Cheating. It's unfortunate, but it happens, especially among younger players. A friend of mine who DMed his younger brother and neighbor would frequently tell me that he was astounded by the amazing luck his players had -- they would always roll 18s and 19s. His brother later confided in me that he and his friend would cheat -- they would roll their dice right in front of the DM screen so that my friend couldn't see the result. The two would corroborate each others' rolls, and my fri...

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The second match-up for the Dungeons & Drogans PvP Tournament has been posted -- Morgan vs. Sorrow.

Click here for a full-size view of the battlefield.


SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT

Once again, the majority of betters picked the winner -- no upset this week. Although the series went to three games, I wouldn't call this one close. Take away Morgan's lucky one-hit KO in the first round and this could have easily been a 2-0 win for Sorrow.

Morgan definitely had the right arsenal ...

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When I first read the 4th Edition rules, I was struck by the simplification of the skill system. It had become more streamlined and less of a hassle, but it also offered less diversity and forced us to make some uncomfortable concessions. Jump, Swim, and Climb were combined to form Athletics -- efficient, but unrealistic. Despite what Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory may tell you, climbing isn't "a bit like vertical swimming."

Mike Mearls, RPG Group Manager for the D&D Research an...

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Session Report-Back is a feature in which I jot down my after-action thoughts about my weekly D&D session for my Disciples of Dreth'dor campaign.

The Inner Fane. That's the title of the quest my players are currently on, a quest that will conclude Act I of this campaign. After ~3 years -- both real-life and in-game -- the PCs will finally defeat the villain that has plagued them for so long. I had initially planned this quest to last 8 sessions, and although we've already fallen behind...

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Monty Hall was a delightful character, but the campaigns inspired by his name should be avoided like the Tarrasque. Being rewarded oodles of magic items too quickly leads to campaign burnout. This week's Quick Tip takes a look at how to avoid a Monty Haul campaign, both as a player and as a DM.
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The first match-up for the Dungeons & Drogans PvP Tournament has been posted -- Win'tyr vs. Coltaine .

Click here for a full-size view of the battlefield.


SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT

I was surprised to see the overwhelming majority of people bet on Coltaine, because I honestly didn't feel the match-up had an obvious outcome. But I'm definitely happy that the tournament kicked off with so many viewers winning money.

The matches really were close -- in both cases, Coltaine was bro...
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A Drogans fan who goes by the name of ZeeMastermind drew up a loving rendition of the original three Drogans. Rekoj, Jacques and Coltaine stand together, ready to embark on their first adventures in Winterhaven.

When I shared this piece of fan art with the rest of the gang, we were all amazed, impressed, and thrilled.

We may not have thousands of fans, but the fans we have are awesome. Thanks, ZeeMastermind!

Full-size version here.

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In this week's D&D Quick Tip, I cover the basics of Dungeon Mastering. Well, some of the basics. As much as I'd like to give hour-long seminars, that defeats the purpose of the "Quick Tips."

Also, I've changed the look of the video effects -- I may not stick with this new visual theme, but I think it's an improvement over the crimson text on faux parchment.

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That's right; eight current and former Drogans will battle it out in a 7-week tournament, and you get to bet on the winners!

The viewer with the most virtual money by the end of the tournament will be crowned the winner and will have an NPC named after him/her in the Drogans' upcoming next adventure.

For full details, watch the Dungeons & Drogans Tournament Announcement video.

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Puzzles... Be they mazes, riddles, and logic brainteasers, puzzles have been a staple of D&D dungeon crawls since the dawn of this hobby. But how do you prevent your players from becoming frustrated by your puzzles? How do you get them to try to solve them and not simply ignore them in search of the next hunk of monster meat to fillet?

In last Sunday's Quick Tip on Engaging Players in Puzzles, I offered three pieces of advice on designing and running puzzles that will engage your players.
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Our next few Dungeons & Drogans sessions will consist of PvP battles.

If there's a match-up you want to see, let us know! Leave a comment on this post or email me: rhykker@gmail.com.

Match-ups can involve any of the following characters:

Win'tyr
Rhekd
Sorrow
Coltaine
Morgan
Rekoj
Autumn

You can request a team match, a 1v1, a free-for-all, 3 vs 1 -- whatever you want.

Can Rekoj take on everyone else?

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The first adventure in our Dungeons & Drogans campaign came to an end a couple months ago, and we recently had a Q&A session in which we replied to questions asked by YouTube listeners.

During our round table discussion, I asked a question and had each player answer in turn, starting with Doug, then moving to Dave, Stephen, John, and Nick. You'll notice that halfway through I reverse that order, starting with Nick -- it wasn't because Doug was giving "bad" answers, but because his comical answ...
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Session Report-Back is a feature in which I jot down my after-action thoughts about my weekly D&D session for my Disciples of Dreth'dor campaign.

There are two types of sessions in my campaign: "Quest Sessions," in which the PCs embark on missions assigned by their employers, and "RP Sessions," in which the PCs embark on a roleplay adventure to fulfill personal goals. A mission may last 4-8 sessions, with two back-to-back RP sessions serving as an interlude between missions.

Each RP sessi...
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Skill challenges... the most exciting and the most disappointing new feature of 4th Edition. The concept of an encounter focused on skills instead of combat is fantastic, but when 4e shipped, skill challenges were terribly broken and the sample challenges were insipid.

Thankfully, the Dungeon Master's Guide 2 rectified many of the issues and dolled out some sound advice and solid examples of what skill challenges should be.

In today's Quick Tip on Skill Challenges, I offer three pieces of advic...
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