Dungeons and Dragons Blog

Well this is kind of a kick in the you know what, and it means I probably won’t be buying much stuff from here on out.  Fourth edition is coming.  And it’s coming in May 2008.

Dungeon and Dragon Magazine will now be online and Dungeon starts out like a bang with a converted Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, which is one of my favorite adventures from way back on first edition.  It mixes some outdoor adventure then a terrific dungeon crawl.  For now it looks like things will be free but eventually there will be a charge.

I got my copy of Dungeon Magazine #150 the other day and while I didn’t shed any tears, I did think about the issue a lot more then I normally would.  There was some neat stuff in there like indexes of all of the adventures in all of the magazines and if you buy one issue, this is the one to pick up.  Now we get to see what Pathfinder is all about.

While there’s been no official announcement, Dungeon and Dragon will now be internet provided.  No word as far as I know on when things kick off but we’re definitely treading into some interesting waters.

Wizards of the Coast announced that they won’t be extending their relationship with Paizo to keep Dragon and Dungeon Magazine going.  In some ways this is a surprise because Dragon Magazine has been around for 30 years.  On the other hand, they can accomplish the same thing on their website, and they’ve been doing so for quite some time.  You wonder if this is going to set things up for Wizards.com to have a subscription based premium service on their website to try to make a little bit more cash.  If the price is right, I’d go for it.

Both magazines will run through Septemeber and Dungeon will finish up their Savage Tide Campaign Path.  In the meantime, Paizo is going to put out a high end publication called Pathfinder.  I’ll be getting the first three issues come August so I’ll let you know what I think.  Because my subscription ran through the date things were ending I had a few choices and I decided to check this out.  They’re going to start a new adventure path (Rise of the RuneLords) and it looks like it’s more geared towards the DM.  At $20 ($14 if you subscribe) an issue, I’ll have to think about picking this up regulary.  It’s a bummer though because I’m most interested in issue four which features Wolfgang Baur and I’m only getting the first three because of my previous deal.

***UPDATE***

Here’s Owen Stephens take on the end of Dragon and Dungeon magazine.  Good stuff from one of the professionals.

I recently got my hands on the new Dungeon Magazine and it’s another good one.  Not only do we get the continuation of the Savage Tide campaign path, but we also get a neat Forgotten Realms adventure.

First up in the mag is a low level adventure based in the town of Nesme in Faerun, which sits just outside the Evermoors.  I had to find this on the map and it’s just south of the Spine of the World and just north of the High Forest.  The local lizardpeople have been enlisted to help against Giants, but one of the outposts hasn’t been in touch and an aide to one of the main NPC’s has gone missing so the characters get enlisted to check things out.  It seems the lizardfolk have other plans though and some bad lizardfolk are planning on taking down Nesme.  You’ve got some underwater action in this adventure and the main bad guy is a female lizardfolk cleric and her pet crocodile.

Adventure number two is the sixth installment of Savage Tide.  This time, the party goes underneath the Isle of Dread where there are series of underground lakes and caverns.  There’s a lot of neat wandering monsters, some troglodyte’s and things end with a battle with kopru who’s also a thrall of Demogorgon.

Adventure number three is an interesting high level campaign that is a test of diplomacy and debate.  This one is pretty neat and while I’ll probably go back and read it more thoroughly, I’m probably never going to run it.

The smaller columns are also interesting.  Dungeoncraft is how a DM can make the game more enjoyable by putting the focus on the players.  The Dungeon talks about unusual burials and Critical Threat details a 15th level wizard who’s definitely a schemer and not afraid to use a charm to get his way.

On a side note, on the back inside cover was an ad for Fantasy Grounds II, which allows you to play the tabletop game on the computer.  I’ve seen this at RPGnow.com but I was wondering if anyone else has used it and what they’ve thought of it.

The latest Dungeon Magazine is out and here’s what you get this month….

The first adventure is a mid level adventure set in Eberron.  I don’t own Eberron so I’m not going to pass judgement but the adventure is a very neat idea.  It’s based on a lightening rail coach that’s moving while the player’s battle the bad guys.  This looks like a neat, quick adventure and as has happened several times, it almost makes me what to check out Eberron.

The second adventure is installment five of the Savage Tide Adventure Path.  Good stuff here as the characters tackle one of the smaller islands that ring the Isle of Dread. This one will get the players up to tenth level and probably the coolest part is a trip to the tar pits where you take on a pretty high end tyrannosauras and it ends with a battle against a 12th level Lemorian.  After that, you get a pretty detailed description of Farshore so you get some pretty nice background information here as well.

The final adventure is called Mask of the Diamond tears an it’s a higher level, fairly complicated adventure.  I didn’t read the whole thing but the premise is that an Illusionist steals a funeral mask and this causes some extraplanar problems.

In addition, you get Wolfgang Baur’s first Dungeoncraft.  He tackles how to run a chase scene in your adventure.  Good stuff.  The Dungeon section talks about spicing up secret doors and Wandering Monster presents you with the slithering tracker.

My subscription expires in a couple of months and I’m on the fence as far as renewing.  If I were playing, I would for sure but a) I’m not right now and b) this site isn’t making me enough money to justify the cost on it’s own.  From a personal standpoint, I do want get the rest of the Savage Tide Campaign Path so if anything, that will probably be what makes me recommit for another year.  Also looking at a Dragon magazine subscription but for the same reasons, I’m on the fence.

It seems like nostalgia is the name of the game in this month’s Dungeon Magazine.  The first adventure is called Masque of Dreams, which takes place in Mystara, one of the original campaign settings.  It’s also the same location as the old basic module, the Lost City (B4).  True to form for an old basic adventure, it’s for first level characters. 

The highlight of this magazine is the continuation of the Savage Tide adventure path.  For the first time in a long time, we’re reintroduced to the Isle of Dread.  The fourth installment of this adventure path takes the party across the Isle of Dread and true to form, the party has to take on a Tyrannasaurusand the latest installment ends when the party tackles a shrine dedicated to Demogorgon.

The final adventure is a high level one (16th level) that takes the party into an ancient Dwarven tomb.  There’s some interesting traps in this one and the nemesis is a high level elven druid. 

Solid stuff.  The campaign workbook also has some good stuff.  The City contains two crime scenes that you can drop into your campaign and The Journey deals with holy sites.

This month’s issue of Dungeon magazine has double the nostalgia.  The biggest portion of the magazine consists of the the latest installment of the Savage Tide campaign path and it’s a good one.  The party sets sail aboard the Sea Wyvern en route to the Isle of Dread.  Along the way, you run into storms, reefs, currents and even the Hidden Shrine of Tomoachan, which was the location of a first edition D&D module (C1).  Of course you have to wait until next month to actually set foot on the Isle of Dread.  I can’t wait.

The second adventure is called the Sword of Dragonlake and it reads a lot like a murder mystery.  It’s an open ended urban adventure that I couldn’t really get into.  Maybe it was just my mood but if I change my mind on this one after rereading it, I’ll let you know.

The final adventure, Vlindarian’s Vault, is a high level adventure that’s Beholder heavy.    It seems the leader of a hive of beholders has kidnapped a silver dragon and the dragon’s mate enlists the players to help free him. 

The last bit of news is that Monte Cook will no longer be writing the Dungeoncraft column.  In his place is Wolfgang Baur, who I’m confident will be able to fill in nicely for Cook.  I became familiar with Baur’s work when I made a last minute decision to pick up his first Open Design partron project, Steam and Brass.  For a contribution, a patron can take part in the various stages of a custom built adventure and contribute to the ultimate design.  Baur is now looking for patron’s for his second project and if it’s anywhere near as good as Steam and Brass, which was an excellent piece of work, it’s well worth the price of admission.  I ponied up this time around and it’s fun getting on the ground floor on this one.

As a dungeon master, I’m always looking to cut corners in my campaign.  Time is tight, so if I can pull something from another product and use, I do so.  So I drop the Keep on the Borderlands into Faerun and that’s the first chapter.  Later, I use the Slavers modules and then the Giants modules play a big part.  So I’m usually set for about the first 12-15 levels for the party.  After that, it’s jumble of undocumented ideas because I’ve never had the time play things out that far.

Then the latest issue of Dungeon Magazine was delivered.  You have the second installment of the Savage Tide campaign path which I think is shaping out to be the best of three campaign paths.  And then you have a neat adventure that takes place within a wizard’s academy.  It’s the final adventure of the three that really caught my eye though.

The Heart of Hellfire Mountain has two things that are prevalent in the later parts of my campaign.  Devils and a lot of giants.  In this case it’s Fire Giants and a Pit Fiend as the big bad guy.  This is a very cool adventure and I’ve already figured out a way to slip it to what I’m trying to do.

I like to call this one “Return to the Isle of Dread” because that’s how they hooked me into this one.  I completely missed the Shackled City adventure path and got in late on Age of Worms so I’m interested to see how this plays out from the beginning.

My first D&D purchase was the Expert Rules, which contained the original Isle of Dread and once baseball season ends, I’m going to do a Blast From the Past on this one.  I know that’s a month away, but I’m really limited time wise, both playing and writing, during baseball season but come winter, I’ll be getting back to a more regular writing schedule here.

Anyway, Savage Tide takes you to Sasserine, a very interesting port city.  There you help out a noble and take down an evil guild in your first step towards the Isle of Dread.  The magazine comes with a cool fold out map of the city and an adventure that should take you through about third level.

There’s also a high level adventure that continues the Maure Castle line.  I don’t have the older Dungeon Magazines which have the other two installments so I really didn’t get into this one too deeply.

I got my issue of Dungeon magazine in the mail yesterday and was surprised to see the magazine has been around for 20 years.  I know Dragon has been around for a long time, but I thought Dungeon was relatively new (like no more then 10-15 years).  In the magazine though, I learn that it debuted in 1986.  It’s a very solid issue.  You get a converted high level adventure called The Mud Sorcerer’s Tomb, which originally appeared in Dungeon #37 and was chosen as the best adventure ever to appear in the magazine. You also get a preview of Savage Tide, the next adventure path that will be forthcoming in the next couple of months.