Questing's Readings - 19/4/09

This week we have a couple of good posts and discussions on government, grindy combat, dungeons and simplifying 4E NPC stats.

The pace and number of postings in the RPG Bloggers Network seem to be going very strong. In fact, we have just seen a new expansion in the network as a few new blogs have been inducted in. So here's a welcoming greeting to these new bloggers. Everyone say hi to:

GamesTopica.Net
Mostly Geek
RPG Athenaeum
Symptoms of Madness
Trollish Delver

I'll be watching them for any great content. One of them have already made it into this week's list. Speaking of which, let's get on with the readings.

A Butterfly Dreaming
The Lighter Side
How to inject humor into in-game elements.

At-Will
Five Ways to Spice up your Encounters
5 good ways to make the 4E grind less boring.

Bard of Valiant
unique lock
A very interesting lock for your dungeon.

I felt like a failure
How to save a session that is going bad?

A new school perspective
The Bard interviews another blogger to get a perspective on newer games.

Life After People
A very nice combination of links for imagining the post-apocalypse.

Bat in the Attic
Wresting with Old School
What really matters most about GMing with accessories.

Campaign Mastery
Lore Enforcement: The Legal System in an RPG
Thinking about real world legal systems and how can it be applied to your RPG setting.

Dungeon's Master
Reputation (Part 3)
This series concludes with what happens when PCs have undeserving or unmanaged reputation.

Skill Focus: Heal
10 new ways to use the Heal skill.

Campaign Design: Politics and Groups of Influence
Some pointers to think about power groups in your campaign.

Exchange of Realities
Basic Clothing and Characterization
More Characterization Through Clothing

A very good two-part series on what and why people wear clothing. Very useful for character descriptions.

Gaming Brouhaha
How RPG Piracy works - Part 3
MJ Harnish giving his closing remarks on RPG piracy.

Greywulf's Lair
Side scrolling dungeons!
A simple different way of looking at dungeons in multi-levels.

Living Dice
GTS 2009 Dungeons and Dragons Seminar
Scott Rouse talks about the future plans of D&D in the coming years and what will be installed in some of the new releases coming.

Musings of the Chatty DM
Afterschool Trope Special: The Dungeon Crawl, Part 1
The Chatty DM returns to examine one of the oldest tropes in RPGs; the dungeon crawl.

Newbie DM
1d12 questions with....Mike Mearls
The Newbie DM took a d12 and rolled a 7. So here's 7 questions for Mike Mearls about his thoughts on 4E.

RoleplayingPro
Top 20 Gaming Tools & Accessories
20 recommended gaming accessories based on their utility and their price.

RPGCentric
Krod Mandoon and Your Campaign
Some humorous snippets of the new Comedy Central show that seems to reflect in-game situations (and how my group handles them).

Sly Flourish
4e Adventure Checklist
A comprehensive list of what makes a 4E adventure great and easier to remember.

The RPG Athenaeum
How do campaign governments deal with adventurers?
A look at how local, regional and national governments look at the progress of characters through the levels.

100 Subjects for tavern chatter
A very useful list for rumors, plot hooks and odd pieces of topics to be (over)heard in a tavern. A nice chart to roll a dice with.

The Spirit of Eden
Still Doing It My Way
A suggestion of what to include in a 4e stat card.

Turtles All the Way Down
Fantastic Governments
3 new fantasy-based forms of governments for your consideration.

Options of Mortocratic Leadership
A look at how living in a kingdom ruled by a lich, vampire or death knight as a ruler would be like and what strange customs could be practiced by their citizens.

Uncle Bear
Savaging 4th Edition D&D: NPCs and Monsters
Using the Savage Worlds method, all the NPCs stats you ever need in one line.

Fantasy Worldbuilding in Action: A Magna Carta
An interesting approach towards worldbuilding, telling yourself what you like and dislike.

Vulcan Stev's Database
Struck for a Prophecy?
A link to a random prophecy generator.

WWdN: In Exile
a few thoughts and lessons learned from behind the dm screen
Wil Wheaton share some thoughts about DMing for his kid and friends and even gives out so good old DMing advice.