Being busy with work for the past few days, I've been out of touch from the daily updates for the best four days of gaming at Gencon. So, I have been reading the posts of the guys from Stargazer's World, RPG Blog II, Dice Monkey and The Bone Scroll backwards, starting from their last day to their first at gaming Mecca.
I don't know when will I ever get the chance to go to my first Gencon but it's nice to see that there are people who are nice enough to give you a bunk in case the hotel rooms are fully booked or too expensive.
Anyway, I was really delighted that I saved the ENnies results for the last because it is probably the highest point of the whole event for me. When I first read that Paizo had won almost all the categories that they were nominated in, I was delighted.
After confirming with several sources (here and here), I'm happy to say that it was definitely Paizo's and Pathfinder's year and, as their new fanboy, I think they deserve it. I know I was very bias in my voting this year (and also the fact that I've never heard about 70% of the products nominated this year).
Once again, well done, Paizo!
I will be making that purchase very soon. By the way, I've decided to change my previous purchase decision to get the Gamemastery Guide instead of the Pathfinder Bestiary. A little more on that in a later post.
I would also like to congratulate Obsidian Portal for their golden win this year and thumbs up to Gnome Stew for winning Silver.
A shoutout also to fellow RPG Bloggers Network members, Critical-Hits and NewbieDM too.
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
August 9, 2010
March 5, 2010
Getting back on track
It's been ages since I've last posted here and I'm putting this post to remind myself that I need to start getting back to blogging. To explain my absence, I can only say that I've started a full time job in the past few months and, as expected, it has taken its toll on my game and blogging time.
Now that I'm gradually getting used to the fast-pace and long hours of the job and knowing what to expect out of it, I'm finally able to settle down and try to strike a balance between my personal life and gamer life.
I also wanted to take this opportunity to refurbish the furniture around here, so I hope you also like the new theme I've put up.
Another reason I'm putting up this post because during my hiatus, it has given my plenty of time to reflect on what I want to do and set new directions.
When I started the blog 2 years ago, I already had in mind a few things that I wanted to focus on, particularly about GMing, my personal styles and preferences with the occasional sprinkle of gaming news to inform my local gaming community.
After joining the RPG Bloggers Network, that focus shifted to almost the opposite direction. There I read numerous posts with great content that contained pieces of advice on gaming that it had become almost like every gamer blog should be done this way.
That's where I made my mistake, I conformed; conformed to the high standards that is the RPGBN that was just too high for me to reach with my limited experience, both as a GM and as a gamer.
To be honest, I took it like it was a competition amongst bloggers to produce the best content or to attract the most readers when you are surrounded by peers that emphasised on these things.
Over the course of time, I realized that I don't have the financial, skill and knowledge to make the cut which lead to the slow death of my enthusiasm and attachment to the community.
During my hiatus, I still continued lurking around forums and other blogs and I came to a realization. RPGs is not a game where everyone can have an equal opinion, the same goes with every arguments about editions, old school vs new school and or what rule is broken or unbalanced.
Every gaming experience on one table is unique for its own existence. We can discuss similarities between our games but we don't necessarily share them.
There were many things I wanted to say about various subjects but was too afraid that I would be disagreed by my fellow RPG bloggers, I was too careful with my opinions which partly became a barrier to express myself.
I don't intend for that to happen again.
So I hereby set a new course for the blog and what you can expect to see more and less in my future posts.
That's all for now and I will inform you if I do add more but I think these are sufficient to inform my fundamentals and the expected change of tone and content that this blog is going to have from now on.
So now that this is off my chest, it's good to be back and roll some initiative.
Now that I'm gradually getting used to the fast-pace and long hours of the job and knowing what to expect out of it, I'm finally able to settle down and try to strike a balance between my personal life and gamer life.
I also wanted to take this opportunity to refurbish the furniture around here, so I hope you also like the new theme I've put up.
Another reason I'm putting up this post because during my hiatus, it has given my plenty of time to reflect on what I want to do and set new directions.
When I started the blog 2 years ago, I already had in mind a few things that I wanted to focus on, particularly about GMing, my personal styles and preferences with the occasional sprinkle of gaming news to inform my local gaming community.
After joining the RPG Bloggers Network, that focus shifted to almost the opposite direction. There I read numerous posts with great content that contained pieces of advice on gaming that it had become almost like every gamer blog should be done this way.
That's where I made my mistake, I conformed; conformed to the high standards that is the RPGBN that was just too high for me to reach with my limited experience, both as a GM and as a gamer.
To be honest, I took it like it was a competition amongst bloggers to produce the best content or to attract the most readers when you are surrounded by peers that emphasised on these things.
Over the course of time, I realized that I don't have the financial, skill and knowledge to make the cut which lead to the slow death of my enthusiasm and attachment to the community.
During my hiatus, I still continued lurking around forums and other blogs and I came to a realization. RPGs is not a game where everyone can have an equal opinion, the same goes with every arguments about editions, old school vs new school and or what rule is broken or unbalanced.
Every gaming experience on one table is unique for its own existence. We can discuss similarities between our games but we don't necessarily share them.
There were many things I wanted to say about various subjects but was too afraid that I would be disagreed by my fellow RPG bloggers, I was too careful with my opinions which partly became a barrier to express myself.
I don't intend for that to happen again.
So I hereby set a new course for the blog and what you can expect to see more and less in my future posts.
- The direction will be more personal than communal from now on, which means that you'll see more 'I's and 'my's than 'We's and 'our's. Every post that I make from now on is more likely to be a personal opinion, despite how controversial or stupid it may sound and is not trying to conform itself to any kind of acceptable standard (if there was any). What I say is my own and only applies to me.
- Post schedule is, at the moment, still uncertain but will try to stick along the lines of once weekly.
- Due to my work schedule, I'm planning to drop some features namely the Questing's Readings because my time to read, decide and compile which post makes it to the post is limited.
- On the other hand, I want to see how my personal and gaming life is progressing, so features such as the {Quest Log} might be back more often. New features are also in the works but you can be sure it's something more personally relevant.
- I'm adding a rant label so to anyone who wish to avoid the occasional bile that comes out from a rancid gamer, I have placed the labels at the top of my posts so that you won't be caught unaware. You have been warned.
- I'm adding comment moderation. Partly to have control over the spam that I'm starting to get, partly to avoid all out war in my blog based on my discretion.
- Gaming news might appear once in a while but as far as I'm concerned, Word of Wizards is dead in the water from now on (if it wasn't apparent months ago). This has something to do with my severed detachment with 4E in terms of news (I'm sure Wyatt will understand).
- I might get really frustrated at times and might incline towards trolling. If I make any rude remarks with links or mentions to names, blogs, forums, organizations and thereof, please be ensured that all is done in good faith with tongue in cheek. You don't have to take my personal opinions too seriously (.......yet).
That's all for now and I will inform you if I do add more but I think these are sufficient to inform my fundamentals and the expected change of tone and content that this blog is going to have from now on.
So now that this is off my chest, it's good to be back and roll some initiative.
August 2, 2009
Gary Gygax Statue for Lake Geneva
Gail Gygax, wife of the late E. Gary Gygax will be proposing to the Lake Geneva Park Committee to place a statue of her husband at Library Park in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
Gail supposedly had discussed her desires to have a statue of Gygax before his death and wish to turn this dream into a reality.
"Gary gave millions of men and woman a reason to open a book - I discussed my desire for the statue with Gary just before he passed - he was pleased. I hope I can make the project a reality."
Gail will be approaching individuals from the film, computer and gaming industry for the project.
Members of ENWorld, where this news was posted on, have speculations of what the design of the statue should look like.
Taken from this thread.
Gail supposedly had discussed her desires to have a statue of Gygax before his death and wish to turn this dream into a reality.
"Gary gave millions of men and woman a reason to open a book - I discussed my desire for the statue with Gary just before he passed - he was pleased. I hope I can make the project a reality."
Gail will be approaching individuals from the film, computer and gaming industry for the project.
Members of ENWorld, where this news was posted on, have speculations of what the design of the statue should look like.
Do you think a statue of Gygax himself is the best way to immortalize him? How about a statue of an adventuring party, equipped for dungeon exploration? The human in the party could be given Col Pladoh's face.
Come on now, what Gary really deserves is a 25mm lead miniature. I'd buy one of those.
A stone table with Gary seated at it as if DMing would be cool, especially if no one minded groups coming and using the table for games.
If they should base the design of the statue based on [the cover of AD&D First Edition PHB] with Gygax being one of the "thieves" and the idol's eye being a d20.
Taken from this thread.
Word of Wizards - 1/8/09
Excerpts from this week shows a couple of new magical weapons suited for the primal classes and a couple of rods useful against undead and formorians from Adventurer's Vault 2.
For miniatures, we get to see the Remorhaz, Adult Brown Dragon, Hezrou and a couple of new draconians and goblins. Although the previews series concludes this week, but watch out for the remaining miniatures from the Legendary Evils set in this month's upcoming Preview for August and Beyond.
The cleric's role as the healer in the party is now but history in 4E. With the recent release of Divine Power, take a look back at the evolution of the cleric through the editions to see what has changed and what has not.
Other than the usual goods, Wizards have also made a couple of announcements.
The winners have been decided for the Don't Split the Party contest which reunites a gaming group that has been playing together since highschool and college but have been separated by circumstances since 1993. Wizards will be awarding them with badges and all expense paid accommodations to this year's GenCon which is happening in August.
The beta version of the D&D Monster Builder is now available to DDI subscribers which allows DMs to access and modify any of the published 2,500 monsters including ones from Monster Manual 2. This tool is the first in an array of future tools from DDI's online D&D Adventure Tools but, unlike the Character Builder, will not have a demo version and is exclusively for anyone with a DDI subscription account.
If you have a copy of Elder Evils, you might want to check out the 4E conversion for the encounters in the book by Wizards which includes a separate pdf for statblocks.
As for the monthly magazine wrap-up, Wizards have posted the art and map galleries for this month's issue of Dungeon and Dragon. One remarkable difference in this month's gallery is that Wizards have included marked and unmarked versions of their maps which is hopefully something that they would continue to do for future issues.
This week's rundown.
Monday (27/7/09)
Adventurer's Vault 2 Excerpts: Weapons
Tuesday (28/7/09)
Legendary Evils Preview 5
Wednesday (29/7/09)
Never Split the Party Contest Winner
4th Edition Conversion: Elder Evils
Dungeon 168 Art Gallery
Dungeon 168 Map Gallery
Thursday (30/7/09)
D&D Monster Builder Beta Launch
Legendary Evils Preview 6
Friday (31/7/09)
D&D Alumni: The Cleric
Dragon 377 Art Gallery
Adventurer's Vault 2 Excerpts: Implements
The editorial calendar for August is out and next week, we'll be seeing more excerpts from Adventurer's Vault 2. Insiders who are also fans of psionics would be delighted to see the Githzerai making its 4E debut as a playable race this coming Monday.
For miniatures, we get to see the Remorhaz, Adult Brown Dragon, Hezrou and a couple of new draconians and goblins. Although the previews series concludes this week, but watch out for the remaining miniatures from the Legendary Evils set in this month's upcoming Preview for August and Beyond.
The cleric's role as the healer in the party is now but history in 4E. With the recent release of Divine Power, take a look back at the evolution of the cleric through the editions to see what has changed and what has not.
Other than the usual goods, Wizards have also made a couple of announcements.
The winners have been decided for the Don't Split the Party contest which reunites a gaming group that has been playing together since highschool and college but have been separated by circumstances since 1993. Wizards will be awarding them with badges and all expense paid accommodations to this year's GenCon which is happening in August.
The beta version of the D&D Monster Builder is now available to DDI subscribers which allows DMs to access and modify any of the published 2,500 monsters including ones from Monster Manual 2. This tool is the first in an array of future tools from DDI's online D&D Adventure Tools but, unlike the Character Builder, will not have a demo version and is exclusively for anyone with a DDI subscription account.
If you have a copy of Elder Evils, you might want to check out the 4E conversion for the encounters in the book by Wizards which includes a separate pdf for statblocks.
As for the monthly magazine wrap-up, Wizards have posted the art and map galleries for this month's issue of Dungeon and Dragon. One remarkable difference in this month's gallery is that Wizards have included marked and unmarked versions of their maps which is hopefully something that they would continue to do for future issues.
This week's rundown.
Monday (27/7/09)
Adventurer's Vault 2 Excerpts: Weapons
Tuesday (28/7/09)
Legendary Evils Preview 5
Wednesday (29/7/09)
Never Split the Party Contest Winner
4th Edition Conversion: Elder Evils
Dungeon 168 Art Gallery
Dungeon 168 Map Gallery
Thursday (30/7/09)
D&D Monster Builder Beta Launch
Legendary Evils Preview 6
Friday (31/7/09)
D&D Alumni: The Cleric
Dragon 377 Art Gallery
Adventurer's Vault 2 Excerpts: Implements
The editorial calendar for August is out and next week, we'll be seeing more excerpts from Adventurer's Vault 2. Insiders who are also fans of psionics would be delighted to see the Githzerai making its 4E debut as a playable race this coming Monday.
July 26, 2009
Word of Wizards - 25/7/09
This week, Wizards has started the preview excerpts from Adventurer's Vault 2 by showcasing a new type of magical items called Immurements. Each immurement is practically a portable terrain that can be unleashed onto an area until the end of the encounter.
There's a couple of new armor and shields previewed as well that comes with a backstory and possible plot hooks to implement them as treasures in your game.
With the release of the Eberron Campaign Guide and Seekers of the Ashen Crown adventure module, Wizards has also posted up their respective art and map galleries.
On the miniatures preview, we are shown a range of Foulspawns miniatures that will be in Legendary Evils as well as the huge Ultimate Tyrant.
Voting for the ENnies has already started and Wizards are looking for your votes for their nominated products that will be competing for Product of the Year, Best Game, Best Rules, Best Monster of Adversary, Best Aid or Accessory, Best Adventure, Best Miniature Product and Best Cover Art and other categories.
So if you really want to support Wizards, head on over to the ENnies voting booth and place your vote before August 1st.
This week's rundown.
Monday (20/7/09)
Adventurer's Vault 2 Excerpts: Immurements
Eberron Campaign Guide Art Gallery
Eberron Campaign Guide Map Gallery
Tuesday (21/7/09)
Legendary Evils Preview 4
2009 ENnie Award Nominees
Wednesday (22/7/09)
Seekers of the Ashen Crown Art Gallery
Seekers of the Ashen Crown Map Gallery
Friday (24/7/09)
Adventurer's Vault 2 Excerpts: Armor - Story Items
Next week is expected to have some interesting content with more excerpts, a podcast episode and a D&D Alumni article.
There's a couple of new armor and shields previewed as well that comes with a backstory and possible plot hooks to implement them as treasures in your game.
With the release of the Eberron Campaign Guide and Seekers of the Ashen Crown adventure module, Wizards has also posted up their respective art and map galleries.
On the miniatures preview, we are shown a range of Foulspawns miniatures that will be in Legendary Evils as well as the huge Ultimate Tyrant.
Voting for the ENnies has already started and Wizards are looking for your votes for their nominated products that will be competing for Product of the Year, Best Game, Best Rules, Best Monster of Adversary, Best Aid or Accessory, Best Adventure, Best Miniature Product and Best Cover Art and other categories.
So if you really want to support Wizards, head on over to the ENnies voting booth and place your vote before August 1st.
This week's rundown.
Monday (20/7/09)
Adventurer's Vault 2 Excerpts: Immurements
Eberron Campaign Guide Art Gallery
Eberron Campaign Guide Map Gallery
Tuesday (21/7/09)
Legendary Evils Preview 4
2009 ENnie Award Nominees
Wednesday (22/7/09)
Seekers of the Ashen Crown Art Gallery
Seekers of the Ashen Crown Map Gallery
Friday (24/7/09)
Adventurer's Vault 2 Excerpts: Armor - Story Items
Next week is expected to have some interesting content with more excerpts, a podcast episode and a D&D Alumni article.
July 18, 2009
Word of Wizards - 18/7/09
Although there's barely been any new excerpts coming out this week, Wizards have not been lax at all to leave the website high and dry. There's still been great content, previews and interviews on the upcoming miniatures, novels and encounter stat blocks to use for your game.
First up, Wizards have posted up the Eberron adventure that was given out on Free RPG Day, Khyber's Harvest as a free download. So if you missed out on getting a hard copy of it or none of your FLGS were participating on the event, at least you can now get a soft copy of it. What better time to use it, now that the Eberron Campaign Guide will be released next week.
At the same time, the art gallery for Divine Power is also up. Despite there being a few recognizable reused art, it still has a great range of new art that will be useful as character portraits and illustrations.
This month's Vicious Venues is centered on the Sunfields, a patch of land owned by a jealous farmer. Although it might sound harmless at first but wait till the PCs cross the farmer and his not-so typical bees which can lead to a brutal encounter.
If having bears and bees tearing you apart isn't really your thing, then you might be interested in some pulpy encounters from Seekers of the Ashen Crown, the Eberron module that will be released next month.
This week's miniature previews was mainly blue. The color blue that is shared by the Talon Slaad, Slaad Spawn and the Storm Titan followed by the Frost Titan, Chillfire Destroyer and Rimefire Griffon.
There's even something for novel readers. This month's Spotlight Interview is centered on the novel department of Wizards which discusses about the process of creating storylines for D&D worlds such as Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance and Dark Sun and how game products and novels can influence each other. There also some hints on what is coming up in future novels like The Ghost King, the final book in Drizzt's Transistion trilogy and what will be in the newest Dragonlance novel, Dragons of the Hourglass Mage.
Speaking of novels, if you've read The Stowaway, written by Geno and R.A. Salvatore, you might be interested in finding out the 4E D&D stat blocks for the Stowaway's Stone and the half-demonic Asbeel.
One surprise that came out this week was the 4E conversion for the Exemplars of Evil which may be understandable since it was one of the products that was released during the limbo period when 4E was first announced. Hopefully there will be more conversion articles in the future.
But the biggest surprise (which I've saved for the last) is the screenshots of the Monster Builder. This feature that will be available for D&D Insiders will contain more than 2,000 monsters and 10,000 powers from all published materials by Wizards. It will also allow you to edit them such as adding levels to certain monsters and it will help you recalculate the attack bonus etc.
Find out all these and more from the rundown below for this week.
Monday (13/7/09)
GenCon 2009 Schedule
Divine Power Art Gallery
The Stowaway: Demon & The Stone
D&D Monster Builder
Tuesday (14/7/09)
Legendary Evils Preview 2
Khyber's Harvest
Wednesday (15/7/09)
4th Edition Conversion: Exemplars of Evil
Vicious Venues: The Sunfields
Seekers of the Ashen Crown Excerpts
Thursday (16/7/09)
Legendary Evils Preview 3
Friday (17/7/09)
Spotlight Interview: Novels
Next week will be the release for the Eberron Campaign Guide, Divine Power, Seekers of the Ashen Crown and the PHB Heroes 2 miniature set. Other than that we'll be starting to see the excerpts from Adventurer's Vault 2 and possibly another miniature tips and tactics for a monster from Legendary Evils.
This is the first week since I'm using this new format so if you have any thoughts on this week's rundown or the new format, feel free to drop a comment.
First up, Wizards have posted up the Eberron adventure that was given out on Free RPG Day, Khyber's Harvest as a free download. So if you missed out on getting a hard copy of it or none of your FLGS were participating on the event, at least you can now get a soft copy of it. What better time to use it, now that the Eberron Campaign Guide will be released next week.
At the same time, the art gallery for Divine Power is also up. Despite there being a few recognizable reused art, it still has a great range of new art that will be useful as character portraits and illustrations.
This month's Vicious Venues is centered on the Sunfields, a patch of land owned by a jealous farmer. Although it might sound harmless at first but wait till the PCs cross the farmer and his not-so typical bees which can lead to a brutal encounter.
If having bears and bees tearing you apart isn't really your thing, then you might be interested in some pulpy encounters from Seekers of the Ashen Crown, the Eberron module that will be released next month.
This week's miniature previews was mainly blue. The color blue that is shared by the Talon Slaad, Slaad Spawn and the Storm Titan followed by the Frost Titan, Chillfire Destroyer and Rimefire Griffon.
There's even something for novel readers. This month's Spotlight Interview is centered on the novel department of Wizards which discusses about the process of creating storylines for D&D worlds such as Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance and Dark Sun and how game products and novels can influence each other. There also some hints on what is coming up in future novels like The Ghost King, the final book in Drizzt's Transistion trilogy and what will be in the newest Dragonlance novel, Dragons of the Hourglass Mage.
Speaking of novels, if you've read The Stowaway, written by Geno and R.A. Salvatore, you might be interested in finding out the 4E D&D stat blocks for the Stowaway's Stone and the half-demonic Asbeel.
One surprise that came out this week was the 4E conversion for the Exemplars of Evil which may be understandable since it was one of the products that was released during the limbo period when 4E was first announced. Hopefully there will be more conversion articles in the future.
But the biggest surprise (which I've saved for the last) is the screenshots of the Monster Builder. This feature that will be available for D&D Insiders will contain more than 2,000 monsters and 10,000 powers from all published materials by Wizards. It will also allow you to edit them such as adding levels to certain monsters and it will help you recalculate the attack bonus etc.
Find out all these and more from the rundown below for this week.
Monday (13/7/09)
GenCon 2009 Schedule
Divine Power Art Gallery
The Stowaway: Demon & The Stone
D&D Monster Builder
Tuesday (14/7/09)
Legendary Evils Preview 2
Khyber's Harvest
Wednesday (15/7/09)
4th Edition Conversion: Exemplars of Evil
Vicious Venues: The Sunfields
Seekers of the Ashen Crown Excerpts
Thursday (16/7/09)
Legendary Evils Preview 3
Friday (17/7/09)
Spotlight Interview: Novels
Next week will be the release for the Eberron Campaign Guide, Divine Power, Seekers of the Ashen Crown and the PHB Heroes 2 miniature set. Other than that we'll be starting to see the excerpts from Adventurer's Vault 2 and possibly another miniature tips and tactics for a monster from Legendary Evils.
This is the first week since I'm using this new format so if you have any thoughts on this week's rundown or the new format, feel free to drop a comment.
July 14, 2009
Pathfinder Core Rulebook Preview Video
Those who attended Paizocon have most likely taken their first glimpse at the final printed version of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook. For those who weren't that lucky, Paizo has just posted up a preview video in the Paizo blog that flips through the content of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook.
For you convenience, you can watch the video below or you could head over to the preview video link to watch it at a larger resolution.
Needless to say that Paizo's production value is top notch and it is making me drool. In fact, the layout reminds me about the 3.x Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide which is a good looking book too.
For you convenience, you can watch the video below or you could head over to the preview video link to watch it at a larger resolution.
Needless to say that Paizo's production value is top notch and it is making me drool. In fact, the layout reminds me about the 3.x Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide which is a good looking book too.
July 11, 2009
Word of Wizards - 11/7/09
There's been so much update this week at Wizards that I haven't been able to catch up with them at all. So some of this week's links might be directed straight at Wizards' website rather than my own posts on them.
This week, the excerpts from Divine Power and Eberron Campaign Guide have concluded which will open way for the next batch of excerpts. This time sadly, it will only come from one book which is Adventurer's Vault 2. However, on the other end, the previews of the Legendary Evils monster miniature line has started.
The features of this week has been mainly centered on Divine Power which were covered by this month's Steal This Hook! and the D&D Podcast. In addition, Wizards have also introduced a new feature called Out-of-the-Box Encounter which teaches you how to effectively use your miniatures in-game.
There's also a video interview with R.A Salvatore who has just released the second book in the Transistion trilogy, The Pirate King.
So if you haven't really been able to catch up with these updates, like me, here's the rundown.
Monday (6/7/09)
Previews for July and Beyond
Divine Power Excerpts: Virtuous Paladin
Eberron Campaign Guide Excerpts: Drooam & Encounter
Wednesday (8/7/09)
July 2009 Character Builder & Compendium News
Success Along the Adventure Path 8
Steal This Hook! Threats of a Divine Nature
Out-of-the-Box Encounter: Aboleth Slime Mage
Book Nook: R.A. Salvatore
Thursday (9/7/09)
Legendary Evils Preview 1
Friday (10/7/09)
Eberron Campaign Guide Excerpts: Q'barra & Table of Contents
Divine Power Excerpts: Avatar of Death
Next week, there will only be one excerpt from the Eberron adventure module, Seekers of the Ashen Crown. Other than that, we can expect to see this month's Vicious Venues and Spotlight Interview. There's also a conversion article for Exemplars of Evil from 3.x which might be interesting
Subscribers will have a lot to look forward starting with a Class Acts article and Design and Development: Psionics on Monday followed by Familiars of Eberron on Friday.
Also, I have a little announcement to make. After considering the feedback that I asked in last week's Burning Question, I've decided to reduce the Word of Wizards feature down to a weekly one. Which means that I would no longer be posting single post on each and every update that appears on the Wizards website as soon as their up. Instead what I'll do is something much more like these weekly compilations on every Saturday with direct links to all the items that were added to the Wizards website during that week.
Although this changes are effective starting next week but I don't mind listening to any feedback that you might have on these changes (or if you missed the Burning Question from last week, be sure to drop some feedback). Of course, I will like to thank everyone who has supported me for doing this longest running feature of the blog.
This week, the excerpts from Divine Power and Eberron Campaign Guide have concluded which will open way for the next batch of excerpts. This time sadly, it will only come from one book which is Adventurer's Vault 2. However, on the other end, the previews of the Legendary Evils monster miniature line has started.
The features of this week has been mainly centered on Divine Power which were covered by this month's Steal This Hook! and the D&D Podcast. In addition, Wizards have also introduced a new feature called Out-of-the-Box Encounter which teaches you how to effectively use your miniatures in-game.
There's also a video interview with R.A Salvatore who has just released the second book in the Transistion trilogy, The Pirate King.
So if you haven't really been able to catch up with these updates, like me, here's the rundown.
Monday (6/7/09)
Previews for July and Beyond
Divine Power Excerpts: Virtuous Paladin
Eberron Campaign Guide Excerpts: Drooam & Encounter
Wednesday (8/7/09)
July 2009 Character Builder & Compendium News
Success Along the Adventure Path 8
Steal This Hook! Threats of a Divine Nature
Out-of-the-Box Encounter: Aboleth Slime Mage
Book Nook: R.A. Salvatore
Thursday (9/7/09)
Legendary Evils Preview 1
Friday (10/7/09)
Eberron Campaign Guide Excerpts: Q'barra & Table of Contents
Divine Power Excerpts: Avatar of Death
Next week, there will only be one excerpt from the Eberron adventure module, Seekers of the Ashen Crown. Other than that, we can expect to see this month's Vicious Venues and Spotlight Interview. There's also a conversion article for Exemplars of Evil from 3.x which might be interesting
Subscribers will have a lot to look forward starting with a Class Acts article and Design and Development: Psionics on Monday followed by Familiars of Eberron on Friday.
Also, I have a little announcement to make. After considering the feedback that I asked in last week's Burning Question, I've decided to reduce the Word of Wizards feature down to a weekly one. Which means that I would no longer be posting single post on each and every update that appears on the Wizards website as soon as their up. Instead what I'll do is something much more like these weekly compilations on every Saturday with direct links to all the items that were added to the Wizards website during that week.
Although this changes are effective starting next week but I don't mind listening to any feedback that you might have on these changes (or if you missed the Burning Question from last week, be sure to drop some feedback). Of course, I will like to thank everyone who has supported me for doing this longest running feature of the blog.
July 10, 2009
Word of Wizards - Excerpts: Avatar of Death
Divine Power Excerpts: Avatar of Death
The Avatar of Death is death incarnate who has temporarily taken mortal form and have come to realize her true form when she reaches 21st level and has the Death Knell feat. With this knowledge, the avatar knows no fear for death and can only wait to rejoin with the eternal essence of the Raven Queen or some other deity of death.
Upon realizing her true destiny, the avatar gain Foresight of Morality (21st level destiny feature) which increases her intelligence and wisdom by 2. She makes certain that Death Comes to All (21st level destiny feature) which makes her powers ignore 20 necrotic resistance.
Woe to those who would attempt to bring death to avatar before her time. When an avatar dies, she returns with a Deadly Revival (24th destiny feature) if she dies for the first time on that day. She regains hitpoints equal to her bloodied value and all enemies within 10 square of her are vulnerable 15 against necrotic damage until the end of her next turn.
She is the Harbinger of Demise (30th level destiny feature) bringing certain fatality to those who are on the verge of death. When an enemy ends their turn adjacent to her with 25 hitpoints or less, they immediately die.
To those that would try to avoid death's embrace with spiritual and physical healing, she brings Inevitable Death (level 26; daily). Each enemy within close burst 5 gain 10 vulnerability against all damage and cannot regain hitpoints through regeneration or healing powers (save ends).
Any thoughts on the Avatar of Death?
Word of Wizards - Excerpts: Q'barra & Table of Contents
Eberron Campaign Guide Excerpts: Q'barra & Table of Contents
The final excerpt from Eberron Campaign Guide details on the monsters and the natural resources that can found in Q'barra revealed through Nature checks. From this excerpt, Q'barra might be the new de facto homeland of the dragonborn in Khorvaire.
Finally, there's the table of contents of the book which has altogether 7 section, not including the introduction and the appendix which contains the sample adventure. Here are the following sections to expect;
- Introduction
- Adventures
- The City of Towers
- The Five Nations
- Greater Khorvaire
- Beyond Khorvaire
- Dragonmarks
- Gods and Cosmology
- Appendix: The Mark of Prophecy
- Index
- New Monsters
I'm pretty excited about the campaign guide because it has a whole section on the City of Towers. It might only be 8 pages which won't be enough to compress all the info from the Sharn: City of Towers supplement in 3.x but it's one of the hallmark location that I would start all my Eberron campaigns in.
Another section that makes me happy is that they have included the King's Citadel under Breland in the Five Nations section. The section on dragonmarks might be interesting since it dedicates about 2 pages to each of the dragonmarked houses.
Word of Wizards - Legendary Evils Preview 1
Legendary Evils Preview 1
The preview for the second set of monster miniatures, Legendary Evils has started and it will be the first set featuring huge-sized miniatures since they changed the format of distribution for D&D Miniatures. Each booster will come with 1 visible huge miniature, 1 large rare, 1 medium or small-sized rare and 2 commons.
This set will have 8 huges, 12 large rares, 12 medium/small rares and 8 commons.
Now onto the miniatures in this preview.
Any thoughts on these minis?
The preview for the second set of monster miniatures, Legendary Evils has started and it will be the first set featuring huge-sized miniatures since they changed the format of distribution for D&D Miniatures. Each booster will come with 1 visible huge miniature, 1 large rare, 1 medium or small-sized rare and 2 commons.
This set will have 8 huges, 12 large rares, 12 medium/small rares and 8 commons.
Now onto the miniatures in this preview.
Elder Green Dragon
It might not look much but I'm assuming that it'll look awesome since it's has to be a huge miniature. It's good that they have updated the new 4E look for the green dragon but to me it doesn't matter as long as its green.Githzerai Mindmage
Githzerai Cenobite
This set second set finishes up on the githzerai appearing in Monster Manual. One major spoiler revealed in this preview is that the githzerai will be appearing as a playable race in Player's Handbook 3 so these guys can definitely be used to represent your characters as well.Hoard Scarab Larva Swarm
Useful as a three dimensional representation of a pile of gold for the unsuspecting player.Psychic Sentinel
Based on the Psion-killer monster from the 3.x Psionic Handbook, it is now a servitor for the githzerai and is a Level 12 Elite Soldier. This could also be used to represent a large fire elemental monster.Any thoughts on these minis?
July 9, 2009
Word of Wizards - Out-of-the-Box Encounter: Aboleth Slime Mage
Out-of-the-Box Encounter: Aboleth Slime Mage
Wizards is introducing a new feature that will look into the story elements of each miniature and making the best use of it with effective tactics and terrain recommendations. To start it off, they decided to show how you create an encounter with the Aboleth Slime Mage.
It has some really good advice and nice suggestions which makes this a very useful feature. This is especially good for DMs who are using these monsters/miniatures for the first time on their PCs. I will be looking forward to more of these article in the future.
Word of Wizards - Steal This Hook! Threats of a Divine Nature
Steal This Hook! Threats of a Divine Nature
Wizards have come up with 3 divine-themed plot hooks with sidebars to give you some ideas on how to tie them in with the new mechanics of Divine Power and Eberron Campaign Guide, both that will be released this month.
Sudden Retirement
Rumors that the dwarf priest of Moradin is retiring with no successor apparent or named is raising concerns in a town.
This plot hook can be expanded in two ways. First, the PCs could be hired to investigate the underlying reason for this sudden announcement. Could the priest be running from a past or is a doppleganger involved? The second way is deal the aftermath of this announcement. With no heir apparent named, potential successors are scheming to gain power. This could result in mysterious disappearances of candidates, candidates trying to prove their worth or maybe one of the PCs is nominated?
This plot hook doesn't necessarily have to be happening to the church of Moradin as long as its any other church that could be badly affected by the sudden retirement of their high priest.
The Dread God
The PCs have an appointment with someone who they are close to and somehow she never turned up for the meeting which is unusual. Later they find out that the body of their friend has been found....drained of blood.
A cult is possibly involved that could be led by a vampire or a monstrous demon that requires blood sacrifice. Finding out the identity of its members and the location of their gathering spot will be the main challenge.
But why is their friend victimized? Was she simply a coincidental victim or maybe she was a member of the cult?
Hidden Blessing
The PCs hear about the tale of Praxus, a noble paladin who went to war and never returned. There is a statue of him in the town center and a farmer insists that she saw the statue moved.
Could the statue really be Praxus petrified by a medusa? An animated statue placed by some mysterious sculptor? Or Praxus trapped in the stone form by other powerful beings?
What will happened if Praxus is released from the stone form? Will he want vengeance or bring destruction to the town where he is revered as a saint?
Word of Wizards - Success Along the Adventure Path 8
Success Along the Adventure Path 8: Beyond the Mottled Tower
In the encounter with a pair of green dragons (Anthrosk and Calauxin) there are 2 recommended miniatures to represent Calauxin. So I've marked them with an asterisk to indicate that they are interchangeable.
Dungeon Tiles
- Against the Giants
- Arcane Corridors
- Dungeon Tiles
- Hidden Crypts
- Ruins of the Wild
- Streets of Shadows
Miniatures
Against the Giants
- 1 Thunderblast Cyclone (#9)
- 1 Young Adamantine Dragon (#52)*
Blood War
- 1 Centaur War Hulk (#15)
- 1 Bluespawn Stormlizard (#30)
Dangerous Delves
Deathknell
- 1 Spectre (#42)
Demonweb
- 2 Mezzodemon (#4)
- 1 Skull Lord (#27)
- 8 Troglodyte Brute (#51)
- 1 Troglodyte Curse Chanter (#52)
Desert of Desolation
- 2 Shadar-kai Assassin (#35)
- 2 Fire Archon (#50)
Dungeons of Dread
- 1 Immolith (#15)
- 2 Warrior Wight (#17)
- 8 Magma Brute (#19)
- 2 Ascendant Hellsword (#21)
- 1 Wyvern (#42)*
- 1 Emerald Orb Wizard (#44)
- 1 Spectral Magelord (#46)
Giants of Legend
- 4 Githyanki Renegade (#16)
Night Below
- 1 Berserk Flesh Golem (#46)
Underdark
- 1 Duergar Champion (#35)
War of the Dragon Queen
- 1 Large Green Dragon (#38)
- 1 Redspawn Fireblecher (#52)
Word of Wizards - July 2009 Character Builder and Compendium News
July 2009 Character Builder and Compendium News
The new batch of updates for the Character Builder and Compendium is up and it has the content of all the books and magazines released up to the month of June including the Eberron Player's Guide and Dragon 375 which has the Wilden and the updated hybrid rules. The Insider version of the updated character builder will also include the Psion class from Player's Handbook 3.
Other fixes, adjustments and enhancements have also been added to the compendium such as including traps and hazards into the database.
The new batch of updates for the Character Builder and Compendium is up and it has the content of all the books and magazines released up to the month of June including the Eberron Player's Guide and Dragon 375 which has the Wilden and the updated hybrid rules. The Insider version of the updated character builder will also include the Psion class from Player's Handbook 3.
Other fixes, adjustments and enhancements have also been added to the compendium such as including traps and hazards into the database.
July 7, 2009
Word of Wizards - Previews for July and Beyond
Previews for July and Beyond
This month's preview is quite a short one and it only previews the releases up to August.
July
Martial Heroes 3 which was not previewed is shown here.
It's nice to see a good dragonborn miniature for clerics, paladins, fighters and warlords and the paintjob looks excellent.
An alright looking eladrin ranger despite the plain looking pose.
A gnome rogue-like miniature which should be useful.
An extra excerpt from Divine Power features the Avatar of Freedom which is a mortal incarnation of Avandra or Melora or any other deity of freedom and liberation. When becoming an Avatar of Freedom, they have Freedom of Mind and Body (21st level destiny feature), they get +2 to Dex and Wis. They can also Liberate the Mind (21st level destiny feature) which gives an ally a +2 bonus to saving throws dominated, immobilized, restrained and slowed.
When an Avatar dies or is dying, they return with a Liberating Revival (24th level destiny feature) which lets him regain hitpoints equal to his bloodied value and allies within 10 squares are freed from slowing, restraining and immobilizing effects. At level 30, the avatar becomes an Agent of Freedom (30th level destiny feature) which makes him immune to domination, immobilization, restrain and petrification. They also ignore difficult terrain and can shift their speed as a move action.
Broken Chain (level 26; daily) is a stance that allows all allies that starts their turn within 5 squares of the avatar to make a saving throw against each effect that can be ended by a save.
August
A couple of magical items from Adventurer's Vault 2 is shown.
The Rat King's Cloak is a magical armor that grants resistance against swarm attacks and they can move through a swarm without provoking opportunity attacks. Space-Bending Weapon allows you to hit an enemy 5 squares away as though they are adjacent to you.
Finally to kickstart the preview for the Legendary Evils monster set, they have given some mouth watering pictures along with their stat cards.
Balor (back, front)
War Troll (back, front)
Salamander Firetail (back, front)
Yochlol Tempter (back, front)
Human Rabble (back, front)
This month's preview is quite a short one and it only previews the releases up to August.
July
Martial Heroes 3 which was not previewed is shown here.
It's nice to see a good dragonborn miniature for clerics, paladins, fighters and warlords and the paintjob looks excellent.
An alright looking eladrin ranger despite the plain looking pose.
A gnome rogue-like miniature which should be useful.
An extra excerpt from Divine Power features the Avatar of Freedom which is a mortal incarnation of Avandra or Melora or any other deity of freedom and liberation. When becoming an Avatar of Freedom, they have Freedom of Mind and Body (21st level destiny feature), they get +2 to Dex and Wis. They can also Liberate the Mind (21st level destiny feature) which gives an ally a +2 bonus to saving throws dominated, immobilized, restrained and slowed.
When an Avatar dies or is dying, they return with a Liberating Revival (24th level destiny feature) which lets him regain hitpoints equal to his bloodied value and allies within 10 squares are freed from slowing, restraining and immobilizing effects. At level 30, the avatar becomes an Agent of Freedom (30th level destiny feature) which makes him immune to domination, immobilization, restrain and petrification. They also ignore difficult terrain and can shift their speed as a move action.
Broken Chain (level 26; daily) is a stance that allows all allies that starts their turn within 5 squares of the avatar to make a saving throw against each effect that can be ended by a save.
August
A couple of magical items from Adventurer's Vault 2 is shown.
The Rat King's Cloak is a magical armor that grants resistance against swarm attacks and they can move through a swarm without provoking opportunity attacks. Space-Bending Weapon allows you to hit an enemy 5 squares away as though they are adjacent to you.
Finally to kickstart the preview for the Legendary Evils monster set, they have given some mouth watering pictures along with their stat cards.
Balor (back, front)
War Troll (back, front)
Salamander Firetail (back, front)
Yochlol Tempter (back, front)
Human Rabble (back, front)
July 6, 2009
Word of Wizards - Excerpts: Virtuous Paladin
Divine Power Excerpts: Virtuous Paladin
While the excerpt reveals that there would be two new builds for the paladin in the book, it only showcases the Virtuous paladin which helps to remove harmful effects from his allies.
The build's class feature, Virtue's Touch can remove blinded, dazed, deafened, slowed, stunned or weakened conditions once per round which can be used number of times equal to his Wis mod (minimum 1).
There were also 3 daily prayers shown in the excerpt.
Majestic Halo (level 1; daily) deals 3[w]+Cha mod radiant damage and imposes divine sanction on enemies that start their turn adjacent to the paladin. This is most probably the new divine challenge for the virtuous paladin but what does it actually do is not revealed.
Failure is No Option (level 22; daily) teleports all allies within close burst 3 a number of squares equal to the paladin's Cha mod to be adjacent to an enemy. The allies also regain 15+cha mod hitpoints.
Name of Awe (level 29; daily) deals 5d8+Cha mod thunder damage to enemies within 5 close blast and makes them immobilized and weakened (save ends). On a miss, it deals half damage and slows the targets (save ends). The targets are also put under Divine Sanction.
Any thoughts on the virtuous paladin?
Word of Wizards - Excerpts: Drooam & Encounter
Eberron Campaign Guide Excerpts: Drooam & Encounter
Drooam is a savage nation inhabited by monstrous races like harpies, medusas, gargolyes, ogres and minotaurs. Under the leadership of beings called the Daughters of Sora Kell, the nation is surprisingly showing not only persistence but also progress. This poses a threat to their civilized neighbors like Breland who are vigilantly keeping a close eye and at the same time nervous of a monstrous army swarming into their borders.
With successful Streetwise checks, it will reveal the currency used and other forms of trade that in Drooam and also what is the best way to keep in safe company when traveling through the streets of its cities.
There is also an encounter from the sample adventure in the Campaign Guide.
July 4, 2009
Word of Wizards - 4/7/09
This week, it's all about the paragon tier from Divine Power with the Miracle Worker paragon path and paragon feats. For the Eberron Campaign Guide, we were introduced to the formation of the theocracy in Thrane, the political basis of dragonmarked houses such as House Cannith and the secrets behind Xen'drik and the Blood of Vol.
The week, Wizards also wraps up the preview for the second set of Player's Handbook Heroes miniatures with the third Arcane and Divine heroes. The most unexpected happening this week is that Wizards has released another rules update for the Player's Handbook, Martial Power and the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide with a new format that is much better.
So here's the rundown of what was up at Wizards site this week.
Monday (29/6/09)
Divine Power Excerpts: Miracle Worker
Eberron Campaign Guide Excerpts: Thrane & Dragonmarks
Dragon 376 Art Gallery
Wednesday (1/7/09)
Arcane Heroes 3
Friday (3/7/09)
Divine Power Excerpts: Feats
Eberron Campaign Guide Excerpts: Xen'drik and Religion
Divine Heroes 3
July Update Letter
Next week, we'll be seeing the last of the excerpts with Divine Power showing a new paladin build and an epic destiny while the Eberron Campaign Guide will feature Drooam and Q'barra along with a sample encounter and the table of contents. We'll also get a Steal This Hook! and maybe a podcast too.
It's going to be a big week for Insiders when they will finally reveal the Psion class from Player's Handbook 3 and an article on githyanki capital city of Tu'narath.
The week, Wizards also wraps up the preview for the second set of Player's Handbook Heroes miniatures with the third Arcane and Divine heroes. The most unexpected happening this week is that Wizards has released another rules update for the Player's Handbook, Martial Power and the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide with a new format that is much better.
So here's the rundown of what was up at Wizards site this week.
Monday (29/6/09)
Divine Power Excerpts: Miracle Worker
Eberron Campaign Guide Excerpts: Thrane & Dragonmarks
Dragon 376 Art Gallery
Wednesday (1/7/09)
Arcane Heroes 3
Friday (3/7/09)
Divine Power Excerpts: Feats
Eberron Campaign Guide Excerpts: Xen'drik and Religion
Divine Heroes 3
July Update Letter
Next week, we'll be seeing the last of the excerpts with Divine Power showing a new paladin build and an epic destiny while the Eberron Campaign Guide will feature Drooam and Q'barra along with a sample encounter and the table of contents. We'll also get a Steal This Hook! and maybe a podcast too.
It's going to be a big week for Insiders when they will finally reveal the Psion class from Player's Handbook 3 and an article on githyanki capital city of Tu'narath.
Word of Wizards - July Update Letter
July Update Letter
Wizards have added another rules update for Player's Handbook, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide and Martial Power on certain powers, feats and the battle vigor build feature with a new format that makes things far much easier to read and print out to stick over your book. They also included explanations of why they made some of those changes in the individual book updates which is a really commendable effort.
The new updates will be implemented in the Character Builder and the Compendium on August 4 which is also when these changes will be official for RPGA events. So you'll only need to adjust your RPGA character to reflect these changes on that date.
Wizards have added another rules update for Player's Handbook, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide and Martial Power on certain powers, feats and the battle vigor build feature with a new format that makes things far much easier to read and print out to stick over your book. They also included explanations of why they made some of those changes in the individual book updates which is a really commendable effort.
The new updates will be implemented in the Character Builder and the Compendium on August 4 which is also when these changes will be official for RPGA events. So you'll only need to adjust your RPGA character to reflect these changes on that date.
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