Continue reading »]]> A few days ago, Monte Cook posted two short paragraphs and a poll to his page on the Wizards of the Coast community. Those few words stirred up a lot of conversation about race in Dungeons & Dragons in the comments and on Twitter over the weekend. For me (Draco), it brings up a long standing pet-peeve about how D&D conflates race and culture. I’ve talked about this with my co-author (Aaron) before, and we decided that with the attention its getting now, it warranted a more public and in-depth look.

The Issue At Hand

The basic “problem” is this: When you pick a race in D&D, you’re also getting a pre-packaged culture with that choice. This happens because all races in D&D that are not human have a single monoculture that is assumed to be true and consistent across both space and time. You can see the effect of this assumption in “racial” mechanics. All elves, everywhere, know something about nature. All dwarves, ever, will know how to wield a warhammer or an axe. Those are not really things that are affected by being born a elf or a dwarf; they are the results of the elf and dwarf monocultures. Now, if you want to play a dwarf with a hammer, that’s fine. You are rewarded with those benefits for playing to the stereotype.

A dwarf with a sword! Heresy!

This can almost certainly be traced, at least in part, back to Tolkien. But even in Middle Earth, not every dwarf is the same. Just read the Hobbit. So why, in this modern era, are we still allowing our fantasy to fall into these easy tropes? Is it lazy design, complacent players, or something of both? Especially in cosmopolitan worlds like Eberron and the Forgotten Realms, it makes less sense to stick religiously to these hide-bound traditions.

Now, some mechanics do make sense as “racial”, inherited traits (which, for the purpose of this article we’re going to define as something “inborn”, “genetic” and stemming from nature, as opposed to nurture). Sometimes it appears that ability modifiers certainly have more to do with race than culture. (Though even that is problematic, which we’ll get to in a bit.) We won’t get into genetics and dominant vs. recessive traits, here. There’s room for some broad strokes, I think. It is still a game.

A Possible Solution

This can all be fairly easily solved by breaking Race and Culture apart. Make these things modular. Allow players to pick a race and then apply relevant bits of culture. Your elf is from the city of Greyhawk? Maybe she’s skilled in Streetwise instead of Nature. Maybe she never learned to use a bow in the city (not terribly functional in an urban environment) but picked up some other talent instead. But, she was born an elf so she has the racial elven inborn Low-Light vision and is naturally agile (DEX bonus). The idea isn’t to make every race the same so that there’s functionally no difference from playing a dwarf to playing a human. It makes sense to distinguish them in some ways. A dwarf certainly isn’t a human, and an elf isn’t a halfling.

However, a dwarf raised in a human village is absolutely going to have more in common with his human neighbors than any of his distant relatives in ye-olde-dwarven-mountain-holdfast. This is enculturation at work. He’ll still be a dwarf, but he’ll have been raised among a predominantly human culture. Maybe his parents insisted that he learn the ancient dwarf heritage of hammer swinging, but he picked up some of the humans’ love of History instead of learning about Dungeoneering.

These are just examples. Maybe D&D Next will handle these sort of traits differently, but the general idea can still apply. Let players make these choices about their PC without having to go to the DM and ask for special permission to make an exception to the rules. This also gives the DM better tools when she’s world building to create a distinct setting that can vary in more interesting ways from other worlds.

These two certainly don't fit the usual mold for their respective races.

This could also let us move past (or at least around) the idea of subraces in D&D. The concept of “race” as it was once understood doesn’t apply anymore, at least in the real world. At best, the concept is controversial. It may make sense to say that an elf and a human are of different races, but why must we subscribe to the idea that differences in culture (or skin color) = a different race? This is an outmoded concept in our world. Let’s move past it in our stories, too.

Another use for this solution could be for handling half-breeds. No longer would a half-elf need to be a stand-alone unique race. In fact, half-elves all being the same is perhaps the best (or worst) example of the nonsense of monoculture. With a modular system, you could just pick two races and apply benefits as desired. Maybe your half-elf isn’t diplomatic at all. Maybe she was raised among elves and learned to use bows. Perhaps she isn’t at all charismatic, but inherited some physical strength from her human parent. Build your own half-elf, half-dwarf, or half-halfling. Why not?

Speaking of Charisma, this is probably as good a place as any to point out the trouble with ability bonuses. Are all dwarves really born extra wise? Do eladrin have better brains than other races? Isn’t it a bit offputting or uncomfortable to imply that some races are naturally more intelligent (or less intelligent) than others? The Essentials rules made a good step forward by allowing players to choose between a couple different ability modifiers for each race. And it makes sense to limit races in some ways. An elf’s physical build likely doesn’t allow for as much muscle mass as a dwarf or dragonborn might have, for example. But allowing more variety always makes things more interesting.

And that’s really what this is all about. If you want to play the stereotypical gruff, hardy, mountain-dwelling dwarf, that’s perfectly alright. We’re not here to tell you that’s badwrongfun and that you can’t do it anymore. Any time you have fun with something, you’re doing it right. The idea is, as stated above, to give DMs and players the tools to more easily build beyond those stereotypes if they want to do so.

Potential Problems with the Solution

If we make other races more customizable, what’s going to be left to make humans distinctive? Why would you want to play a boring old human if every race is just as flexible and changable? Good questions! We note that D&D’s default is to say that humans are the most adaptable and diverse race and we see no reason to change that. We’re not saying that it’s critical to allow elves to be as versatile as humans. Just break them out of their current mold a bit. Humans can still have the most options available and that doesn’t have to be diminished just because other races have more options than they previously did.

But won’t the min-maxers go to town and abuse this? Well, yeah, probably. That’s what min-maxers and power gamers do. Even the most innocuous option can sometimes be twisted to help create an unstoppable monster of a PC. As always, its primarily the DM’s job to decide whether they want to allow things in their game and to watch out for abuses of the system. Instead of culling the available options to prevent rules abuses, it’s better to include something in the books to give the DM a heads up on how to recognise such exploitative behavior and handle it if it crops up.

Embrace your inner halfling barbarian.

We think that any potential problems or complications are more than outweighed by the benefits that breaking culture from race gains you and your campaign. A player gets to make exactly the sort of character that they’d like without feeling that they are being mechanically punished for thinking outside the box or approaching the game in a creative way.

In summary, race is not inextricably tied to culture and variety is the spice of the gods. Even if it never comes to fruition in an official D&D product, making an effort to treat race and culture as separate in your home game can produce an experience unlike any other. Leave your players talking fondly about their time helping out the sea-faring dwarves or beating back the raids of the militaristic and bloodthirsty halfling kingdoms!

Aaron can also be found writing at RPG Musings and @WolfSamurai on Twitter!

Continue reading »]]> Long ago where the great Durnwood Forest rises into the Crystal Mountains there lived an elven wizard. Some legends say that he was an eladrin and dwelled in the feywild and his doom brought him to the mortal world. Regardless all the legends agree that his name was Estarias and that he was a mage of great power and wisdom who built a temple to knowledge at which he trained his apprentices that came from all through the Durnwood, a temple called Trethari.

In time three powerful witches came to the temple and saught to wrest Estarias’ power from him. The legends say that at first the three witches triled to beguile Estarias and then when that failed they tried treachery which only led to battle. The legends say that the four of them battled for days until at last the mountain fell upon the temple and they were all lost to time and legend.

Now all that is said to remain is a magical pearl crafted by Estarias as a conduit for his wisdom and power, ever seeking the destruction of the three witches that destroyed its creator all those long years ago.

Goals of the Pearl of Trethari

• To come into the posession of a wise wizard.
• To encourage the spread of knowledge and wisdom.
• To destroy the three witches of Trethari.

Roleplaying the Pearl of Trethari

The Pearl is patient and wise, but it is determined to see its dieing creator’s will done. The Pearl speaks with a rich baritone to the one who carries it. At first it does this only occasionally but as it becomes more impressed with the bearer it becomes more loquacious. In general the Pearl shares only knowledge that will help it achieve its goals, first in hints, and eventually in clear statements, though if impressed sufficiently by the bearer it will share more of its vast knowledge. However when asked questions the Pearl prefers to lead the asker to an answer that is correct than simply tell the asker the correct answer, if the bearer likes riddles it will use them, other wise half answers and questions are its usual responses.

Concordance

 Pleased (16-20)

“We are united on the path to overcoming the evil of the witches.”
The character has earnt the Pearl’s trust through their dedication to the fight against evil, and now it talks freely with them providing all the aid it can.

Satisfied (12-15)

“The Pearl recognizes my skill and dedication, and helps me understand its purpose.”
The Pearl believes that the character can help it fulfil its objectives and begins sharing more knowledge with the character in order to help the character in that goal.

Normal (5-11)

“I hear the voice of the Pearl, and it has a quest for us.”
The Pearl is willing to give most new bearers the benefit of the doubt, but the bearer must prove to be a willing to aid it before it reveals its full powers.

Unsatisfied (1-4)

“It only talks in my dreams now, and it is not happy.”
The Pearl no longer trusts the character, and only speaks to it during dreams (or similiar), and there it shares some of the less pleasent things it knows as examples of what the witches will do if they are not dealt with once and for all.

Angered (0 or lower)

“The nightmares! The mountain always the mountain falling on me crushing me!”
The bearer is deemed unstuiable by the Pearl, and it seeks to move to a new bearer as soon as possible.

Moving On

“The task is done, the Pearl is pleased with our work.”
Unlike many artifacts the Pearl was created for a specific purpose, and if the characters achieve that purpose permenantly destroyed, as that is what is required to destroy the 3 witches. However it may journey with a character for a time while the character works towards the Pearl’s goals even if they are not ultimately completed. If the Pearl moves on it crumbles to dust and reappers elsewhere in the world. If it is satisfied with the efforts of its bearer it grants them a permenant +1 to Will defence and +2 to save vs charm effects. If it is angered by the bearer though it curses them, giving them a permenant -1 to Will defence.

In My Campaign

This artifact appeared at the end of level 1 and quickly ended up in the Wizard’s posession, and so they got off to a flying start. The fact that the campaign was centered around the Pearl’s quest made it even more likely that the character would attain higher levels of power as well. All in all it worked out well with the Pearl being able to fill in plot elements as needed though the next several levels of adventure until they finally completed its task around level 4.

Further in the campaign the main villain had actually located the Pearl, as it gave him leverage against the three witches, which he was busy releasing from their ages old prison. Unfortunatley for the villain other matters caused him to make a mistake and it fell into the heroes hands, and thus his plan was unravelled.

The Pearl and the related adventures are inspired byB7  Rahasia.

Continue reading »]]>

Companion Set Box Cover (C) Larry Elmore What gender do you assume the knight is?Consider that real female armor looks the same as male armor.

The rules of the game tell us how to play it, but the art of the game tells us what the world of the game looks like and more than that it inspires us. I started playing DnD when Larry Elmore, Clyde Caldwell and Jeff Easely were the dominant cover artists for products, and interior art was all black and white. The covers often featured big roaring dragons being battled by knights and scantily clad women. As a teenage guy I loved it all. After all I was a guy and scantily clad women were permissible in art and forbidden in photographs.

This was the time when the term “glass ceiling” entered the common language, AIDS hit the news and condoms became easily accessible (even if the sex wasn’t for a shy, skinny nerd). Of course since then I’ve grown older, married, and had children. I’ve also become more involved with the gaming community. Afterall when I was growing up the internet wasn’t even thought of in sci-fi, that didn’t happen until I was a young adult! These changes have given me an awareness of things that as a teenage guy I couldn’t comprehend, especially around how men and women are portrayed in our society.

The High Couch of Silistra (C) Boris Vallejo 1977 I hope she lives in a jungle!

The 80′s was a time of big hair, shoulder pads, and fantasy artists such as Vallejo and Frazetta moving from book covers to calendars and posters available in a store near you. It was when DnD moved into the awareness of our society. Now I love Vallejo’s work both for its content, and its artistry but not everyone feels the same way. Vallejo’s art is a celebration of the human form, and certainly once he had success he used models (usually found at the local gym) to pose for his paintings – meaning that beyond his skill with the brush his art has people in achievable positions more often than not (some earlier works are questionable for example). The work of Vallejo and Frazetta are the “go to” looks for the fantasy barbarian; furs, axes, bare muscled chests, gold bikinis and leather boots. The fact that these looks often had little to do with the content of the books they graced the cover of mattered little, so little in fact that the association with the word “Barbarian” in fantasy is as strong as horns with Viking helmets; despite neither having any connection with reality.

This way that art creates reality is why the art of RPGs is so important. Art forms the reality of the viewer, far more potently than words. Tabletop RPGs also have so little words dedicated to description that art is far more potent in sending a message than mere words will ever be. This is why making good art decisions is so important, and why I am looking forward to the art and design columns for DnDNext. We, as adult gamers, have a responsibility to make that art create the right reality for the gamers of the future.

Dungeon Delve (C) Wayne Reynolds Is her back broken?

Why do I mention the gamers of the future; well because in my house the gamers of the future are both women, and I know a lot of other gamer parents with daughters. Now RPGs (digital and tabletop) have a long history of how females are portrayed in art, a history closely reflected by how women are portrayed in classic stories and comic books. In some places this is a strong connection with independence, courage and making good moral choices at least in the words of the story. In the art of the last 40 years the story is often very different; often the art is a story of an impossible body contorted into an impossible position to display sexual attributes as much as possible while remaining “comic code approved” (which is about an E10+ to Teen rating). DnD has only compounded this with much of the art featuring men protecting women; the traditional damsel in distress story, often even when the woman is supposed to be a competent warrior as well.

The Wayne Reynold’s art originally previewed for the 4E PHB, and eventually released on the Dungeon Delve product, highlights the core of the problem. In the art the female character is posed and dressed so as to highlight her gender and sexual attributes. Her cleavage is exposed and her butt is thrust out, in fact if you rotate the picture so her back is horizontal to the ground it seems far more likely she can achieve that position while lying on a bed than it is that she can do it standing up. This is art DnDNext can do without.

Cersei Lannister (C) Michael Komarck 2004 A poisoned kiss on offer.

I’m not saying DnDNext can skip on art that has sexual implications, on the contrary art that alludes to romance, or just good old sex is fine. But that art needs to be couched in the appropriate environment. In battle it is time for armor that looks like it works and poses that suggest the person is actually fighting someone/thing. In this day and age of high-definition video and readily available action movies showing combat there is no excuse for an artist to be using poses that belong in the bed chamber in fight scenes (if there ever really was an excuse). Yet even within those ideas there is some leeway; in the fantasy lands where barbarians are mostly naked (despite living in a region that gets snow) not everyone needs to be fully dressed all the time. However that variation needs to reflect a culture and not merely be adopted for titillation or because “sex sells”.

Frenzied Berserker (C) Steve Argyle Not a stick figure.

When my daughters and other young ladies read DnDNext I want them to glance through the books and see art as powerfully inspiring as the young men who pick the book up. I want them to see women who are dressed and posed in such a way that their gender is secondary to their job in the picture. I want them to see heroes. I want them to see women who are enjoying their life of action and adventure, I want them to see the sorts of people they would want to be, and I want them to be able to do that without having to call their appearance into question because the art of women is overly sexualized.  It might seem strange to say all of that beside the frenzied berserker and after Cersei Lannister, but those two pictures serve to make a point; Cersei is overtly sexual but she is so in a situation where that is appropriate, the frenzied berserker is dressed equivalent to male counter parts and the picture shouts “death from above” not “I’m really in bed”.

TL;DR

Lady Helene (C) Michael KomarckGreat armor, pity about the storm!

Art is critical to how we perceive things, far more so than words, and so how we portray men and women is critical to how everyone perceives our games. As such we have a responsibility to ensure that our games create a message that is appropriate for the sort of world we want; and we need to recognise that what is “great for a young man” might be “bad for a young woman” (and vice versa). As the history of art in our games and the larger fantasy genre has seen women, in particular, overtly sexualized as sales target a presumed male audience now is a good time to work to make sure that sort off art is not supported in DnDNext. Good art shows people dressed and behaving appropriate to the circumstance they are in, sure there can be some fantasy tropes like barbarians in furs without a shirt or armor, but those tropes need to treat the genders in a balanced way. DnDNext needs to adopt art standards based around the situations being portrayed and battle calls for protection, while social allows for the elements of romance. We owe it to ourselves, and the potential future gamers to portray both genders in a balanced way.

What About…?

I realise I’ve spoken exclusively about gender above, however the same principles apply to matters of skin colour and physical impairment. There is no reasonable reason, especially with Forgotten Realms as a base, for DnDNext art not to include a wide variety of skin tones fulfilling all sorts of roles in the narrative of the setting. Similarly a fantasy setting that is still rooted in a pre-1800′s world has plenty of scope for showing scars and other battle-wounds. All of these things can be treated appropriately to the setting and story we want DnDNext to tell, and when the opportunity presents itself as adults we owe it to the future to advocate for their inclusion and balanced treatment.

Continue reading »]]> Like most people that have been avidly following 4E for the past 12 months I was not particularly surprised by the announcement of “a new iteration of D&D” by WotC on the 9th Jan. If anything I’m pleased by the possibilities of the public playtest and curious about the forthcoming edition of the game.

For me personally I enjoy 4E, sure it has some warts, and there are places I could see improvement being made, but that is the same for any game system I’ve ever laid eyes on. The truth is that for me 4E has provided a great system for playing DnD and I, over all, like it more than prior editions. This is why I started Daily Encounter in the first place, because I loved 4E DnD and wanted to contribute to the community and blogging seemed to be the only way I could do that outside my FLGS. Now I’ve signed up for the public playtests of DnDNext, and I’ll be watching along with everyone else for news and information about the new iteration. As content comes out I’ll, no doubt, be making posts here as well. After all that is contributing to the DnD community.

However the site has a strong 4E focus, and with the deathknell of 4E sounded, the site will be changing its focus away from that game system over the next twelve months. We have several projects in the works, and we will continue to develop them, waiting anxiously to see what happens with the next GSL (hopefully back to an OSL), and working on getting the background and content of the projects to the highest standard. In the meantime we will continue to produce 4E content, but you can look to see other game systems added in the next 12 months, exactly what and when I’m not certain at this time. However the site focus will remain providing useable content for DMs and Players of DnD for 4E and future editions.

Continue reading »]]> I’ve been a gamer for a long time, though, lets me honest, that doesn’t always equate to being a good roleplayer or GM. In fact, after 20 years of rolling dice, I still get terrified before going to any public play event, I’m scared that there will be amazing roleplayers there and my efforts will be poor in comparison.

The Early Days (Basic D&D/2e)

I started gaming in the days of BECMI, with a basic D&D box set, then the Rules Cyclopedia (easily the best product TSR ever did), and then countless Mystara gazetteers, 2E ‘complete’ books, and various other stuff, from 1E or 2E that my FLGS had in its bargain buckets.

I ran games for my brother who got me into gaming, I ran games for my school friends… And they were, in hindsight, a hideous melting pot of setting, FR’s Mythdranor resituated onto the Red Steel coastline, with the players finding Mimir skulls deep within the ruins of citadels swamped by a shifting sea of sand… But they were wonderful days. I felt like I could add or drop rules as I wanted, and while we might sketch a map and use coins and dice to show positions, I felt it was fine to have 3 adventurers and 16 goblins in a 2×2 room… If the fighter wanted to run through a wall of flame and swing his sword wildly to hit 3 orcs, well, by golly, he could. If the dwarf wanted to cast spells, then he could carve a rune to do so. Would any of it be considered rules legal nowadays? Nope, but it was still D&D! We played this game for a decade, with occasional forays into other systems like Vampire, or SLA Indsutries or Chill. But we always came back to D&D.

3rd Edition

I missed much of the fuss about the move to d20/OGL as it was called at the time. I remember vaguely being impressed by the preview art, and the dropping of THAC0, but a combination of moving, marriage, business trips, 9/11, parenting, and divorce meant that year of run up to 3E whizzed past in a blur.

I didn’t play much 3E, and what I did play didn’t impress me at the time. It felt like too much of a departure from the D&D I had made with my friends. Fighters suddenly had to take feats to do the things that as a group we just let happen by the players description, monster stats (though lets be honest, everything) became more complex. On the flipside, I picked up Spycraft and was impressed that D&D could be turned into a spy game.

Again, I missed a lot of the fuss over 3.5, mainly because I didn’t buy into 3E, and mainly because its changes came to me via d20 Modern. d20 Modern was stylish, it was different, it had great concepts, and, in my experience, was completely unplayable…

4th Edition

By the time 4e was announced, I had moved away from roleplaying. I’d spent most of the middle part of the noughties in a deep depression, writing progressively more horrible stuff for SLA Industries and my own near-future cyberpunk game. I’d met someone new and gamed with my friends but it hadn’t really taken over my life as it had when I was a teen. So 4E was a negligible blip.

Until the day it hit torrents…

I downloaded it, I read it, I printed it… I was shocked. It wasn’t the d&D of my childhood, it wasn’t the D&D I’d played last, but instead was something new, something different and interesting. I could see the obvious nods to previous editions, I could see what they were trying to achieve with digital tools and power cards. And then I played it.

It was fun…

My experience of 3E was minimal, but my feeling was always that the fun, doing what you want in a gritty, or cinematic or stupid way had gone out of the game. 4E let my best mate play a walking tank that breathed fire and hit things with a big sword, so we played it. Admittedly not as much as I’d have liked and in the early days, the flaws were obvious, while the lack of digital tools were less of an issue due to limited options, they were a constant reminder of broken promises.

I didn’t really love 4E, but I bought into it, picking up book after book, and spending way too much on minis. I enjoyed it because it was modern, it was easy to prep for, easy to run, and had the advantage of a grid and minis which meant my second wife, who had no gaming experience could get involved and know what an orc was or why a marauding drake was something to fear.

Loving 4E

I didn’t love 4e… Until Monster Manual 2 gamesday…

I’d taken my son with me to my FLGS, hoping to play, but when I got there, there was no DM. Hell, the shop had scheduled it, knowing they didn’t have a DM, so I offered to run it. Like I say, 4E is easy to prep for, its also easy to run on the fly when you’ve had 20 minutes to read the module, and setup the minis provided. I ran the game for some people in a similar boat to me, coming from the previous editions, with some 4E gaming, but the system was a bit ‘meh’. They too, had brought a kid with them, so we sat down, went over the PHB2 characters in the box, and started playing.

Over the course of that day, I figured out why 4E worked, why it was FUN… The kid was playing a goliath barbarian, and couldn’t stop rolling 20′s… we watched on as this kid with no experience of RPG’s got more and more into the role, as he described how the orcs blood he spilled dripped down his craggy rock like body and spurred him to run at the next foe…  And I realised that 4E’s appeal was in a shared ruleset, that somewhere else in the world, another kid was having the same experience, with a GM who could pick up the adventure and run it with zero prep.

I started up a public play group that day, and ran it for 2 years before issues with how the store supported me drove me to quit. Luckily, I formed some great friendships and those people continue that group, bringing new gamers in, and helping old gamers return, not just via 4E, but by a wide range of games across all genres.

Sure, 4E was not without flaws. The early material feels poor in comparison, there was a distinct lack of fluff until recently, there were the broken promises on digital tools, the poorly handled move to web tools, the constant errata, the debacle over how essentials was presented to the community… But I stayed with it, and I still love the game. It does a lot of things really well, it’s easy to teach, it’s easy to prep for, and with the right group, ROLEPLAY, rather than roll-play is not only possible, but thanks to the customizable characters, makes sense and is reinforced in play.

D&D Next

So that brings me to D&D Next/5E. I’m sceptical. Mainly because 4E works so well for me that I’m not convinced a new edition is needed, but I can understand how 4E doesn’t work for others, and how WotC are thusly losing gamers to OSRIC and Pathfinder. I greeted the first article on the New York Times with suspicion/hand waving , the whole, ‘its believed that WotC will…’ but then, Mike Mearls confirmed it.

My initial concerns are that it will be hard to make a system to appeal to all types of D&D gamer. Hell, I only have to look at my twitter stream to see 30 to 40 different opinions about what D&D Next needs to include to realise just how much work is involved.

Then theres the listening to the community/open playtest bit. I’m suspicious that it’s just something that has been said to placate the fanbase, and what they will be given to comment on will be only a tiny part of the game. I’m scared that only the vocal minority who rant and rave on the charop forums or in the comments will be listened to. But most of all, I’m scared that WotC will only run the playtests in America.

So I’m very wary of D&D next…

Or Am I?

Have a look at the main names in charge of D&D Next.

Monte Cook – he of Planescape, he of Ptolus, he of 3E in general, he of Labyrinth of Madness… Monte has said that I will be able to run Labyrinth of Madness in D&D Next, so I’ll believe him. Monte has been with D&D for ages, he’s got the background, the skills, the idea, the vision.

Rob Schwalb – the man is a walking freelance machine, he churns out consistently great articles for DDI, with great fluff and great crunch, and has been part of the recent turn around in 4E, improving the quality of the articles.

Mike Mearls – some people love him, some people hate him, but it takes guts to admit to the fans at Gencon that WotC and D&D had lost the way. In addition to this, Mike has gone above and beyond the call of duty to help the UK Tweetups I organise, providing a personal intro last year that touched on the relationships in the industry. Its thanks to Mike that I saw what WotC wanted Essentials to become. From my dealings with him, and his dealings with the community in general, I get the feeling that Mike is someone who deeply cares about D&D and the fans, and that he wants D&D Next to do the rich 40 year history of gaming justice.

Greg Bilsland – Greg gets things done. Pure and simple… I’ve been on the receiving end of the Mike/Greg combo when I built the 3d Lair Assault terrain last year, and they are an incredible team, that, from my side of the interaction, when things need to happen, those two make them happen.

I can only think of one other person I’d like to see in the D&D Next team, and thats Charles Ryan. He made the 4E community happen here in the UK, he went out of his way to interact with the fans, and has been sorely missed since his return to the States.

So am I negative about D&D Next? Nope, it’s in safe hands, and I’m confident that the team will do their best to make it a game that all D&D gamers will love.

Will I support 4e in the mean time… sure… I’m working on a Mind Warper theme for bards/illusionists already. 4E isn’t dead yet. And when it does die, I suspect D&D Next will let us loot it’s corpse for all the best bits…

Continue reading »]]> Loot is a key part of the gaming experience. Its role is ever so eloquently summarised in the maxim “kill stuff & take its loot”.  RPGs dress things up, they put the trappings of story around that, but in doing so they ensure that loot is often part of that story; be it the magic swords in the troll’s lair, or the most powerful wand ever made, loot is often a motivator for the story. Due to this importance the “what” of loot is a key thing in shaping the experience of playing a game like D&D, and yet it has been marginalised in recent years.

In 4E D&D loot was streamlined, reduced to essentially magic items and coins and  4E makes no excuses for this, in fact the reasons it is that way are explained in the core setting assumptions. For the smooth, streamlined play experience 4E was intended to create this is ideal. Unfortunatley this approach largely abandons the role of loot in telling the story, resulting in loot becoming about the numbers. Despite the core assumptions relegating loot to the role of propping up the numbers it is easy to move loot back into its narative role in 4E.

The Monster Haz Loot

In 4E monsters don’t need to use magic items to compete with PCs, their attacks and defenses already are “level appropriate”. Further the DMG has pretty strong things to say against adding magic items, however that advice created problems with the story of the game. If the orc has a Flaming Greataxe, he should be using it. That way when the party loots him it isn’t some random treasure drop, it is part of the story.

Adding magic items to monsters isn’t about increasing their numbers (in general) it is about giving the monster traits that reflect the equipment it has. For example the orc with the flaming weapon  simply does fire damage instead of untyped damage, then when the PCs find that he had a flaming great axe it makes sense. Look for properties, bonus crit dice and at-will or encounter powers that can easily be incorporated into a stat block. Avoid daily powers because using them denies the players access to them once they collect the loot, though nothing stops you from doing that if for a bit more “realism”.

Monsters, like adventurers have little reason to just hold onto an item for the sake of having it. If the monster has the ability to sell or trade the item away why wouldn’t it? Further unless the monster can determine that it is magical why would the orc who has no use for an Orb Implement for example have one? Giving the monsters items appropriate to them, that your players may also want, helps the setting make sense. (And having the setting make internal sense helps players invest in the setting.)

All that glitters..

A defeated enemy has equipment, weapons, armor and other things it owned. Not everything it possesed is gold coins. Now I confess I like not having to loot every item from a corpse to “have enough gold”, however there is a price for that paid in the story. Items like the Bag of Holding start mattering if you need to carry heavy things like swords, shields and metal armor from the dungeon to get your coin. Those items also tell the players about the defeated foe, and the world as well.

I limit it to metal items of gear used in combat because if nothing else these items have value for the metal even if they were poorly made or badly damaged. Of course some creatures, like dragons, might well have hides or other body parts that are valueable as well. Putting these sorts of elements into your game adds more depth to the setting. However you need not worry about the specifics, you can describe the PCs carrying out such items, but the value they get from them need not be micromanaged. 4E has strong guidelines for how much gp value the characters should recover. You need only award less actual gold and describe the rest being made up of the gear the party carried out of the dungeon. At level 3 or 4 when they get a bag of holding that means they can carry out more objects, as a result there is less need for the piles of coins to keep increasing in size.

In addition to this there are also things like gems (Part 1), jewelry, and art objects (Part 2) to add high value items instead of piles of coins. These things also allow you to add depth and detail to your setting, especially jewelry and art. Who owned? Who made it? What does it look like? These and other questions can all be used to add details and even provide clues for your plot!

As a note the old Forgotten Realms Adventures hard cover had tables of these sorts of things. They also appeared from time to time in Dragon magazine, so a bit of searching may well turn up many resources for producing just this sort of thing beyond Rich’s articles.

What’s in its pocketses?

The last thing has actually started reappearing in 4E modules; random tables for things the PCs can find when they search something. You can find these tables in the 4E Red Box & Chris Perkins’ 4E Steading of the Hill Giants.

The good thing about these tables is they are easy to put together and they add a little fun when PCs are searching bodies of intelligent monsters. The obvious starting place is the equipment list from the PHB/HotFL/HotFK. Once you have a few items from these you can start adding strange objects; half a deck of cards, a ball of gum (chewed?), a ball of string, and other such mundane items.

If you make 2 lists, each of 20 items , when they search a fallen goblin you can make a roll and cross off the item they found. If you re-roll that item the creature has nothing of interest. When you have used 20 items up from your 2 lists, combine them and make a new list.

Much like the objects of art and jewelry lists of these sorts appear from time to time in places like Dragon magazine (curiously written several written by Ed Greenwood), so a little searching might turn up a bunch of them ready to use.

The Hoard’s the Thing

Of course some monsters like Dragons don’t have pockets, they have hoards, and these monsters need more consideration. The classice dragon hoard has a lot of coins in it no doubt, but it also has many other objects as well. Spending the time to give this some thought is worthwhile as well. Fortunately this was covered over at The Iron Tavern by IronWolf when he discussed Dragon Hoards, so I don’t have much more to add.

Keep in mind groups with powerful leaders will develops hoards (treasure vaults for example) and things like ships can also be the location of a hoard as well. These things can also benefit from the same consideration given to a dragon’s hoard.

The Last Roll

Of course while I’ve spent much of this blog talking about tieing treasure to the story and making things more consistent or imersive by making treasure about more than magi items and gold sometimes you just want something quickly, and while a little effort will get you mundane item tables random magic item tables for 4E are a little harder to come by.

If you have Masterplan, and the libraries for all the items it can generate loot randomly, and even generates random small items of value to include in treasure parcels as well. For pre-Essentials treasure items you can use Asmor’s Treasure Generator, or for a generator that will throw in “assorted objects” there is the donjon treasure generator. Or if you just want some simple, easy to have at the table forms you can grab Mike Shea’s (@SlyFlourish)  random magic item tables pdf.

Why random generators, because sometimes you don’t want to plan everything out in detail yourself, and having it done in a few button clicks or the roll of a dice makes it much easier. You can even tie things to the story after you randomly generate the treasure.

Continue reading »]]> The second part of Rich Greens article…

Art Objects

Art objects are listed at 250 gp, 1,500 gp, 2,500 gp, 7,500 gp, 15,000 gp and 50,000 gp values. As with the gems, some of the items below are worth less or more than these values – in these cases, two or three items have been grouped together to match the treasures by level.

250 gp

Dwarven drinking horn bearing the symbol of the beer goddess Ninkash (a golden-glowing tankard) [100 gp] & a gold-handled fan made from the feathers of the desert roc [150 gp]

Ebony statuette of a tall, thin plains warrior carrying a bow

Fancy pointy silk slippers from the crossroads city ofParsantium[75 gp] & a cameo brooch depicting a medusa [175 gp]

Dire walrus tusk (3’ long) with scrimshaw carving of a dragonship

Headdress made of bone and exotic, bright green and red feathers [125 gp] & a pair of matching bangles carved from fragrant red sandalwood [125 gp]

Painting in a gilded frame, depicting a flying city of the dragonborn (accompanied by several metallic dragons) attacking the infernal power of the ancient tiefling empire of Bael Turath.

Smooth jade bracelet, sized for a child or a halfling

Torture manual bound in skin of dubious provenance, featuring disturbing etchings, written and illustrated by the notorious Count Vaklav of Morgau

Hanging lamp made from red glass and bronze [50 gp] & a bronze prayer wheel, made in a monastery high in the Pillars of Heaven Mountains [200 gp]

Red silk djellaba from Siwal, embroidered with abstract floral patterns in gold thread

Small alabaster bust of Queen Meritamon of the desertkingdomofKhemit

Silver ankle chain hung with over a dozen tiny silver “charms”, depicting fearsome monsters such as a hydra, a beholder and a catoblepas

Necklace of small animal and monster fetishes made from different coloured fancy stones

Deerskin quiver decorated with shadow elf hunters chasing after a large bird [50 gp] & a disc-shaped pendant made from black and white spider shell hanging on a delicate silver chain [200 gp]

Cherrywood bowl depicting eladrin dancers and musicians, filled with dried yellow mushrooms. The mushrooms can be brewed into a tea that acts as a potion of clarity (see Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Emporium). There are enough to make the equivalent of four potions. The wooden bowl is worth 50 gp.

500 gp

Gold-plated mask depicting the laughing face of a satyr

Large polished wooden globe on a stand, depicting the Known World and many unknown lands (heavy and difficult to carry)

Necklace of polished crimson coral “flowers”

Small and rather disturbing statue of a mind flayer scuplted from a sickly purple stone that glows softly in the dark

Ritual book bound in basilisk skin, with the mark of the wizard Vaskaren, containing the rituals magic mouth, make whole, eye of alarm and enchant magic item.

Silver circlet in the form of a snake – its eyes are tiny emeralds, positioned in the middle of the wearer’s forehead

Painted ivory tarot cards which originally belonged to a Kariv fortune teller.

Set of twelve sophisticated and very delicate stemmed wine glasses of eladrin manufacture (clumsy adventurers take care!)

Gold locket containing two tiny paintings – one shows an unblemished, beautiful young girl; the other, her identical but hideously scarred twin sister.

Mahogany pipe, its bulb carved to resemble a bearded wizard [100 gp] & a pointy wizard’s hat of dark blue felt, embroidered in silver thread with stars and mystic symbols. This hat once belonged to the accident-prone and very dangerous wizard, Elgrim the Thoughtful and bears his sigil [400 gp]

Miniature painting on paper, depicting a fat maharajah mounted on an elephant and hunting tigers in the jungles of Gopura

Set of six marble canopic jars topped with lids depicting the animal-headed deities of Khemit

Fine wooden lute inlaid with mother of pearl

Clockwork pocket watch, made in Zobeck’s Gear District

1,500 gp

Pair of gold candlesticks, each shaped like a Oriental lung dragon

Beautifully woven silk and wool patterned carpet from Siwal, measuring 8’ x 6’

Tapestry showing a great battle between knights of the Sunset Lands and ravening orc hordes. Huscarls defend their king who is bleeding copiously from several wounds.

Small gold statuette of a seductive-looking succubus. When the light catches it, it appears to wink.

Collection of nine small jade statuettes of fearsome monsters, including a dragon, an owlbear and a remorhaz

Bronze statue of a four-armed oni wielding curved swords (heavy and hard to move!)

Book of prayers to Melora, bound in wooden covers with pressed leaves and flowers decorating the pages. The book contains the rituals commune with nature, cure disease and water walk.

Gold holy symbol of Pelor the Sun God, with two small rubies for eyes. This symbol strikes fear into the undead (giving a +1 item bonus to attacks with the cleric turn undead class feature)

Large china vase (4’ high), glazed white and painted with blue foo lions, foo dogs, and Oriental dragons

2,500 gp

Beautifully illuminated psalter containing the teachings of Saint Barteas of Morwyn and including copies of the raise dead and remove affliction rituals.

Delicate silver spider pendant of drow manufacture; the spider has four small sapphires for eyes.

Giant gold plate, over 2’ in diameter, engraved with clashing warriors mounted on flying griffins and hippogriffs

Embroidered tapestry depicting a unicorn and an elf maiden in a forest at night with small diamonds representing the stars

Gold goblet decorated with topazes and engraved with scenes of feasting and drinking

Silver brooch shaped like a swan and studded with small aquamarines

Trio of gold statuettes depicting three wise monkeys (“see no evil”, “hear no evil” and “speak no evil”); their eyes are green tourmalines.

7,500 gp

Gold ring with a big fat pink diamond, flanked by two smaller ones.

Silver mechanical bird in a gilded cage; the bird sings and flaps its wings when a small key is turned

Fine mahogany jewellery box inlaid with a floral design in ivory and light woods [500 gp]. The box is filled with several dozen tiny gemstones [7,000 gp]

Necklace of interlinked platinum hoops, on which are fixed three large emeralds

Chess set made from the finest materials – the silver pieces are dragonborn and the gold pieces are tieflings; the board is made from ebony and ivory.

Polished gold “dress” breastplate engraved with a sphinx in the centre, as worn by the paladin Sir Ector in battle against the hobgoblin armies

Shield made from blue dragon scales and edged with platinum

Wyvern-skin boots set with sapphires and lined with winter wolf fur

Gold kabuto adorned with peryton horns and studded with Oriental amethysts

15,000 gp

Jewel-studded gold egg, about the size of an ostrich’s. The egg is hollow and can be opened with a hard DC Thievery check.

Adamantine rod topped with a huge blue diamond the size of an apple

Darkwood throne carved with flames and studded with fire opals and red garnets

Four-pointed crown of platinum set with an enormous sapphire and adorned with two dozen small diamonds

Mithril helm set with jacinths and topped with a plume of vrock feathers

Silver mage’s robe woven from magical threads that shimmers with the light of theAstralSea

Floor mosaic of gold and precious stones, depicting the Sea God at his court, attended by nymphs, merfolk and hippocampi (tricky to remove in one piece)

Plots, inscriptions & complications for art objects

Add one of the following to an art object’s description:

The object:

• is damaged and is currently worth only 10% of its value although the PCs may be able to repair it with the make whole ritual.
• is marked with an inscription: “To F, may this protect you from the Fires of Hell”
• has a scrap of parchment inside reading “I hid it behind a loose brick in the base of the Great Stross Clock in Zobeck”
• has a folded note inside: “IOU 5,000 gp – come to the Jacinth Harp Inn in Parsantium at Midsummer and I will see you all right”
• has a treasure map drawn on the back or hidden inside it
• is an essential component of an arcane or religious ritual and someone very dangerous needs it
• as above, but it’s needed to save the city/the world
• was stolen from the tomb of the Merigot noble family and is marked with their crest. It’s likely to be recognised if the PCs try and sell it
• is a well-made fake (hard DC Thievery check to figure this out)
• has a hidden compartment concealing a valuable gem worth much more than the item itself
• is hundreds of years old (easy DC History check to know this)
• is actually something else – it’s a magic item or more valuable art object disguised by illusion (hard Arcana DC to see through this)
• was thrown away by a noble because of the painful memories he has of it. If he sees someone else wearing it, he’ll challenge him to a duel
• grants the right to challenge the leader of the Slavering Maws gnoll pack for the right to lead the tribe. (hard DC History check to know this)
• is part of a set. If the other two or three pieces are found, this one will be worth five times as much (hard DC knowledge check using the appropriate skill to know this)
• was worn by the legendary hero Leovold when he killed the Troll King in single combat (moderate DC History check to know this)
• vanished from theTempleofErathisand if returned to them, the person doing so will receive the goddess’ blessing (hard DC Religion check to find out)
• bears the mark of a secret society – if worn, members of the society will think the wearer is one of them, asking her to perform a task or attend a covert meeting.
• is emblazoned with the crest of the Sevrin family and is a long-lost heirloom, sold to raise cash when they were hard up. A PC can get double the value if its returned to them. (hard DC History check to learn this)
• is very uncomfortable to wear
• was stolen from the Kariv and its new owner is subject to a wasting curse until it is returned or the curse is removed (lose one healing surge per day)
• was stolen from the head of the Golden Scimitars criminal organization by a former member and master cat burglar (hard DC Streetwise check to find this out)
• smells strange

Continue reading »]]> Torches, all adventurers carry them, a few even have DM’s who force them to keep track of who is using them, but other than being an item in your adventurers toolkit, now one really gives them any thought.

Except maybe dwarves. Dwarves have to rely on these inexpensive methods of lighting their great mining complexes and huge drinking and feasting halls. Sure, you could chop down a forest to light a single complex for a week, but where’s the fun in that? Why not use some of that dwarven genius to inscribe the wood with runes, filling the simple torches with magical potency…

And so it has been for centuries, while the surface folk spend days chopping down trees, and carving the trunks into manageable sizes, coating them in slow burning pitch, the dwarves can harvest a single tree into a supply of torches that can last a lifetime…

Torch of Long Burning
“Though the light appears dimmer, it burns for longer, with a reduced chance of being extinguished.”
Level 1 Consumable Item, 1gp
Property:
Once lit, the torch burns constantly for a day, providing bright light in a radius of 4 squares. If dropped or hit by rain, the torch is not immediately extinguished.

Torch of Brilliance
“In the dark depths of the mines, a brighter torch is a safer torch.”
Level 1 Consumable Item, 1gp
Property:
Once lit, the torch burns constantly for an hour, providing bright light in a radius of 10 squares. If dropped or hit by rain, the torch is immediately extinguished.

Torch of Flaming
“When the chips are down, and you have to fight in the dark, a torch is a handy weapon.”
Level 1 Consumable Item, 1gp
Property:
Once lit, the torch burns constantly for an hour, providing bright light in a radius of 4 squares. If dropped or hit by rain, the torch is not immediately extinguished.
The torch can be used as a +2 proficiency weapon, dealing 1d4 fire damage, and an additional +4 damage to creatures with the swarm keyword.

Torch of Radiance
“This torch burns with a pure light, searing the flesh of the impure.”
Level 2 Consumable Item, 5gp
Property:
Once lit, the torch burns constantly for an hour, providing bright light in a radius of 4 squares. If dropped or hit by rain, the torch is immediately extinguished.
Undead that start or end their turn within the radius of the torch take 1 radiant damage. This damage can only be taken once per turn.

Torch of Revelation
“The clear light from this torch helps to reveal hidden things.”
Level 2 Consumable Item, 5gp
Property:
Once lit, the torch burns constantly for an hour, providing bright light in a radius of 4 squares. If dropped or hit by rain, the torch is immediately extinguished.
While within the torches radius, allies gain a +2 item bonus to perception checks used to detect hidden items.

Torch of Sanctuary
“The flames of this torch seem to keep evil beings away.”
Level 2 Consumable Item, 5gp
Property:
Once lit, the torch burns constantly for an hour, providing bright light in a radius of 3 squares. If dropped or hit by rain, the torch is immediately extinguished.
Power: Immediate Interrupt
Trigger: A creature of Evil or Chaotic Evil alignment moves into the torches radius
Target: Triggering creature
Attack: +4 vs Will
Hit: The targets movement is ended

Torch of Fire Control
“Vapours from the burning torch fill the area, allowing mages to control the elements with ease.”
Level 3 Consumable Item, 25gp
Property:
Once lit, the torch burns constantly for an hour, providing bright light in a radius of 3 squares. If dropped or hit by rain, the torch is immediately extinguished.
Any arcane attack power cast from within the torches radius gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls. If the target is also in the radius, the power also deals an additional +1 damage.

Torch of Flame Effects
“What looks like a normal torch can explode in a terrifying way.”
Level 3 Consumable Item, 25gp
Property:
Once lit, the torch burns constantly for an hour, providing bright light in a radius of 6 squares. If dropped or hit by rain, the torch is immediately extinguished.
Power: Immediate Reaction
Trigger: The torch is extinguished
Range: Close blast 1
Target: All creatures in the burst
Attack: +5 vs Reflex
Hit: 1d4 fire damage, and the target is knocked prone and is blinded until the start of their next turn.

Torch of Warding
“Dwarves leave these slow burning torches in the depths of their mines to ward off monsters.”
Level 3 Consumable Item, 25gp
Property:
Once lit, the torch burns constantly for a day, providing dim light in a radius of 8 squares. If dropped or hit by rain, the torch is not immediately extinguished.
Power: Immediate Reaction
Trigger: An enemy ends its turn adjacent to the torch
Range: Close blast 3
Target: All enemies in the burst
Attack: +5 vs Fortitude
Hit: The target is pushed 3 squares and is blinded until the end of their next turn.

Continue reading »]]> Todays guest post is from Rich Green, renowned for his work on 4e monsters for Open Design. I’ve split it in 2, so the next part, covering art objects will be published on the 31st.

Glittering Prizes: 4e treasure made more memorable

by Richard Green, At the Sign of the Green Man (richgreen01.livejournal.com)

The treasure table in 4e’s Dungeon Master’s Kit is very handy and makes the job of giving out the right amounts of both monetary treasure and magic items nice and easy. Choosing magic items for your PCs is fun – you can look at the players’ wishlists, which items they’ve currently got, what slots they’ve not filled and what’s due for an upgrade, and then find a cool item on the Compendium or in Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Emporium. But coming up with monetary treasure is a pretty boring job and the DM’s Kit doesn’t help much as it only provides short, basic lists for gems and art objects. This article is designed to help the harried DM come up with more interesting loot by fleshing out the non-magical part of a treasure cache.

Although designed to work with 4e, these lists will work just as well with Pathfinder or earlier editions of D&D.

Gems

The values of gems appearing on the treasure by party level tables are given as 100 gp, 500 gp, 1,000 gp and 5,000 gp. Some of the gems listed below are worth less than these values individually – in these cases, several of the item make up the listed value.

100gp

Amber – pale yellow to a rich golden colour, transparent, might contain a fossilized insect

Amethyst – deep purple & transparent

Bloodstones (3) – reddish brown opaque polished stones with gold flecks

Coral – pink, red or white pieces

Garnet – red, orange, green or blue & transparent

Jade – translucent ornamental stone, light to very dark green, originates in the Dragon Empires of the east

Lapis Lazuli (3) – intense blue, translucent, mottled with white and brassy striations; from the Caliphate of Akhran

Moonstones (2) – translucent bluish-white through to deep blue

Moss agates (5) – pink or yellowy white & translucent with green fern-like markings

Onyx (2) – white quartz with bands of black, brown or tan running through it

Ornamental stones (12) of different colours, in a small velvet bag

Pearl – bright white or tinged with yellow or pink, round

Peridot – always olive green (one of the few gems to only come in one colour) & transparent

Tiger cowrie shells (10) – egg-shaped glossy shells with attractive markings similar to the patterns on a big cat, hence the name

Turquoise – light bluish-green opaque stone

Zircons (2) – golden yellow or pale blue crystals. Sometimes passed off as more valuable stones but it’s hard to fool anyone but the completely ignorant.

500 gp

Alexandrite – dark green & transparent, appears reddish under magical light

Aquamarine – pale blue or turquoise coloured beryl, transparent. Popular with barbarians of the frozen north.

Black or rainbow pearl  – the rarest sorts, up to 2 inches in diameter. Found in the warm seas of the south.

Golden beryl – pale yellow to brilliant gold, transparent

Spinel – red, blue or mauve & transparent

Topaz – bright yellow, golden, orange or pink-orange & transparent

Tourmalines (2) – pale green, pale blue or dark yellow & transparent

Violet garnet – rare variety, found only on desolate islands in the Corsairs’ Sea. Changes colour in different lights.

1,000 gp

Black opal – dark green opal with black mottling and gold flecks.

Emerald – brilliant green, very transparent, usually cut in a rectangular shape

Fire opal – fiery, orange-red opal, with golden or green flecks. Originates in volcanic regions

Opal – the “common” opal is white or bluish-white with a beautiful play of colour across its surface. Typically cut into an oval or rounded shape

Oriental Amethyst – rich purple amethyst from the far end of theSilk Road

Sapphire – bright blue corundum, ranging from pale to medium blue in colour.

Schorl – dark indigo or glossy black tourmaline, found in the Ironcrags.

5,000 gp

Celestial Emerald ­– found only in the cloud-covered peaks towering above the jungles of the far south, this emerald is harder than the usual sort and is a clear, pure verdant green.

Diamond – clear, brilliant white stone, sometimes tinged with blue, pink or yellow.

Jacinth – fiery red stone, also known as hyacinth. Often used in magic items with the fire keyword.

Ruby – clear to deep red corundum stone, sometimes with pink, orange, or purple secondary hues. The most valuable rubies are a vivid, deep crimson.

Star sapphire ­– translucent sapphire with a white star-like pattern in its centre.

Looks & hooks for gems

To add some colour to a gemstone found in a treasure, pick one of the following:

The gem….

• is uncut and will be worth up to four times as much if cut by a skilled gemcutter
• appears magical but isn’t (hard DC Arcana check to work this out for sure)
• is flawed and only worth 50% of base value
• was cut by an expert gemcutter and is worth +50% base value
• has a minor magical property (+1 to a saving throw once per day, grants 2 temporary hp, +1 to Endurance checks vs disease or similar)
• is cut with facets as a diamond, square or rectangle (transparent stones)
• is cut as a cabochon – smooth, dome shape – or just a polished pebble (opaque stones)
• flickers with its own light inside
• was stolen from a dragon’s hoard by a band of adventurers; the dragon’s magical mark is still on it, allowing her to track down the thieves
• is carved with a lost dwarven clan’s rune
• was taken from a mummy’s tomb and is cursed (-1 to ability & skill checks until the curse is removed)
• is as big as a halfling’s fist
• is marked by a wizard’s sigil; the mage can use this mark to track it down magically
• comes from the Great Dismal Delve of the dao on the Plane of Earth
• is a fake and is worth next to nothing. Trying to sell this gem could get the seller into trouble.
• is exactly the stone the foppish Earl of Westhaven needs for his potential fiancee’s engagement ring
• was prised from the Eagle Sceptre of the mad caliph, Adbul Al-Bayda by his treacherous wife
• appears to contain the ghostly, trapped figure of a man or woman inside
• is the missing eye from a large demonic statue
• was stolen from the person of a famous and powerful adventurer when he fell asleep, face down on the table at the Kirin’s Rest.

Continue reading »]]>

Berymar Dragonbane by @symatt

Berymar Dragonbane is an enigma, tucked away in a back alley of Fallcrest, and rarely seen to leave the hovel, the collection of barrels and boxes, and shreds of fabric that he calls his shop. And yet, he has to hand a variety of mundane and magical items that demonstrate the wealth and contacts that he accumulated during his years as an adventurer.

A former compatriot of Gorgac Ironheart, and Thorain Axefist, the band of 3 dwarves were renowned upon the coastal ports as much for their dragon slaying as they were for their consumption of alcohol. The group adventured together for over 18 years, before parenthood claimed the time of Gorgac, and a better paying role as a dungeon designer claimed Thorain. Berymar at the time, was known as Berymar Stonepounder, but it was in his solo career that he earned the title of Dragonbane, slaying the 5 chromatic dragons that plagued the Nentir Vale, but the fits left him an old and scarred man, his body broken and torn by the dragons claws. It is said that his legs were snapped like twigs and he dragged himself across the Gardmore Down on his finger tips, the dragons hoard stuffed into a sack that he held in his teeth. Regardless of the truth, Berymar Dragonbane was born, and made a living recounting his tales in the ale houses of the Nentir Vale.

But even infamy does not last, and as younger heroes told of ridding the ruins of death cults, and exploring ancient minotaur labyrinths, Berymar found himself homeless, and forced to sell his treasures to survive. And who better to trade with than young foolish heroes, idiots who will buy the items that no self respecting warrior or mage would touch…

Berymar Dragonbane Stats