This is something that came up during recent postings that I've uttered in the past. I figured I'd capture it here in posterity.

A lot of people invoke game balance at the drop of hat as the root point of some assertion or another in a number of the numerous gaming arguments that spring up. But I have noticed that very often, when people invoke the term game balance, the speaker and the listener seem to have different things in mind.

To that end, at some point in my hazy messageboard babbling past, I was given to wonder, what is game balance? How do I know if I have it? What does it give me?

This might have many interpretations, but for my purposes I narrowed it down to 3 major goals:

Psion's Three Goals of Game Balance:

1. Play balance - this sort of balance allows the players to all contribute meaningfully to success of the party's goal. When this sort of balance is realized, the players feel or should feel* empowered in bringing about success in the game.
2. Option balance - this sort of balance strives to keep options available to players sufficiently viable that all options that are intended for regular use in the game by a PC remain viable choice for players. This is perhaps the hardest sort of balance to achieve, especially for games with a high degree of distinction between the way options are implemented.
3. Challenge balance - this sort of balance ensures that the GM can challenge the players easily without causing undesirable outcomes. If a player must kill one party member to challenge another unless the GM takes very special precautions, then perhaps that sort of balance isn't being served.

Caveats:

1. Balance is situational: Unless every session is identically patterned after one uniform model, it is impractical to predict whether a given sort of balance will be achieved with a great degree of precision. In one campaign, a rogue may be useless. In others, a rogue will be the star. Though its practical to ask that a GM and game designer present scenarios in a consistent fashion, minor variations will reasonably occur. We, as players, should accept that.
2. Balance comes with a cost: Balancing elements of a rules set will have implications on the way that the rules set plays, how scenarios should be presented (notice the inexorable tie to caveat #1?), and even playability of the game. As such, minor balance discrepancies should be well considered before a game designer or GM acts to correct them.

* - I say should feel because it has become exceedingly obvious to me that some players just cannot be pleased. They will perceive any benefit another player has as excessive, and any benefit they have as insufficient. I really didn't understand this mindset until I had children.

Psion

By day I am a mechanical designer, by night I am SUPER MAPPER!

Actually that's a lie. I did those maps while I was at work, which coincidentally I do during the day. I'm also not very super.

Still, it was a lot of effort and I hope those of you running Keep on the Shadowfell can get some use out of it.

I use a projector rig, so I plan to project the map onto a my white board and place the minis on it. That said, if you've got the ink and the time, you could also print these big suckers out.

Created 100% with Photoshop.
The thumbnails got to 1/4" sample images. The links go to the full scale image files:


http://www.mediafire.com/imageview.p...3dwm2t&thumb=4


http://www.mediafire.com/imageview.p...xw0mfn&thumb=4

Ashrem Bayle

• No long-term advance planning for PC character development. No longer do players have to worry how precisely to build their characters at first level when they want to take a specific prestige class twelve levels later. Now they can take character advancement one level at a time.
• Easier high-level PC creation. Creating high-level PCs - whether to replace an existing character or to start a campaign at a high level in the first place - is now simplicity in itself. You do no longer have to worry about what choices your character made at lower level - thanks to retraining, it's easy to justify the current character feats, powers, and skills. Similarly, picking magic items is easy - you start with three items with specific levels, and have some spare cash over to purchase weaker items.
• Fighters are now actually interesting. In 3.5, Fighters usually did little more than doing the same attacks over and over again, and their only real tactical choices involved which enemy to hit. No longer - they now have a variety of options as large as that of the other classes.
• Less-complex high-level spellcasters. Once your player characters hit double digits, deciding which spells your high-level wizards, clerics, and druids choose every day became a real chore, and it frequently held up the game while the players of these characters made up their mind. No longer - even wizards, who still can make some choices in that regard, now spend much less time on figuring out their daily spell lists.
• No class is useless in a specific fight. Who doesn't know the frustration of a rogue in a fight that involved constructs or undead? Or of a monk in a fight that involved only monsters with the "wrong" type of damage resistance? Or of a wizard when all the enemies had high spell resistances? Some classes were pretty much ineffective against certain kinds of enemies, leaving their players frustrated when an adventure featured them strongly. This is now pretty much gone, and for this I am grateful.
• Rituals. Separating most of the non-combat spells into rituals was a stroke of genius. Now the list of available rituals can be modified at the DM's leisure without giving a specific class too much power or taking too much power away from it. It also makes it easier for world-builders - they no longer have to take hundreds of spell effects into account when figuring out how magic may have impacted society. Conversely, since you do no longer have to be a high-level member of a specific class when you want to cast specific rituals, it's easy to justify NPCs who can cast individual rituals without making them into powerful combat spellcasters, turning them into "support roles" within the adventure without having to explain why they don't defeat the enemies of the local community instead of the PCs.
• Skill challenges. Skill challenges are a blast to run. They allow the DM to say: "I think these skills would be the most appropriate in this situation, but feel free to convince me of the appropriateness of other skills at well." This allows the PCs to get really creative with their skill uses and gives them a level of narrative control that I was really surprised seeing in a D&D edition.
• Minions. Minions are lots of fun for the DM. They allow me to "swarm" the player characters without overwhelming them, or without making me keep track of the hit points of large numbers of enemies. Back in 3.5, having two dozen enemies attack the PCs at once was a logistic nightmare. Now, it's no problem at all.
• Easier high-level NPC creation. In D&D 3.5, I was so frustrated with how much time I spent on creating high-level NPCs - time I could have used on developing the actual plot of the adventure - that I even created a Wiki to have better access to a large number of NPCs (ironically, the wiki became a huge hit while I soon afterwards abandoned D&D 3.5 for other RPGs...). But now, creating high-level NPCs is even easier than creating high-level PCs. Thanks to the straightforward level bonus, calculating derived stats is a snap that doesn't even involve looking up a variety of tables, and giving them specific powers is a straightforward process which doesn't take up much time.
• Easier monster creation/modification. Building and modifying monsters now is much easier. For my playtest adventure, I built an Aufhocker, a fey creature from German mythology that jumps on the backs of people and frightens them to near-death, and I was astonished how easy the process was. 3.5 sorely lacked such detailed guidelines.
• In-depth discussion on building encounters and monster roles. The chapter on building encounters and monster roles in the DMG is one of the most impressive pieces of GMing advice I have seen in any RPG. The CRs in 3.5 were extremely vague in comparison. Lengthily explaining how different types of monsters interact with each other in a fight, and giving them according roles that they are built around irrespective of origin was a stroke of genius!

Jürgen Hubert

This article is part of a series of reviews of non-D&D game books which might nevertheless be of interest to D&D gamers.


As I've mentioned in an earlier review, GURPS genre books tend to be extremely useful as supplements even when you don't actually play GURPS. GURPS Horror is certainly no exception. Indeed, it may be the best of them all.

Written by Kenneth Hite of Suppressed Transmission fame, this books dissects the horror genre for role-playing games, and then stiches it together again as an unholy, animate corpse ready to terrify your players. So, what's actually in it? Let's go through it chapter by chapter.


This chapter discusses the common archetypes of horror protagonists - in other words, typical player characters. Some of them will be obvious (the Academic, Clergyman, Detective, and Occultist), others less so (the Artist, Attorney, Child, or Journalist). This is probably the least useful for D&D gamers, since many of the archetypes don't map well to the D&D classes, and all of them have lengthy GURPS templates.


This chapter is still about the player characters - but instead of the nuts and bolts of the rules, this chapter discusses motivations for getting involved in horror scenarios. Why, after all, should any sane man go into the monster-haunted cellar? One of the answers is of course that said man is no longer sane, but there are plenty of other character hooks which can be used by player and GM alike. Whether a Childhood Curse, an Evil Ancestor, or a period of Missing Time compels the character to seek out things which he better shouldn't have meddled with, there are plenty of personal reasons for going into dark places. Equally important is the ability to work with other party members, something that is discussed here as well.


This is the Bestiarium of the book and thus lists a large range of monsters. But instead of listing the monsters depending on their nature (undead, shapeshifter, fey etc.), they are listed by the kinds of fears they are supposed to invoke, an organization as ingenious as it is effective. Starting with Fear of Taint (such Vampires, Ghouls), it moves on to Fear of Nature (Werewolves, Shaggy Ones, Man-Eaters), Fear of Madness (Serial Killers, Psycho Killers, Evil Clowns), Fear of Mutilation (The Ripper, Disembodied Brains), Fear of the Universe (Things Man Was Not Meant To Know, Cosmic Deities, etc.), Fear of the Unnatural (Ghosts, Malevolent Objects), Fear of Others (The Unseelie), Fear of Disease (Killer Virus, Nosferatu), and Fear of Death (Zombies, Mummies). In an inversion of the 4E Monster Manual, far more space is given over to flavor and discussing variants than to actual rules mechanics, as it is assumed that the GM will want to tailor the creature for his own campaign. And even if the GM doesn't want to use the listed creatures, the various sections will certainly get him thinking in the right direction when he wants to evoke specific fears. Furthermore, boxed texts discuss less common fears, such as Fear of the Foreign and Fear of Sex (!), as well as entities that fit into multiple sections (such as Alien Invaders).


The next chapter is all about horror campaign considerations. It discusses campaign lengths (whether one-shots or extended campaigns), narrative structures for the campaigns, who both the protagonists and the enemies represent, and a vast range of other design parameters. It discusses the scale of the campaign - whether it is supposed to revolve only about a few people, or the fate of the entire world. Next comes scope - how much of the world the PCs are actually able to affect. The next parameter is austerity - how much are the PCs held accountible for their actions, including their mistakes? And finally, what are the boundaries of the campaign - does it all take place in a relatively small locale, or will the PCs travel the world, or the cosmos?


Furthermore, this chapter gives advice for high-powered horror - how can you evoke an atmosphere of horror when the heroes are almost invulnerable? It discusses the various sources of uncanny power - whether magic, psionics, or perverted science. Finally, it examines the various genres that work with horror, from the familiar fantasy all the way to science fiction.


This chapter is all about individual horror adventures and how to create and run them. It discusses the elements of horror (uncertainty, isolation, the unnatural), the possible styles (splatter, cosmic horror, etc.) and themes (betrayal, corruption, and so forth), and symbolic settings (the Bad Place and the Invaded House). It discusses how to run such adventures, and how to design them, starting from the story hook and the first hints to the twists and turns, the villain's motivation, and so forth. While there is little in the way of game mechanics, this chapter will be incredibly useful to set the mood of the game.


The final chapter gives three ready-made example horror campaign settings:

• Seas of Dread, Sails of Daring: Probably the easiest to convert to D&D, this setting looks like the Carribean in the late 17th century... but here, the New World is still newly formed out of the primordial chaos, with all sorts of monsters lurking in the depths that threaten to swallow it all, including the newly arrived Europeans and the pirates that move among them.
• Blood in the Craters: A sequel of sorts to H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, this setting takes place in the aftermath of the failed Martian invasion. London slowly rebuilds - but not all of the Martians are as gone as they seem, and they are slowly plotting their vengeance and sending out their servitors to abduct the unwitting humans who try to rebuild their lives.
• The Madness Dossier: In this setting, much of recorded history is fragile. A cosmic cataclysm set the true rulers of Earth - as well as their servitors, now half-remembered as Sumerian demons - to sleep for the last 15 centuries, and humanity achieved an independence it was never meant to have. Now the servitors awaken again and threaten to restore the timeline to what it once was. Only a secret cabal of humans have gained the powers to fight the demons back - but their powers allow them to wreck and alter the minds of humans nearly at will, all in the name of the "greater good" for humanity. This setting could be adapted to a fantasy world as well, with a few name changes and appropriate bonus powers for the player characters.

The book ends with a large bibliography with all sorts of books related to the horror genre, both fiction and nonfiction, as well as comics, movies, and television series.


To sum it up, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to run horror campaigns and adventures. Nowhere else in an RPG publication have I found such an intelligent and concise examination of the horror genre in all its forms. And I don't expect that to change until the author writes a new edition of the book...

Jürgen Hubert

The "sandbox" setting, in which players are not only allowed but encouraged to make their own fun by exploring and interacting with the setting, is, in my opinion, a fundamental requirement for satisfying, rewarding D&D play. Adventures and setting that force players along certain paths -- or worse, away from certain paths -- cannot hold a candle to sandbox play. No DM's or designers story has a hope against the story that the plyers themselves create through their actions and the coinsequences of those actions (with a healthy dose of DM input and dice-based uncertainty,to boot).

Here are seven essential elements for a good "sandbox" setting.

1. Big, but not Too Big: A sandbox setting should cover a relatively large geographic area, with room for varied terrain and environments, as well as multiple politicl entities. However, one of the things that makes a sandbox game so enjoyable is the players' ability to engage it as a whole, to see all four corners and to uncover its nuances and secrets. Too big a sandbox makes each part indistinct -- the DM likely doesn't have time to flesh out every aspect of a whole world; nor do players likely have time, or even interest, to visit it all. By limiting the scope of the setting and containing it geographically, the Dm has the opportunity to delve into the whole setting and so do the players. Something on the order of the British Isles works well, size and scope wise.

2. Lots to Do, Lots to See: As stated above, a sandbox needs to be diverse in regards to where the players can go and what they can do when they get there. It isn't enough to litter the place with 100 dungeons. Rather, there should be a handful of dungeons, a handful of towns, a handful of active fotresses, a handful of mytic locations, etc... This applies to political, religous and mercantile groups, as well. A monolithic nation that covers the whole setting won't do. At the very least, there should by various states or provinces with different cultures and conflicting interests. Even better, numerous small nations or city states work well. In addition, even if the DM chooses to have a dominant religous entity, schisms and sects within the church, with their own temples and own interpretations of scripture are necessary. Players should want to explore the setting to see what is around the next bend or over the next hill.

3. A Life of its Own: The setting should "live" like a real place. The diverse locations and groups discused above should interact and those interactions should be both internally consistent and produce movement within the setting. Groups that are opposed might be moving ever toward open conflict. The heir to a city state might try and hasten along his inheritence. A lowly peddlar might slowly climb to the top of the mercantile heap. A dark cult might be waiting for a soon approaching celestial event to unleash their dark master on the setting. It isn't that the setting ignores the players and their characters' actions. Rather, there's something of a timeline or assumed evolution to the setting that the players can interact with and disrupt. Knowing what would happen in a given situation without the involvment of the players allows the DM to better interpret what happens when they do get involved, as well as allowing the DM a plan if the PCs dont bother with a particular setting element or subplot.

4. No Scaling: The sandbox should not scale to the level of the PCs. If there's a "12th level" monster in the Darkenwood when the game begins, that monster remains there -- barring its involvement in the above -- whether the players choose to go to the darkenwood at 2nd level or 20th (or both). A scaling setting breaks versimilitude and suggests to the players that whatever growth they have is irrelevent. instead, the setting should include a wide array of "levels" of adventure locales, NPCs and monsters, disrubted throughout the setting in a plausible and internally consisten manner. This is not to say that the setting can't include "zones' that are geared toward certain levels of play, but too much of this inhibits the open nature of the sandbox. Mix it up instead. But make sure that there aren't too many "invisible" major threats. Powerful creatures and chaarcters produce legends and runors and even innaccurate information will give players a glimpse into what lies ahead, allowing them the opportunity to make a meaningful choice as to where to go and what to do.

5. Wandering Monster Tables and Random Encounters: One of the key conceits of the sandbox is that players are free to go where they will, do what they wish and engage the setting through their characters without being pulled or prodded into the DM's "story". This requires a lot of work on the part of the DM, creating many adventure sites, placed encounters, NPCs and organizations before play even begins. But even with all the work done, there's still a good chance the players will go somehwere the DM hasn't thought too much about or had a chance to flesh out. This is where the value of random encounter charts comes in. With such tables, built specifically for the setting and informed by the detail the DM has done, can provide fun for everyone even during those sessions where the players simply strike out down the road. These random encounters shouldn't simply be a collection of mansters listed by terrain type. Instead, the charts should include elements of the setting, little glimpses into the setting. What tribe are those orcs from? Who are the bandits? Where is the merchant caravan heading. By making specific encounter charts for the setting, the DM ensures that more of the work he has put into the setting sees use. By exposure, players are given hooks to choose for themselves to investigate and engage aspects of the setting.

6. New Blood: Characters die. They retire. Players get bored or want a break from the usual. Inevitably, a player is going to need a new character, or a new player will join the group. It may seem obvious, but it is often overlooked: the setting must allow for the introduction of new heroes (i.e. PCs) without breaking plausibility. As such settings that are mostly wilderness or wastelands with few settlements don't work as well as those that provide a diverse selection of races and classes within the population. As a related aspect, this means the setting must be adventurer friendly and reasonably wide ranging in regards to which races and classes are available. While it is okay for the DM to establish some limitations to better suit the genre or setting he has in mind, too many restrictions hampers the introduction of new characters and should be avoided.

7. Meaningful Choices and Meaningful Consequences: Most important of all, the actions of the players should have direct, noticible impact on the setting, at least insofar as the PCs degree of influence. Information should be plentiful enough to allow the players to choose which actions they will take, and those actions must have consequences. Who the players ally with, and with whom they make enemies; what meta-setting secrets they uncover, and which they bury; those monsters they kill and those that they merely enrage: these all should change the setting to some degree or another. If the players feel their adventures and explorations within the sandbox have a real impact, they will be both more inclined to engage the setting, and more thoughtful of the consequences of their actions.

Reynard

Recently, the topic of random vs. point buy ability score generation has come up again. A large segment of the D&D is really enamored with it, but I find the sorts of over-optimized and/or repetitive character builds point buy often engenders to be antithetical to my playstyle.

That said, I do agree that it really sucks to be the guy who rolled crappy in a party of players who rolled well.

Though there are a couple of methods I came up with to deal with this, here's one I came up with that I have stuck with for a while because it's great for Play-by-Posts as well as for making pregens for gamedays/conventions.

This was originally posted here, but there are a few updates that introduce some tweaks I have been using lately.

Note that this was intended for use in D&D 3.5, D20 Modern, and Spycraft 2.0. I have no idea how suited this is for D&D 4e; use at your own risk.

Psion's D20 System Game Card Generation Method

1) Get a deck of standard playing cards. Take the 4-9 cards of two suits out of the deck. This should give you 12 cards, 2 of each numbered 4-9.

2) Shuffle the 12 cards. Deal them out in pairs. Flip them over and total the pairs. This gives you 6 numbers that can range from 8 to 18.

(If you are happy with this, just allocate these scores to the 6 stats at the player's discretion. I, however, was shooting for a slightly higher average to match the assumptions of Spycraft 2.0 and D20 Mars, and I wanted to avoid 8's, so I added this step.)

3) Sort the pairs from highest to lowest. Add 1 to the 2nd, 4th, and 6th highest numbers. Allocate statistics to ability scores to taste.

Note:
In Spycraft, to compensate for the fact that some players have more odd scores than others, I allow players to subtract 1 from two odd scores in exchange for 1 bonus feat, similar to Spycraft's Modular campaign quality.

In D20 Mars, you get more frequent attribute boosts than in standard D20 games, so odd scores are less of a "sunk cost."

Example:

The cards are shuffled and dealt, resulting in these pairs...

6, 5 ( = 11)
9, 4 ( = 13)
7, 7 ( = 14)
5, 9 ( = 14)
6, 4 ( = 10)
8, 8 ( = 16)

The scores are ordered, and 1 is added to the 2nd, 4th, and 6th highest
16
14 + 1 = 15
14
13 + 1 = 14
11
10 + 1 = 11

Resulting in
16
15
14
14
11
11

"But I want to be able to pick my stats!"

Okay, these sorts of players are still out there. So here's an option I provided: instead of shuffling to get pairs of cards, allocate them to taste. However, you have these additional restrictions (to make things more fair to the randomizers):
1) You may not deal yourself an 18 or 2 17's.
2) You don't get the 3 "kicker points" from step 3 above.

Comments on method

Having been using this for a bit, I have observed a few properties that differ here from random dice rolling.

Obviously, by intent, the spread between PC power is much less than random, but unlike point-buy, you don't see pattern builds and a flurry of ugly fighters and you don't see the big point cost hit for higher stats.

While dealing the cards to make scores, it's psychologically a different experience than rolling. If you roll a crappy score using a dice method, there's the definite feeling that you have been set back, because you can't expect the rest of your scores to make up for it. When using the card method, you deal out some low cards, you know a good score is coming, because those cards are out of the deck.

The main randomization between characters is that some characters will have higher peak stats than others. But that's okay by me. I find forcing a spate of hyper-optimized characters is detrimental to character variety. By giving the player a higher score, you force them to consider credible sidelines. This sort of adds some variety to character design.

UPDATE: Excel Tool

Irda Ranger has put up a quick excel tool to generate characters using this method. Check it out in this post in the original:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-3rd...ml#post4483802

Psion

Short reviews explaning what I think about a product. If you think it is a stupid concept, let me know. Well, if you like the concept, feel free to let me know as well.

All products are graded with stars, from * to ******.
*: For the love of God and all that is holy (and I do not even believe in God), do not buy this product.
**: I wasn’t impressed, but maybe other people could find it interesting.
***: It has some decent things, but overall there is room for a lot of improvement.
****: Good solid product.
*****: Great product, a must buy. You shouldn’t be playing 4e without.
******: If you haven’t bought it yet, you are a fool

I am in no way affiliated with any of these companies, and as such, everything I review is something that I bought myself, out of interest or need.

Keep on the Shadowfell (WotC) – The Darkness of Shadowfell Keep is looming over the surroundings lands. All clues concerning foul things happening to the region lead the heroes there, where they battle kobolds, goblins, hobgoblins and undead, in order to stop the nefarious high priest of Orcus from opening a portal to the Shadowfell.
Not the greatest adventure ever made, even by a long shot. The dungeon is way too big to get through in anything but many days, requiring the heroes to rest either inside, or go in and out multiple times. There are too few opportunities for great non-combat interaction. However, some truly lethal fights earn it a star more, just because I like deadly adventures.
Rating: ***

Thunderspire Labyrinth (WotC) – Following the trail picked up in KotS, our heroes are led to an ancient underground minotaur complex, now a semi-secret tradepost run by a group of wizards. The heroes pursue the trail of a renegade wizard attempting to size control over the small community, through 4 distinct dungeons, where they battle hobgoblins, duegar, gnolls, demons, evil wizards, and of course a dragon.
The dungeons in TL are of a much more manageable size than in KotS, with plenty of interesting fights, and via The Seven-Pillared Hall, there are plenty of opportunities to create some great roleplaying moments.
Rating: ****

Pyramid of Shadows (WotC) – Following TL, the heroes are drawn towards the Pyramid of Shadows, an ancient pyramid that has entrapped Karavakos, a tiefling of considerable arcane ability. PoS has a kind of old-school feeling to it. You have a lot of very different monsters, in a very small area, just like in the good old days. At least the writers have tried come up with an explanation as to how it is possible, but I must admit that the whole non-stop dungeon-crawling doesn’t appeal to me another. There are however plenty of very interesting encounters to steal and use in your homebrews. So all in all, worth buying for inspiration and the encounters, but it would require too much work to make a great adventure.
Rating: ***

Adventurer’s Vault (WotC) – AV should have been the 4th core book. There is no way around this book, and even though it does have it flaws with some items that can cause problems in the game, this is simply a resource that is too good to pass up. It brings new weapons, new armors, mounts, vehicles and alchemy (non-magical rituals) to your table. Not to mention hundreds and hundreds of magical items. And when I say hundreds, I do mean it. The index of magical items is 24 pages long!
Rating: *****

Advanced Player’s Guide (XRP) – Written by Ari Marmell aka Mouseferatu, this book brings the monk, the barbarian, the bard, the druid and the illusionist to our tables. The 1e feel promised is delivered to the best of my knowledge, and apart from the barbarian the savage warrior, the classes are awesome, and ready to be used in your campaign. Definitely one of the best third party products made for 4e at the time of writing.
Rating: *****

Plague (XRP) – Everything you ever wanted and needed to run a plague in your 4e games. Lots of great fluff and information on plagues, as well as the crunch needed to make them truly lethal, even for epic level characters. Buy it and release death in your campaigns!
Rating: *****

Lands of Darkness #1: The Barrow Grounds (XRP) – The Barrow Grounds is basically a cemetery you can put anywhere in your campaign, more or less. The idea is great; however the result is less than stellar. They have 12 encounters, and most are pretty boring. Rats and undead! I dunno, but a product such as this, which basically is a list of encounters, should give me more than I can think up in 20 seconds. There was some good stuff in there though. As the place is made for levels 1-3, each crypt/area has its encounter(s) adjusted depending on what level your players are when they arrive. One of the encounters, with a guardian golem could also lead to some great roleplaying. This saves the product from being a *.
Rating: **

Forgotten Heroes: Fist, Fang and Song (Goodman Games) – I think this was easily the biggest disappointment yet. Goodman Games are to me one of the best 3rd party publishers out there. It’s not that FH:FFaS is a bad product. It’s just not what I had expected. You see, they had the opportunity to make some great versions of the old classes, more than 5 months before WotC does their version. However, instead of making real 4e versions, their classes feel like 3.5 versions, with 4e rules; needlessly complicated. I am sure some (lots of) people will enjoy those versions, but to someone who really has embraced the smoothness of the classes in 4e, they are a disappointment.
Rating: **

Anointing the Seer (Unicorn Rampant Publishing) – AtS is an adventure, where the heroes are pursuing an evil family (the mother: the witch, the son: the warlock, the father: the dragon!) that have kidnapped the beautiful priestess and turned many villagers into pigs. They go from the town, to the mother’s hideout, to the son’s hideout, ending in the father’s hideout. It is simple and straight forward. There are some interesting opportunities for roleplaying and skill challenges, so with a little work, it could be a decent adventure. However the editing is atrocious. In fact, I will go as far as say that anyone asking money for a product, should be ashamed delivering one of such quality. Not only is the spelling bad, but it is full of 3.5-isms, and it is quite clear it was written as a 3.5 adventure, and then hastily converted in order to cash in on the October 1st date. Now, $5 isn’t much, but it is the principle. When you ask people to pay for your stuff, certain things are expected.
Rating: *

Noble (Alea) – Noble is a multiclass, with a class that doesn’t exist. The idea is brilliant, and my bet is that we will see many of those in the future. However, when I read this the first time, I wasn’t sure if it was a joke, or merely of poor taste. Names like “Tongue Lashing” and “Courtier’s Retort” didn’t help I guess. However, as I read more, I realized that the names didn’t really matter, because the noble multiclass is a great way of handling such things. Noble comes with a full set of powers (38) ready to buy with your feats. Also included in the pdf, are power cards, ready to print out. That’s just great.
Rating: ****

Peasant House (Alea) – Peasant House is not really a 4e product, since it works equally well for all editions of the game. However, it was listed under 4e products, so I bought it. And I wasn’t disappointed. The first two chapters, who describe how the different classes and races interact with serfdom and peasants, were a bit weak. Not poorly written or anything, just not interesting. However, the next chapters, describing the day to day life of the peasants, the atmosphere of their home and such, made it worth buying. I have always had problems with describing accurate peasant homes, and this product really gives a good picture of how they lived.
Rating: ***

The Apelord (One Bad Egg) – Have you ever wanted to play an intelligent animal in D&D? I haven’t; in fact, I have never allowed such races in any of my campaigns during the 20 years I have been running them. However, this is about to change. The Apelord is simply full of win.
Rating: *****

Sellswords of Punjar (Goodman Games) – SoP is a dark urban adventure that pits the heroes against a possessed Beggar-King and his shadowy allies, in order to avoid the spread of a shadow-plague. Goodman Games have here created a solid adventure with a distinct old-school feel. It has an interesting plot and some good set pieces. There is some innovation with regards to the rules, for example with regards to the shadow-stuff toxin which worsens your condition each time a save is failed, up to 5 times. It’s a mix of the normal poison rules and the disease track. Good stuff.
Rating: ****

Isle of the Sea Drake (Goodman Games) – The heroes find themselves stranded on a jungle isle, and find themselves in the middle of a small war between two ancient tribes. One tribe is since recently in control, after striking a deal with an evil wizard and his pirates. The wizard is there to gain control of a magic item that would allow him to control the local sea-drakes. Overall IotSD is a decent adventure with a great tone, and some opportunities for role-playing. It’s also fairly different from the standard urban or dungeon feel that we encounter in 90% of all adventures.
Rating: ****

Phrenic Shards (Dreamscarred Press) – Much like the Noble multi-class from Alea Publishing, Phrenic Shards uses a wide array of feats in order to simulate a class that does not exist. In this case, it is the psion. While the idea has merit, and there is definitely possibilities (Alea proved that), Phrenic Shards falls short. Way short. This is mostly because they are so many broken feats in there. “As One” gives you +2 to hit and +2 damage with your shard when you use a martial power. Two other feats buy you an aura (50’ radius) that gives you a surge or an AP every time an ally uses an AP or a surge within your aura – seriously?
Rating: *

Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (WotC) – After reading this book was the first time in more than 10 years that I have considered running a campaign in what was one THE campaign of choice for me. The book does a great job at describing the Realms, in a short and to the point way. It gives you an awesome framework for a campaign, with lots and lots of plot hooks, without going so much into detail that you have no room to maneuver. If you are one of those who think a campaign book should tell you everything, down to the price of inns in the different wards of Waterdeep, or the color of Manshoon’s underwear, this is not a book for you.
Rating: ****

Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide (WotC) – I am one of those people that the idea of breaking campaigns up in a book for the DM and a book for the players is a great idea. The FRPG gives the players all the information they need to create a character in the Realms. You get two new races (Drow and Genasi), a new class (Swordmage), Realm-specific feats, and a host of paragon paths, also specific to the Realms. You also get an overview of all the major areas of the Realms, and the knowledge someone native to those parts should have. Even if you do not run a FR campaign, the book is worth the money. The drow and genasi could appear in any campaign, and the Swordmage is an awesome gish-class, even better when multi-classing into wizard. The paragon paths are easily made more generic to fit any campaign.
Rating: *****

Reviews continue in the next blog, due to wordcount.

Jack99

Short reviews explaning what I think about a product. If you think it is a stupid concept, let me know. Well, if you like the concept, feel free to let me know as well.

All products are graded with stars, from * to ******.
*: For the love of God and all that is holy (and I do not even believe in God), do not buy this product.
**: I wasn’t impressed, but maybe other people could find it interesting.
***: It has some decent things, but overall there is room for a lot of improvement.
****: Good solid product.
*****: Great product, a must buy. You shouldn’t be playing 4e without.
******: If you haven’t bought it yet, you are a fool

I am in no way affiliated with any of these companies, and as such, everything I review is something that I bought myself, out of interest or need.

Wraith Recon (Mongoose) – Wraith Recon is a supplement for all that want the opportunity to run a different campaign. With Wraith Recon, your players will be able to play a different brand of heroes. Here nothing matters beyond the next mission. No one cares who you kill, as long as you get the job done. Looting every creature or running around searching every single room is a thing of the past, as all you need will be provided. All you need to worry about is putting together a kickass team, and getting ready to follow orders.
Wraith Recon provides a really good framework for making a campaign where the players are part of an elite strike team. With some sort of game-mechanics innovation in it, it would have scored higher, but sadly there is none. Also, do not expect too much from the art…
Rating: ****

The Linotaur (Adamant Entertainment) - Maybe it is just me, but, as mentioned when I talked about the Apelord, I have always had a thing against talking animals as player races. The Apelord won me over, so I thought, why not expand that even more. However, four legged talking animals are just not doing it for me, apparently. I never was a fan of the centaur as a player race. I guess there is nothing wrong with the Linotaur per say, aside from the fact that I would probably not have chosen to copy-paste the gnoll’s racial power, ferocious charge. Originality is a great thing. While I won’t allow my players to play one, I kinda like the fluff and feel of the race, so I will most likely use it and create some barbaric tribes roaming the savannahs of the south.
Rating: ***

Anthropophagi (Alea Publishing Group) – As I see it, there are several issues with these monsters. First of all, the crunch seems a bit off. Maybe it is just me (I haven’t compared to other than a few monsters), but 1d8+4 and 1d6+4+weaken for a mere level 4 brute seems nasty. Also, the aura will be a killer, for players that go below 0. The Marauder is also a bit odd, with an immediate reaction that is a bit cryptic. Also, I find the fluff hard to swallow. I mean, in what kind of world are official papers granted to undead, so that they can prowl the battlefield, looking for corpses. Maybe it fits Alea’s world, but it seems hard to fit in a “normal” campaign world.
Rating: **

Forges of the Mountain King (Goodman Games) – FotMK is an oldschool dungeon crawl if there ever was one. No roleplay, many rooms, many monsters in small rooms (9 monsters in a 3x5 room!!) and extremely lethal traps, all of it sprinkled with a riddle and an ancient evil. Liking that is a matter of taste I guess. I <3 the lethal traps, which incidentally are very fitting with the whole dwarven theme, but the lack of room to move around during many of the fights create some very static encounters in 4e. There are some random editing (?) issues, like an item power that should be a free action and not an immediate reaction, and also a referral to the wrong room at a point, but overall, I didn’t notice any huge problems on my first read-through.
I must however mention how very impressed I was with the int 1 zombies’ ability to perform a circling move, in order to be able to ambush the players from behind. That’s putting very little to very good use
Rating:***

The Unbroken (One Bad Egg) – I have two words for you guys. Must. Have. The Unbroken is a paladin paragon path simulating a paladin that has broken with his god, but wants to do things that must be done, be they good or evil. Thematically, it’s hardly breaking new ground, but it is IMO a very important option to have in your campaign. But the best thing about this short PDF is that it gives you a smart way to not only handle the paladin code introduced, but that you can easily use it with the normal paladins and their relationship with their god. Hell, it could fit for any character that wants some sort of code. At $1.49, it’s worth every penny several times over.
Rating: ******

King of the Trollhaunt Warrens (WotC) – Following the Pyramid of Shadows, but not really linked in a significant way, WotC finally get their adventure-writing together and brings us one of the best adventures in many years. The premise is simple. A little town is threatened by trolls and their new troll king. The heroes arrive and must find the secret warrens, kill the troll-king only to haste back to town to foil an attack by the troll-king’s “army”. After the attack, they find out the troll-king is not dead, and return to the warren, killing the troll king again, only to have to follow him into the Feywild, where he has now been reborn as the ancient troll-king Vard, first king of Vardar. Good stuff all around. Skill challenges, fights and role-playing opportunities are all there in good amounts, with seeds for much more.
Rating: *****

Punjar - The Tarnished Jewel (Goodman Games) – While made for their 4e OGL DCC line, PtTJ is easily adapted to any game system, as it has absolutely no crunch in there. The only 4e-ism in there is one mention of the dragonborn. This large city (75k) is run by a former thief turned Overlord is a haven for scum, bribery, murder and other nefarious pursuits and beings. Even the council-seats are as default buyable. Aside from the council, there is little centralization. Each of the wards of the city is run in it’s own fashion, with a common theme of brutality and hopelessness permeating them. Goodman Games and Mr. Stroh have created the basis for something truly great, and this appetizer has definitely let me wanting for more information about the Tarnished Jewel.
Rating: ****

The Demigod (LPJ Design) - Hi, my name is Jack, and I am an 11th level demigod fighter, and I can't die.. what? No seriously, The Demigod race has it's moments. Three things really annoy me though, when I read it. First of all, divine nature? C'est quoi? Well, one must assume that it's mr LPJ dodging the GSL. Fair enough I guess, it just annoys me that the terminology changes from product to product. Second thing that annoys me, is the name. I mean, come one, DEMIGOD? I realize that it is what they are, but in D&D, when someone says demigod, you immediately think of someone extremely powerful. Not to mention the epic destiny from the core rules. So Jack the 11th level demigod fighter/vanguard becomes Jack the 21th level demigod fighter/vanguard/demigod? Say what? Last, but not least, can you spell B-R-O-K-E-N? Well, not the race in itself, but rather one of the paragon feats. Treat any roll of 10 or lower on a death save as a 10? First of all, there is no limit to this, so I guess that makes me pretty hard to kill, unless someone beats me down to below minus bloodied. Also, why would I need a feat to treat a roll of 10 as a 10? Hmm... There is some good stuff in there, I like the feel they got going, but it needs some work.
Rating: ***

The Half-Dead (One Bad Egg) - It had to happen I guess. With The Apelord and The Unbroken One Bad Egg had raised my expectations to a unreasonably high level. Yet, there is something intriguing about the Half-Dead.The concept and flavor really appeals to me, but I am never going to use it as a full player race. I think that is the biggest hurdle of the Half-Dead. I do not see it as a race that many will use. I will however use it at some point, where one of my players die, as some plot device. We will have to see. Overall it's a well designed race, but I do have some concerns about the racial ability. +5 to all death saves is too much (I think, but haven't had time to do the math yet).
Rating: ****

The Death-Mother (One Bad Egg) - "A mockery of motherhood, the death-mother appears a rotting, clawed zombie with an enormous, bloated abdomen that splits open to reveal rows upon rows of sharp, needle-like teeth. A single long tentacle emerge from that maw on occasion; striking a foe, the death-mother exerts a momentary control over the victim’s mind and feeds its gestating get with leeched life-force" - If that just sounds cool, nay awesome, it is because it is. Between producing undeads during combat and devouring more corpses during combat to produce even more undeads, this monster can be a truly horrifying experience for your players. Do not deprieve yourself of the pleasure of using this against them!
Rating: *****

Critter Cache: Big Bugs (Blackdirge Publishing) - So, finally we got us some more monsters! And they even have descriptions! Okay, I must admit I have never been the biggest fan of bugs, but there are some real gems in this product, as long as you do not look too much at the art. It looks like 1e stuff. Okay, I guess some people might dig it, I sure as hell didn’t. We got ant soldiers that frenzy (get more attacks when they are bloodied), we got an ant queen whose pheromone burst has not one, not two, but three different applications, both offensive and defensive, making it an awesome controller/leader hybrid. There are a few places where the author went a bit overboard, such as a beetle (level 6 brute) which does 2d10+10 damage when it has a target grabbed. Ouch. All in all, a good solid product, filled with some nasty critters to dispense of your pesky players. If you feel that 4e is just incomplete without these kinds of monsters, add another star.
Rating: ****

Tankard Tales: Willowbark (Myth Merchant Press) - Okay, so Willowbarks is a tavern at the edge of civilization. It is an interesting, if not completely innovative concept. The PDF describes the owner and his employees, as well as sets up some rumors and adventure hooks and some small adventure ideas. While I think that the author should have included stats for the owner and his friends, I like parts of the adventure seeds and the small adventures in Willowbarks. One sees the players being stuck in an alternate pocket-plane/dimension, due to a gnomish device gone awry. They must repair the device to return to their own plane, but unfortunately a portal to the Feywild is acting up and monsters are literally pouring in through the portal. Fun times, except that if the players fail, we are told that they just wake up unharmed, back at the inn. That’s kind of weak.
Rating:***

Lands of Darkness #2: The Cesspools of Arnac (XRP) - I think I won’t buy any more of the Land of Darkness series. Either they are extremely boring, or the whole concept just doesn’t suit me. The encounters seem repetitive and the new monsters seem without soul. Don’t get me wrong, there is some good, most notably a nasty level 5 disease which leaves you perma-dazed with a hefty penalty to AC and Fortitude defense. I am however not a fan of assured TPK’s which is what has been put in there. Sure, there is a skill challenge which allows you to avoid the encounter, or rather, resolves the encounter without bloodshed. A failed skill challenge is however a sure TPK. Against a level 3 a level 12 controller, 91 hps, insubstantial, flies, phases, and every 3rd round on average, he can make a close burst 6 attack that does 2d8+1 damage, pushes 5, and immobilizes (save ends). Of course, they can flee, I guess, but still...
Rating:**

Paths to Prestige: The Fell Knight (Blackdirge Publishing) – First of all, despite the price tag of $1.50, you aren’t getting a whole lot. A prestige class, the corresponding template for monsters, and an example of a MM monster with the template slapped upon, along with a little fluff. Or maybe I am just spoiled. Anyway, the idea of the fallen paladin is fine, because we do not have it per say. We have the evil paladin via the core books, and the paladin that has given up on the gods via the Unbroken of One Bad Egg. So it’s filling a gap, although a very small gap. The problem I have with the Fell Knight is the implementation. For example, at 11th level, all powers you have that deal radiant now deal necrotic; except (because it is a class feature and not a prayer) your divine challenge. Then at 16th level, targets that are affected by your divine challenge take ongoing necrotic takes some ongoing necrotic damage. So your DC deals radiant damage and necrotic ongoing. Not really smooth in my book. Why not have DC do necrotic damage instead?
Rating:***

Gods of the Shroud (One Bad Egg) - Let me start out by saying that if what you are looking for is a replacement pantheon for your high-magic campaign, this is probably not a product for you. It is however the perfect set of gods for a gritty, dark world on the edge of civilization or humanity. Baring running such a campaign, the Gods of the Shroud should be perfect as Ancient gods, still worshipped by barbarians, various humanoid tribes or really anyone living on the fringe of society. I must admit that I would have liked more fluff, but the fluff gotten was very evocative and sparked a lot of great ideas - just as it should be. The Channel Divinity feats are mostly great, and quite fitting. Overall a product I will be using a lot.
Rating:*****

Martial Power (WotC) – Expectations from my side were both high and low at the same time. High because it is the first real splatbook of 4e, low because it is a splatbook. I was not disappointed. I was not let down by what some claims to be a corporation of evil money-grubbing suits without soul. Martial Powers promises more options for my martial powers, and options it delivers in spades. Sure, not all are equal, and there might even be something horribly broken, but from a first quick read-through, Martial Power is just made of win. You get many new powers, many new class features, and quite a few new builds for greater variety. At a glance, I can easily see the beastmaster ranger becoming a favorite. I know I would like to play a ranger now. I can’t give it 6 stars, but since it is all crunch, I do not feel that I can do that without extensive testing. When that is said, this is a must have, if not only to give your players more options with regards to powers and feats.
Rating:*****

The Kroola (Poison Ivy press) - Okay. I knew I shouldn't have bought it. I mean, jolly but aggressive crocodiles that walk upright, live in swamps or play pirates on the Seven Seas? Maybe it is just me, but it just didn't do anything for me. Fluff aside, one could hope for some decent crunch, but alas. While they probably fit some world, the Kroola are just too powerful for your average campaign. The "no-granting-CA-while-prone" and "the improved unarmed attack" are nice and fit thematically, the Kroola's racial power is just.. well powerful. As an encounter power, spend a healing surge for con modifier + ½ level regen that lasts for the encounter as long as you are not "not-bloodied" or unconscious. Sure, there will be times where you waste it, if ennemies disengage you soon after you are bloodied, but often it will be godsent. Imagine a Kroola Infernal Warlock (I actually have a hard time imagining that, but anyway...). 20 con and at 2nd level that's 7 hp regen per round. He could almost easily play tank with that.
Rating:**

Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons(WotC) - The 4e version of the Draconomicon is here. As opposed to the 3.5 version, it is only about the chromatic dragons. Now, this may not please everyone, just as the omission of the metallic dragons in the Monster’s Manual did not please everyone. Want to know everything about the psychology and physiology of the chromatic dragons? Want help on integrating dragons into your campaigns? Want dragon traps? Want dragon rituals? Want page after page of dragon lairs and a large variety of dragons? The Draconomicon is however full of all sorts of all the goodies you will need for running evil dragons. I can’t wait for Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons.
Rating:*****


The Quintessential Wizard (Mongoose) - QW is essential a book of crunch. While it does have some decent fluff here and there, I am evaluating it based on the crunch. All I can say is that not much have changed. The Q-series had a reputation of being unbalanced, and even though it is a completely new group of designers, not much has changed. This book has more broken feats than all other 4e books put together. Several of the PP's are also really, really good (trying to avoid using the word broken again). The powers vary more, but seriously, sleep as an encounter power at level 5? Sigh. Oh and what the hell is the "held" condition (I understand what it is, but I shouldn't have to make even educated guesses)? Arguably there is stuff you could find useful in the book, but considering the size and the number of broken stuff, I cannot recommend it in any way shape or form. I expect more, and so should you!
Rating:*

Heroes Handbook: The Dragonborn (Goodman Games) - A lot of people have been complaining that 4e lacks fluff, myself included at times. Well, if it’s fluff you want, it is fluff you will get. The dragonborn are here described as an ancient races steeped in tradition and honor. A sort of samuraiesque-indian hybrid race, divided into very distinct clans, each with their own history and traditions, each with their own interpretation of the Code of the Dragon, the cornerstone of dragonborn society; Courage, loyalty and integrity.
Each clan (8 are described in detail) comes with it’s own paragon path and feats. There is also a whole chapter of feats fitting any (well, there are prereqs) dragonborn character. Overall, it is great stuff, and while there are a few feats you as DM might need to take a look at (as well as a few PP’s), overall the stuff appears to not be completely unbalanced. Not everything has been the subject to the dreaded power-creep, and there are plenty of options for those who wish to build on their dragonborn character, making him even more distinctly dragonborn.
The book has around 60 pages of almost 100% fluff, 10 pages on how (tables) to make a engaging and interesting family history for your dragonborn, 20 pages of monsters (mostly different dragonborn) and finally around 10 pages of new magical items.
While I am 100% sure you could play 4e without this book, I would definitely not be without it.
[i]Rating:*****[/I%5

Jack99

This article is part of a series of reviews of non-D&D game books which might nevertheless be of interest to D&D gamers.


Steve Jackson Games have always been good at publishing "genre sourcebooks" for their GURPS line - books that cover a specific role-playing genre in exhaustive detail. They have a deservedly excellent reputation for research, accuracy, and playtesting, and given that the rules information in many of their books is either light or easily convertible, many people - including those who absolutely loathe the GURPS gaming system as a whole - nevertheless buy it for the systemless information. They are that good.

And their latest edition of GURPS Space is no exception.

GURPS Space exists as a world and campaign-building tool for science fiction campaigns - to be specific, science fiction campaigns that take place among the vast reaches of space. It doesn't have any equipment lists (for that, see the equally excellent GURPS Ultra-Tech, which should satisfy the wet dreams of any gearhead, as well as the GURPS Spaceship line for spaceships) - instead, it gives the game master of science fiction campaigns a huge list of ideas, suggestions, and advice he will find useful when building his own SF universe.

But how is this book of any use for D&D campaigns, you might ask? After all, D&D is fantasy, not science fiction!

And truthfully, many of the chapters won't be useful for you unless you are playing one of those weird hybrids like Spelljammer or Dragonstar. The possible types of stardrives and their implications for settlement patterns and adventures is irrelevant for fantasy campaigns, as is the chapter on technological assumptions and how they will shape future societies. The lengthy chapters on rolling up entire star systems (or even star sectors...), while impressive, are all throughly grounded in real world astronomical knowledge. The chapters on future and alien societies as well as adventures and campaign styles are more useful - it's possible to get some inspiration for fantasy cultures from them.

However, the single best reason to buy this book is the chapter on creating and rolling up alien creatures. This will allow you to come up with entire ecosystems with a little bit of patience - and certainly with the major predators in it (i.e. the critters that will try to munch on your PCs). And there is plenty of discussion of ecosystems in this chapter, so that you will easily be able to figure out how it all ties together - a welcome relief for game masters who crave verisimilitude but feel let down by the all too brief descriptions in the 4E Monster Manual. This chapter is so completely awesome that the only way I can show just how awesome it is is by rolling up an example creature.

Let's say we want to create some sort of native creature for an "Elemental Plane of Air". We'll go through all the random tables in this chapter.

Alien Creation I: Since this is for a fantasy setting, and not a SF one, we skip the "chemical basis" for our life form and just assume that it has a water-based metabolism like terrestrial life, though we can always come up with a more exotic explanation later on. Though "Plasma Life" or "Silicon/Liquid Rock" life forms might be interesting for creatures from other elemental planes...

Alien Creation II: Since we plan to make the Plane of Air a fairly uniform expanse of air, we don't need to roll for specific habitats. If we wanted to put in some more work, we could conceivably come up with more complex habitats (for example, a vast expanse of floating plants could be the equivalent of a terrestrial woodlands and jungle environment) and use that for later tables, but right now that's too much work.

Now we have to roll up how and on what our creature feeds - and we also have to choose whether we want to create an "ordinary" animal or a sapient creature. Let's roll up something intelligent. I came up with a "Pouncing Carnivore", which implies that it preys on others through swift attacks, often through ambushes.

Alien Creation III: Now we determine its locomotion. The table lists numerous options for specific environments. "Endless Expanse of Air" is not listed, but "Gas Giant Planet" seems like a close fit. We get "buoyant flight".

Alien Creation IV: Next up is the creature's size and mass. The only appropriate modifier for the Size table seems to be a +2 for "gravity of 0.4G or less" - it seems appropriate that creatures get bigger in a plane without gravity (of course, we could ignore that modifier - this is fantasy, after all - but let's see what happens). We end up with a size of approximately 7 yards (and that's actually not all that large for this environment - creatures in low gravity can get huge) and a mass of 4 tons. In GURPS terms, it would end up with a Strength of 40.

Alien Creation V: Now we determine the general build of its body. We get a radial build with four sides, one arm per side with full manual dexterity, no tail, and a combination of an internal skeleton with a hydrostatic skeleton (i.e. parts of its body are supported by bones, while others are supported by a system similar to the limbs of an octopus or the trunk of an elephant).

Alien Creation VI: Some more details: It is covered by scales and has cold-blooded temperature regulation. Presumably, the temperature in the Plane of Air is uniformly warm, but this creature might be especially to cold-based attacks, which would likely slow it down. Furthermore, it grows continually during its life instead of molting or going through a metamorphosis.

Alien Creation VII: Now for its propagation strategy: It has two sexes, has a spawning/pollinating method of gestation, and has about 10 offspring per litter, none of which receive any care.

Alien Creation VIII: Next up are its senses: It's primary sense is hearing, complete with ultrasonic hearing and sonar (like bats), but it also has fairly decent vision complete with heat detection ability, a normal sense of touch, and an excellent sense of smell (similar to bloodhounds). It primarily communicates per sound.

Alien Creation IX: Now we tackle its intelligence and social organization. It ends up with a GURPS IQ of 7 (fairly dumb), and any members of the species which mate don't form any pair bonds. The species is solitary.

Alien Creation X: The last table is for determining the creature's overall personality traits (as typical for its species). We end up with:
- Chauvinism -3 (Undiscriminating - it doesn't really see its own species as anything special)
- Concentration -2 (Short Attention Span - it's easily distractible)
- Curiosity -2 (Incurious - it isn't very interested in new things)
- Egoism -1 (Humble - it doesn't have a strong sense of self-importance)
- Empathy +1 (Responsive - it can care about the feelings of others both within and without its species. It probably tries to make quick kills and might help out non-prey creatures on rare occasions)
Gregariousness
- Gregariousness -3 (Loner - it strongly prefers to live on its own)
- Imagination -3 (Hidebound - it's bad at coming up with new ideas or strategies)
- Suspicion -1 (it doesn't easily get afraid or startled)
- Playfulness -1 (Serious - it doesn't play around much)



All this information, derived from purely random tables, already gives a good overview of a new creature, and the more in-depth explanation in GURPS Space of what these values means make it very easy to flesh out the creature. This should be enough to give a good overview of the system, but if there is enough interest, I might expand on this creature and write up a complete Monster Manual-style entry, complete with a "fluff" description of its (I would have to finish reading the D&D 4e rules before that, of course). But in the meantime, it should be obvious what this book has to offer to anyone who wants to come up with new monsters for their own campaign settings.

Jürgen Hubert

In the course of game discussion and criticism, I've seen many valid critiques batted off with a refrain to the tune of "that's a player problem, not a game problem." The problem I see with that is you need players to play, but games are many. Though there are certainly unreasonable players, they do not occur with the regularity that people who bank on the "blame the player" defense seem to think.

As promised, this blog (or this section of it) will be a collection point for bits of gaming philosophy. Here's a discussion I captured about how I came to this conclusion, captured from an ancient thread here:

(In response to a poster blaming players for a game problem):


I'm not insulted (though I must say, if it were my players you were referring to, it might have been) so much as I think it's a totally bogus cop-out when it comes to defending a game.

Let me tell you a story. The title of this story is "Why Psion Doesn't Run Hero".

Psion loves Hero. Psion thinks that Hero is a way cool game. In some ways, he thinks it out-cools D&D. Why? Because it lets him craft anything and have rigorous mechanical support for it that he much prefers to ad hoccing everything.

But back in college, Psion had a group. There were many players in this group, but one of particular interest. We'll call him Rob. Because, well, that's his name.

Psion is running a rip-roaring game of hero, but find that Rob routinely avoids running characters that use magic. I soon discover that Rob does not use magic because he doesn't grok the power system. Well, Rob's a college student, so he should understand the basic math that goes into making a Hero character right?

I thought so, but it occurs to me that whether or not he's capable, that's work to him. It occurs to me that gaming being a leisure activity, it's not my place to make him do things he doesn't like. And by running hero, I was limiting his options.

It was that moment that pushed me away from hero and back towards D&D. Yeah, it's not as flexible as Hero, or many other systems. But IME, most people grok D&D, and can play any character type they care to play if they can play at all.

Later, I got into verbal fencing with GURPS fans, who in answering my charges that IME GURPS players too easily build characters with scads of half point skills it was my "player's fault."

Such arguments firmed up my philosophy that it is not the job of the players to support the game, but vice versa. If your players don't enjoy a game, that is not a slight to the players. You can't obligate the players to fit the game, much less judge them.

I could easily slam rules light players for their lack of mathematical ability, but given my experience with Rob, I tried to avoid going that route because I consider it the "low road". It's not the player's job to fit the game. It's the game's job to support the players.

So, I'll own that if D&D accounting is not too your liking, you should probably play something with less accounting, or (at the very least) make efforts to minimize it. But by the same token, if the lack of robustness is limiting the actions your players consider, I'd say that is on the game, not on the players.

It is easier to change the game you are playing, or to change rules of a game, than it is to change people. Games are dispensable.

Psion

DMing is hard. Part science, part art, it is all work. This isn't to say, of course, that it isn't also rewarding and fun, but DMing well takes effort, experience and practice. Moreover, every new edition, every new group of players requires that the DM relearn the craft, sometimes on a superficial level but also sometimes on a fundamental one.

That said, in my 20 years of DMing, I have developed a number of rules I endeavor to follow when I run Dungeons and Dragons. Sometimes, I find that they don't all work for the players involved, and sometimes I find that they don't work with the edition being used. In these cases I either try and alter my style and preferences (not an easy thing) or play with different people or different rules.

All that said, I give you Reynard's Rules of DMing:

The DM isn't always right, but he is the one that always decides what's right.

Among the many roles the DM plays during the course of running the game, the most important is that of Final Arbiter. The DM arbitrates not only rules questions, disputes and applications, but also arbitrates the non-mechanical aspects of the game, up to and including conflicts between the players and even the players and the DM. DMs, being human, are far from infallible, and a good DM listens to his players. In the end, however, the DM must have the final authority over te solution to any dispute or question, because it falls to the DM to keep the game moving and keep everyone involved and entertained.

It's the DM's World, but it's the Players' Story.

One of the greatest responsibilities and rewards of DMing is building and running the world in which the PCs adventure. Creating people, places and things with which the player characters can interact, and then having those Nouns respond to that interaction, is both fun and challenging. As such, the DM should be free to include or exclude, limit or expand any or all of the traditional tropes of D&D in his world. That said, it is easy for the DM to fall into the too common trap of starting to care more about his creations than the players' interaction with those creations. If the world is immutable, if the NPCs are insurpassable, if the setting's secrets are inpenetrable, the DM has lost perspective on the reason those two or eight people are sitting there on the other side of the screen. Consistency, versimilitude and plausibility are all important and the hallmarks of a good DM; relegating the PCs to tourists and window shoppers is not.

Know when to hold 'em, know when to roll 'em.

Dice are important in D&D (see below) but they are not an end unto themselves. One othe most common mistakes many DMs, both novices and veterans alike, make is to rely too much on the dice. Too often, an important aspect of the game or adventure is hinged on a die roll when a random result or the possibility of a bad roll will slow down, or even outright ruin, the game. It is important to identify these situations and not require rolls where rolls will lead to incongruent or troublesome results. As an example, let's say there's a secret door in an old mansion. If the door leads to a hidden room where the previous owner stored his treasure, requiring a random roll to locate the door is perfectly acceptable. If, however, the door leads to final confrontation or other aspect that makes completing the adventure impossible, requiring a die roll is just begging to stop the adventure in its tracks and/or tempt one to "fudge the result( again, see below). Better to require that the PCs look for the secret door through simple description of action and, if they look in the right place, allow them to find it (make sure, though, to give them some clue of where to look in the first place, or the players will be forced to read your mind or search every square inch of the place).

Let the Dice Fall where they May.

As an addendum to the above rule, once you have determined that a particular situation does warrant the the use of dice, never fudge. Stick by the result of the die roll, interpret and use it as best you can and keep going. After all, you thought it through (didn't you) and said "Yes!" to a die roll. Now, it is incumbant upon the DM to roll with whatever result lands face up. This is particularly important in combat. Not only should the dice stay where they fall, they should bhe rolled out in the open so everyone knows it'sthe dice, not the DM, determining the outcome of the battle. Note that this maxim applies to die rolls by both the DM and the players, and die rolls affecting eother the PCs or the monsters/NPCs. If Villain McEvil goes down because of a lucky critical on the part of the players, that's how the cookie crumbles. Fudging the result (of which pumping up the villain secretly behind the screen is a form) is nothing short of cheating.

The Players are Your Friends; their characters aren't.

Also known as "Adventuring is Dangerous Business", this rule is a philosophical one, covering many different aspects of running a game, from creating the world to arbitrating rules to designing adventures. A D&D world is most entertaining when it is filled with dangerous Nouns, all within reach of the PCs so that the players can decide where to go, when to do it and what to do once they get there. Not every boy off the farm is destined for greatness, however, and pretending otherwise -- whether through never designing a non "level appropriate" challenge or by fudging as described above or building a world that caters to the players and their characters above all else -- does a disservice to those players and characters that survive and thrive in such a treacherous world and profession. In the end, the cream will rise to the top and your players will thank you for it, whether directly or when they are in the game store or at a convention telling anyone who will listen about the time their paladin held the door against the orc horde while his wounded companions escaped.

Reynard