DnDNext Details (Updated)

This week's Legends and Lore by Mike Mearls at wizards.com does a really nice job of walking through the different pre-generated characters that come with the playtest package. Each of the characters gets a spotlight put on it and some of the newly tweaked mechanics gets a brief explanation as well. I also think this is a hint from the designers, essentially saying "these are the things we are really looking for feedback on."

DnDNext Playtest - First Impressions

I was able to get my copy of the DnDNext playtest material several days ago but because of circumstances just hadn't had the chance to sit down and read through the material until tonight. That circumstance was that my youngest had his high school graduation this weekend and with relatives in and out and what not it was kind of hectic around here. Things finally calmed down a little late this afternoon and I finally got a chance to read through the provided material, so I wanted to post a few first impressions.

DnDNext Update

The first set of official public playtest rules for DnDNext (or DnD 5E) are scheduled to be released on May 24, 2012 (sign up is here). There has certainly been a lot of nonspecific talk about what is in the works and I am certainly curious after all of this non-detailed discussion as to what the details really are. In that regard I am definitely looking forward to it. I expect to see a lot of on-line conversation as those who were seeing this for the first time finally get to catch up with those who were previously NDA'd from talking about it. This should be a very interesting summer in the DnD world.

May DDI Update Released

The May update of the DDI tools was pushed out today (read here). There was the usual smattering of new data and bug fixes, but unless you were looking for a specific bug to be resolved I'm not sure there was much there. The new session of DnD Encounters started tonight with their character building session (game play will start next week), so it was certainly just in time for that.

Recapping Three TPK's During DnD Encounters

Over the past few months I participated in three different TPK’s during the recent season of DnD Encounters, The Elder Elemental Eye at The Gaming Goat in Elgin IL. Never having been a part of any TPK in 25+ years of playing this was initially a bit of a shock. I had initially wrote it off to a combination of both good and bad luck, a little bit of  "c'mon it’s just a game," and then throw in some "let’s just pick it up next week and play on from there." After all there has always a risk of a death in any adventure encounter, and – as I said before – it’s just a game. But after two additional TPK’s during the ensuing weeks of the season … well, somethin' ain’t right. As is my wont afterwards I spent considerable time thinking about what happened, what was it that that I could have done different, and ultimately, what did I learn from the experience.

DnD Encounters - Session 11 (05/09/2012)

This week at The Gaming Goat marked the end of the current season of DnD Encounters, The Elder Elemental Eye. Initially we looked to be short a few players this night so we pushed the two tables together and got ready to roll as one group, only to have a few more show up at the last moment. We decided to go as one large group of eight, including myself, Nate, Zach, Steve, Bobby, Andrew, Tim (welcome back), and Don, with DM Jack doing the honors.

DnD Encounters - Session 10 (05/02/2012)

The DnD Encounters group this week at The Gaming Goat featured seven players and two DM's, making for either one large table or two smaller tables. We decided to go with two tables, our table included Bobby, Andrew and myself with Clyde the DM. Uh-oh - two wizards and a fighter ... where's my MASH Unit in the form of a cleric? This doesn't bode well.