Dragonlance D&D Game Blog

My current D&D campaign uses the 3.5 rules. At the same time, I'm interested in the new 4.0 rules, but don't have a lot of experience playing it (other than a few D&D Encounters sessions at my FLGS). While reading up on the new system thanks to the Rules Compendium for 4.0/Essentials. When I came across the detailed description for Second Wind, I realized that this was something I could easily incorporate into my 3.5 game. One of the things that makes it easy to use a Second Wind-type mechanic is that my game already uses the Reserve Points optional rule (from Unearthed Arcana). I use this option since for most of the campaigns, I didn't have a full party, and even now, the group doesn't have a healing cleric. Since there isn't a steady pool of healing magic available, I think Reserve Points nicely fills that gap (and allows players to play what they want, instead of someone feeling like they must play the walking band-aid). Since players have this Reserve ...

I was recently writing up a post about one of the recent game sessions (I'm about three sessions, or two posts, behind the actual campaign) when I started going off on a tangent about Training. As I started writing more and more on this "tangent" I realized this should be it's own post... Here's the conundrum I run into with training in the D&D game... on one hand I like the logic that characters need to train to gain new abilities and powers. On the other hand, I hate the fact that long term adventures need to "grind to a halt" to allow PCs a couple of weeks to train. I especially have this problem when the characters are in the middle of a big, epic, "save the world" kind of adventure. There are a couple of solutions, adventure-wise, but none that I like. I could just stick with dungeon crawls, so the characters can stop, train, and resume the crawl at their leisure. But I think a good campaign should have a bit more than just "break...

With the upcoming release of the 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons rule set, the web has been all abuzz about what the new game will have, what it won't have, and why you need it at your table... Along those lines Verys Arkon (not sure if that's a screen name or not) has compiled all the bits scattered here and there around the Internet on the new edition into a "lite" 4th Edition PHB pdf. On the other hand Paizo Publishing (recent home to Dragon and Dungeon magazines), and current publisher of the Pathfinder modules has announced their plan to continue supporting 3.5, with modifications. Their "4th" edition (or is that 3.75 edition?) product, the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game , recently released the free alpha version of their rule set. So let the dueling games begin... and call me when it's over. In the mean time, I gotta go out and get a Blu-Ray player .