A large problem many groups have with 4E D&D is that 4E combat takes a very long time. Various methods have been proposed to fix this, such as reducing monster hp, but after some discussion we realised the best way of doing it is simply to revive the Morale system, used in 1^st and 2^nd Edition, but thrown out in 3^rd. The problem with these systems is, like the whole editions themselves, they were overly complicated; I’ve seen an attempt at adding Morale to 4E that mostly just put the 2^nd Ed system in… and it looked terrible. So, we decided to do it from the ground up: a complete, effective, and simple Morale system for 4E D&D.

Continue reading Speeding up D&D 4E Combat: Morale

Back in the old days of playing D&D 3.5 I was running a campaign with 8 players (yes, 8…). Amongst the usual set of crazy logistic issues that had to be faced (pallets of snacks for example…) we also had 8 different playing styles with 8 different motivations, backgrounds, educations, etc. I love my gaming group – and running a game for 8 people is a tough challenge I wouldn’t recommend just anyone trying out… A couple of members of the group are of the engineering background and this led to its own challenges as a GM (analysing buildings and traps for structural integrity for example). This would lead to amusing situations such as the players spending 30 minutes of game time trying to explain how a door couldn’t be opened by lifting the beam instead of just pulling it to the side with the attached ropes and getting on with the game.

Continue reading Do the laws of physics have a place in fantasy role-playing games?

It’s reasonably well known that Fighters and Monks are the weakest classes in 3.5 D&D. Whilst this can be partially be fixed by extending to non-Core books, this doesn’t actually solve the problem, and for some, that simply isn’t an option, either due to DM restrictions or just unavailability of the books. However, it actually is possible to make decent Fighters and Monks in Core 3.5: you just have to be a little clever about it.

This article will start with stuff common to both Fighters and Monks (there’s a lot), and then splits off into separate parts. Some of the ideas in this article may be interesting for other characters, like Barbarians and Paladins.

Continue reading Powergaming: Making a Powerful Fighter or Monk in Core 3.5 D&D

Mike Pattee from Cordax Software has pinged us to let us know that his app i4e has been updated in the App Store to version 1.1.0 and is available now for download. The app allows you to store your D&D 4e character on your iPhone and we are quite fond of it around here. The new version adds character importation from D&D Insider Character Builder which satisfies one of the main requests we had for the app. The update also fixes a whole stack of other things as well.

Continue reading i4e Updated – Now you can import from D&D Insider Character Builder

If you are anything like us here at Dice of Doom HQ, the moment you got D&D 4E you rushed out and bought a stack of Dungeon Tiles once you realised how important (and awesome) they were. After collecting a whole box of these tiles though it can be hard designing dungeons based on what tiles you actually have in your collection. Fortunately Wizards of the Coast have you covered.

Continue reading Using the Dungeon Tile Mapper from WotC

Area of Effect powers, or AoE, are pretty common in 4^th Edition D&D. No longer are they limited to Wizards, but can be found in the arsenal of many non-spellcasters, such as Fighters, as well as being used by many monsters. It’s thus pretty important to a understand them… and once you have that, how to use Area of Effect powers in the most optimal way possible.

Continue reading Powergaming: Understanding Area of Effect in D&D4E

Back in April this year, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) filed three copyright infringement cases against eight individuals for sharing a copy of the Player’s Handbook II on document sharing site Scribd. Yesterday the judge accepted a settlement with the second of the eight defendants. WotC are still seeking a default judgement against a third. The amount settled was $125,000 (in the previous case they had settled for $100,000). The other cases involve individuals in the Philippines and Poland.

Continue reading Wizards of the Coast settle copyright infringement case

Continuing on in our series of background music for role-playing games we look at the Norwegian Black Metal band turned increasingly electronica band Ulver.

Continue reading Music for role-playing games: Ulver

It is very likely that if you are an iPhone owner and a D&D player there is one app that you have been longing for ever since you picked up the device from the store – a native application to store your D&D character on that understood the game. There have been other ways to store your character – pdf’s, spreadsheets, word documents, google docs, etc – but to have an actual app that assisted in the game – that was the holy grail. And now it is here – i4e.

Continue reading Finally, an iPhone app for keeping your D&D characters on: i4e

We all love to use Dungeon Tiles in our D&D games. It adds to the realism of combat, provides for more strategic play and helps everyone see what is going on. With the release of D&D4E the use of Dungeon Tiles became an integrated part of the game to the point where it is hard to play without them. This has created problems for GM’s who like to create their own campaigns and who need maps. While you can easily print off a tiled A4 or A3 sheet and draw in your maps, it would be even better to be able to create your own dungeon tiles from scratch to match your creations exactly.

In the first part on creating your own dungeon tiles, we show you how to create basic rooms of any size.

Continue reading Create your own Dungeon Tiles from scratch with Photoshop