Silent DC 15

It’s been a while since my last post. Haven’t had a session for more than two weeks, due to more pressing commitments. The last session was great, and the only blot was the disappearance of the d4. I guess it was a matter of time, having had the die since 2004. However, Tash managed to get a replacement, so all’s well that ends well.

On another note, there’s a D&D application on Facebook called Tiny Adventures. Basically revolves around static adventures. It looks quite interesting; you equip your character and send him/ her off on a quest, which is beyond your control. Thus your character starts building up stats, and getting more potent.

For those unable to use the link, the URL is http://apps.facebook.com/tinyadventures

Enjoy, and happy adventuring!

The Krynnian Chronicles III

Well, well…what an adventure thus far.

Who would have expected the young warrior to fumble around, exposing himself to perilous danger. Or the ranger meeting his end at the hands of bloodthirsty draconians. Nearly, at least. The bard is inches away from being savaged by a werewolf while the cleric is but a drop of sand away from being burnt to a crisp. And if the appearance of Alexia was a surprise to some, none was more surprised than the shadowdancer herself when her quarry unveiled himself, to her shock.

Cleric Arwen led her band of young Solamnic squires through the forests, hoping to reach Palanthas before the Black Dragonarmy did. This did not materialise; the evil army had already encamped outside and Palanthas was preparing to lay siege. Faced with this gargantuan obstacle, the small group decided to proceed with their task, and divulge information on the attackers to the Lord of Palanthas. Things then took a turn for the worse as they were spotted by dragons. Just when they thought they were about to die, one of the squires revealed himself to be a dragon in disguise, an ancient one at that. As the four hung on dearly to the scaly neck of the gold dragon, a flight of reds gave chase, and just as the walls of Palanthas were within a touch away, the reds struck.

Heeding the invitation to a dining party, little did Siren know that he WAS dinner for the night. More specifically, fodder for a group of vampire spawn, eager to indulge in a spot of hunting. After barely escaping from the advances of a hungry vampire spawn, the bard nearly had his bones crushed by a hulking werebeast. Just when Siren thought he was home and dry, a snarling werewolf launched itself at the adventurer, maw frothing with foam as the lycanthrope anticpated a tasty morsel.

The ranger, on the other hand, attempted to rescue a group of peasants from certain death; instead it was he who faced near death as he battled the marauding draconians. Leading them into terrain more familiar to him, Spartan picked off the draconians one by one, though he sustained heavy injuries in the course of his battle. As he leaned against a tree to catch his breath and see to his wounds, a mysterious old man engaged him in conversation, indicating that it was in the ranger’s best interests to follow him. A cold shiver ran down the spine of Spartan, as he saw in dismay dozens of draconians crawling around him, ready to deliver death at the merest of commands.

As Martel crept about in the bowels of the citadel, he managed to stumble upon a chained woman. Gallantly, he attempted to release her and sought to proceed with her. The prisoner, Alexia, had only vague recollections of her past endeavours. The pair crept about silently, barely avoiding the patrolling draconians as they slipped into a room holding the biggest collection of gems. Elation turned to horror as they were ambushed by two rust monsters. It got even worse as draconians started to infiltrate the room. Luckily Alexia’s deadly attacks dispatched the enemies, and Martel followed her closely to the courtyard. While the shadowdancer scaled the walls of the parapet, the warrior strutted nervously into the courtyard, confident his disguise would see him through. It didn’t, and before long, he found himself back in the lower reaches of the fortress, accosted by a patrol of dragonmen. Alexia, fortunately, made it all the way up, where she climbed into what seemed like luxurious quarters and surprised its inhabitant. However, it was she who ended up receiving the most stunning of surprised as she looked into the face of an old acquaintance.

The adventure continues…

The revolving door of the tavern

I’m sure there’s at least one player who’s looking forward to the session on the 9th of August. Silent Blade will be making a one-night only cameo, and I wonder how she’ll perform. Will the long layback be evident or will she seamlessly sail through the many dangerous twists and turns?

At the same time Siren Sing-a-Lot will be hoping to sign off with a bang as he takes a year long sabbatical from adventuring. Always poised and composed, the renowned bard is looking forward to quill down a list of ballads and tunes as he gets much needed rest and relaxation.

One thing remains the same though – the companions will face all sorts of fiendish foes and cunning creatures as they seek to make a name for themselves in Krynn. Still vulnerable to the dynamics of Krynn, they need to tread gently, for danger lurks all around, and beneath.

Here’s something to massage the grey matter: You’re a sorcerer. You’ve been hired to retrieve treasure from a dungeon beneath an abandoned castle. You have enough steel pieces for only one hireling. Which class of hirelings would you employ? And why?

Adventure Scenario I (contd.)

When faced with two or more opponents, it’s always best to eliminate the threat posed by spellcasting foes. Of course, this is a rule by thumb, and not set in stone. Incapacitating spellcasters removes the danger of receiving highly devastating damage, or being rendered ripe for slaughter. Hence, for this segment, players attacking the robed figure (perceived spellcaster) will receive the maximum allotted XP.

Next

The robed figure lies on the floor, stunned by your unexpected attack. The warrior lunges towards you. You cast a swift glance around. The robed figure won’t stay down for long. The swordsman looks experienced and eager to put an end to you; the ceiling is looking mighty unsteady as dust and pebbles rain upon you. As a result of the earlier rockfall, the top half of the door remains visible, and there’s a large gaping hole in it. You reckon you might just be able to dive through.

What do you do? Essentially, you have three options: meet the warrior head on, strike at the robed figure again (which will surely kill him), or forego your turn in the melee with the warrior to dash across towards the door. Of course, there may or may not be a fourth option, which might or might not snag you extra XP.

Think fast!

Adventure Scenario I

I thought I’ll liven things up by adding a new twist to the usual proceedings on this blog. And here it is: a simple role-playing scenario that requires the reader (i.e. you) to take definite action. Before any of you ask me to describe the surroundings, current hp, character level or number of attacks, remember that I mentioned earlier that it’s simple. After receiving all the responses to the scenario, I’ll divulge the action that is most feasible and rewarding in terms of XP. Keeping with the simple theme, put on your helms cause here’s the first challenge.

Scene

You’re trapped in a cellar littered with a broken oak table and several empty casks. A minor earthquake caused the ceiling near the door to collapse, blocking your only route out. You would spend time pondering about your next move; the problem is, there are two other beings in the room, both of whom want you dead. Easy peasy right? Think again. One’s a hulking yet clumsy warrior armed with a menacing battle axe; the other a robed figure wielding a staff made out of oak, polished and glistening. Trusty longsword in your hand, you circle your foes in a ring of death. What do you do?

You have: A magical longsword and one attack.

You are: facing the two, who are 6 feet apart. The blocked door is behind you, barricaded with collapsed brick and mortar.

You do not have: Any form of interaction with magic, barring your magical weapon.

Good luck, adventurer!

The Krynnian Chronicles II

A naked fighter, clumsy knights and a puzzling plot. Enough to pose a perilous challenge to even the most stoic of adventurers. Losing one’s arms and weapons can be quite a hassle, as Cristos discovered, much to his chagrin. Hooking up with the wrong crowd can have dire consequences, Siren would no doubt swear. Taking charge of a bunch of gung ho but less-than-intelligent squires is proving a major headache for Arwen. Add to that threat of an impending war, and one can quite clearly see why our adventurers might be out of their depth here on Krynn.

Siren, after escaping rather unheroically from Elmwood, encountered a group of robed figures along the road to Solanthus. Striking up a cordial relationship, he accompanied the merchants on the caravan to the capital of Solamia. His curiosity about the goods ferried aroused, the bard poked his nose into some rather unpleasant business, and soon found himself the target of his former caravan-mates. Having parties trying to end one’s life is quite perilous, but throw in a kender and you’re doomed. Which was probably what Siren was feeling as she wrestled with a particularly kleptomaniacal kender. An approaching robber duo didn’t help matters whatsoever.

Which is a whole lot better than where the fighter is. Stripped of everything he owned, Cristos launched an ambush on a draconian encampment with the aid of a band of kender guerillas. Excellent plan, it should be said, though the fighter had clearly forgotten about the nature of his allies. The kender retrieved his belongings, and made off with them. Frustrated, Cristos decided to return to the encampment to salvage what he could use.

Arwen would have been wishing for a group of kender instead of the four knight-wannabes she found herself accompanying to Palanthas. Strong in spirit, and weak in just about everything else, the squires at times seemed desperate to end their vocation prematurely at the hands of a dragonarmy. Wandering behind enemy lines, the cleric and the squires, attempted to sneak into Palanthas, where they would warn the leaders of the oncoming black wave. Just when this clumsy band had thought they only needed to deal with dragonmen, those pesky assassin vines made an annoying comeback. A zap from the cleric, and the group ran headlong deeper into the undergrowth, stealth and discretion tossed away in favour of escape.

And in case the reader is wondering where the rest of the companions are, the wizardess is sitting for a Test, the young warrior is lost in the bowels of an imposing keep, and the ranger is on a mission to find his soul.

Watch this scroll!

D&D 4th edition: What’s different.

So here we go again. Another edition of the core manuals. The fourth one, though I reckon it should be the fifth. V3.5 seemed an edition all by itself, and not merely an extension of the third edition.

And what can we expect from the new edition? Apparently a lot, if reviews are to be believed. There are many fundamental changes to the make-up and dynamics of the game. The perennial kinks have been ironed out, or so it would seem. Personally, I feel v3.5 is quite sound, rules-wise. All it needed was some tweaking and removal of mundane rules that were too technical and detrimental to the flow of the game. One that comes to mind is weight and carrying capacity. Another would be the attack and full attack mechanism, which is a bit redundant.

Based on reviews on the Net, I’ve compiled a list of changes found in the 4th edition. It isn’t a comprehensive list, but does contain the gist of differences in game mechanics.

What’s New:

1. The Barbarian, Bard, Monk, Sorcerer and Druid classes have been removed; replaced with Warlock and Warlord classes
2. Moderate changes in combat mechanics
3. Level-based bonuses are standardised at 1/2 increase per level, instead of class/ race based
4. No more skill points; either the character is trained or untrained
5. Certain classes can heal naturally
6. Wizards don’t have to prepare spells ahead of time
7. Spellcasting mechanics
8. Revision to critical/ automatic kill hits
9. Tiefling and Dragonborn added as new races; gnomes and half-orcs have been removed
10. Revision to default cosmology
11. Alignment is now limited to Good, Evil, Lawful Good, Chaotic Evil and Unaligned
12. Introduction of ‘action points’

Based on the incomplete list above, I for one am not all-too-keen to use the 4th edition. It would seem that Wizards has removed a small part of the essence of D&D, especially by eliminating the bard, monk and druid classes. I’m quite sure that Dragonborn characters will be the norm in any new campaign using the 4th edition. Why? The prefix dragon is a highly attracting force, and who wouldn’t want to be associated with dragons. And does D&D really need more stats like action points?

All in all, there are some welcome changes that Wizards has carried out in the 4th edition, though the unwanted far outweigh the desired. I’m slightly disappointed that Wizards has added and removed aspects of the game mechanics, instead of just streamlining and simplifying existing rules. Perhaps that is the difference between a ‘version’ and an ‘edition’.

For more details,visit Wizards.

A Race of Two Halves

Almost every player has, at one time or another, played a non-human character. Whether an elf, dwarf or even half orc, non-human humanoids add an exotic and mythical touch to any role-playing fantasy setting, be it online or in books. But I sometimes cannot help but wonder if some of the character races introduced are a tad bit far fetched or irrelevant.

For one, I really do not see the use of half elves as a race. I think they’re catered more towards a player who can’t decide if he wants to be elven or human, and thus offers him a perfect solution to his dilemma. I don’t see their functional value. Half elves may make good reading (Tanis, the only half elf of note), and little else. This also applies to half orcs. This class probably was created to take into consideration certain players who are brutish and incapable of any subtle moves.

Another point to note is the drow, or dark elf. This is one new character race that really, if all things are considered, does not have a logical rationale to its existence. Can there be a good drow? Are all evil elves drow? Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms seem to differ on the concept of the drow. In Krynn, the term drow is not used extensively (or at least, not till recently). Dark elf is used more as an adjective, rather than to denote a particular race. It represents an elf who has turned away from the typical elven existence and is a follower of the evil gods. Hence Dalamar is portrayed as a normal looking elf who serves Takhisis. Drizzt, on the other hand, represents the dark elf as a race, both physically and mentally. The ebony skin, the snow hair and red eyes highlight the physical difference between a normal elf and an evil one. More so the fact that drow in Faerun worship Lolth. So where does that leave an evil elf who worships, say, Bane or Bhaal? Is he or is he not a dark elf?

In terms of D&D, I feel that races should be homegenous, for the simple fact that there aren’t any half minotaurs, or half halflings, or half dwarves. If elves and orcs and humans can interbreed, why not dwarves, and halflings and centaurs? What would the offpsring of an elf who breeds with a dwarf be? Mind boggling, to say the least.

Thus, I reckon future editions of the D&D Handbook should leave out ‘half’ races and include more feasible ones to the exisitng list, such as centaurs and minotaurs. The drow should also be reinvented as a race separate from elves in all aspects. After all, can anyone honestly permutate the results of intercourse between a drow and a gnome?

[Image from D&D Player's Handbook]

The Warring Wizard

What is there to write about wizards that has not already been written? Mere weaklings at the lower levels, powerful entities at the latter stages. Wizards start off being vulnerable to a single blow from a goblin, and usually end up being able to wipe an entire army with a single word. Among all the classes, this class displays highly extreme characteristics at both ends of the character level spectrum.

There are several aspects that make a wizard all-so-powerful. The most obvious would be his or her spellbook. Having a tome with a mixed variety of spells makes a wizard more capable of adapting to ever changing scenarios and environments. This is to say, a wizard who fills up her spellbook with purely offensive spells (think Fireball, Meteor Swarm etc) will no doubt be extremely dangerous. However, forsaking spells like Globe of Invulnerability and True Seeing can often lead to battles that could have been prevented. A wizard with a mixed bag of tricks bring unpredictability to an encounter, thus making it hard for an opponent to pre-empt her attack. Compare this to a dedicated necromancer; necromancy spells will be hard pressed against good cleric spells or areas devoid of undead.

Magic items are a must for any wizard intending to survive the first level. Not just any magic item, but items that can help arm and protect the wizard from damaging blows. Think Bracers of Defence and Girdle of Giant Strength. Contrary to popular belief, a wizard should know how to fight in a melee. Running away from every battle becomes improbable after a while, and when push comes to shove, the wizard has to turn around and fight. Also, choose a good staff and enhance it. Most magical staves have their own imbued power, like the Staff of Illusion and Staff of Withering. A wizard is judged by her knowledge in arcana. She is also judged by her staff and eventually, her tower. Therefore an astute collection of magic items, coupled with a potent staff, can greatly enhance a wizard’s power, and standing among her peers.

Thirdly, the tower. I’m not going to get into details of how to build a tower, or abode. Suffice to say, a wizard’s tower (or mansion or keep or etc) should be well guarded, hidden from prying eyes. And no, building a tower on another plane is never a good idea, for planar creatures are highly intelligent and powerful. The tower should also be functional and be a source of power for the wizard. This means having several portals leading to places away from the tower in times of research or danger. It should also contain a good library, with books and tomes on ancient histories, civilisations and beings. And a working laboratory isn’t such a bad idea either. To protect and guard the tower, an army of undead never ceases to send shivers down the spines of adventurers, though more and more wizards these days are using living creatures as guardians, such as minotaurs and draconians. Golems and elementals are also good choices. This, and a deadly outlay of traps, will ensure that never again will pesky gold diggers raid your vault and make off with your precious treasures.

A final note to anyone interested in donning robes and reading off a dusty tome, think of Raistlin. Now take him out of your mind and consign him to the farthest reaches of your grey matter. Almost everyone who plays a wizard uses Raistlin as a role model, right down to the tea he drinks. Don’t, I say. Be creative, be unique. Raistlin is but one of the many wizards in Faerun/ Ansalon. And it is quite clear that his character was tailor made for literary pleasure, and not so much for actual adventuring. Discard any notions of challenging Mystra or Selune or Mishakal for godhood; you will either die miserably, or you will die instantly. Gods do not suffer fools, that’s for sure. Why can’t I challenge the gods, many a player playing an arcane spellcaster often asks. The answer is simple enough. Gods are not subject to stats and combat rolls; in other words their attributes are so damn high that, barring a one, the divine ones can hit and cause something like 300 hp damage, which usually silences their critics almost instantly.

[Image from magewiki.wikispaces.com/]

Dressing Up for a Night Out

‘So there you are, all armed and suitably protected, bristled to the bone with every manner of weapon conceivable. The sheer weight of your weapons is enough to bring down a lesser man, but not you, as you heroically trudge on. Your full plate mail armour glistens proudly as the clanks and chinks of your armour echo down the road.’

So how much is too much weapons? And does weight really add to the realism of things, or merely function as yet another box on your character sheet? Does weight trump logic when it comes to D&D, barring the obvious fantasy settings of the game? When it comes to weapons and armour, characters (especially fighters) are notorious hoarders. Every killing gadget is stored ’somewhere’ on the body, and always seems readily available for use in a split second. One of my travelling companions once had four swords (two of which were bastard swords), a battle axe, a spear, a pole arm, and a lance, just to be on the safe side. Any DM worth her salt would say no, this is not practical, which our DM did. To his credit, my companion was Zen personified as he coolly pointed to his character sheet and indicated that he could still afford to carry more.

Lesson of the story? Yes, D&D is fantasy based, but many phenomena are governed by rules and logic, just like in the real world. Dragons can fly, but they can’t soar, flip through a spellbook, release a spell or two, and finish off their opponent with their breath weapon. In the same vein, a fighter can’t be a one-man walking arsenal, with hilts protruding from every angle of his body. So what is the feasible number of weapons that can be carried by any given character, based on realism and logic?

Well, in my campaign, I limit weapons carried to four or five items, depending on type. Greatswords are always carried strapped to the back (assuming the character is on foot). The greataxe is also carried the same way. Other than short swords and scimitars, all other bladed weapons on the waist are limited to one item only. This includes broadswords and longswords. This allows for another hand held weapon to be carried using the sword belt, including a mace, warhammer or flail. Note that characters using two short swords or scimitars are not permitted to carry another hand held weapon.

Now let’s say we want to suit up a highly experienced warrior. Well, his greatsword +4 goes onto his back, strapped on securely. Next up, he sheathes his longsword, and slip a mace into his sword belt. He attaches a dagger sheath to his belt; before tying a dagger to each leg respectively. Feeling he’d need to hunt for food, he brings along a short bow (slung over his shoulder) and a quiver of 20 arrows, slung by his side. With his chain mail suit already on, this valiant warrior dons his helm and starts on his quest to rescue the Baron’s daughter.

As you can see, arming one’s self to the brim with weapons can be quite a challenge, especially if almost all the available weapons are of masterwork quality or magical. The key is to take what is necessary, not what you think might be necessary. A longbow is not much help at all in an aquatic environment. Neither is a greatsword in a cramped up passageway where the only way through is by crawling. No player should be allowed to carry a spear, a trident, a glaive, a heavy crossbow and a tower shield while clad in plate mail armour. Even if the character has a Str of 19 and is heavy set. It defies fantasy logic, and D&D is definitely logical in a fantasy sense.

[Image from www.wizards.com]