Upcoming 4E D&D Game Neverwinter
Posted by Fozz
Cryptic Studios, makers of Champions Online and Star Trek Online, is teaming up with WotC to release the first 4th Edition D&D game set in the world of Faerûn and the Forgotten Realms. Neverwinter will be released in 2011 not as a MMORPG but more of a Co-Op multiplayer game where you raid dungeons with your friends or if you don't have friends, a computer controlled party. The game will be the first to be based upon the 4th Edition D&D rules and will be based on an upcoming book trilogy by R.A. Salvatore.
The game was just recently announce so there aren't many details, but one of the most interesting aspects is the ability to create and share your own levels. Neverwinter will feature adventure creation tools that should open up tons of options for the community to create some very interesting adventures.
I'm looking forward to hearing more about this game and if you would like to read more visit the website or sign up for their Facebook page to get updates about the game.
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Castle Ravenloft Goodies
Posted by Fozz
WotC will be releasing the Castle Ravenloft board game later this month, but today we got a couple of goodies in the form of extra bonus adventures and a designer's commentary.
Wow talk about support! The game isn't even out and they are already releasing extra content! Nice!
The extra adventures for the board game are for groups and consist of an escape from a zombie horde and a quest for the Sunsword.
Download the bonus Castle Ravenloft adventures here.
If you are the type of person who likes a glimpse behind the scenes at how things are made, then you will enjoying reading the designer's commentary along with a preview look at the Castle Ravenloft rules book. Read the commentary here.
I am very excited about playing this board game and have already pre-ordered it over at Amazon.com and will post a full review once it is released.
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After Action Gencon Report
Posted by beowulfthehunter
Back from Gen Con and I am ready to drop. It is indeed the best four days of gaming and my 3 ½ time going for multiple days. I will say that of the 2 other times this one was somewhat a disappointment in comparison, but even a bad day at Gencon is still better than a good day in the classroom.
Dave and myself left 5am on Thursday and arrived at 9:30 am in Indy (time change so a 3 hour trip took 4). First up we found a parking space close by with no need to hunt one down. In previous years I spent a solid half hour looking for a space. This time, boom, we found one right off the bat. Awesome, then we get in and receive our swag bag. In years previous the bag had tons of coupons, trading cards, dice, minis, and even full games. This year it came with the 2010 Gencon die, a tiny dice bag, and not much else. Some people did not even get the die in theirs. I made my way around the hall, ran into a few friends, and knocked out most of my purchases.
Unlike previous years video games did not dominate the hall and it contained all manner of companies. You had your old grognards like Flying Buffalo as well as those fly by night companies you hear about, but then fall of the face of the earth, and then those that dominate. The Wyrd booth had a bigger line than Privateer Press. WotC was back in full force with the entire Sagamore filled with D&D. Unlike last years Con Delve that cost 2 bucks for an hour and allowed you to win cool tokens, minis, or a dice bag, the Delve this year allowed you to win stamps on a card and turn it in for absolute crap, oh and they doubled the price. I only did a few this year due to the wait and cost.
I took in a few speed painting events and then sat down to a painting class taught by Vaolla. While she is not up to the standards of some of the other names teaching classes, I will say that in retrospect she had the most professionally run and organized class among those I took. I look forward to her teaching more next year as I will sign up again. I was able to pick up some techniques that I plan to use in the future.
Friday had me taking part in the Anima Tactics National Tournament which I won, but due to miscommunication with my opponent it was a Pyrrhic Victory as he made some mistakes that cost him the game. I did however win a mini that will not be sold for another 6 months and he won 50 bucks for best sportsmanship. I still tired to buy him a mini to make up for it. Played a few more Delves and went home to sleep.
A note about the delves, they used the new Essentials characters. Having seen them in action they are simple to use, and awesome. While the fighter no longer marks he does hit for +9 vs. AC at first level for 1d10+10, that we call Striker damage! The wizard was pretty fun if you do not mind rolling dice.
Saturday had me playing Malifaux….all day. I took 3rd place and best painted. Score for me! It was run by the newest employee of Wyrd Drew Little, who ran numerous events at Games Plus and he is a consummate professional and runs an awesome event. Thanks Drew should you ever read this.
Saw numerous costumes. The con babes were out in force this year and looking great doing it. Picked up a few games and another painting video. Oh I got to see the cast of the Guild and Felcia day is that hot in person!
Sunday, was a sad day, the last day. I took two painting classes taught by two of the bigger names in the industry. For all their accolades, I found their classes to be a complete disappointment. I did not get much info out of them and very little hands on help (which is funny because the largest class had 5 people!). I was not able to find any deals and they did give away the remaining grab bags…all missing dice. Drove home and now I write this report. I plan to add more details and describe the offerings the the booth but for now I am exhausted. Until then…I’ll be in my bunk.
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D&D Intro Video
Posted by Fozz
I have been really impressed with all of the videos WotC has been releasing. The Penny Arcade podcasts and the Robot Chicken videos have all been very cool and fun. This new video discovered by Bucky is a great introduction to D&D 4th Edition, featuring Chris Perkins. I think it is a great introduction to players not familiar with D&D at all or even older players that may not have played in a while.
New D&D Class: The Psion
Posted by Fozz
If you are a D&D Insider, today you got a great treat with the release of the 4E Psion class from the upcoming Player's Handbook 3. They released a fully detailed PDF and the Character Builder was updated with all 30 levels of the Telepathy Focus build.
The PDF is a very interesting read as it also contains developer commentary on the creation of this new class, almost like a behind the scenes feature on DVDs. This was a great idea by WotC and I hope we see more of this type of material as they plan to release even more material leading up to next year.
The Psion is a new controller class that uses the psionic energy of the mind to mentally affect your enemies, by either blasting them with telepathy energy or tossing enemies around the battlefield. This preview only details the Telepathic Focus build and I like what I see, but I really can't wait to see the other build that focuses more on force-based powers when PHB 3 comes out in March 2010.
At-Will and Power Point Level Chart
The Psion class introduces a new concept for powers, called Psionic Augmentation. Instead of encounter powers, Psions have access to at-will attack powers that they can beef up or augment with Power Points. You start with 2 power points at first level and gain more at various levels (see chart). You can spend your power points on your augmentable at-will powers, most of which have 2 levels of augmentation. Then, just like encounter powers, you regain use of power points when you take a short or extended rest. I absolutely love this concept, because when you dig down into it, they are just as limiting as encounter powers, but it gives the class a whole new feel to combat as you strategize on how and when to spend your power points and on which powers.
Psions also have access to a Discipline Focus, similar to Wizard cantrips, that give you cool, useful powers. The two detailed in the Telepathy Focus are distract and send thoughts, which give you the ability to either distract an enemy or communicate telepathically with someone.
A Psions' powers focus on ranged and area attacks that mainly target Will defense. As an example a level one at-will called Memory Hole allows you to assault a creature's mind and rip out their memory of you, effectively making you invisible to them. Other psion powers apply penalties to an enemy's attack while or you can force them to attack their allies. We also get a preview of two of the Psion's Paragon Paths. The Cerulean Adept is a order of protectors that are in constant vigilance against the aberrant threat of the Far Realm, which mechanically gives you extra will defense and the ability to use 1 power point for free when you spend an action point. The second path called Uncarnate, focuses on freeing your mind from your body allowing you to become temporarily insubstantial.
Overall, I am really excited to play around with a Psion and this type of content only available to D&D Insider subscribers is exactly what I am paying for. Keep it up WotC.
Player’s Handbook Heroes Set 2 Gallery
Posted by Fozz
The Player's Handbook Heroes Set 2 looks very nice and will make a great addition to any collection. I especially like the Genasi Paladin and Human Swordmage due to their versatility as a wide range of classes.
Player’s Handbook Heroes Set 1 Review and Gallery
Posted by Fozz
The new format for D&D miniatures has been released and the first set we have are Hero miniatures for use with PCs in your game. There are six packs with three heroes each, two male and one female. Each character comes with a card that is a new power for that class. Each pack retails for $10.99 and includes 2 martial hero packs, 2 arcane, 1 divine and 1 primal pack.
I have to admit I was a little disappointed in the new set of hero miniatures from Wizards of the Coast for several different reasons. First of all, I would guess that most players are only playing in one game and therefore only need one of the miniatures. That makes it a $10 miniature and you have two extra minis that you may never use. The next big selling point is the power cards. I really like the idea and for some people they are useful, but for anyone who subscribes to D&D Insider and has the Character Builder, all of these powers are in the program. So for me that isn't a selling point anymore.
Second, and I know I might take flak for this from some people, but 1/3 of the figures are female and I don't think this matches up close to D&D's demographic. I only have my personal experiences to draw from on this but I also saw a large number of D&D games last year at Gen Con and I would say that out of the 6 games and 36 PCs, only 3 were females players or males playing females. That's only 8% out of a small section, but even looking around at other tables, there weren't many female players, maybe 10-15% would be a generous estimate. So when a third of the minis are female, although nice to look at, aren't a selling point. I understand that WotC needs to be "PC" but maybe 1 female out of two packs would be a better idea. And I'm not just upset because the only dragonborn is female 
What I do like are the sculpts and paint jobs. They have really brought up the quality. So overall, I would only recommend buying them if you really want a certain character, or want the power cards, or are a completist Or you could be like me and just buy the individual minis you want online.
New Druid Class Previewed
Posted by Fozz
The new druid class was previewed this morning in the D&D Insider over at WotC. We only get to see levels 1-3 until it is released in the upcoming Player's Handbook 2 this March.
Druids rely on the Primal power source and are able to control the battlefield from a distance in human form and up close in their beast form. Although the druid is classified as a Controller role, depending upon your build, you can add in powers that make you a good leader or striker. These two primal aspects are called Primal Gaurdian and Primal Predator, which gives a bonus to AC and boosts your speed, respectively.
Your class feature at-will power lets you change into beast or human form as a minor action and shift 1 square. You can only do this once per round though (Powergamers, I know what you were thinking ) It is interesting that all of your equipment becomes part of your beast form when you change and you still gain their benefits, but anything you were holding drops, except your implements. Also anything in a container that is part of your beast form is inaccessible.
In addition, Druids start out with 3 at-will powers, but you must always have 1-2 powers that have the beast form keyword. The beast form powers allow you to slow your enemies, grant combat advantage, and slide them around. Your human form powers usually restrict movement or cause damage via fire and lightning.
All in all, it seems like the druid will be a very popular PC due to it's nice powers that allow you to do so much, it has great roleplaying potential, and who would want to turn into an animal at will!
What do you think? Are you as excited about the PHB2 as I am?
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