun adventure that incorporated the older Battlesystem rules at the surprise climax of the adventure. The PCs can become embroiled in a massive battle that they lead against the invaders. This would make that battle possible without acquiring all those pewter figures and get right down to the fast-paced battle. I love it!

More Information On Miniatures Gaming

• Wizards.com - D&D Miniatures
• Wikipedia: Miniature Wargaming
• Final Liberation: Warhammer Epic 40,000 for PC - Final Liberation looks and feels like a traditional turn-based wargame, but meticulous gameplay balance and dozens of imaginative units set it apart.
• Design & Development: Dreamblade
• Miniatures & Games
• Dragon Avenue - D&D Miniatures

Twenty Sided » How to Find a Gaming Group

Here is a great read from Shamus Young's Twenty Sided for any beginning gamer looking to get a non-gamer interested in the hobby. I'm hoping it helps someone to start a group.

Occasionally I get emails from people expressing interest in playing D&D. I'm pretty flattered that they would come to me for advice. Being well-connected to the hobby and being able to make fun of the hobby are two different things, and I have much more of the latter. I feel bad that I can't help people more, particularly since many of them decided to try out roleplaying based on what they read here at the site.

The Fear the Boot podcast tackles this very subject this week. They are talking about gamers who have lost their existing group, but their advice works just as well for newcomers. I also stand by advice I gave a long time ago: Buy the two core D&D rulebooks - the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Player's Handbook. Give them a read, and have a friend roll up a character "just to help you practice". The dice are very appealing and the process of making up a character is a lot of fun. They are very likely to become hooked right then.

Agree or disagree? Comment below or go to Twenty Sided.

Dungeon Tile Mapper -- v1.2.0

Creating and sharing dungeon maps online has become even easier. Check out the following example.

Here is a great tool that I saw today on Wizards.com

You've probably seen our Dungeon Tiles previews in our monthly "Previews" article series and may even have scored a copy of these cool tiles. By now you probably have hundreds of cool dungeon designs running around your head. But how can you create these dungeons and share them with your friends?

They are hosting the Dungeon Tile Tool, created by a fan of the game. There is an online version, or a version you can download to your local machine. Try it out for yourself at Wizards.com.

Female Gamers - Doing It Wrong

Seraph Inn

Here is another fantasy-based online comic I've been reading lately.

The story of Inverloch centers around a young man named Acheron, from a horned wolf-like race called the da'kor. After a chance encounter with an elf, he finds himself setting out on a seemingly innocent mission - that of trying to locate Kayn'dar, another elf who has been missing for the past twelve years.

Please visit Seraph Inn to follow Acheron's adventures in Inverlock by Sarah Ellerton.

Portrait by Yosai

This one made me really laugh. I believe it is a parody of a Reagan quote.

There is something eminently laughable about the dichotomy of the Paladin. They are agents of goodness and lawfulness by training, but they --like all mortals-- are not perfect. To the Paladin, this lack of perfection is sometimes ignored. One of the best examples of the story of a stereotypical Paladin "in game" is in Order of the Stick in the form of Miko Miyazaki. Though she was a side character, her arrival and eventual downfall seems a grand story unto itself.

Succubus

Succubus
Originally uploaded by wetcat.

So gamers today wonder why Dungeons & Dragons got such a bad reputation with parents in it's early years. I mean, it's just a game! Right?

Well, imagine yourself as a well-meaning parent in the early eighties and you randomly pick up a strange-looking book in your young child's room while tidying up and the book falls open to this page.

Yeah, so you might start to wonder...

Order of the Stick

Honestly, I must say that I cannot get enough of this web comic. Please check it out today.

DRAGON and DUNGEON Cease Publication

This is crazy news in the gaming world. Paizo Publishing to Cease Publication of DRAGON and DUNGEON. Basically, they are going to move to a completely electronic form of distribution. I can't really decide if this is just bad news for Wizard of the Coast and shows their in trouble or just them pushing forward into the 'paperless' society of the 21^st century. Gamers are usually geeks after all so most of them will have an internet connection. Who really needs to kill all those trees anyway?

Found via Giant In the Playground. Thanks!

Full Frontal Nerdity by Aaron Williams

I'm a fan of any decent web comic with a role-playing game. Aaron Williams, notable to readers of Dragon Magazine for his comic Nodwick, also has another very good comic called Full Frontal Nerdity centering on the lives of four gamers and their exploits at the table, at conventions and life in general. Also, for apparently no good reason I can figure out, one of the gamers is a webcam.

Read the latest installment of Full Frontal Nerdity by Aaron Williams.

Elvemental

The base elements of her body (Air, Earth, Fire, and Water) are not completely bound together as a normal living creatures. This allows her to exert different elements and their properties, converting her body into a variety of elemental forms.

Single Elemental Forms

By far the easiest to change to, she simply allows one element to escape its binding overtaking the others. Changing into a single elemental form, or switching between forms can be done a move-equivalent action. This can be sped up to a free action but requires a Will save with DC 20

Air

By allowing the air element within her body to take over, she can access a variety of abilities. In this form her hair becomes white, skin pale, and eyes bright sky blue.

• Str. -4, Dex. +6; Becomes extremely agile, but loses substance, strength and physical power.
• Gains a fly speed of 100 ft, with perfect maneuverability.
• Type changes to elemental. Gains immunity to poison, sleep, paralysis and stunning. Does not eat, sleep or breath.
• Darkvision 60 ft.
• Electricity and Cold Resistance 5
• Air Mastery (Ex): Airborne creatures take a -1 penalty on attack and damage rolls against her.
• Gains a +2 racial bonus to Intuit Direction Checks
• Gains Auran as a bonus language.

Earth

By allowing the earth element within her body to take over, she can access a variety of abilities. In this form her hair becomes brown, skin darker with glittering specks, and eyes dark brown.

• Str. +8, Dex. -6; Becomes extremely strong, but loses speed and agility.
• Speed is reduced to 20 ft.
• Type changes to elemental. Gains immunity to poison, sleep, paralysis and stunning. Does not eat, sleep or breath.
• Darkvision 60 ft.
• Gains a natural armor bonus of +6
• Acid Resistance 5
• Earth Mastery (Ex): Gains a +1 bonus to attack and damage rools if both she and her foe are touching the ground. If an opponent is airborne or waterborne, she takes a -4 penalty on attack and damage rolls.
• Earth Glide (Ex): Can glide through stone, dirt, or almost any other sort of earth except metal as easily as a fish swims through water. This burrowing leaves no tunnel or hole, nor does is create any ripple or other signs of its presence. A move earth spell cast on the area flings her back 30 ft., and stuns her for 1 round unless she succeeds on a DC 15 Fortitude save.
• Tremorsense (Ex): Can sense the locations of any targets touching the ground within 60 ft.
• Gains use of the Improved Bull Rush feat
• Gains Terran as a bonus language.

Fire

By allowing the fire element within her body to take over, she can access a variety of abilities. In this form her hair becomes flickering orange flame, skin bright orange, and eyes bright blue flames.

• Dex. +2; Gains the quickness of a dancing flame
• Speed is increased to 40 ft.
• Type changes to elemental. Gains immunity to poison, sleep, paralysis and stunning. Does not eat, sleep or breath.
• Darkvision 60 ft.
• Gains fire immunity, but is vulnerable to cold, taking an extra 50% damage from cold attacks.
• Burn (Ex): All attacks deal an additional 1d4 fire damage. Those hit by attacks must succeed on a reflex save, or catch fire. The flame burns for 1d4 rounds. The save DC is 10, plus her level, plus her Charisma modifier. Creatures hitting her with natural weapons or unarmed attacks take fire damage as though hit by her attacks, and also catch fire unless they succeed on a Reflex save. Damage increases with HD, dealing 1d6 damage at 4 HD, 1d8 at 8 HD, 1d10 at 12 HD, 2d6 at 16 HD, and maxing out at 2d8 with 20 HD.
• Gains Ignan as a bonus language.

Water

By allowing the water element within her body to take over, she can access a variety of abilities. In this form her hair becomes white froth, skin pale semitransparent blue, and eyes bright deep sea green.

• Str. +2; Gains the power of a rushing wave
• Gains a swim speed of 90 ft. Gains a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. Can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. Can use the run action while swimming, providing she swims in a straight line.
• Type changes to elemental. Gains immunity to poison, sleep, paralysis and stunning. Does not eat, sleep or breath.
• Darkvision 60 ft.
• Cold Resistance 5
• Water Mastery (Ex): Gains a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls if both she and her foe are touching the water. If she or an opponent is touching the ground, she takes a -4 penalty on attack and damage rolls.
• Drench (Ex): her touch can put out torches, campfires, exposed lanterns, and other open flames of non-magical origin if these are of Large size or smaller. She can also dispel magical fires as dispel magic (caster level equals her HD).
• Gains Aquan as a bonus language.

Double Combination Elemental Forms

Far trickier than the single elemental forms, these forms require her to unleash two elements, keeping them in balance with each other. Changing into a double combination form requires a full round action to achieve, and a will save against DC 15. A failure on this save means she has lost the balance and instead changed into a single elemental form (50% chance of either). The process can be sped up to a move-equivalent action (DC increases to 25), or even a free action (DC 35)

Cold

By exerting both the air and water elements within her body, and balancing both together, she can access a variety of abilities. In this form her hair becomes white, skin pale translucent blue, and eyes frosted blue. Appears frozen

• Str. +2, Dex. +2; Gains the speed and power of a winter storm.
• Type changes to elemental. Gains immunity to poison, sleep, paralysis and stunning. Does not eat, sleep or breath.
• Darkvision 60 ft.
• Gains cold immunity, but is vulnerable to fire, taking an extra 50% damage from fire attacks.
• Chill Metal (Sp – at will): Can produce an identical effect to the spell by touch. In addition, melee weapons wielded by her transfer their cold damage to targets they strike.
• Gains Auran and Aquan as bonus languages.

Lightning

By exerting both the air and fire elements within her body, and balancing both together, she can access a variety of abilities. In this form her hair becomes a mass of blue electric arcs, skin palegrey, and eyes electric blue.

• Dex. +4; Gains the quickness of a lightning strike.
• Gains a fly speed of 50 ft. with good maneuverability.
• Type changes to elemental. Gains immunity to poison, sleep, paralysis and stunning. Does not eat, sleep or breath.
• Darkvision 60 ft.
• Gains immunity to electricity
• Shock (Ex): All attacks deal an additional 1d6 electrical damage. Creatures hitting her with natural weapons or unarmed attacks take electrical damage as though hit by her attacks, and also catch fire unless they succeed on a Reflex save. Damage increases with HD, dealing an additional 1d6 damage at 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 HD.
• Gains Auran and Ignan as bonus languages.

Magma

By exerting both the earth and fire elements within her body, and balancing both together, she can access a variety of abilities. In this form her hair becomes flickering orange, skin blackened, and eyes deep red.

• Str. +6, Dex. -2; Gains the power of a volcano
• Type changes to elemental. Gains immunity to poison, sleep, paralysis and stunning. Does not eat, sleep or breath.
• Darkvision 60 ft.
• Gains a natural armor bonus of +6
• Gains fire immunity, but is vulnerable to cold, taking an extra 50% damage from cold attacks.
• Burn (Ex): All attacks deal an additional 1d4 fire damage. Those hit by attacks must succeed on a reflex save, or catch fire. The flame burns for 1d4 rounds. The save DC is 10, plus her level, plus her Charisma modifier. Creatures hitting her with natural weapons or unarmed attacks take fire damage as though hit by her attacks, and also catch fire unless they succeed on a Reflex save. Damage increases with HD, dealing 1d6 damage at 4 HD, 1d8 at 8 HD, 1d10 at 12 HD, 2d6 at 16 HD, and maxing out at 2d8 with 20 HD.
• Gains Ignan and Terran as bonus languages.

Ooze

By exerting both the earth and water elements within her body, and balancing both together, she can access a variety of abilities. In this form her hair becomes black, skin grey, and eyes black. Appears to be covered in goo

• Str. +4; Gains the power of a volcano
• Speed is reduced to 20 ft., Gains a climb speed of 20 ft. Gains a +8 racial bonus to climb checks, and though she must make rolls to climb, she can choose to take 10 even if rushed or threatened.
• Type changes to elemental. Gains immunity to poison, sleep, paralysis and stunning. Does not eat, sleep or breath.
• Blindsight 60 ft.
• Gains immunity to acid.
• Acid (Ex): Her body secretes a powerful acid that deals 1d6 damage to everything except stone. Wielded weapons transfer this damage to targets.
• Gains a +4 racial bonus to Move Silently checks.
• Gains Aquan and Terran as bonus languages.

Single Elemental Reduction Forms

Extremely difficult, single elemental reduction forms require the suppression of a single element within her body. Trying to hold just one element in check requires great skill to achieve, but provides a variety of strange abilities. These forms are not considered elementals, but alternate forms of life.

Changing into a double combination form requires a full round action to achieve, and a will save against DC 25. A failure on this save means she has lost the balance and instead changed into the single elemental form of the type she was trying to suppress.

Automaton

By suppressing the air element within her body, she can access a variety of abilities. In this form her hair becomes segmented metallic plates, skin jointed metallic armor, and eyes black.

• Str. +12, Dex. -4, Con. --, Cha -2; Gains great strength and power but agility and expression.
• Speed is reduced to 20 ft.,
• Type changes to construct. Gains immunity to all mind-affecting effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, death from massive damage, and necromancy effects. Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or energy drain. Immune to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects). Does not heal normally, but can be healed. Does not eat, sleep or breath.
• Gains 20 bonus hit points
• Darkvision 60 ft.
• Gains a natural armor bonus of +8
• Gains Damage Reduction 10/+1
• Is vulnerable to rust attacks, such as that of a rust monster or rusting grasp spell.

Spirit

By suppressing the earth element within her body, she can access a variety of abilities. In this form her hair and skin become shadowy and transparent.

• Str. --, Dex. +4, Cha. +2; Gains great presence and maneuverability.
• Type changes to outsider (incorporeal). Has no physical body and can only be harmed by magic weapons and effects, with a 50% chance to ignore any damage from a corporeal source. Does not eat or sleep.
• Darkvision 60 ft.
• Gains her Charisma modifier as a deflection bonus to AC.
• Dimension Door (Sp) – at will: As the spell. Caster level is equal to her HD.

Undead

By suppressing the water element within her body, she can access a variety of abilities. In this form her hair becomes dry and limp, skin pale and drawn, and eyes dull grey.

• Str. +8, Con: --, Cha -2; becomes unnaturally strong, but somewhat twisted.
• Type changes to Undead. Gains immunity to all mind-affecting effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and death from massive damage. Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, physical ability damage (Str., Dex., and Con.), ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or energy drain. Immune to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects). Does not eat, sleep or breath.
• Darkvision 60 ft.
• Gains a natural armor bonus of +5
• Gains fast healing 1, increasing by one per round for every 4 HD.
• Fear Aura (Su): Creatures of equal or less HD than she in a 60 foot radius that look at her must succeed on a Will save or be affected as though by a fear spell from a sorcerer of her level. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by her aura for 24 hours.
• Turn Resistance (Ex): She has +4 turn resistance.
• Gains a +4 racial bonus to Intimidate checks.

Wood

By suppressing the fire element within her body, she can access a variety of abilities. In this form her hair becomes green leafy vines, skin smooth pale bark, and eyes bright amber.

• Str. +4, Cha. +2; becomes unnaturally strong.
• Type changes to Plant. Gains immunity to all mind-affecting effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, polymorphing and stunning. Not subject to critical hits. Does not sleep.
• Low Light Vision.
• Gains a natural armor bonus of +3
• Gains regeneration 2, stopped by acid and fire. Increases by one for every 4 HD.
• Wild Empathy (Ex): functions like the druid’s class feature, but she has a +4 racial bonus on the roll.
• Spell-like Abilities (Sp): At will – speak with plants, tree stride
• Gains a +8 racial bonus to hide in wooded environments.
• Gains Sylvan and Druidic as bonus languages

Opposing Elemental Combination Forms

By far the most difficult, opposing elemental combination forms require the exertion and balancing of two opposing elements within her body. Trying to hold the opposing forces in check requires enormous skill to achieve, but provides a variety of powerful abilities.

Changing into a opposing elemental combination form requires a full round action to achieve, and a will save against DC 35. A failure on this save means she has lost the balance and instead changed into the single elemental form of one of the elements (50% chance of either). Once the form has been achieved, it can be maintained for a number of rounds equal to her character level plus her Constitution modifier.

Force

By carefully exerting the air and earth elements within her body, she can access a variety of powerful abilities. In this form she appears to be made of semi-transparent crystal that diffuses and refracts light.

• Str. +8, Dex. +4; Becomes extremely powerful and graceful.
• Gains a fly speed of 50 ft. (perfect maneuverability).
• Type changes to elemental. Gains immunity to poison, sleep, paralysis and stunning. Does not eat, sleep or breath.
• Darkvision 60 ft.
• Gains immunity to Force and force effects. Can automatically pass through a wall of force.
• Gains a deflection bonus to AC equal to her Charisma modifier
• Gains a natural armor bonus of +10
• Gains Damage Reduction 15/+5
• Blur (Ex): the whirling patterns of light refracting off the crystal create an effect identical to the spell, providing a 20% miss chance.

Prismatic

By carefully exerting the fire and water elements within her body, she can access a variety of powerful abilities. In this form her hair and eyes appear as a mass of bright swirling colors, and skin swirls with multiple tones..

• Str. +2, Dex. +4, Cha: +6; Becomes physically powerful, with an awesome presence.
• Speed increases to 50 ft.
• Type changes to elemental. Gains immunity to poison, sleep, paralysis and stunning. Does not eat, sleep or breath.
• Darkvision 60 ft.
• Gains Spell Resistance equal to 15 plus her character level.
• Gains a deflection bonus to AC equal to her Charisma modifier
• Gains Damage Reduction 10/+5
• Prismatic Aura (Ex): All of her attacks have an additional effect as per the following table (roll 1d6):
  1. Red: Deals 1d4 fire damage per 4 HD. The target must succeed on a reflex save, or catch fire. The flame burns for 1d4 rounds. The save DC is 10, plus her level, plus her Charisma modifier.
  2. Orange: Deals 1d4 acid damage per 4 HD
  3. Yellow: Deals 1d6 electricity damage per 4 HD.
  4. Green: Poison that deals 1d4 Constitution (Fortitude negates)
  5. Blue: Causes paralysis for 1d6 rounds (fortitude negates).
  6. Violet: Insanity (1d4 wisdom damage; will negates)

The save DC for all effects is 10, plus her level, plus her Charisma modifier. In addition, all creatures with 10 fewer HD than her, that view her within 30 ft. are automatically blinded for 1d6 rounds. Creatures hitting her with natural weapons or unarmed attacks are affected by a random effect from the table.

Dungeons and Dragons - Leeroy Jenkins Wannabes

I'll have to find the animated version of this, as it's much funnier.

A reprisal of an old audio file by Dr. Demento about the evil of dungeons and dragons preformed by me and my friends. I spelt Tony wrong on the video. I will soon post an outtakes video. Enjoy.

See this video on Google Video.

Star Wars vs. D&D - Google Video

Here is another spoof video. This time the clip makes fun of Dungeons & Dragons and Star Wars at the same time.

See the full video on Google Video.

Fear of Girls© - Google Video

I love spoofs about gaming and gaming critics. Partly this stems from the fact that they sometimes closely match my experiences. I read or watch them and think Hey, I've totally done that! The other reason I like them is that I think this is a hobby where it would be very easy for people to take things too seriously. If you can't laugh at yourself (or a parody of yourself) you are in just such a danger. Here is a great one which is sure to be a classic.

See more about Fear of Girls© on Google Video.

Anti-D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) Spoof

There have always been critics of Dungeons & Dragons and they have made some serious warning videos. Here is a spoof of those warning videos that is funny.

Did he say "drownding"? And what does the banana have to do with anything? See the larger version of this video on Google Video.

Fire Genasi

I once played in an extended Planescape campaign (2^nd Edition) where I chose a slightly different character race, a half-elemental half-human type creature known as a Fire Genasi. They are a descendant of Efreeti or Fire Spirits who had paired with a human. My character's nickname was Koal, though he had a longer name that the other players never learned to pronounce, and which I can't recall now. Though the four elemental types of genasi always bear some part of their features that undoubtedly marked them as something other than human, the exact feature differed quite a bit. Fire Genasi usually had red or black skin with red hair or sometimes ashen gray. I chose that Koal's skin would be deep black like pitch and his hair would be very light gray. His eyes were dark with red tints and reflected (or shined) red in low light. Personality-wise, like most Fire Genasi, Koal was an arrogant jerk and made several attempts to strike out on his own.

Tonight I was discussing with Nate on the phone the possibility of playing a Fire Genasi in a new online campaign. I was intrigued by this and so was Nate, but I feel it would be important to find a 3^rd edition version of the Fire Genasi to balance correctly. So naturally, my first logical step is to turn to Google.

I wasn't entirely exhaustive in my search, but from what I have found there doesn't appear to be an officially sanctioned version from Wizards of the Coast. There are a few that were posted here and there, but a lot of the sites were down or there seemed to be little interest in the races of Planescape.

First listing I found useful was on Portalkeep.net [site down]. The Google Cache was helpful for what I needed.

Fire Genasi Racial Traits

• +2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma. Fire Genasi have bright minds but are easily angered and poor in dealing with others.
• Medium size humanoid.
• Fire Genasi base speed is 30 feet.
• Control Flame (Sp): Fire Genasi can cause a nonmagical Fire within 10 feet of them to diminish to the level of coals or flare to the brightness of daylight and double the radius of its illumination. This ability does not change the heat output or fuel consumption of the Fire source, lasts 5 minutes, and may be done once per day. they use this ability as a 5th level sorcerer.
• +1 racial bonus on saving throws against all Fire spells and effects. This bonus increases by +1 for every five class levels the Genasi attains.
• Darkvision up to 60 feet.
• Automatic Languages: Common, home region. Bonus Languages: Any (except secret languages, such as Druidic).
• Favoured Class: Fighter.

The one question this result did not answer was whether Fire Genasi have any Level Adjustment for their heritage. The lack of a listing seems to indicate that they do not have one, which seems unusual for this kind of race based on my presumptions.

Here are some other results that I found helpful from a Google Search for "Fire Genasi".

• Quoted above, Portalkeep.net - Fire Genasi [down] [Archived on Google] goes into quite a bit of detail with one full page with everything from history and common names
• Planescape Races [down] [Archived on Google] which does not go into as much detail but gives +1 LA in addition to a +4 on Planar Survival checks
• The Artwork of Amy K. Brown - Fire Genasi - a good artistic representation of the common Fire Genasi encountered in their home plane
• Planetouched Deities (Faerun) - including common deities for Fire Genasi, most likely Tempus as a good choice for Koal
• Wizards.com Community Board - Genasi Revisited - where the capabilities of Fire Genasi in 3^rd edition is discussed
• Planetouched Templates - Planescape fan forum where the capabilities of Fire Genasi in 3^rd edition is discussed

Facing a Character Sheet

Skip Williams; formerly the "Sage" of Dragon Magazine for many years, the co-designer of D&D 3^rd Edition and the chief architect of the Monster Manual; has written an article on Wizards.com regarding character classes and filling out a character sheet. This is a great article for beginners and gamers first becoming acclimated to 3^rd edition. It's also a good review and reference for more experienced players.

When you're new to the D&D game, the sheer variety of character sheets available, both in print and online, can bring on a headache. Even after you've chosen a character sheet, you face the task of filling it out. The task isn't terribly difficult, but it's hardly intuitive. That's because character sheets are laid out so you can find what you need quickly during play, not so you can create your character quickly. After all, you'll spend far more time playing your character than you'll spend creating it. This article takes the character sheet provided here on this site and attempts to unravel its mysteries by creating and recording an example character.

In addition to checking out this article, be sure to check all three in the full series.

• Facing a Character Sheet, Part 1
• Facing a Character Sheet, Part 2
• Facing a Character Sheet, Part 3

Elven Warrior

Dutleer Windreaver never imagined his life would lead him to war. All elves weaned from their mother's side can swing a blade when necessary. However, he never lusted for blood or thievery as much as his brothers had. Dutleer's passions had centered on trade and profit and vanity.

But that time was gone. Something in him changed the day the Gith raiders killed his sister. "Payment due for payment owed," and that time was now.

Ideas for Zethul - Druids

I was letting my mind wander last night and brainstorming ideas for Zethul, my homebrew campaign, and I thought about an interesting idea involving the priest spellcasting classes. In most campaigns I've played in, the Cleric and Druid classes are either allies in the same cause or neutral -or indifferent- to each other. What would happen if they were outright hostile?

As I've mentioned here before, Zethul is a kingdom where the churches are by decree outside the city proper, with their offices and places of worship situated along an avenue of sorts outside the main wall, but within an outer wall. These two concentric circles are the first and foremost defense to outsiders.

As in some modern cases, I picture that these more organized religions might wrongly disdain and dislike 'paganistic' deities and nature spirits, thinking them crude or evil. For this reason, Druids and their followers practice their beliefs in secret and seclusion to avoid outright persecution.

Stuff You Hope the DM Doesn't Say

The armored Knight of Death laughs menacingly as you strike at him with your cursed Longsword of Foolishness. Roll for damage.

Character Name Generator

Reading an article on Wizards.com about saving a game where the PCs have ridiculous PC names, I found a link at the bottom to the Character Name Generator.

Ever get stuck for names of NPCs your player characters run into that you never expected to provide them? Here's a fast and easy way to have many monikers on hand when Rodar the fighter wants to know the name of the brash drunk challenging him to a fight in the tavern, or the name of the shy barmaid over whom they're fighting. Simply follow the instructions below to produce names for all sorts of characters, including PCs if you like.

Let's try it out, shall we? Looking around the Seamist-Inn this afternoon, you can see the usual cast of shady and unsavory characters sitting in the various booths and spread out at the bar.

• Jamroar (Male Half-Orc Blackguard), a.k.a. Jamroar the Blackguard or Jamroar the Bearer/Porter, is in the booth in the corner energetically drinking ale from one mug and a stale-looking beer in the other.
• Sitting across from Jamroar is Belhorn Forgedown (Male Elf Assassin), a.k.a. Lord Belhorn, slowly nursing his small mug of ale with disinterest.
• Nerisella Smilebeard (Female Gnome Ranger) slouches relaxed on a stool at the bar with her back and elbows reclined against it.
• Norendithas Silversgleaming (Male Half-Elf Shadowdancer), the inn's Baker, is showing off his moves for Nerisella in the middle of the room.
• The inkeeper's wife, Ravaella Armorsmith (Female Human Bard) is strumming fast and rhythmically on a twin lute/reed instrument while tapping her boots on the dusty wooden floor. The tune is exotic, but ignorable.
• Farther down the bar, Krisella (Female Half-Orc Assassin), a.k.a. Lady Krisella or Krisella the Hunter, is enquiring about a room.
• The innkeeper, Leoamros Armorsmith (Male Human Commoner) is smiling conversationally while weighing the assassin's coins. As you know, he's also keeping one eye on the rest of the room, pausing momentarily to glance disapprovingly on Norendithas' dance moves.
• Sitting in another booth by himself, reading by the light of a solitary candle, is Leoroar Littleknight (Male Halfling Sorcerer). His bifocals rest neatly on the tip of his nose as he sips absent-mindedly from his mug of spiced rum.

Give it a try at Character Name Generator

Killing an Elephant

So in a game played over the Christmas break with Nate and Beth as Elven characters and myself running the show, I was quite surprised by their reactions, specifically within one encounter. I completely made up a random dungeon and a random reason for them to be there. As part of picking random encounters for this dungeon, I stopped on the page in the Monster book about Elephants. They are NOT subterranean creatures and the encounter occurred underground in a rough-hewn cave network. However, I thought that it might be usable. Just for fun, I put the elephant as a captive in a rickety cage and also made him a little sick with hunger. I could come up with ten reasons for the animal to be there, but I never really needed to.

I made the encounter threatening, as the characters needed to traverse the room right past the large cage, but everyone knows elephants are herbivorous, so I assumed they would avoid or --perhaps-- rescue the creature.

Instead, as the creature banged his massive forehead harder and harder on the cage walls, the characters began to attack him. WTF? I kept my response minimized and let them. Keep in mind these are both Neutral Good characters. There were plenty of other ways to avoid this fight, including simply ducking out and going around some other way in the cave network. The cave paths between rooms were not large enough for the elephant to travel himself. In fact, that should have been a big alert for the characters. How did this thing even get in here in these tight quarters. Instead they started firing arrows and then moved in for melee.

Compounding their mistake was the fact that this animal is an 11HD creature with hit points to spare and their characters were not as powerful. It quickly became enraged and bashed down the cage walls. They could have done well with spells or ranged weapons, but the Fighter Mage decided to move in for melee... and didn't do very well.

I don't mean to make fun. I mean that I (as the Dungeon Master) should have done slightly better in this encounter. I could have better conveyed the pitiful condition of the creature or made it more clear that they had other avenues. Or I could have simply stopped the action before it started and suggested that they consider if their alignment and their actions matched. Instead, the elephant eventually died after bashing the pair around a bit.

Anyone have any suggestions? What should I have done? And now that it happened should I consider even awarding XP in this case?

Dragons As Well As Heroes

We're our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves.

Thongolir Heir Seeks Wife

This is a funny article on Wizards.com that I decided to use for my campaign. I kept the nobleman's name the same, but changed only the dateline.

Zethul -- Dolerphus Thongolir IV has put out a public call for a "kind, gentle woman who loves to cook, knows how to ride, won't disapprove of frivolity, hard drinking, or long hours of neglect while I attend to work, and is willing to share my bed." Thongolir promises to make his bride more wealthy than most women ever dream of becoming (his generally well-thought-of family is rich indeed), and the "work" he refers to is the family business concerns of calligraphy, limning, and printing.

Questioned bluntly as to the reason for his unusual request, the tall, slender, and handsome Thongolir heir replied that he now believes he can find a suitable life-mate only by casting his net wider afield. He has become disgusted by the predatory courtesans, daughters of ambitious wealthy merchants, and jaded, dishonest noblewomen who keep trying to snare him.

The article was written by Forgotten Realms creator Ed Greenwood. Read the original Waterdeep News: Thongolir Heir Seeks Wife.

Ask Wizards - 2007/01/02

Q: Dear Sage,
Does the monk's fast movement class feature apply to all forms of movement?
--Brad

A: Since the entry doesn't limit the bonus to just the character's land speed, it's fair to apply it to all speeds the character possesses.

This question and it's answer made me think about all of the possible movement options that certain non-humanoid characters (PCs and NPCs) could possess. This is a +10 feet bonus that comes at 3^rd and increases by 10 feet at every three levels.

Aarakocran Monks would gain this bonus to their flying speed as well as walking. Aranean Monks would gain this bonus for their web-walking abilities in whatever forms they can use the ability. I can also imagine swimming or burrowing monks.

This could get interesting.

'Lost 39th' Regiment Emerges From Talorn Reach

This story and adventure seed reminded me of twilight episodes with it's weirdness.

MOONWATCH — A regiment of Brelish infantry lost since 972 marched into Moonwatch from the southwest, ending a 26-year mystery into their disappearance during a routine troop transfer to a garrison on the southwest coast.

According to numerous eyewitness accounts, the soldiers expressed amazement at the current date. Nor had they noticeably aged during their disappearance of more than two decades.

The regiment will board sea vessels tomorrow for the journey to Sharn. Once there, they'll be questioned about their missing time, then ceremonially mustered out of the crown’s service.

At this point, we believe that the 39th was the victim of some sort of fey enchantment, and we hope to get more details in the next few days, said King's Citadel captain Rollis ir'Ondric, deferring further comment until the 39th Regiment arrives.

Morgrave University arcanist Gillan Luhensia said that episodes of 'elastic time' are characteristic of fey magic.

Both traditional folklore and more academic sources are full of episodes where someone will fall asleep amid a faerie circle and wake up a month or a year later, she said. But for hundreds of soldiers to simultaneously undergo elastic time represents a watershed for our understanding of the phenomenon.

Folk tales about time slowing down or speeding up are common in southwest Breland, Luhensia said, and many even reference the Talorn region specifically. But thus far, arcanists have been unable to duplicate or observe the phenomenon directly.

If we can't figure out the conditions under which it occurs, that often means that it's not the place itself that's altering time. It's probably a powerful fey creature or creatures within the Talorn, she said.

Why a creature would trap a regiment within elastic time, then free them unharmed is a matter for others to speculate on, Luhensia said.

Because many members of the 39th Regiment were recruited from Sharn, a homecoming parade is planned for two weeks time. City officials said a parade time and designated route would be ready in time for next week's Sharn Inquisitive.

The Talorn is a known home of many dangers, including flesh-eating satyrs and strange fey tricksters. While it contains thousands of acres of theoretically arable farmlands, past efforts to settle it have fallen victim to strange mishaps, unusual weather—and perhaps the superstitious fears of the settlers.