So I figured it was time I watch one of the episodes of I Hit It With My Axe to see what all the fuss was about. I watched episode four because I thought by then they would work out the kinks and I could get a better idea of what the director was trying to accomplish. I was wrong. I came away from it with three distinct impressions.

1) People are fucking idiots. Reading the comments to the video, I noticed a lot of people posting that these girls weren’t “hot enough.” Holy shit guys, get some fucking perspective! These women are actors/strippers. When you see them in a video or on stage, they have on a lot of makeup, good lighting, they’re naked, etc. This is a video of them on their day off playing D&D. That’s like saying that Salma Hayek isn’t one of the most beautiful women in the world because that one time you saw her at 7:30 in the morning at Starbucks, she didn’t look like she’d spent hours working on her hair and the only reason you were there was because your mom made you get up for work, again, and Salma didn’t even acknowledge the cool new wolf moon tee shirt your mom bought you.

2) The editor is an idiot. Whoever edited this thing looks like they did three hits of meth before working on the reel-to-reel. I had at least three seizures because of the one-second cutaways. I may have had more, but I lost count after the aneurysm.

3) It’s fucking boring. It’s a bunch of people sitting around playing D&D. Whee! “I rolled a 14!” “I turn into a werewolf!” “My daddy didn’t love me!” “I’ve lost the will to live and am seriously regretting the choices I’ve made in my life!*” I love gaming at the table when I’m actually participating but watching other people I don’t know play is just… well, it’s just awful.

*Ok, the last two didn’t happen but I was hoping for it. At least that would’ve been interesting.

All in all, I must say that I was disappointed. With the amount of twittering I saw about it, I expected more… well… anything. But all I got was a poorly edited, poorly soundtracked video of a bunch of girls playing D&D. Not even a wardrobe malfunction dammit! Seriously, if this wasn’t touted as “D&D with Porn Stars!” no one would give a shit.

The application period for being a peer reviewers closes December 31st, 2009. These individuals will be responsible for reading the entries (not all of them mind you, I will spread the word count around) and interacting with me during the final decision making process. If chosen, your names will be witheld until publication of the book. If you are interested, please click here for more information and to submit your information: http://rpganthology.wufoo.com/forms/open-game-table-volume-2-peer-review-application/

The submission deadline for nominations of blog posts closes January 15th, 2010. I’ve streamlined the submission process so that all you need to is submit a valid URL. Up to 5 per submission form can be accomodated; but there’s no limit to how many you can send in. The nomination form, and more information, can be found here: http://rpganthology.wufoo.com/forms/open-game-table-vol-2-blog-post-nomination-form/

http://twitter.com/ENnies

Trailer embedded below

Chapter 1

The first chapter deals with the basic rules such as degrees of success and drinking. Degrees of success are in competition between people. It’s a different mechanic that can be used rather than “roll a d20 and whomever gets the highest number wins.” The drinking rules are fun not only because it helps you apply the effects of alcohol on a person but it also gives remedies for drunkenness.

Chapters 2 – 6

The next few chapters deal with the specific games themselves. Rules for games such as Arm-Wrestling, Archery, Trollbridge, Conjuration Combat, and Squashgoblin are all included. My personal favorite is Crazy Ernie’s Bear Wrasslin’ for Crazy Folk. It’s bear wrestling run by a guy who’s, more than likely, clinically insane. It’s always fun to throw the players into the situation.

Chapter 7

The last chapter gives advice on running games and how to create encounters during the festivities. It has some sample groups that the PCs may run up against during the celebrations.

Conclusion

All in all, this book is well worth cost. As I wrote previously, I bought it almost 7 years ago and I still get a lot of use out of it. You’ll definitely get your money’s worth from it.

I highly recommend these little gems and, if you want to get them, you can click here. They run $9.95. For some reason, on the RPGNow page, the demo doesn’t work. Here are a couple of pages from it so you can take a look and see what it’s like (you can’t print or edit it).

But March the fourth made me whimper
When the news it was delivered
Sad news from the Troll Lord
And then on every message board

I can’t remember which of my dice
I chose to roll that very night
For the man who got it right
The day the DM died

So, bye, bye Mr. d20 Guy
Failed the final saving throw and then didn’t survive
And all around the world, the gamers did cry
Sayin’ thank you Mr. d20 Guy
Thank you Mr. d20 Guy

Have you read the PHB
And have you looked through the DMG
And what the heck is a drow (drough)
This is going to be so f’n cool
My dwarf barbarian will make you drool
And I really think you pronounce it drow (cow)

Well I know that things are looking grim
The dragon’s looking right at him
Made a percentile roll
I’m now hiding in shadows

I was a lucky halfling, that’s a fact
Stole lots of things and put ‘em in my pack
But I knew I could never go back
The day the DM died

I started rollin’
Bye, bye Mr. d20 Guy
Failed the final saving throw and then didn’t survive
And all around the world, the gamers did cry
Sayin’ thank you Mr. d20 Guy
Thank you Mr. d20 Guy

Now, for over ten years we’ve been rollin’ well
I even took my paladin to hell
But, boy, the rules have really changed
I was really sad to see half-orcs go
And what the hell is THACO
But, man, I really dig the weapon speed

Oh, and while the king was in L.A.
The jesters took his game away
The boardroom was adjourned
When the DM did return
And with pirates that would block the way
The king was told he couldn’t stay
But all that madness went away
The day the DM died

We were rollin’
Bye, bye Mr. d20 Guy
Failed the final saving throw and then didn’t survive
And all around the world, the gamers did cry
Sayin’ thank you Mr. d20 Guy
Thank you Mr. d20 Guy

Holy moley I’m checkin’ out the ranger
Two-weapon fighting makes him a danger
DM’s think he’s a pain in the ass
Player’s monk ran out of gas
Every flurry just seemed to pass
Leaving the bad guy without a scratch

Now I really like these brand new feats
My half-orc fighter’s really neat
I tried to run a game
Oh, but it just wasn’t the same

‘Cause the players have kids of their own
And no one remembers what to roll
And we were shocked down to our soul
The day the DM died

We started rollin’
Bye, bye Mr. d20 Guy
Failed the final saving throw and then didn’t survive
And all around the world, the gamers did cry
Sayin’ thank you Mr. d20 Guy
Thank you Mr. d20 Guy

Oh, and there we were just running the race
A generation losing pace
With no time left to game again
But come on let’s look through this brand new book
Man these powers really cook
You mean I get to play a dragon

And as I watched the gamers laugh
The memories came flooding back
Time it can go so fast
No living in the past

And as the dice rolled on into the night
I realized it just felt right
And I held back tears with all my might
The day the DM died

He was rollin’
Bye, bye Mr. d20 Guy
Failed the final saving throw and then didn’t survive
And all around the world, the gamers did cry
Sayin’ thank you Mr. d20 Guy
Thank you Mr. d20 Guy

I knew that when I read the news
I had just bid my childhood adieu
And I just sighed and turned away
I went down to the local store
Where I had gamed some years before
But the man there said that gamers couldn’t stay

And on the web the players mourned
About the game that he had born
Not a bad word was posted
The game master was toasted

And many folks admired the guy
Who’s rollin’ dice up in the sky
We told ourselves that we could cry
The day the DM died

And they were rollin’
Bye, bye Mr. d20 Guy
Failed the final saving throw and then didn’t survive
And all around the world, the gamers did cry
Sayin’ thank you Mr. d20 Guy
Thank you Mr. d20 Guy

They were rollin’
Bye, bye Mr. d20 Guy
Failed the final saving throw and then didn’t survive
And all around the world, the gamers did cry
Sayin’ thank you Mr. d20 Guy

Once again, Wizards has failed to make good on its electronic product. No, they didn’t promise anything with Tiny Adventures but it’s indicative of their plans regarding electronic products. I don’t know if they set unrealistic goals internally or just don’t understand their own popularity but, either way, they really need to get their act together. As it stands, they look nothing more than incompetent and like a company that is having problems catching up to the electronic age.

Yesterday, Wizards released the final version of the D&D Character Builder. I happily downloaded it on a computer that did not have the beta version installed on it. I then loaded it and it told me that there were updates. I input my D&DI user name and password. I then clicked the Update button. It told me that the “files did not verify correctly.” I was miffed but I decided to try it on a different computer, just in case. This one did have the beta version installed on it. So I uninstalled it, deleted the directory, and installed the new version. Once again, “files did not verify correctly.”

And, apparently, I’m not the only one to have this problem. You can check out this thread at WotC if you are also having problems. I recommend putting in a Customer Service ticket with WotC. The more problems they’re aware of, the better. However, and this is not unexpected unfortunately, some people are having problems with the Help System!

BTW, don’t expect a helpful response from WotC on this. It’s good to let them know for their records, but the answer they gave me doesn’t give me faith that it will be fixed soon.

Thank you for reporting this bug. It is already a known issue.

Occasionally we already have a fix or a workaround for a known issue. To view these and other known issues, click the following link: Known Issues.

Ryath
Online Response Crew
Wizards of the Coast

Yeah. No warm fuzzies here. And the Known Issues “link” didn’t work. It was just blue text not an actual link.

I was willing to give Wizards a break on D&DI. I even wrote, early on, that the price was right. I signed up for a year when they first went live. I’m not regretting my decision, yet, but I’m pretty much 100% certain that I will not be renewing when the year is up. I’ve already stopped the auto-renewal of my account.

At this point, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to take Wizards seriously on any online initiative they announce in the future. It’s sad, really, but I have no faith in them to get it right. I really hope they do, but I doubt they ever will.

• Are druids still tree hugging hippies?

Oh. No. Druids are no longer relegated to being the Aquaman of an adventuring group. Druids are all about channeling their primal nature into their actions. When it comes to using powers, the descriptions let you know that the druid is not to be messed with.

You draw forth the savagery that dwells in every creature, compelling your enemies to fight without forethought or plan.

---

A howling gust of wind savages your enemies, scattering them.

The 4E Druid is definitely a force of nature.

• Can they still shape change?

Of course. All druids begin with the ability to wild shape as a minor action.

• What kind of creature can you change in to?

You can change in to any beast you wish as long as the beast is your size and resembles a natural beast or a fey beast. Your game statistics don’t normally change.

• What about equipment and powers when they wild shape?

Druids who wild shape can only use powers with the “beast form” keyword. Almost all equipment you’re carrying becomes part of you. If you’re holding anything, it drops unless it’s an implement you can use. You continue to gain all benefits from worn equipment. You can use the properties and powers of implements and magic items you wear unless it’s a wondorous item. You do not have access to anything carried since it becomes part of you.

• Do I have to wild shape?

I’ve known people who played druids and never wild shaped because it was too much to keep track of. Since wild shaping no longer affects your stats in most cases, it’s a lot easier to use. However, if you still don’t want to wild shape, you’re not going to be disappointed. Druids begin with a total of three at-will powers with one of them, but no more than two, required to have the “beast form” keyword. So a player who doesn’t want to wild shape still gets two regular at-will powers, just like other classes.

• What are some other cool features of the 4E Druid?

1. They can choose to either use their Constitution modifier in place of Dexterity or Intelligence when determing AC or they can gain a +1 bonus to their speed.
2. They get as many healing surges as the cleric.
3. You automatically know Animal Messenger.
4. They are no longer “all about balance.” That’s one thing I could never stand about previous versions of the D&D druid. I see the 4E druid more like a true Shaman or even a Samurai; one who knows one’s place in the world and relies upon the guidance of their brethren (in this case, the winds, trees, beasts, etc.) but doesn’t feel obligated to “keep the peace.”

Conclusion

The 4E Druid is a much more savage character than in the past. They are in tune with their Beast Spirit and makes use of it accordingly. They can channel it into a lot of their powers, not just the one that allows them to change shape. All in all, a pretty impressive upgrade from the previous versions.

Now that you’ve read this, tell me which class you’re looking forward to most with this poll!

At this point, I’m not holding my breath. A word of advice to all future RPG publishers: If you ask someone to review your product, make sure you get them the product within a month and a half. Otherwise, it makes you look unprofessional.

Synopsis

The RPG is described as “[t]he Post Apocalypse, High Tech, Fantasy, Western, Role Playing Game.” It definitely tries to be all of those things.

Layout and Art

It was sent to me in PDF format and runs 88 pages with the front cover, contents, an appendix, and a character sheet. The layout of the book is nice and it flows well.

The artwork is definitely amateurish. With so many free, “for public use” graphics options out there, I would have preferred they used those.

Introduction

The first chapter sets the tone of the world and lets you know that it’s set in the early- to mid-2080′s. From 2010 to 2030, the world was at war and the economy of many nation’s collapsed. Out of this, one man is able to take control of most of the world. People start to develop abilities such as “code slinging” (magic) and the leader sees them as a threat.

Character Creation

There are five archetypes to choose from and each character has many qualities available to help define themselves.

Average Joe/Plain Jane – The “rebel without a cause” kind of person. One who wants to fight for something and now has a reason to do so.

Code Slinger - The “spellcaster” who uses technology (the Code) to bend reality to your will.

Cyber Mystic – A “shaman-esque” character who teaches the ways of the Code.

Gun Jack/Jill – Gunslinger.

Mutant – Self explanatory.

Assigning Attributes is done by rolling 2d6 four times. You then put the three highest numbers in Social (how you deal with other people), Physical (hit points, physical prowess as well as how you deal with poisons and drugs), and Mental (remembering things and saving against Code Slinger spells). You place the lowest number in Flaws.

Qualities are chosen next. There are physical, social, and mental qualities and you place points into qualities based upon the number you’ve assigned to an attribute. So, for example, if you rolled a 10 and placed it in your Physical attribute, you have 10 points (levels) to put into physical qualities such as Archery, Lock Picking, Stealth, etc.

You can choose from two categories of qualities; standard and capped. Standard qualities can never have more levels in them than half your current Attribute rating (rounded down). Capped qualities can never have more than two levels in them.

With that said, you can put as many levels in standard Flaw qualities as you want. And capped Flaw qualities can only have one level put into it but it costs two points to do so.

Spellcasting

This is one area that I did not like. Players are encourages to write their spells (Code) and the GM is to have the final say. There are 18 example spells given as reference. To create a spell, the code slinger must roll equal to or under their Para-Coding skill. A successful roll means they create the spell. The problem comes in to play if you want to have it last for longer than an instant or want it to extend beyond three feet away. Then you start taking penalties and the number you must roll at or under starts to go down. But if you start putting limitations on your spells, then you get bonuses.

Honestly, I just don’t see the point. So you’re saying I’m a spellcaster but it’s really difficult to create spells unless I make them really harder to actually use?

Strengths

I like the setting idea. It’s a world that has been plunged into war for years but the people survived. What was once a technologically savvy world is now more like the old west but there are still folks who live with, and thrive upon, science, some bending it to their will. But, of course, they have to be discreet or become hunted.

I really like the weapons that are available to the gunslingers. I mean, who doesn’t want an arm cannon?!

There are lots of very well detailed monsters and npcs/groups that can be used to create interesting scenarios.

I liked the method of making checks. You make checks against your qualities based upon a d6 and want to roll at or under your level. You roll Attribute checks with a d12 and, again, want to roll at or under your level. So the lower the better.

Weaknesses

The world itself isn’t very well defined. Beyond an initial timeline of how we get to the current point and a description of a typical outpost (with an example town), there’s not much that tells me what still exists and what doesn’t. I wish the world had been fleshed out a little better.

Penalizing a player to create spells that do bigger things is not something I would do nor would I want to have to deal with as a player.

I really don’t like the art.

Conclusion

It’s an interesting idea. The mechanics are pretty easy to follow and the world would be fun to explore if you had the right GM (or were the right GM) who’s up to having to flesh out a lot of it. However, the spellcasting system leaves a lot to be desired. I think if the spellcasting was tweaked a bit and if some world information was created, it would be a lot better. But it’s definitely a solid effort from an independent RPG developer.

Overall, I give it a 3/5.

Note: The 4E Character Builder only allows you create characters for levels one through 3. Of course, the full version will allow you to build them up to level 30.

Installation of the program was relatively straightforward. I downloaded the setup file and ran it. It then downloaded the install file and ran the installation program. Why you can’t just download the installation program directly is weird to me, but there ya go.

• You need Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP 1

This is a must. The program simply will not work without it. If you don’t have it installed, the first part of the Character Builder install program will download it and install it and then install the Character Builder itself.

Once installed, you can run the Character Builder. The first screen gives you the option of loading an existing character, creating a new one, or creating a quick character which will auto-build it based upon things like race, class, etc. Great option for building some quick NPCs. Also, on the main screen, are links to the latest news on D&DI and the Character Builder.

I chose to create a new character and it brought me to a screen that allowed me to choose a Race. However, at the top of the screen are tabs to move between different sections. So, for example, if I choose Elf for a Race and moved on to the next step, I don’t have to start over if I want to change it. Instead, I simply click on the Race tab and make my change.

There are many races available, not just the races from the PHB. Those are all there, of course, but it also includes races from the Monster Manual, Forgotten Realms, and Dragon Magazines. When you click on a race, the right side of the screen will give you all of the related to that race. There will also be a picture of the male and female versions of the races from the PHB at the bottom of the screen. There are no pictures for other races but there is information on the right side of the screen.

I chose a race (Human), clicked on a button labeled “Choose Human,” and then chose a language. The languages were all from the PHB. I clicked on a language (Draconic), clicked a button labeled “Choose Draconic,” and clicked on “Next Step” to move to my class selection. You can change your choice without having to start over. You simply need to go to that section and click on the arrow next to the heading of the column to see the complete list again. Then choose another race and click the “Choose ….” button at the bottom to make the switch.

The class list gives you all the classes from the PHB plus one from Forgotten Realms and one from Dragon Magazine. I chose the Fighter, keeping it simple, chose a Build (Great Weapon Fighter), and chose my Talent (One-Handed). I then moved on to the next step.

Next I am able to pick an optional Background for my character. This really only applies if you are using the backgrounds in Forgotten Realms or ones presented in Dragon Magazine. I didn’t choose a background and moved to the next step.

I moved to Ability Scores next. Here I have a few options. I can allow it to Auto Pick for me, I can Roll Dice, or I can Use an Array. Regardless of the option I choose, it keeps track of how many points I’ve spent. This is great if I’m using a point buy method of ability generation. I can click the Reset Points button at any time to reset my abilities. I also, at this point, choose where to place my racial ability modifiers. I picked an Array to use and put my racial mod in Strength. Time for the next step!

Skills are next. As a human fighter, I see four “Train a skill” options at the bottom of the screen. I click on a bold skill name (these are the skills available to my class) and click the “Train …” button to train in that particular skill. I noticed that when I clicked on a skill, it gave me the complete PHB entry on the right side of the screen. Very convenient. I did this four times and then move to the next step.

Up came Feats. Lots and lots of options. I really liked the Search feature which allowed me to search for specific text in feat names or descriptions. I typed in “proficiency” and it went to the first Weapon Proficiency feat. I hit Enter and it went to the next one and so on. Very nice. At the bottom of the screen, just like with skills, it listed two “Choose a Feat” options; one for being a Human and another for Fighter. I clicked a Feat, clicked “Choose…” and did it again before I moved on to the next step.

Powers were next and the process was essentially the same as before. I have options at the bottom to choose a specific type of power (at-will, encounter, or daily). I click on one and see the powers to choose from. I click on a Power, click “Choose Power,” and it adds it. I also have the Search option on this screen as well.

Equipment is next and the list is huge! I’m glad there’s a Search option here. It automatically gave me 100gp to spend. I also have the option of “Shopping Mode” which allows me to buy stuff at 100% and sell at 20%, just as you would in-game. Nice little option for tracking your equipment through here. You can also click Auto Pick. When I did that, it purchased armor for me, a weapon, and the Adventurer’s Kit.

The next, and final, step is where you enter your character’s details. Name, gender, alignment, deity, height, weight, etc. You can also enter your name and your RPGA number. You also Level Up from here, Retrain, enter a Character Portrait, create Journal Entries, and other things like that on this tab.

I filled out the info and then clicked the Save button in the bottom left-hand corner to save it in a format usable in the Character Builder. I then clicked the Character Sheet button to view it and print it. Here’s a shot of the first page and the last page.

Conclusions

All in all, this is a very, very nice product and it definitely makes my subscription worthwhile. It is very easy to use and beats the tar out of the 3E Character Generator. I highly recommend you get this when it becomes a stable product or you can get it now if you want to create characters level one to three.

Is it much different than the 3E Bard?

The answer is, definitively, yes. The bard’s role has been set so that he/she is no longer set to just hover in the back, granting allies bonuses while not doing much else but fill the role of a minor healer. Instead, they are put into more of a leadership role, telling allies where to move on the field of battle and giving them the confidence they need in combat.

Then is the bard still an inspiring musician?

Again, the answer is yes. Their musical abilities allow their allies to perform tasks better as well as being a morale booster. The bard’s musical genres have been narrowed down to singing and  playing instruments, unlike 3.5 where you had to put ranks into performing on multiple instruments.

Speaking of Perform checks….

They are no more. Instead, the bard’s performing meshes with their spells. You no longer make a check; you simply perform as part of a spell.

Can the bard still heal people?

Absolutely.

Is the bard still a “jack-of-all-trades”?

Oh my, yes. They have an ability available to them now that can make them a more well-rounded class than any other in the PHB.

Is the bard still relegated to being the back?

I like the bard but, in my opinion, the 3.5 bard was not meant to be an up-front fighter. In 4e, the bard gets more hit points and can wear heavier armor, such as chainmail. They can also use more weapons than previously allowed.

Would you play a bard in 4e?

Again, yes. It’s definitely made into a more viable class than in 3.5 and I would be very happy to play one.

As time goes by, I will review what it has to offer and make recommendations accordingly. For now, since this is the first day of the new model, I thought I would simply post a comparison of what you get with a paid subscription as opposed to without.

Release Calendar

If you have a subscription, you will now see a calendar with a release schedule for items from both Dragon and Dungeon magazine on the right side. You can also view the calendar as a non-subscriber by going to the D&DI home page and then clicking “Check out this month’s exclusive content.”

Some Dungeon/Dragon articles now available only to subscribers

I clicked on a few articles without being logged in and found that a lot of them tell me that I must subscribe to read the full article. Items such as RPGA Reports and Design and Development articles are still free. The 4E Barbarian playtest article is still free as well.

“Battle to the Death. Fight for Fame.”

There’s a banner in the D&DI section only available to subscribers. It has the words “Battle to the Death. Fight for Fame.” printed on it. It will be available on October 17. Not sure what it is, but it’s obviously a subscriber’s only feature.

Items over 3rd level in the Compendium only available to subscribers

I did a search for “Surefoot Boots,” a level 5 magic item in the PHB. I found it just fine as both subscriber and non-subscriber but, when I clicked on its name to get a description and I wasn’t logged in, it told me I had to subscribe to view it.

New Bonus Tool: Monster Builder

A tool to build new monsters is now available but only to subscribers. Definitely a useful tool.

Anything else?

At this point, no. In the coming days and months there will be more available, such as beta-testing the Gaming Table and Character Builder. For now, if you want to read Dungeon adventures, like the Scales of War campaign, you’ll need to subscribe. Otherwise, you may want to hold off unless there’s something on the release schedule that you think you must have right now.

It could be good; it could be bad. I’ll let you know more once I receive it and go through it. In the meantime, click to enjoy some Hardrock Hallelujah and Would you Love a Monsterman.

An exciting game of modern Vatican horror, conspiracy and investigation in which demons, ghosts and vampires exist to torment and feed upon an unprepared humanity. The only defense is a small and steadily shrinking cadre of holy defenders. The heroes can be Modern Templars, Treasure Seekers, Dispassionate Experts, Sacred Hunters, Blessed Non-believers or others, who face unspeakable evil with only faith, knowledge, and miraculous powers to keep them alive.

This simple, easy-to-learn roleplaying game will suit the needs of both experienced roleplayers looking for the thrill of demon-hunting and atmospheric horror and players looking for an accessible system in which to learn the art of the game. Tabletop Adventures’ 4-6-8 dice system encourages team play and increases character interaction.

The player characters are members of an elite group of priests and other personnel who hunt evil and battle the forces of darkness, bringing light and strength to a threatened world. Adventures can take the characters anywhere, from a desert mission in Africa to a split-level in suburbia, but no mission is ever accomplished without cost. Despite the miraculous powers and soul-searing knowledge the heroes wield, combat with a true demon is a terrifying proposition. Death, crippling injury and insanity are all more-than-likely outcomes of a mission.

I was lucky enough to play in a game run by Vicki Potter, one of the co-founders of the company, at Nuke-Con over the weekend.

Mechanics

We played pre-gen characters, so I’m not sure what character creation is like. As for the characters themselves, you each play an archetype. You do not have to play a pious person but you do work for the Vatican. My character was the Anointed Assassin, so I did the church’s dirty work. Each character has four attributes; Corpus (the Body), Mentus (the Mind), Spiritus (the Spirit), and Fidelis (Faith). Each attribute is rolled using a certain die; either a d4, a d6, or a d8. You roll a d4 for your weakest ability, a d6 for each of the two middle attributes, and a d8 for your strongest. Each attribute also has a number assigned to it; anywhere from 2 to 5.

Each attribute is made up of skills and miracles, except for Fidelis which is made up of only miracles. When creating characters, you would allocate points into certain skills and miracles. When you need to make a check, you roll the die associated with an attribute and add the number of points you assigned to it and the number associated with your attribute. The higher the roll, the better you perform the skill.

For example, my character had a 5 in Corpus and a 4 next to the Combat skill under Corpus. I rolled a d6 and added all the numbers together. So my max for that skill was 15 (5+4+6).

Of course, some skills can be opposed by the same skill, like Combat. If I roll and get a total of 13 and the enemy rolls and gets a total of 14, I miss.

As for miracles, you can only perform them if you assign points to it. So, for example, I had 1 rank in Telekenisis, so I could use. I had no ranks next to Divination, so I could never use it. Also, the number of ranks is the total number of times I can use that miracle per day. So I could only use Telekenisis once per day.

If you take damage from a skill or miracle that the enemy rolls, you take numbers away from attributes. For example, I was fighting a ghost and her combat roll was higher than mine. So my Corpus number went from 5 to 4. Over time, it would come back. For mental damage, you take numbers away from Fidelis.

Strengths

I had a lot of fun playing this game. The mechanics were very easy to grasp and it wasn’t long before we were all deep into the mystery. I’ve always enjoyed mysteries and this game definitely had a mysterious atmosphere to it.

Weaknesses

As with all horror games, atmosphere is a weakness for the game. We played in a open hall, so the “horror” aspect wasn’t really there for me. Also, since this game deals with the Vatican, some players may take issue with it, but that’s really the nature of the beast.

Conclusion

As I said before, I really enjoyed this game. If you are the type of person who enjoys movies like the Exorcist or Poltergeist or likes TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Dark Shadows, you’ll enjoy this game. I can see it being very easy to make a “tv show-esque” game to run week to week.

Overall I give it a 4/5. Highly recommended!

In 2000, Wizards of the Coast released the 3rd edition of D&D. In the back of the Player’s Handbook was a CD and on that CD was a character generator. It was very basic but very simple to use. It was especially good for those who had never played D&D before. Wizards promised that the full version of the character generator, which would include more options, would be released shortly thereafter. What you got in the PHB was just a taste. A few months later, version 1.2 of the character generator was released. And then….. nothing.

For whatever reason, Wizards failed to release the character generator. Whether it was money problems, employee issues, whatever, they had to farm it out to a third party called Code Monkey Publishing (it was originally supposed to be released by Fluid). CMP released what I thought was an “ok” character generator but it was very unwieldy and non-user friendly. The other problem I had with it were the costs. I can understand charging for the character generator but they also charged a fee for each data set. Each book released by Wizards, Song and Silence, Sword and Fist, etc., had information that was placed into a data set and sold by CMP. But even if you purchased the book, you had to purchase the data set. I never understood why since you had already paid anywhere from $10 to $30 for the book. And because the character generator was so non-user friendly, it was hard to add/edit the information included with the basic generator. So buying the data set was a must.

A lot of fans felt as I did; Wizards had promised an electronic product and failed to deliver on that promise. To add insult to injury, they gave it to a third-party who decided that you should pay, again, for information you’d already paid for. And Wizards did nothing to alleviate that extra cost with codes to get it free or at a substantial discount.

Edit: It has come to my attention that Wizards was responsible for the pricing of the data sets and for the programming code given to CMP. Wizards dictated the cost and CMP added an amount to cover the cost of development. Once again, however, this further goes to support my opinion that Wizards was failing on the electronic front. I still think that they should have included codes in the book, or given a code to a person who registered their books online, to negate the cost set by Wizards for the data sets and a person would only have to pay to cover CMP’s cost.

Fast-forward to 2008 when Wizards released the 4th edition of D&D. Prior to the release, they promised that their magazines, Dragon and Dungeon, would be available online in electronic format. They promised we would also see a full rules compendium along with a character generator, dice roller, and a game table to allow a person to play D&D with friends across the globe. In the back of both the PHB and DMG were advertisements for the D&D Insider, which would provide all of these tools.

But, again, Wizards fell short on its promises. While Dragon and Dungeon magazines were available online, nothing else was. No rules compendium. No character generator. No dice roller. No game table. Nothing else that was promised. When the rules compendium was finally released, it was but a shadow of what was expected. While it did have some information from the PHB, it did not have everything. You can read my review here. Recently, a new pricing structured was announced. While I do think that the price is fair, they are asking people to pay for what is essentially an incomplete product. While Wizards recently posted an encounter generator and an ability generator, it’s still not what we were promised nor what was advertised originally. Once again, Wizards fell through on their promises regarding electronic tools.

Which brings me to Tiny Adventures. Tiny Adventures is a new application on Facebook that allows you to choose a character, give it a name, and run through very basic adventures. It’s a really cool concept but here’s the problem: It keeps crashing. Two days after it was released, a note was posted by Wizards telling folks that they were upgrading the server and that it would be back online by that Friday afternoon. By Friday evening, it was finally back online. It worked welll for a while but then errors started popping up. Most of the time, it was an “[e]rror while loading page from Dungeons & Dragons: Tiny Adventures” A few time, it was an SQL error. Regardless, it’s been down 75% of the time I try to get into it. It is extremely frustrating.

Once again, Wizards has failed to make good on its electronic product. No, they didn’t promise anything with Tiny Adventures but it’s indicitave of their plans regarding electronic products. I don’t know if they set unrealistic goals internally or just don’t understand their own popularity but, either way, they really need to get their act together. As it stands, they look nothing more than incompetent and like a company that is having problems catching up to the electronic age.

Almost immediately afterwards, the rpgblogosphere was atwitter with opinions of D&DI and their prices. For the most part, people were questioning why Wizards was charging what they were charging with some even going as far as stating that “Wizards will never see a penny from me.”

Well you know what? Forget that. I will gladly buy a subscription to D&DI in a month. Let me tell you why.

What will it have right off the bat?

• Dragon and Dungeon magazine.
• The D&D Compendium, which will include data from the Player’s Handbook, Dragon, and Dungeon, as well as any errata to these items.
• Tools such as the Ability Generator and Encounter Generator.

What won’t it have to start?

• The Character Builder.
• The Character Visualizer.
• The Dungeon Builder.
• The Game Table.

How much do they want for this?

Web-Content Only Subscription Package:
12 Months = $59.40 ($4.95 per month)
3 Months = $19.95 ($6.65 per month)
1 Month = $7.95 ($7.95 per month)

So, um, why do you think the price is right?

One of the complaints I am reading, and one I completely agree with, is that Wizards is asking telling you to shell out money for an incomplete product. They promised a lot but are not delivering what they’ve promised. They want us to pay a monthly fee and hope that the Character Builder, Character Visualizer, etc will come out in the near future.

Yeah, you’re not really selling me on this

To be honest, I wouldn’t buy it either until I read this: Dragon and Dungeon magazine. When those magazines were in print, I paid a total of $77.90 per year. That’s $18.50 more than what I’d pay for content in D&DI. To me, everything else I get with the D&DI subscription is just icing on the cake.

I see what you did there.

So if you were one of those folks who bought Dragon and Dungeon magazines when they were in print, you really have no room to complain. You’re actually getting more for your money with D&DI. Now if you didn’t get the magazines, I can understand being wary about spending money for promises that may never be fulfilled. But as I’ve said, the content from Dragon and Dungeon more than makes up for it and I think you’ll be really happy with your purchase.

7 days to GenCon!

Woot.

DCC#0: Legends are Made, not Born – http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?cPath=4079&products_id=2890&it=1

StuperPowers! – http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=1595&it=1