Dungeons & Dragons Insider: Observations

So I've had a few weeks to observe the new Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition... part of which was to be a suite of tools gleefully promised to us months ago. It seems the edition is going to start without the tools, however, since none of them were ready at launch. Nearing a full month since the release, only the Compendium (a fairly helpful if relatively plain tool that allows the user to search the rules) has been released. The interface is very plain at present, boring and utilitarian, which suggests it was perhaps rushed out the door to show that they intend on releasing the tools.

Wizards of the Coast doesn't have a stellar record when it comes to electronic tools for the D&D game, so I can see why they might think their userbase a bit skittish. Frankly, we are. I don't trust WotC with electronic tools at all and am very skeptical about the subscription Dungeons & Dragons Insider service. They've had months to wow me and they've failed completely - not even bothering to compile their electronic files for the magazines into a complete issue. The content for the intervening issues between the end of the Paizo run of the magazines and the release of 4e was an opportunity that Wizards of the Coast squandered.

So have I given up? Ever the optomist, I've been continuing to try to keep an open mind. While the Compendium is not particularly elegant, it is up now and it works, after a fashion. The magazines in their new online format have had some fairly regular updates and articles have been going up a few times a week. I'll confess, I haven't read them all, but the article of illusionist powers for the wizard was actually quite decent, and brings a return to the Class Acts section, which was one of my favorite Paizo additions to Dragon magazine.

I have had less time to look over the Dungeon articles, and here I believe Wizards squandered another chance. I would have loved to have seen a really good entry level adventure that addressed many of the criticisms of the new edition in the magazine this month. Instead, we have some side-treks for the published adventure and two adventures for the middle part of the heroic teir (1-10th level... the adventures are for 4th and 8th level). I've made some use of the side-treks, which were decent but more appropriate for a web enhancement than part of Dungeon. I'm going to hold my blistering critique for next month... the game has few adventures out and needs options beyond the published Keep on the Shadowfell as an entry point. I'm hoping that I'll see one next month.

I am not a WotC apologist... they've messed up a lot in the months leading to the release, especially with regards to Dungeons & Dragons Insider, but at least this month they have posted something. We'll see if they promptly post the compilation and if the full table of contents gets posted. If both of those things happen, the DDI might still have a chance.

Free RPG Stuff: Get It Today Only!

Today is June 21, 2008 - Free RPG Day - which is great for a cheap old queen like me, since it means plenty of free swag is available at my friendly local gaming store. What kind of swag? Adventure modules, quick start guides, the kind of stuff that might make you take a look and say, "Hey, I've never played Pathfinder and this Revenge of the Kobold King adventure looks really cool!" Okay, so I'm a Paizo fanboi, but for 4e fanatics, especially those complaining about the lack of a low level adventure in the Dungeons and Dragons Insider version of Dungeon magazine this month, there is also a Wizards of the Coast adventure.

The giveaways look pretty cool and include everything from miniatures (another WotC offering) to dice from Chessex and Q-workshop and even more adventures and quickstart guides - Harn, Traveller, Tunnels & Trolls and several others are represented. The stuff is free only at participating local gaming stores, so take a look at the Free RPG Day website and check their list of retailers... maybe you'll find that cool new system you were looking for (or get a chance to check out something from 4e for free). Maybe you'll even discover a nearby gaming store you didn't know was quite so nearby.

I'm a big advocate of supporting the friendly local gaming store because they offer something most online retailers can't: a real community, a means to find games and players and try out things you aren't sure if you want to buy yet. For those who find it usually more worthwhile to order things from Amazon, this is a chance for an even better deal. Get to your FLGS today!

Game Of The Week: Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition

Whether grognards like myself like or hate the new edition (and there seems to be quite the mix), the fact remains that Wizards of the Coast is the big fish in the small pond of the role playing game industry. The flagship rpg product, the one everyone knows and everyone recognizes, is Dungeons & Dragons. As I mentioned in my last entry, I tried the game this past weekend with the introductory adventure and quickstart rules, having only the Players Handbook in hand. I'll discuss that experience later and in some detail because I think there are probably a lot of gaymers who are still in the process of making a decision on 4e.

Today I surrendered and bought the books - cancelling my online order (it was delayed in shipping until at least July 10th) - and buying the books from my friendly local gaming store (which, as I've said before, is not all that friendly, though at least the cashier is a hot little number). They kindly gave me a substantial discount as a longtime customer, for which I'm grateful, since the cost of the books is hurdle to starting in the new system. For what it's worth, while I always support my local gaming stores when I can, you can probably already find cheap copies on Ebay. Why? Because while I rather like a lot of aspects of the new edition... most particularly that I think my players have more fun playing it than 3.5... many others who had high hopes have not.

So if so many people hated it, why am I making it the game of the week? Because there must be some balance. For every person who has told me they hate 4e, I've also had someone tell me why they love it. It's not perfect, and thanks to Paizo, it doesn't need to be. Those who want to continue with the 3.5 system and rules that flow from that system can continue with Paizo's Pathfinder system, or just use 3.5 as is or with Monte Cook's book of his own house rules (which I featured here some time ago). For those who need the official system, who must have only what is endorsed by Wizards of the Coast - congratulations. I pronounce the system somewhat sound, playable, and fun. It may not be perfect, substituting streamlining of effects for flexibility in places, but it has its own qualities to recommend it, which I'll discuss in depth in the coming weeks in a new feature that will replace Scrying the 4e Crystal Ball.

This game will not be D&D for everyone. It slays sacred cows (magic missile can miss, and yes that just feels wrong to me, too), and it changes many aspects of the game. Wizards seem more playable at low levels than they were, fighters seem more playable at high levels than they were. Much of the game is now about the team rather than the character, and you'll have to work at making your character unique, because the rules will not do it for you. But I think, despite great early trepidation, that the game is a good one. Try it out if you can. If 3.5 is definitely your choice... think about trying Pathfinder. I'm still reading the alpha release of their rules, but they look like they're doing something interesting over at Paizo too.

Scrying The 4e Crystal Ball: It's Here!

With 4th edition of the new D&D game out, I felt a need this weekend to take the new rules for a spin, and not just because of World D&D Game Day on Saturday. Unfortunately, despite its participation in the day on an official level, no 4e gaming was going on at the nearest FLGS and the better one (which is slightly further away, hey gimme a break, gas is $4 a gallon) was full by the time I cornered the manager of the nearby game store to find out that indeed no 4e gaming was going to take place.

Fortunately, my regular gaming group meets on Sundays and agreed to do a test. I purchased Keep on Shadowfell just after its release and my gaming group (sans one player) gave it go. That gave us a group of five players, which is conveniently what the rules recommend (and also the number of pre-gens available). Saved from trying to figure out character creation over the weekend, I focused on learning the rules. Many of the changes came as no surprise, I have, after all, been reporting what little we've been able to learn for the past six months. I have a controversial opinion, I know, but frankly, while I love 3e and 3.5e, I think this game (so far) plays better for my group.

I'll give a full review tomorrow, but I think it's safe to say that 4e is D&D, but not necessarily the flavor of D&D that is right for everyone. I'll explain those sentiments tomorrow.

Rest In Peace Robert Asprin

Books have informed the gaming industry for many years. As much as I love the epic fantasy that brought us D&D and so many other fantasy games, sometimes high fantasy just got on my nerves and I needed to turn to something that was lighter - something funny and punny and wild. Something like the Myth Adventure books from Robert Asprin. I'm grieved to say that after finally starting to continue this series following a very long hiatus, Robert Aspirin passed away yesterday.

Please see the Myth Adventures website for details.

Game Of The Week: Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles

For those sick of bunnies from jupiter, I have the next best thing -- mecha! That's right, giant fighting robots from my personal favorite setting for futuristic mecha battling fun. I wanted to put a spotlight on this when it first came out about a month ago, but somehow I missed it, and none of my local gaming stores had it on the shelf. I stopped by the best FLGS in the area this weekend, and lo and behold, there it was. Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles.

Easy to miss, not because it's cool, but because, unlike the previous robotech rpg books, this one is tiny (not in overall size, but in dimension - I'm used to something approximating 8 1/2 x 11 for these books, and this one is pocket-sized)! Great game though, my caveat (as always) - the Palladium rule engine take getting used to. You will love them or hate them, and if you hate them, this game is definitely not for you as the game is very much in the Palladium mold.

Anyway, full details can be found on the Palladium Books site.

Scrying The 4e Crystal Ball: GSL Less Restrictive???

And the news is in, the GSL isn't quite as restrictive as we recently thought it might be! It seems the GSL will require that product lines make the full conversion. How restrictive is this? We don't know until we see the definition of "product line," but it is certainly less restrictive than the company wide conversion that seemed in the cards two weeks ago.

I'm encouraged by this news and hope that we may yet see some Paizo and Green Ronin materials for 4e. There are still many companies who are (at least publically) on the fence, but I wouldn't expect to see firm decisions from anyone until they see the license.

Here's a tidbit:

There has been a lot of speculation around the details of the new GSL, and I feel like there is need for some clarification. Our intention is to encourage publishers to design for 4th Edition, not to jeopardize independent third-party games published under the OGL. With that in mind, publishers are going to be able to decide -- on a product line by product line basis -- which platform they will use for developing their products. If a publisher has an existing product under the OGL, we would love for them to update it to the GSL; however, that is not a requirement.
--Scott Rouse, Senior Brand Manager

For more info check the D&D GSL FAQ.

Scrying The 4e Crystal Ball: GSL Requires Choice

We're bringing you a special edition of Scrying the 4e Crystal Ball today.

Discussions are raging across the various rpg boards concerning the news that there is a mutual exclusivity clause in the GSL. Now, no one has actually seen the GSL yet to say just how tight this little piece of writing is, but word from Clark Peterson of Necromancer Games, who has been in contact with Wizards of the Coast about the provision, is that it may be very tight indeed.

That said, we do know some things for sure from Linae and Scott, who gave up part of their weekends to post some responses to everyones' concerns:

• The new GSL will not permit a dual statted book.
• The new GSL will not allow a publisher to print both a 4e and a 3.5 edition of a product.
• The GSL will allow an update of existing OGL material to the GSL (though there may be a provision requiring the OGL version no longer be sold)
• The publishers who were given early access to the GSL were respected PRINT publishers. This was done, according to Scott, to allow for the greater lead time required for a print publisher to get something into the market place.
• The new starting date for the GSL precludes any non-wizards D&D system material for 4e this GenCon.
• The new GSL has some wording allowing use of the D&D branding itself... it's likely that it will be actual D&D branding with some sort of alternate logo that is only used by third party publishers.

In addition, Clark made one very important assertion that went unchallenged by the wizards folks, even though they responded directly to a lot of other misinterpretations:

• Printing something using the GSL requires a company wide switch to the GSL. It's a company by company choice (as Clark put it), not a publication by publication choice. This suggests that there is a clause in the GSL that causes the automatic revokation of the license if you subsequently print something using OGL.

I've read a lot of posts on a lot of messageboards to condense this all, but the bulk is from this forum thread at ENWorld.

Scrying The 4e Crystal Ball: GSL

GSL, for those who don't know, is a reference to the Game System License... a license that some in the industry, even die hard supporters of WotC, were beginning to feel was never going to be released.

Here's the relevant text from Dungeons & Dragons Insider:

Wizards of the Coast is pleased to announce that third-party publishers will be allowed to publish products compatible with the Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition game system under the new Dungeons & Dragons 4E Game System License (D&D 4E GSL). This royalty-free license will replace the former d20 System Trademark License (STL), and will have a System Reference Document (SRD) available for referencing permissible content.

The D&D 4E GSL will allow third-party publishers to create roleplaying game products in fantasy settings with the D&D 4th Edition rules, and publishers who register with WotC will be granted the right to use a version of the D&D logo that denotes the product as compatible with the D&D 4th Edition Roleplaying Game, in accordance with WotC's terms and conditions. The effective start date for sales of D&D 4E GSL publications will be October 1, 2008.

The license associated SRD will be available on June 6, 2008, at no cost. A small group of publishers received advanced notice and will receive these documents prior to June 6, at no cost, in order to prepare for publication of compatible materials by the effective start date. If you haven't already been contacted by WotC, you will be able to access the documents on the Wizards website beginning on June 6, 2008.

Wizards is also working on the details of a second royalty-free license, the d20 Game System License (d20 GSL). This license will allow third-party publishers to create roleplaying game products in non-fantasy settings with the 4E rules. The exact details for the d20 GSL will be released as they become available.

Scrying The 4e Crystal Ball: Draconomicon

An Enworld user has had an opportunity to glance over the Wizards of the Coast Fall Catalogue. While a number of the items look interesting, the one I was curious to see was this: Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons.

Ok, well first of all, why just chromatic dragons? They managed a lot more than that in the 3e Draconomicon, but then the kicker... three new chromatic dragons: Brown, Purple and Grey.

GAH! Did my eyes deceive me? Or is it just that they're throwing Dragon magazine fans to the four winds??? The traditionally omitted chromatic dragons (they're counting grey? What's with that? Are they deliberately looking to be boring?) are nothing of the kind... they are, in fact Purple (so they got one right), Orange and Yellow. Color me disappointed.

Here's the text of the one book, for the rest see the Enworld page:

Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons November 18th 288 pages, $39.95 "...details of each dragon's powers, tactics, myths, lairs, servitors, and more." Side Bar 3 New Chromatic Dragons: Brown, Purple and Grey

Scrying The 4e Crystal Ball: Beholder News

Rich Baker has been one of the better sources of information on 4th edition through his blog. The party in his playtest group has reached epic levels, and in his blog he talks about their recent encounter with a beholder. Rich maintains that the new 4e version is the best version they've done in the 30+ year history of the game. I won't judge that until I see the quality of the eyestalks myself. Fortunately we were given a few snippets of info on just what the beholder is like in 4e.

• Beholders are a solo monster (well, we knew that from the earlier Dungeons & Dragons Insider cartoon)
• They are a challenge for 19th level characters - and even for a bit higher than that
• Eye rays get some new mechanics in the game to make them more playable
• Eye ray sample mechanic one: an aura that lets the beholder unleash one eye ray attack on each player in range
• Eye ray sample mechanic two: eye-fury, an attack allowing the beholder to unleash several eye ray attacks in a single action

I'm curious to see how some of these mechanics work, but I'll confess... I love beholders, so I'm also anxious to see.

[via Rich Baker's Blog]

The Rise Of Sinister Adventures

Nicolas Logue, who was recently tapped to run the Pathfinder Society (Paizo's organized play endeavor), has also just announced a venture of his own. Considered one of the brightest new minds in the industry, Nick has been writing some incredibly creative adventures in Dungeon and doing freelance work for Wizards of the Coast for the past several years. While he may suffer criticisms of his adventures (such as the infamous Paizo forum torture-porn debate), I've always rather liked his adventure work. Nick's new company has a webpage at www.sinisteradventures.com, where he outlines the goals of the new venture in some more detail. From the sounds of it, he's got some hefty talent lined up.

Sinister Adventures LLC is the personal game design studio of Nicolas Logue devoted to bringing the grittiest, most hard hitting, and wildly cutting edge adventures to the gaming public.

Nicolas Logue writes "I love writing for the industry's best and brightest companies, but sometimes you have stories howling inside you that can't be told by any pen but yours. With the phasing out of the print editions of Dungeon and Dragon magazine the opportunities for freelancers to propose their own adventures and articles has greatly diminished. Sinister is a new venue for veterans and up-and-comers alike to share their greatest stories and explore new and exciting ground in adventure and supplemental design."