Brother Ptolemy & The Hidden Kingdom (4E D&D) Now Available!

-reposted from Nevermet Press-

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We are very happy to announce that our first print offering, Brother Ptolemy & The Hidden Kingdom, is now available! The Hidden Kingdom is 110-page 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons adventure setting for 5th level characters. Brother Ptolemy & The Hidden Kingdom will be available in retail stores in January, but you don’t have to wait!

• ISBN: 978-0-557-67589-0
• PRINT $14.99
• eBook/PDF $9.99

Fans on Facebook and followers of our blog can order direct starting today! Plus, as an exclusive bonus to our fans, if you order Brother Ptolemy & The Hidden Kingdom before November 30th, 2010 - we'll send you a copy of the PDF eBook for FREE! All you have to do is...

1. Order Brother Ptolemy & The Hidden Kingdom in PRINT.
2. Snap a picture of the book - in your yard, in your hand, with your dice... whereever! The crazier the better!
3. Upload your picture of Brother Ptolemy & The Hidden Kingdom to our Facebook fan page.

That's it! Everyone who does this by November 30th will get an email with an exclusive link to a free copy of the PDF. But... it get's better! The person who takes the most laughable snapshot of our book will also get a free copy of either Open Game Table Volume 1 or 2 (their choice) in PRINT for free! Snap!
What is Brother Ptolemy & The Hidden Kingdom? Check out the back cover of the book and find out!

Now go get your game and roll some dice!

The Cons of the New "D&D Encounters" from Wizards of the Coast

a.k.a. "Re: Blogosphere Shitstorm Brewing".

Last week I posted some off the cuff thoughts about the D&D Encounters organized play program that WotC is planning on launching next month. Much to my pleasant surprise - some other bloggers reacted to my post (Oddysey, Trollsmyth, and Keosdad).

What really surprised me though was that I received a direct email from someone (not listed above) with the subject line: "Re: Blogosphere Shitstorm Brewing". It was a short email - intended, I think, on "clearing up" my misunderstanding of youth - or something like that. For some reason, this email particularly bothered me - not because it carried the tone of "hey dude - let me tell you how it is because I know how it is and you obviously don't" - but because the person who sent it was so easily PO'd by point #5 from my initial post.

As if... somehow... I have forgotten what it was like to be a teenager full of nerd rage

I replied, of course, trying to find out what exactly I wrote that was so "stereotyping" or offense, etc... but I didn't know what more else there is to say. But then it hit me! What I need to do is write about the CONS of the D&D Experience organized play program. Perhaps then, everything can be cleared up...

The Cons of D&D Encounters

1. Table Top Role Playing Games Will Become More Popular. Why is this a con? Well, there's only so many table top gamers out their in the world - and with a program like D&D Encounters, D&D will be played everywhere from hobby shops to book stores, baseball parks to birthday parties, clown conventions to shopping mall food courts. WotC is creating an EVENT. An experience (whatever it is). How could the indy RPG market compete with that?! They can't! They just don't have the market force. All they can do is keep cranking out more adventures, more supplements, and more hippy story telling games to play with their kids. That's it. It's the classic RPG cycle where, once a player owns the rules, they don't need anything else to play. It seems, however, that the 800 lb gorilla might break the cycle and actually manage to put dice back in the hands of millions of confused gamers after all. But that's a bad thing... No, really, ... it is... I mean, those gamers should be playing WoW or EVE anyway. They are simply not qualified to play RPGs. They probably don't even know what "neo-classical games" are. (Oh wait... niether do I...) Maybe instead we should just make a couple of RPGs out of the video games and see what happens. Oh... that already happened.
2. Grognards will be PO'd. Why would grognards even care? Because the new D&D Encounters is going to perhaps compete with Warhammer. Reduce their beloved dying game to a miniatures game once and for all. "How could they DO this?!? Kick the D&D Brand when it down why don't you WotC!!" And kick they have. to the curb in fact.
3. Trendy OSR Gamers will be PO'd. It's true. All those trendy counter culture gamers who love the old days of save vs. death and 10 foot poles will now loose all those potential converts. I mean, how can the drooling masses of gamer consumers resist the glossy red boxes of the new D&D RED BOX (for 4th Edition)? The awesome DIY S&W White Box has no chance!
4. Hippy Gamers will Rejoice. Yeah.. that's a big con. We can't have the Nobilis freaks out there rejoicing that D&D is finally dead. I mean... how can these two games both be called role playing games? What will we tell the children!?
5. Teenagers Don't Need Sex Education Classes. We are kidding ourselves if we think that teens give two rats asses about role playing games or D&D Encounters. They will, in all likelihood, think it's some kind of wierd game to teach sex education in gaming stores. Think about it: role playing + encounters. Plus, William Shatner will probably kick their asses for caring about D&D anyway. And then they will change their minds. And cry. A lot.
6. The Bitching and Complaining Will Be Endless. Yep, that's what will happen. As soon as D&D Encounters get rolled out... I can see the headlines now: "Player's and DM's Colluding on Renown Points", "FLGS Fined For Corrupting Youth", "Pokemon Players Brawl With D&D Players At Local Hobby Shop", or "Borders Signs Exclusive Organized Play Deal with Hasbro. Grognards Stage Sit In to Protest."

Exciting times we live in... exciting times...

** I should footnote this post and point out that it is purely hyperbole and for the sake of humor. Except the part about neo-classical games; I still don't know what hell that is supposed to be other than some sort of bourgeois intellectualism about RPGs **

The Pros of the New "D&D Encounters" from Wizards of the Coast

Perhaps the tiny grognard gremlin inside me has escaped, but the recent announcement of "D&D Encounters" from Wizards of the Coast left me feeling a bit sick for a few minutes. But then I thought about it, and what this new program represents, and realized that it's not such a bad thing. In fact, this might be exactly the type of thing the whole hobby needs to appeal to a whole new generation of gamers.

D&D Encounters is a new organized play format that WotC is rolling out nationwide starting in March, 2010. It takes the convention-style "Dungeon Delve" format, and extends it to a regular weekly game that takes place at your local hobby shop or gaming store. The announcement of D&D Encounters was made yesterday at the annual D&D Experience Convention (DDXP,[1]). Our friends over at Critical Hits published a nice synopsis about it as well (they are live covering the convention!). WotC has also launched an info page on D&D Encounters that outlines the nuts and bolts of D&D Encounters if you like.

Here's the thing though - there's been lots of talk in the last year or so about "D&D The Board Game": that 4E D&D is essentially an incredibly complex miniatures game where roll-playing has superseded -role- playing. True, WotC is trying to balance/counter that sentiment with books like the Dungeon Masters Guide 2 [2], but nonetheless at its root 4E D&D is just a complex miniatures game. Some naysayers will no doubt see D&D Encounters as the next step away from D&D The Role Playing Game and towards the direction of D&D The Board Game. I personally don't share that point of view - and here's why.

The Pros of D&D Encounters

1. Familiar Format For New RPG Players. People who have never played an RPG can more easily connect with the hobby if it is presented as a miniatures game. D&D Encounters will no doubt be combat heavy, and therefore basically a skirmish style miniatures game. New players, looking to find out what D&D is all about, can jump right in and start rolling dice. It's a tangible experience - you can see the miniatures on the table top, your character's powers are defined, the rules of the game are clear cut and orderly. Whether this is how your in house 4E D&D game is played or not (mine are much more story driven), the D&D Encounters organized play format can introduce the game to novices in its most basic context: D&D is about killing bad guys and helping friends.
2. Local Connections. D&D Encounters provides players with the opportunity to connect with gamers from their local area, on a face-to-face basis. This builds communities, and gaming groups will no doubt spring up as a result.
3. Low Commitment. Players new to the game, or even curious about the game, can easily drop in and play through one or two encounters in an evening. If they like the game, they can come back for more the following week. Or skip it entirely.
4. Support for your FLGS. Your local gaming hobby shop has had a tough time to survive in the last five years or so. I've written before about things you can do to help support your local shop, but D&D Experience now gives you and tons of other curious people reasons to head down to the local shop and participate in games. Getting people in the stores gets people to buy stuff in the stores and not on Amazon.com. This keeps the local FLGS happy and in business - which in turn keeps it alive as a center point for the local hobby gaming community. I applaud WotC for coming up with D&D Encounters for this reason alone.
5. It Appeals to the Younger Generation. Grognards need not apply. If the D&D brand is going to survive they need to figure out a way to appeal to the masses of tweeting, texting, facebooking teens who barely have time to sit still to eat breakfast let alone play a 4 hour game of D&D on a regular basis. If WotC fails to do this - the D&D game won't make it in 10 years, or it will be marketed to people at retirement homes (that would be awesome!). The D&D Encounters organized play format has all kinds of features that are aimed at appealing to younger teens and college age "young adults" (read:young whipper snappers!). Tangible trinkets, prizes, and rewards with in-game benefits for playing in D&D Encounters are all signs that WotC is trying to lure new players to the game table. Plus, you have the D&D team pushing D&D WizBook, Facebook connections, and actively Twittering - these just reinforce WotC's connection with a new, gadgeteering younger generation of gamers.

I never personally was interested in the RPGA or campaign spanning organized play - but for some reason the 'take it or leave it' approach to D&D Encounters has me intrigued. Sure, I won't get mind exploding story-lines that I'll be recalling 10 years from now out of it - but I'll still get to hang out with some old and new friends, roll some dice and have a fun time while I'm at it. It will be interesting who shows up on the launch day at my local store - I might just have to go check it out.

What do you think about D&D Experience? Last grasp at staying relevant? Or spot-on with what the D&D community needs to boost local gaming? Leave a comment and let us what you think!

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[1] http://baldmangames.com/ddxp/index.htm
[2] The DMG2 offers lots of additional content, rules, and support for story driven campaigns, and for players who are looking for more role-playing in their games.

[4E] Magic Halloween Candy

This post originally appeared Oct 31, 2008.

Halloween is finally here, and so I give you 19 new types of consumables for 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons - Halloweeny Candy! You can mix these candies with any of your usual, non-magical candies and make bags of candy for each of your players as gifts. Each bag of candy might contain 2d4 pieces of candy per tier (2d4 for Heroic, 4d4 for Paragon, etc). Your players can trade them back and forth, and surprise their opponents with all sorts of new tricks and treats! Better yet, a mob of trick-or-treating kobolds or goblins might show up with bags and bags of candy, passing themselves off as kids in costumes! Oh what silly fun...

2d10	Magic Candy
2	Creepy Peepers - These small, fleshy eyes are cream-filled (don't ask) and smell a bit like salted fish. Consuming a Creepy Peeper gives a +5 bonus to Perception Checks until the end of the encounter.
3	Boogymen Lollis - These lollipops are made from poached goblin dwarves which have been dipped in a sugar glaze. They come in many colors, but blue is a favorite. Licking these lollipops as a minor action gives +5 bonus to Stealth skill checks until the beginning of your next turn.
4	Bloodwyrms - These stringy, gum-like "wyrms" come in a variety of colors including red (fire bloodwyrm), blue (ice bloodwyrm), and black (deathwyrms). Each color grants whomever consumes the worm Resist 5 to one type of attack, depending on the wyrm's color. Only one type of bloodwyrm can be in effect at any time.
5	Precious Eel Zappers - These tiny, sqaure eel eggs are a type of hard candy that are usually found in cartridge like dispensers filled with 3d6 of them. Each P.E.Z. gives a +2 electrical bonus to their next attack. Using the P.E.Z. dispenser is a minor action.
6	Finger Pops - These are prized by rogues everywhere. Finger Pops are made from crushed spiders and monkey livers rolled in granola and dipped in a dark Theutotian chocolate. Consuming a Finger Pop two minor actions, but once done they grant a +5 bonus to Thievery skill checks until the end of the encounter.
7	Zombrains - These small silvery packages are covered with strange runes that shimmer in the light. Inside is a spongy like yellow ball that is slightly damp to the touch, and smells of fetid ochre. Consuming this repugnant mess reveals a surprising delicious bouquet of flavors that rush into the eater's mind: lemon, lime, cinnamon, raspberry, vanilla. Quite refreshing - Zombrains also grant a +5 bonus to Arcana skill checks until the end of the encounter.
8	Rat-on-a-Stick - A Halloweeny Classic! These savory, hairless beasts come in three flavors (BBQ, Honey Dijon, and Salt'N Vinegar). Consuming one is a standard action, but once finished the PC immediately gains a number of temporary hit points equal to their healing surge value.
9	Chocolate Espresso Bean Rat-on-a-Stick - A visionary, new type of candy for this year's Halloweeny celebration! The chocolate version of the Rat-on-a-Stick classic grants a +2 bonus to the PCs next move and they gains 6 temporary hit points in the process.
10	Teefcrunchers - Made from the shells of Artribidge Crabs, this hard candy is meant to be savored and not crunched (or you'll shatter your teeth). For every round a PC savors a Teefcruncher in their mouth (as a minor action), they gain Regeneration 2. One Teefcruncher lasts until the end of the encounter or for 5 minutes.
11	Beetlesnaps - Tiny brown and black beetles are meant to be thrown down on the ground (DO NOT EAT!). Thrown correctly (Dex vs. Reflex), these beetlesnaps burst with load pop and target creature is forced to attack the thrower of the beetlesnaps until the end of their next turn. They are just soooooo annoying!
12	Nailbiters - Tiny sticks of hard-bread baked into the shape of nails are dipped in chocolate or a heavy sugar glaze (sometimes both). Eating one of these as a minor action gives a +2 bonus to your next melee attack roll. Eating more than your constitution modifier's worth of these in a single day has some terrible, foul-smelling side effects...
13	Death Mints - Well.. Halloweeny is "Trick or Treat!" right? Well, Death Mints are more the trick part of things. These tiny mints often look like Precious Eel Zappers or Teefcrunchers, but of course are not. Once eaten, they cuase ongoing Necrotic 2 damage (save ends) and the victim starts uncontrollably moaning like a ghost.
14	Pumpkin Bombs - A classic from days long past, Pumpkin Bombs are back! These fist-sized pumpkins have been stuffed with the best in Gnomish (or Kobold) engineering: explosives! They can be accurately thrown at any square within 6 squares, have a Burst 3 effect that includes a fiery explosion for 3d6 points of damage.
15	Chocolate Treant Bark - The brittle slivers of chocolate are made with chips from real Treant bark.  Once eaten as a minor action, they grant a +2 bonus to armor class until the end of your next turn.
16	Glow Pops - These tiny lollipops glow once unwrapped for 5 minutes or until the end of encounter. The light they shed reaches out to 3 squares, but if eaten the light can be focused from the PCs mouth like a bulls-eye lantern with a range of 6 squares.
17	Wax Lips - The faux lips come in two colors: red and black. The red lips, if eaten, grant a +5 bonus to Diplomacy until the end of the encounter or for 5 minutes. The black variety grants a +5 bonus to Insight until the end of the encounter or for 5 minutes.
18	Grey Ooze Pouch - Yuck! Handle with care! This leathery pouch contains a small grey ooze! Once released, it will dissolve locks and other metal objects it is applied to within 5 minutes, leaving nothing behind. What you do with the ooze once it is done is up to you!
19	Weasel Pops - Similar to Rat-on-a-Stick, these feral pops grant a +5 bonus to Acrobatics skill checks until the end of the encounter or for 5 minutes. Eating one is a standard action.
20	Black Pudding Pouch - Trick! This looks just like a grey ooze, but once opened the Ochre Jelly within slithers out and immediately attacks anyone adjacent to it.

Well, that's it! Let me know if you use any of these items in your game! I had probably too much fun putting this list together.

Around the blogs... Villains in RPGs

Over the last few weeks we've seen a number of excellent posts about villains and other general badasses. From articles about how to run villains, to developing back stories, to actually playable NPCs to drop into your game, there's been a ton of writing about it. Not to mention we've also seen a bunch of new, and very fine I might add, artwork from several up and coming illustrators. Here's a round up of what I've read and helped craft myself.

(btw - the villain survey/random drawing for RPGNow gift certificate has closed; but we'll release the results later this week. I'm waiting to hear back from the winner).

Playable Villain NPCs

• At-Will : The Song of Flame: Savis Rayn
• At-Will : Heart of Chaos: Grebs Follyfoot
• The Core Mechanic : Cerdic Elesing
• The Core Mechanic : Morgan Le Fay
• The Core Mechanic : Sir Mordred
• The Core Mechanic : The Incubus, An Old Demon Made New Again
• The Core Mechanic : The Dead Queens of Morvena (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Summary PDF)
• Mad Brew Labs : Mad Archwizard
• Mad Brew Labs : Tyrant King
• Mad Brew Labs : Acario Macellarius IX [Heroic Tier]
• Exchange of Realities : Gethin of the Ash
• Exchange of Realities : Zora Aldebar
• PAIZO Superstar 2009: Round 2 : Top 32 Contestant Villains
• Bard of Valiant : 4 Villains You Didn’t Think Of
• Thieves Cant : Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Anry the Bladed
• Life and Times of a Phillipine Gamer : Villains Spotlight Series
  

Villain Toolbox

• At-WIll : The Vicious Virtues of Villainy
• The Core Mechanic : Anatomy of a Villain
• Life and Times of a Phillipine Gamer : My Villains are Social Dynamics Puzzles
• Mad Brew Labs : Villainous Vivisection
• The RPG Athenaeum : Quandary-Based Villain Creation
• The RPG Athenaeum : Every villain needs a paycheck

The Generic Villain
Ravyn, the blogger behind the RPG blog Exchange of Realities, has been long running an excellent series titled "The Generic Villain" wherein each post details some aspect of "villainry". Here's a short list of some recent posts, but head over there to see the whole series.

• The Generic Villain on Immortality
• The Generic Villain on Creating Your Own Nemesis
• The Generic Villain on Effective Evil Monologues

Did I miss anything? If you have an article or blog post that you think should be added to this list.. please leave a comment and let us know!

REVIEW - Nobis, The City States

"High-fantasy... with guns."

I was given a review copy of "Nobis, The City States", a new campaign setting that will be released on July 1 by Pantheon Press for the d20/OGL D&D community. This is a high-fantasy campaign setting staged in a world where technology is rapidly advancing and the effects are being seen among the people in terms of culture, religion, governance, and warfare.

First off, was is new and different about Nobis? Well, that depends on your point of view. You might be thinking, "Firearms with swords and magic? Yawn." But don't be so quick to judge. What I found very cool about Nobis was not the firearms, but the impact their presence has on the campaign setting. The authors of the setting did an excellent job downplaying heavy armor and "classic" D&D weaponry in favor of lighter more deadly fighting systems for melee combat. I'm talking about FENCING. Yeah, Nobis has it's own completely internal d20 system for fencing, and it is very slick.

Nobis Has Fencing
Fencing is broken down into four schools: Modern, Marist Martial, Form of the Leopard, and Traditional. Each of these schools, or styles, of fencing is accessible to characters who take a feat to gain access to them. Once trained in a particular fencing school, a whole host of new combat manuvers become available, such as Balestra, Felche, Lunge, and Riposte (to name a few). Although these specific manuevers remind me of "powers" in 4E D&D, it didn't bother me as much becuase they are available to all characters so long as they qualify for the feats required to learn fencing. What's the benefit of fenciing? Well, it depends on the school your character would choose. Each school has one "signature move" (a specialized combat manuver) which influences the flavor of fencing you prefer. For example, Balestra is the signature move of Form of the Leopard (think near-eastern scimitar fighting, rather than men-in-tights). The Balestra maneuvar is a running, jumping charge that adds the results of a Jump skill check as a damage bonus to your attack. Each of the other schools also have their own specialized manuevers. All in all, this is a nice surprise to the campaign setting and (frankly) could be developed further and even sold as its own stand alone PDF. I really thought the fencing section was cool.

Nobis has Cantrips for the People
Simplecraft is a cantrip system that is "purchasible", small innocuous spell like effects that are sold in stores throughout Nobis City States. What's cool, and potentially funny, about Simplecraft is that its 1) unstable; and 2) unstable. Basically, any time you use a Simplecraft spell you roll a d20. Roll a 1 and a debacle happens (something bad). What's worse, si that Simplecraft has a shelf life. It goes bad after a few months; so there's a strong possibility of buying or finding "bad" simplecraft as well. Unstable (expired, rotten, unusable) Simplecraft is even worse. It's like nitroglycerin. Shake it - BOOM. Drop it - BOOM. There's a table of disasters that can happen if your PC's handle unstable Simplecraft (random teleportation is my favorite). The list of things Simplecraft can do is limited only by what the GM allows, but Nobis includes a few pages of suggested spells - from the basic "Torchlight" spell to the "Lighting Strike" (yes a real attack cantrip), it's all there.

Nobis has Reputation
Finally a good, simple to implement Reputation system for 3E/OGL games. The basic idea is that each PC would decide on a Path (Artisan, Criminal, Merchant, Statesman, etc etc). Each reputation path has its own leveling system that is independent of class/character level. You gain reputation points at a rate of 2 to 4 per character level. Your total reputation points determines how advanced you are on your path, and your rank on your path conveys benefits to specific skills associated with that path. For example, the Clergy path has the associated skills Diplomacy, Knowledge (Local) and Knowledge (Religion). As the characters reputation goes up, these skills become class skills and the PC gains bonuses to using them.

The Bad Stuff
It's easy to talk trash about other people's work. I know how hard it is to produce shining examples of perfect products (OK, I don't... but you get my meaning), and Nobis is not perfect. You have to dial back your WotC level expectations for a minute and expect something a bit more Indy. The artwork is good, but only a few examples are great. My main issue was with the art direction - from full color illustrations to (literally) stick figures, I was a bit surprised to see the stick figures. The cartography was also not as good as I would have hoped (it looks very software driven, not artist driven), but the world map and map of The Gates was still good enough for any GM to run their own campaign in. These are minor points really. Most of the artwork was good, full color portraits or landscapes -- there was just some examples that seemed very out of place (stickfigures? OK... it was funny... but... ). Maybe this was just becuase I recieved a pre-press copy that may have had some of the artwork missing. Let's hope that the image below will be replaced with a "real" image in the final book.

EDITORS NOTE: The producers of Nobis have assured me that the stick figures were mock ups. NOT original artwork. Although I'll leave the art below (it's kinda cool in its own sorta way), I want YOU the reader to know that the final product will not have any stick figure art. See comment section below.

Plus What's Expected
Finally, this is not a 300+ page behemoth of a book. It's ~79 pages long but still manages to include all of what you would expect in a 3E campaign setting: a "thousands year history", a world map, the city states and how they came to be, a detail of The Gates (the major city state; includes a city map and many points of interest), a section on other lands and kingdoms of Nobis, a chapter on organizations and guilds, and the usual chapter on the gods, new feats, a new race (Mongrels), new equipment, and a page chock full of adventure hooks to get your campaign started. All of this I was expecting. And, if it weren't for the inclusion of some the other elements to the game, I might have given Nobis a much worse review.

Conclusion
I would say "go preorder a copy now", but I'm not sure how much it will be sold for or even where you can buy it from. It's coming out July 1st from Pantheon Press (linked above), and I would expect it to be listed on RPGNow.com as a PDF at the very least. At nearly 80 pages, it might also be seen in print, which would be nice. If you are looking for a new campaign setting that has a bit of rennaisance flavor, fencing, gun play but still keeps to a high-fantasy tradition... then Nobis would be a good place start it in.

Want to learn more about Nobis? Read on...

• Atomic Array: Nobis (Atomic Array 024)
• Game Cryer: Nobis Review
• campaign Mastery: Gaming Renaissance and Loving it
• Dice Monkey: Orgs & Sects
• Vulcan Stev: Looking at the Religion
• Unnatural 20: The Magic of Nobis
• allgeektout: The Play

Drop by Pantheon Press and pre-order Nobis today!

REVIEW - Monster Manual 2

So, I've had about a week or so to look over the new Monster Manual 2. Let me first get it out of the way that 1) I absolutely love this book; and 2) see point #1. I have only minor complaints (see below), but anyone running a homebrew 4th Edition D&D campaign should pick this book up right away. There's even value over just having the stats via D&D Insider, which I'll also get into below.

This is not just fanboy craze either; the MM2 beats out the MM1 hands down. The content is better, there's tons of "old school classics" that have been updated to 4E, and there's even a fair number of monsters that have very detailed entries Something that I didn't like about the MM1 was that nearly everything was given only one or two paragraphs of background and development. The MM2 is a much better book, here's why...

4E is the New Old School
I've said it before, and I know it wrangles a few nerves out there -- but it really is true. And now, with the Monster Manual 2, so many classic old-school OD&D and 1E D&D monsters make their return to the latest edition of the game.  The Behir has been one of my favorite dragon-like monsters since I first ran The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth in 1982, and the gran'old age of 10. That's what... a 27 year old "favorite monster"? The new 4E version sports both a paragon and epic tier version of the beast, as well as "Behir Bolter Whelps" that look much like the little baby in Alien. I love it!

More favorites from past editions make thier reapperance in the MM2 as well, including Ankhegs, Bullywugs, Giant Ants (low level favorites), Myconids (!),  Spriggans, Cockatrice, Centipedes, Black Pudding, Xorn and many many more from old times.

And how could I not mention that.. I SAVED THE RUST MONSTER!!! Ok, maybe I didn't, but I'm stoked to see it back in print. Although it abilities are not as terrifying as I would have them, I suppose it goes back to the save or die argument that 4E is trying to avoid. Altogether, I'm very happy with all these old faces being updated to the new rules.

MM2 In Print Beats DDI
One question that I've been asking myself lately is: why should I buy any of the printed books if ALL the stats and crunch for everything is including in my DDI subscription already? I mean, I already make up my own "Tactics" for each encounter -- I don't need the MM telling me how to play these creeps. Also, I could easily make up my own backstory and "Lore" sections for all the creatures as well, which happens fairly often anyway when you customize your campaigns. In addition, I could easily just come up with my own encounter groups and... see where I'm going? Having the printed book in hand is a time saver. You trade time for a possible loss of your own creativity. The MM has all this information already worked out; something you can't get from DDI.

That being said, one of my complaints about the MM1 was that there was not enough detail. It was almost too sparse, and I rarely open it up. Maybe it's becuase I just "know" the creatures therein, but I think it is more due to the fact there there is just too little information over what DDI already offers. The Monster Manual 2 changes that. That authors have done an excellent job of providing lots of detail for each creature to help players integrate them into their campaigns in a "sensible" way. Althought the section on Dragons does have a few pages of literally just statblocks with token artwork (zero other text), the rest of the MM2 is pretty juicy.

Take for example, the Eldritch Giant entry. There's a preamble paragraph (2 sentences) but then you'll find this:

"Eldritch Giants come from a different time - an earlier age when the primordials made the world. Although fashioned from fire, stone, and storm, the primordials' wondrous creation was heavily invested with magic, and the eldritch giants aided their primordial lords in the world's formation. Although their powers have ebbed since those days, eldritch giants remember their ancient mastery of magic and forever seek to regain it." -- Monster Manual 2.

The entry then goes on to detail two eldritch giants and their tactics. After that there's another background/lore section that includes another two or three paragraphs of detail. All in all, entries as detailed as this abound, and in general my feeling is that more thought went into developing these monsters than did the MM1.

Complaints
I suppose if I were to complain about something it would be that many of these "classic" monsters should have been included in the Monster Manual 1. I know I know... they have a BIZNES to run, and obviously there's a certain marketing strategy here to get people to buy two books instead of one. Meh... I would have bought the MM2 anyway.

My other complaints are similar to those I had for MM1 - no Ecology/Terrain information. No tables for random monster generation. No tables for random treasure types (sigh...). Everything in 4E is so friggen balanced, that even treasure is relegated to the DMG -- even for monsters like the Gold Dragon (which is pictured sitting on top of a classic horde of gold... but in reality, if you looked it up in the DMG... it would be much less than that). Oh well, random tables and charts seem to be a thing of the past for the 4E D&D designers (a mistake IMHO), so there's nothing of the sort in the MM1 or the MM2.


Conclusion
I don't have much negative to say about the Monster Manual 2. The detail is great, the artwork is (of course) superior. The number of monsters is outstanding (over 125). There's a big expansion of demons, devils, archons, and angels. There's a fair number of new goblins, gnolls, lizerdmen, giants (frost!), and trolls (among other humanoid like types). For $20 its a great value - definately pick it up.

Portrait of a Villain - Cerdic Elesing, High Chieftain of the Saxons

"Our time has come! My countrymen, you have traveled far to join me, and now I will follow through on the oaths made by our forefathers before me. The earth will drink the blood of the Britons today and we will make these Isles our own. We will make these lands Saxon!!!" -- Cerdic Elesing, just before marching on Mount Badon.

Original artwork, "Cerdic Elesing", by Hugo Solis, exclusively for The Core Mechanic. Looking for quality illustrations for your latest project? Visit Hugo's Gallery and get in touch.

Background
Cerdic Elesing was a Saxon ealdorman who's royal family descended from a line of magistrates appointed by the Rome to care for and manage the western end of the Saxon Shore (Latin: litus Saxonicum). Although Rome had long abandoned it, the Saxons had not abandoned the dream of reclaiming Britain, a land of plenty, as their own. So, in the late 6th-century, Cerdic gathered all the ealdormen of the tribe Gewissæ together and mounted a massive invasion of Britain's southern shoreline. Within a few short years, Cerdic and his forces had destroyed the tiny kingdom of Natanleaga, taken the Isle of Wight, and conquered the southern shorelines of Britain.

Cerdic crushed all the Saxon tribes already in Britain that did not submit to his might. He never negotiated, nor ever knelt to any man. The only force in Britain that could match his army's strength was that of Arthur's cavalry. At the Battle of Mount Badon, Arthur was finally able to turn Cerdic's army back, but at a great loss to his own forces as this was Arthur's last great victory. Cerdic was not so ruined, and then sent word back to his cousins in The Continent that Britain was defenseless. Soon afterwords hordes of Saxons, Angles, Francs, and Jutes began arriving monthly along the coastlines of Britain. Cerdic was the first, but not by any stretch the last Saxon king to ravage the Isles. By 514 C.E., he had established the Kingdom of Wessex in southern Britain, and soon began to consolidate other Saxon tribes under his banner. Thereafter, Cerdic and his descendants became the largest threat to Brythonnic Kings.

Motivation
Cerdic is a raging war monger. While his long term goals are the total conquering of Britain and the subjugation of all its people, his true love in life is for the rush of battle at the head of his own army. He vows to never rest. He seeks to be a pinnacle of Saxon honor, always keeps his word once he oaths a promise, and never cowers in the face of overwhelming odds. While his son Cynric governs his fledgling kingdom from its seat in Wintanceastre, Cerdic always on the move and rules from his saddle. The main focus of his military campaigns are currently the domination of the regions west of Wessex, and the eventual control of the entire southern coastline of Britain.

Adventure Hooks

Cerdic could easily be adapted to any D&D campaign set against the backdrop of an ongoing war. He represents a tyrannical king with an insatiable thirst for battle and blood. Once he sets his sites on an objective, he will go to great lengths to prove he is able to take it. Unbeknownst to many of his subjects, Cerdic is also a collector of relics. In his quest for domination, he does recognize the usefulness of powerful relics, regardless of their source of power, and often commissions adventurers to retrieve these relics to add to his collection.

1. The Stolen Chalice (Heroic Tier): A new monk from The Church arrives in the region with intentions reclaiming a minor artifact important to his particular sect, The Monks of Valdis. The relic in question is a golden chalice stolen from the priest's chapel by a marauding band of Saxon barbarians. The raiders have taken refuge in the hills a days ride from the PCs home village and the priest urges the PCs to assist him in "reclaiming the property of The Church". In reality, the chalice belongs to the Saxons and possesses the ability to mend the broken and heal the sick. It is known to the Saxons as "The Chalice of Tyr"; from it pours forth wine that believed to be the blood that was split when Tyr offered his arm to the wolf Fenris. These raiders are delivering it Cerdric, whose youngest son is sick with the plague. If the PCs manage to take the chalice from the raiders, they will have made a mortal enemy of Cerdric. If they refuse, the monk will declare the PCs as heretics.
2. Unleash The Isle of Wights (Paragon Tier): Rumors have surfaced that the Wihtwara, cousins of the Saxons, have recently discovered an abandoned tomb on the Isle of Wight and, instead of plundering it, have built a high mound around it in hopes of sealing it off until the High Chieftain, Cerdric, can personally inspect it. These rumors have become more tangible as the PCs have recently come into possession of an ancient text, seemingly written by the 3rd century scholar Serenus, that details an early Celtic burial site on "a tiny isle, north of Gaul, that is home to the chalk-faced walking dead who seem to step into and out of this world at will". The character's liege has commissioned them to set out and infiltrate this tomb and retrieve any lost Celtic artifacts that might otherwise fall into the hands of the Saxons. The PCs reach the site with little trouble, but find that the Saxons who were previously protecting the burial ground have followed Cerdric and his personal entourage into the crypts. Once inside, the PCs find a portal to Annwyn and discover that Cedric and his men have already passed through the gate. To what end, the PCs can only guess, but they must stop Cerdic and drive him out of Annwyn before he manages to defile it.
   

Triggering Combat Powers in 4E D&D

This post over at tenletter prompted inspired me to make a suggestion - one which I'm sure someone else in the blogosphere has made before (but I can't find the reference): what if you removed the names of the combat powers in 4E? Instead, just have the players actually describe what they are doing instead of "pushing a button".

But I'll actually take this one step further.

What if you made these nameless Encounter and Daily powers triggered effects, instead of chosen actions? For example:

• Player's Daily powers would trigger (and replace) any critical hit on an opponent made with a basic attack or an at-will power.
• Encounter powers would happen only after any successful hit with a basic attack or an at-will power, and replace the effects of the initial attack.
• At-will and utility powers would be used as they operate now.

The effects of this might be to limit character choices, thus promoting player creativity. It might play out much like 3E or previous editions of D&D where there are far fewer choices for your "toon". Heck, few classes had multiple ways of making melee attacks (monk's being on exception; flurry of blows anyone?) eliminating character choices from one round to the next might also speed up combat.

Now, such a house rule might also apply only to martial and primal classes: divine and arcane classes might remain as they are. I mean, wizards have always had tons of choices - that was their specialty - and still is considering that Tomes have been added to 4E (greatly expanding the flexibility of wizards in game).But I digress...

If you remove the names of encounter and daily powers and simply move them over to the existing at-will powers as triggered effects (immediate interrupts maybe?), it might have a very strong effect on the mood/feel of 4E combat as it plays out.

Crazy, stupid idea? Or maybe there's some traction here? What do think?

Interview with Robert Daneri of HeroForge Software

I was fortunate to be included in the closed-beta test of the latest version of HeroForge, a character building application designed for maximum flexibility and customization for 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. Recently, I was also fortunate to get an exclusive interview with Robert Daneri, the Lead Programming Developer and President of HeroForge Software, LLC.

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[TCM] OK, many people in the gaming community already know about Heroforge 3E; but what is Heroforge 4E and how will it compete with character builder and other tools from D&D Insider?

[Robert] For those that might not know HeroForge or what it does, HeroForge more than a character builder, but a complete Character Management System for use with 4E D&D. For those familiar with the Excel version of HeroForge for 3.5, the 4E is a actual stand alone application and not an Excel spreadsheet. I think that we have created something that any D&D player of 4E will find very useful and feature rich, especially if they are the type of user that likes to create custom content.

Our goal with the new application is not to replace or compete with anything players are currently using like D&DI really, but to be an additional tool in the RPG tool box. Sometimes you just need a different or bigger hammer. HeroForge Software has always stood by the fact that our software will never replace the need to own the books you use to play the game. There are a lot of good apps out there for 4E, and we feel the new HeroForge will stand in that category as well.

[TCM] Are there any plans to extend Heroforge beyond the PC? For instance, there's been several poorly executed attempts at making character builder software for iPhones and other mobile apps; any plans for such an extension for HF?

[Robert] Yes there is plans to have a form of HeroForge that can work on iPhones, Blackberry, Android, etc. As for how soon I can’t really be sure yet. I am one of those type of players that want to have the use of HeroForge at the table on my laptop or PDA. That was the reason I designed the Buffs tab in the Excel version of HeroForge for 3.5. This is also the reason we have designed a nice feature in the current version known as the Combat Control Console. So players and DM’s can use laptops at the table and can track their characters needed stats during combat. You can account for damage and healing, temp HP, etc. I believe that users that have laptops at the table will really appreciate this feature. Plus as I said before we hope to soon have a similar feature for PDA/Smartphones.

[TCM]Wizards of the Coast is known for being the 800-lb gorilla of the RPG gaming industry, especially when it comes to protecting their intellectual property. Given that several websites have been shut down recently as a result of WotC actions, from a legal standpoint how do you plan to position Heroforge?

[Robert] Well, legal positioning is best left to the lawyers, and it seems that nobody doing anything 4E these days really knows where they stand when it comes to what WotC will or won’t do. I guess that seems to be the big question these days doesn’t it? I think all any of us can do is place our work out there and see what happens. Hope for the best and if they come knocking with the big bad C&D go from there. But a C&D isn’t the end all of things. That is just one step in a process.

When we first decided to take HeroForge to the 4E system, we traveled to D&D XP 2008 and met with Scott Rouse and Chris Perkins about the idea of a WotC/HeroForge collaboration. We told them what we had in mind with making D&DI and HeroForge work together. After a few emails back and forth between Scott and myself we were told that a collaboration wasn’t in the cards at that time and after they get the Gold Edition of D&DI out then maybe. But we were also told in those email to “forge forward”, Scott’s words not mine. So we have done just that. We have been watching what has been happening and what other companies are doing with 4E that so far seem to be ok.

I mean really in the end all this C&D business that has been happening is really hurting the fans of the game most by taking away options for them to play it their way. RPG’s themselves are full of options, that is what the game is about. Playing it with the options you want to use. I feel the same about the tools you use to play RPG’s. I mean what if you could only buy one color or size of dice? What if there was only one brand or look of mini to use? I don’t think it would be the same.

[TCM] Sounds good, please let us know if there are any developments! Hopefully we'll see HF have a long and happy life in the company of the 800-lb gorilla. Looking back though, how did you get started with Heroforge anyway?

[Robert] I founded the HeroForge Excel character generator back in 2004 when I started playing Living Greyhawk. At the time it didn’t have a lot of content but I saw huge potential for expansion to its power. So I started learning how to be a better Excel programmer to add to it with the help of good friend of mine David Castelli. Over the next year David and I became the Lead Developers of the Excel sheet. When WotC announced 4E, we decided that Excel was to limited for what we wanted to do. So we decided to create an actual application that could run on most any operating system and not require any third party software to use. Hence the HeroForge Character Management System was born. Also by creating an actual application, we can expand HeroForge into other game systems and not only be known for D&D content.

[TCM] Sounds very promising. You are no doubt headed in the right direction, but OGL/d20 games benefit from all using the same basic mechanics, class systems, feats, skills, etc. 4E D&D however presents an interesting change of style - character generation is somewhat like a talent tree, which is very different at its core from 3E and related games. For instance, there's been a lot of buzz lately about Savage Worlds and it's extensible, genre-free system. Is Heroforge really adaptable enough to easily accommodate other game systems? Or are you just referring to d20 games here?

[Robert] The great thing about using a stand-alone programming language to do the new HeroForge and not say Excel, is that we can add anything from any system we want. It doesn’t matter if it is d20, d6, d100, etc. It all comes down to the app loading up the proper interface and knowing how to handle the rules. We really at this point have no limit to what game systems we can have the app utilize. We would love the opportunity to work with any willing game publisher out there big or small that has a need for a character management system. We feel that anyone who plays a table top RPG and deals with a characters career, would love to make that job easier. I have played many games and the less time I have to spend leveling and adding to my character means more game time. Plus if I can speed up game play at the table that means more adventure per game session too. HeroForge has the capacities under the hood to do both for any system we throw at it.

[TCM] Heroforge 3E was a great success, but in transitioning to the latest version of D&D - what was the biggest challenge in developing Heroforge 4E? What parts of the current version of Heroforge do you think are the most mature or stable? Of the features that still exhibit a need for additional development; what areas of the code base will you be focusing on most in the coming months?

[Robert] The biggest challenge was designing HeroForge so that the non-programmers of the RPG community could easily create and add custom content and have the app handle all the mechanical effects number-wise, with little or no need for the use of overrides. As for stability, I feel that the main 4E mechanic is solid. There are still parts of the “Customization” area of the app that could use a little work. The problem is that there is no way to truly account for everything that someone might want to create. So our goal is to allow for as much customization as possible without actually changing the basic core mechanic of the game system.

[TCM] So, I take it that Heroforge will be THE software app for people who are interested in homebrew or heavily house-ruled games. Can you give us any specific examples of something highly customized that HF might be able to easily handle?

[Robert] If your group is a home brew or house-ruled type then yes HeroForge will definitely meet you needs. Our #1 goal from day one was to make it possible for users to add just about anything custom one can think of. Races, Classes, Powers, Feats, Gear, Magic Items, etc. The list of customizable parts of the app is extensive. But the great thing is that we made it so that users won’t need to write scripts or code in any way to make the numbers work all the way through the app with your custom content.

[TCM] On a side note - how much "fluff" can Heroforge accommodate? Can people attach portraits, character descriptions, and campaign notes to their characters? Is there any import/export capacity to work with DDI or Obsidian Portal?

[Robert] You can upload art for your character (none will be included with the app by default). The final product will have a full featured game log but right now that feature is still in the final stages of development. As far as import/export from or to other apps, we have some things in the works along those lines.

[TCM] When can fans of Heroforge expect to see an Open BETA?

[Robert] We hope to have an Open Beta released of the Windows version of the app to the users of our Forums by the middle of this month. Early June at the very latest. So to access the Open Beta, one will need to sign up for a Forum account at www.heroforgesoftware.com to get the most up to date news.

[TCM] That sounds awesome! I'm sure people will be looking forward to tinkering around with it. How long do you expect the BETA test to run for? And, more importantly, have you decided on a pricing model for Heroforge once the software is "done"?

[Robert] As of now we plan to run the Open Beta for a 30 day period and then if more time is needed we will go from there. As for pricing… we haven’t locked that aspect down 100% yet but we hope to determine that by what the Open Beta users have to say. It really depends on what the users feel it is worth to them. People already pay enough for the games they play and we don’t want to be priced out of reach, but at this point we have heard from beta testers that it is at least worth $20-$30.

On a side note to this and speaking for me only, it’s really not about the money, I do this more for the love of the hobby and the love I have for the community that gave me this opportunity. I am a firm believer in the saying, “The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few or the one.” I live by it daily. I have taken that approach to my role with HeroForge. I want HeroForge to be a program that can be used by the advanced RPG player and the newcomer alike. I also believe that all Table top RPG gamers not just D&D gamers deserve to have a great tool to use for their games. Hence why I want to see HeroForge someday be the “One Forge to Rule Them All” and offer many other game systems as we move forward. But for now I encourage all the 4E players to come sign up for a forums account at www. heroforgesoftware.com and try the Open Beta and tell us what you think.

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Well, that's about it folks! This is the first interview to land on the pages of The Core Mechanic; hope you enjoyed it. If you are looking for screenshots and more info on getting involved with Heroforge 4E, then follow the link!!!

Portraits of a Villain - Morgan Le Fay

" A veil has been lifted from our eyes, and now I see the horrifying truth and know now what we are meant to protect. I could heal the sick and mend the broken, but now all my icy hands will deliver is death to those who seek to lift this veil from the eyes of others." - Morgan Le Fey after sending her child Mabon to the Kingdom of Annwyn.

Original artwork, "Sir Mordred", by Hugo Solis, exclusively for The Core Mechanic. Looking for quality illustrations for your latest project? Visit Hugo's Gallery and get in touch.

BACKGROUND

Morgan was born the daughter of Lady Igraine and Gorlois, The Duke of Cornwall. After her father was murdered by Uther Pendragon, her mother had her sent to a convent on The Isles of Scilly to be educated and kept away from the lecherous eyes of Uther. Once there, Morgan discovered she had natural affinity for the earth, the sky, and the sea. She also met the fey druid Gallendenel there, who trained her in the "natural arts". Her master revealed to her The Veil, and through this she discovered that she was made from fey as well, not from flesh. This was a surprising and rather puzzling revelation to them both, especially as Gallendenel had never met a feyborn who was not aware of their true nature, and he encouraged her to seek out the truth at any cost. Through her training, Morgan grew closer to Gallendenel and eventually the pair had a child together in secret. Fearing that she would be banished from the convent, the elder druid took their son, Mabon, to the Kingdom of Annwn, a place safe behind The Veil. Soon after Gallendenel left, however, Morgan was forced from the convent and sent to be the bride of King Urien of Rheged as part of political arrangement arranged by her step-father, Uther Pendragon. Unable to escape, she left the Isles of Scilly swearing to return to find the path to Annwn so that she might rejoin her son Mabon.

Time passed, and although a marriage between Morgan and Urien was one of convenience, the couple managed to produce twins - a son Owain and a daughter Morvydd - mainly because of Morgan's desire to cultivate her feyborne bloodline. Soon after her children's birth, she presented them to her mother Ingrain and demanded an explanation for their feyborn nature (now revealed). Igraine confessed: Morgan's murdered father, Gorlois, was was also feyborne and was known to some as The Hidden King of Annwn.

MOTIVATION

Morgan Le Fay wants nothing more than to preserve The Veil and the protection it affords the feyborne of Annwyn. She is an enchantress with a long arm, having lovers in several important courts throughout Britain - including Accolon, a prince from Gododin, who sits at the round table in Arthur's court. Through her spies, she plots to destroy anyone who discovers The Viel. She is convinced that knowledge of it is not meant for the flesh as it only corrupts those who know of it. She knows that the king (Arthur) is aware of The Veil and has commissioned a search for powerful relics aimed at opening it. Because of this, she has decided her half-brother must die in the name of the "greater good" and has hatched several plots aimed at unseating him and destroying his band of questing knights.

Morgan is also heavily involved in promoting and training an ever expanding network of druids and other feyborn sympathizers. Not quite an Elder Druid herself, she is also trying to find the path back to Anwnn so that she can be reunited with her fey child Mabon and  Gallendenel.

Adventure Hooks

Morgan Le Fay, and her network of spies and apprentice druids, could be adapted into any existing fantasy campaign that might suite a "villain with a cause"; the cause in this case being the absolute control of access and knowledge of The Viel, or any other powerful arcane insight (e.g. planar travel, specific rituals, or other types of magic). The possibilities are endless, but here are three hooks that might fit a typical "bog fantasy" campaign setting in 4th Edition D&D.

1. The Burning Book (Heroic Tier) - The PCs discover a Burning Book while on a previous adventure whose flames are quenched by the touch of anyone with fey blood. The book is written in a language non of the party members understand, so they bring it to a feyborne scholar who might serve to unravel the mysteries within. Upon reading the book, however, the scholar explains that the book is either the ramblings of a madman or a relic of great value - as it describes The Veil and how ordinary people might reveal its mysteries. He asks to study the book for a longer time, but instead steals it and flees the village.  A chase follows, but the scholar - a  warlock, likely evades capture. Searching the hill sides in the surrounding country, the party discovers a network of Time passes, rumours of a burning book
   
2. Durendel, The King Maker (Paragon Tier) -  The PCs set out to find a holy relic: the sword known as Durendel, a weapon that cuts through the veil for any brave soul that weilds it. This mythical weapon is believed to have been once belonged to Hector of Troy, and was later used in the suicide of Ajax the Great. The weapon fell into the hands of the infamous Roman general Agricola but was lost "to goblins from the fey" during the conquest of Caledonia. After nearly four centuries, rumours of the sword's whereabouts resurface and the king (Arthur) commissions the PCs to retrieve the weapon. After a long journey, and several battles with Morgan's druids along the way, the PCs finally discover the weapon is buried in a series of Celtic burial caves. Upon arrival they are met by Morgan herself, who attempts to stop them from obtaining the sword.
   
3. The Curtain of Shadows (Epic Tier) - After years of searching, Morgan's son Owain discovers the Celtic Godsrune - a powerful and ancient artifact that can open a portal to Annwyn. With the stone in hand, Morgan immediately gets to work preparing the long and difficult ritual needed to open the road to Annwyn. She ultimately fails, however, and in doing so rips a tear in the fabric of The Veil. From this gap an army of feyborne creatures come crawling out from The Otherworld and eventually overtake Morgan and her entourage at her fortress on Mount Snowdon. The king recieves news of this event and sends an army led by the PCs to surround the castle and contain the threat. Eventually, one of the PCs receives a plee for help from Morgan by way of a messenger bird - who begs for her life and explains that the only way to close the rift is to cast the Godsrune back into it. The PCs must then venture into the overrun castle, find the Godsrune, close the rift and possibly spare Morgan's life in the process.
   

4E Statblock

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  • Level 12 Elite Controller
  • Morgan Le Fey
  • Medium Fey Humanoid (Druid)
  • XP 1400
  • Initiative +12
  • Senses Perception +16, Insight +11
  • HP 214; Bloodied 107
  • AC 26; Fortitude 26, Reflex 24, Will 28
  • Saving throws+5 vs. Charm, +2 vs. All
  • Speed 7
  • Action points1
  • Chill Wind (standard; at-will) •Cold, Implement, Primal
  • Area burst 1 within 10; +11 vs. Fortitude; 1d6 +3 cold damage the target slides 1 square.
  • Call of the Fey (standard; at-will) •Charm, Implement, Primal, Psychic
  • Area burst 1 within 10 squares; +14 vs. Will; The target can't gain combat advantage until the end of Morgan Le Fey's next turn. In addition, on its next turnthe target takes 10 psychic damage when it makes any attack that doesn't include your ally nearest to it as a target.
  • Tundra Wind (standard; encounter) •Cold, Implement, Primal
  • Close Blast 3; +14 vs. Fortitude; 2d6 + 8 cold damage and the target is pushed 3 squares and knocked prone.
  • Ensorcelled Mind (standard; encounter) •Charm
  • Ranged 5; +18 vs. Will. Until the end of Morgan Le Fay's next turn, the target can't attackher. In addition, when any creature within the target'sreach hits or misses Morgan Le Fay, the target makes a melee basic attack against that creature as a free action, with a +2 bonus to the attack roll.
  • Sunbeam (standard; daily) •Implement, Primal, Radiant
  • Area 1 within 10 squares; +14 vs. Will; The target is blinded (save ends). Aftereffect: 1d10 +5 radiant damage. Miss: 1d10 +5 radiant damage.
  • Winter Storm (standard; daily) •Primal, Zone
  • Area burst 2 within 10 squares; The burst creates a zone of difficult terrain that lasts until the end of Morgan Le Fay's next turn. While within the zone, any enemy gains vulnerable 5 cold. She can end the zone as a minor action. Sustain Minor: The zone persists, and she canincrease its size by 1 to a maximum of burst 5.
  • Morgan's Fey Escape (immediate interrupt; daily) •Teleportation
  • When an enemy enters a square adjacent to Morgan Le Fay, she can teleport 5 squares. She also gains combat advantage against the enemy until the end of her next turn.
  • Align. Unaligned
  • Lang. Common, Primordial
  • Skills Arcana +15, Heal +16, Nature +16
  • Str 11 (+6)
  • Dex 14 (+8)
  • Wis 20 (+11)
  • Con 16 (+9)
  • Int 14 (+8)
  • Cha 18 (+10)
  • Equipment Magic Hide Armor +3, Cape of Mountebank +2, Autumn Harvest Totem +3
  • Created with DungeonMastering.com's DM Tools

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Looking for more Villains? Check out these new villains, all with exclusive, original artwork, at the following blogs:

• Portrait of a Villain: Mad Archwizard, from Mad Brew Labs with art by Crystal Frasier 
• Heart of Chaos: Grebs Follyfoot, from At-Will with art by James Keegan
• Portrait of a Villain: Gethin of the Ash, from Exchange of Realities with art by Ravyn
  
• Next week - four more villains from TCM and our collaborators above!
  

Leave a comment, let us know what you think!

4Etopia - Returning to Forumland

In general, I hate Forumland...

But 4Etopia might change all that.

It was one of the main reasons why I started blogging about games. In looking for an outlet to discuss games and gaming in an increasing busy life; forums just always came up short. I always felt like they are too big, too noisy, and too impersonal. Blogging provides me with a smaller forum, a more personal interaction with blog readers, and better control of the topics I want to discuss. So, frustrated with the all too common decent into flaming balls of edition wars, I left Forumland about a year ago and all the ugly trolls and munchkins with it. So far, I have yet to see them come to the blogosphere in large numbers - although they do occasionally venture out into the light. Otherwise, I've been pretty happy with this medium.

But now a friend and collaborator of mine has started a new forum - focused on developing an online community dedicated solely to 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. It's called 4Etopia, and its run by the same blogger who created the excellent blog At-Will. While I don't doubt that eventually the trolls and munchkins of Forumland will visit 4Etopia; I'm hopeful that - at least for now - they will also pass by and leave 4Etopia to its own devices. It's a forum created by and most frequented by RPG bloggers and RPG blog readers - this makes it a particularly different forum ecosystem than the megalithic ENWorld or Gleemax forums. So, if you are perhaps interested in finding a new voice and connecting with people with the same interest in the latest version of D&D - head on over to 4Etopia and join in on the discussions!