D&D 5e: 0-level NPCs WIP

The D&D 5th Edition Dungeon Master's Guide will no doubt include all kinds of information on developing NPC's for a campaign... However, November is still a ways off and there are many of us currently playing a version of 5th Edition based on the most recent play test packets. If you haven't worked out your own house-rule mechanics for NPCs in D&D 5th Edition, I offer the following suggestions.

D&D 5e Digital - Codename: Morningstar

Codename: Morningstar is on many gamers' lips this today. But what exactly is it?

Information has been trickling onto the web, Facebook and Twitter, and some of it is pretty intriguing. It appears to be the replacement for D&D Insider tools (this is not confirmed and supposition on my part). One way or another, it appears Wizards of the Coast has decided to stick to what it knows best (games design and publishing) and let a 3rd party pick up the digital initiative. Based on Wizard's past track record with digital, this is probably for the best.

D&D Combat Math: The Internet Stikes Back

Last week I wrote a column on the notion of compatibility between the upcoming D&D 5th Edition and its elder brethren (and their OSR cousins). I started out the discussion with the very basic comparison of the progression of attack bonuses to see if I could draw any hypothesis based on the numbers presented by the different iterations.

Mega Dungeons: Under Mountain or Under Enthused?

Warning: This post will probably annoy a lot of people. If you are one of those people, know that before you read this, I am not saying your stlye of play is wrong. I am posting this to express why this style of play does not suit me.  If you are having fun in the Under Mountain or other sprawling labyrinth, more power to you! But it's not for me. If you disagree, we can chat, but please keep comments civil.

Everything old is new again. Old school D&D play style has seen a resurgence in recent years. Along with the rise of OSR systems, Wizards of the Coast has also steered the new edition of Dungeons & Dragons back in the direction of AD&D first and second editions. With this resurgence of interest in the old games, the old modules and dungeon crawls have also seen their Renaissance. 

... which brings me to the "Mega Dungeon".

D&D 5e: Backward Compatibility and Combat Math

UPDATE: There were several factors that I left out of the original analysis below that I covered better in my follow-up post.

The announcement of the free D&D Basic PDF and potential licensing arrangements coming in 2015 has a lot of the gaming internet wondering about the future of Open Gaming License (OGL) systems. Without getting into the particulars of the OGL or the mysterious non-announcement about licensing for 5th Edition (which would require an entirely separate post), the question has come up in the OSR community asking "How compatible will 5th Edition be with <insert OSR game>? Can I run an OSR module without conversion under 5th edition? Can I also run older AD&D modules in 5th Edition unchanged?

The answer is a definite... maybe. Possibly. It all comes down to the math.

How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Owlbear

When I first started playing AD&D, I hated most of the iconic monsters, especially the Owlbear... and I largely blame David Sutherland.

A face only a mother Owlbear could love

Some of you may know that David "DCS" Sutherland (along with David Trampier) had his hands deep in the AD&D artwork within the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and especially the Monster Manual.

It's not the Sutherland was a bad artist -- he had some awesome work on those books. But, there were also illustrations that were decidedly... not awesome.  Next to the Beholder*, the artwork for the Owlbear was one of the worst.

* The Beholder illustration was actually not a "DCS" piece... but it was still awful.

Basic D&D is a game changer.

Wow... so Wizards dropped a bomb on the interwebs this morning and it should really change the conversation of the D&D haters (or perhaps not... Haters gonna hate.) D&D will be free (as in beer).

D&D Basic is a game changer. Both metaphorically and literally.