I don't know about you but I do know that along with loving Dungeons and Dragons. I love comic books and some of the movies that have been made from them. You know Spiderman, X-men, Blade, Iron Man and the latest Batman franchises (unfortunately no good D&D Movies). I am extremely exited about the Wolverine franchise that will start spring 2009, the trailer looks promising, take a look.
Robotech was the cartoon or should I say anime cartoon that got me started loving anime. I fell asleep on the couch some time in the mid 1980's and work up to a cartoon at 5:00 in the morning and then everymorng turned into a Robotech morning for me. I wactch Rick Hunter become the ace pilot under the tutelege of Roy Fokker. This is what I woke up to.
 clipped from www.fivefourteen.net
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 clipped from www.christies.com
CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.
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Caryatid Column XP 250
Medium Natural Animate Cconstruct Level 6 Lurker
Initiative +10 Perception -2, Tremorsense 10
HP 61 Bloodied 30 AC 23, Fortitude 22, Reflex 19, Will 16
Immune: Disease, poison, sleep
Bastard Sword +2 (standard; at will) magic, weapon
+13 vs AC; 1d10+5 damage
First Strike
At the start of an encounter, Caryatid Column has combat advantage against any creatures that have not yet acted.
Sneak Attack
Once per round, Caryatid Column gains +2d6 damage when it has combat advantage.
Shifty (Minor; at will)
Shift 1 square.
Column Form (standard; at will)
The Caryatid becomes a Column gains tremorsense 10 it loses all other senses. Whenever struck by a weapon that weapon makes an immediate save or breaks dealing no damage if save is made normal damage is taken. magic weapons get a bonus equal to it's enhancement. Non-magical range shatter upon hitting the column, magic ranged save as magic weapons. Caryatid can animate (minor action).
When Caryatid is in column form it radiates no magic, it is immune to any arcana skill checks like detect magic or true seeing (if true seeing shows up in future products). A perception check can be made to discern faint and distorted lines that make the pillar resemble a woman. A second successful check (if someone climbs the pillar) reveals that the pillar is not cemented or jointed at the ceiling. The DC is 10+level+4, anyone with dungeoneering get a +2 bonus to their perception check.
Alignment Unaligned Languages Non
Str 20(+8) Con 19(+7) Dex 16(+6) Int 6(+1) Wis 1(-2) Cha 1(-2)
Tactics
A Caryatid Column will wait until no one is paying any attention to it and strike with first strike at the nearest target to deal sneak attack damage hopefully use its shifty ability to get in range. On it's next standard action it take on Column form so that it enemies break its weapons.
Large Magical Beast Level 6 Brute
Initiative +1 Perception +8, Darkvision
Metal Repulsion Aura 10; Enemies with metal or metal items within the aura, treat
area as difficult terrain. Enemies without metal move normally.
HP 100 Bloodied 50
AC 22, Fort 22, Reflex 16, Will 19
Speed 4
Bite (standard; at will)
Reach 1 +9 vs AC 1d8+4 damage
Telekinesis (minor; at will)
Range 10 +7 vs Fort target slides 4 squares
Metal Attraction (standard; at will) Area close burst 3 +5 Targets are slowed (save ends). First failed save: the targets
are immobilized (save ends) due to metal magnetizing to itself.
Metal Storm (standard, Bloodied) area close burst 2 +5 vs reflex 2d6+4 damage as shards metal that were clinging to the Metalmaster whirl around the slug.
Alignment Unaligned
Str 19 (+7) Dex 6 (+1) Wis 13 (+5) Con 18 (+7) Int 6 (+1) Chr 11 (+3)
AC bonus of +4 due to metal clinging to its hide.
This is a monster from Wizards of the Coast and in not an official conversion.
The ancient trees of the Shadowsong Forest have borne witness to the passing of epochs, and hidden beneath their dark canopies are the remains of empires long departed. Few souls brave enough to explore the primeval forest ever return, for countless horrors haunt the crumbled ruins. When a band of evil criminals seeks refuge within the darkest reaches of the forest, brave adventurers are needed to root them out. The trail leads to the heart of the woods, wherein looms the greatest secret of all — the Pyramid of Shadows.
Player's Guide to the Forgotten Realms: Swordmage, Drow, Genasi & BackgroundsThe Living Forgotten Realms has gone live, and we get the Character Creation Guidelines and a preview PDF of Player's Guide to the Forgotten Realms, which has Swordmage's to level 3, Drow, Genasi & Regional Backgrounds!
Creating your own character for Living Forgotten Realms is about as straightforward as creating a character for any other D&D campaign. In fact, you could simply follow all the rules in the Player’s Handbook to create your new 1st-level LFR character (just remember to use Method 1 or 2 for ability scores). However, there are some additional features that Living Forgotten Realms characters have that you might be interested in knowing about when you create your character.
Read the RPGA Character Creation Guide
Your first step to making a Living Forgotten Realms character is to download the RPGA Character Creation Guide (zip/pdf 279 KB). This document has all the rules for making characters for RPGA play. The Living Forgotten Realms campaign has a special appendix in the document; simply read the general section and then flip to the rules for LFR. Don’t forget to choose a region for your character, as that may have an impact on your upcoming adventures!
Grab a Character Sheet
You can download a character sheet from the Wizards site, or you can purchase a pack of Character Record Sheets from your local store. The pack also contains the very handy power cards so you can keep all your powers right at your fingertips rather than flipping through books during your game session.
Print Out the Adventure Log and Advancement Tracker
Attached to the RPGA Character Creation Guide (zip/pdf 279 KB) is an adventure log and advancement tracker. You’ll want to print out a copy of each of those pages when you play your first session. You’ll use them to keep track of essential notes as your character adventures throughout Faerûn.
Check Out the Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide Preview!
Want to play a swordmage? A genasi? Or how about a drow? Download the preview material (zip/pdf 205 KB) and get a taste of what’s to come in the Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide, due out September 16, 2008!
When it comes to converting characters from 3.5 to 4th Edition, we’ve previously stated that “there's no conversion guide that could adequately cover the vast array of options that have been published over the lifespan of the game.”
That said, we also recognize that if you don’t wish to set aside your favorite character in order to start up a new 4th Edition campaign, some amount of conversion will be attempted. To that end, Andy Collins put together the following recommendations for playing your favorite 3.5 character in 4th Edition.
This week, we look at those classes from the 3.5 Player’s Handbook.
Player’s Handbook v.3.5
Barbarian
Most barbarians fit best into the great weapon fighter build (p76), though barbarians wielding a pair of weapons should instead consider the two-blade ranger build (p104). Note that the former build slots you into the defender role and the latter into the striker role, so be sure you’re happy with the destination.
Either way, feat selection can also be useful in helping recreate your former identity. For example, Power Attack is still good for the greataxe-wielding barbarian, while Toughness replicates your d12 Hit Dice. Fleet-footed gives back some of your speed boost, and Blood Thirst certainly feels appropriate for the savage barbarian.
4th Edition doesn’t yet offer a rage mechanic to mimic the 3E barbarian’s iconic class feature, so you and your DM will need to get a little creative if you want to retain that flavor. For example, perhaps once you use Power Attack, you can’t stop using it until the end of the fight (but it gives you an extra +1 damage). Or perhaps you can just announce at any time: “I’m taking +4 melee damage at the cost of -2 AC for the rest of the encounter.” Whatever you come up with, keep it simple and easy to use… and keep your eyes open for barbarian class previews on D&D Insider later this year.
In 4th Edition terms, the bard would likely be an arcane leader: that is, a character who uses arcane spells to keep his comrades healthy and boost their combat efficiency. The 4E Player’s Handbook doesn’t offer a perfect translation of this character—the 4E bard is slated for future publication—so you have two basic options:
1. Focus on your leader abilities, selecting either the inspiring warlord or tactical warlord build (p144). Recast the flavor of your powers from bold commands and exhortations to inspiring songs or odes. Select one or more wizard or warlock multiclass feats (p209) to pick up a selection of arcane spells with bardic flavor (such as beguiling tongue, otherwind stride, sleep, or invisibility).
2. Focus on your arcane powers, translating your character into a control wizard (p157) or a deceptive warlock build (p130). Select one or more warlord multiclass feats to recapture some of your team-boosting powers. With your DM’s permission, you can even call these powers “arcane spells” if you want.
The cleric is one of those 3rd Edition classes that had the ability to cover multiple roles—sometimes simultaneously—which means 4th Edition had a mandate to bring the class in line with the other characters of the party. No longer can your 4E cleric tank as well as a fighter, blast as well as a wizard, and still heal better than anyone else in the game; in other words, be prepared to give up some of that super-versatility (believe me, the rest of the players in your group will appreciate it).
As leaders, 4E clerics are now defined first and foremost by their ability to support the entire party via healing and buffing. That said, clerics haven’t given up the ability to stand up to attacks or blast the monsters—they just don’t overshadow their comrades when they do so.
The traditional, “generic” cleric of 3E matches most closely to the devoted cleric build (p61) in the 4th Edition Player’s Handbook, which focuses on keeping your allies healthy and optimized. If your cleric prefers to mix it up in melee with the monsters, you should choose the battle cleric build (p61); or, alternatively, one of the paladin builds if you want to move formally into the defender role.
The druid’s still waiting for her big debut on the 4th Edition stage… so until then, you’re probably best off reimagining your character as a cleric of a nature-friendly deity (such as Corellon, Melora, Pelor, or Sehanine) and choosing either the battle cleric or devoted cleric build (p61).
This still leaves a lot of druid class features out of your grasp, but with your DM’s permission, any or all of the following tweaks might help you retain some of your druidic flavor:
1. Gain automatic skill training in Nature instead of Religion, and use Nature in place of Religion for all aspects of ritual casting.
2. Gain fluency in Druidic, a secret language known only to druids.
3. Change the damage type of your cleric prayers to fire or to lightning.
4. Replace divine fortune from your list of Channel Divinity options with the ability to speak with beasts for the rest of the encounter, and/or replace turn undead with the ability to briefly take bird form and fly up to 8 squares as a standard action (returning to normal form at the end of the move; your stats don’t change during the move).
It’s easy to assume that your 3E fighter should just use the new 4E version of the class, but before you do that you should ask yourself about your preferred style of play. Does your fighter stand in the middle of the fight, taking on every monster that comes his way, relying on his high AC and hit points to see him through? If so, then you sound like a traditional defender, and you should choose either the great weapon fighter or guardian fighter build (p76), depending on whether you wield a two-handed weapon or a weapon and shield.
On the other hand, if you built your fighter to be a high Dexterity, two-weapon-wielding engine of destruction, you might be happier using the two-blade ranger build (p104) than either of those fighter builds. And if you’re one of those fighters who disdained melee combat entirely in favor of a good ranged weapon, then the archer ranger (p104) is your likely best bet. It’s even possible that the brawny rogue build (p117) might be the optimal choice for you (particularly if you also picked up a couple levels of rogue along the way).
At a glance, the player with a 3E monk might think that he’s out of luck until the 4E monk releases—there’s no unarmored, unarmed melee fighter option anywhere in the Player’s Handbook. However, with your DM’s permission you can create a martial-arts striker who captures much of the monk’s style by following this process:
1. Choose the two-blade ranger build (p104). (Don’t worry, this will make sense in a minute.)
2. Give up your leather and hide armor proficiencies, gaining a +3 bonus to AC when wearing no armor or cloth armor. You’re now only a point behind the normal ranger’s AC.
3. Gain a +2 bonus to Will defense (in addition to the ranger’s normal defense bonuses).
4. Replace Dungeoneering and Nature on your class skill list with Arcana, Diplomacy, Insight, and Religion. Choose five trained skills from your class list.
5. Give up your martial weapon proficiencies. Grant your unarmed strike a +3 proficiency bonus, increase the damage to 1d8, and add the off-hand property. Now you’re wielding two melee weapons that are as good as the martial melee options available to the ranger.
6. Rename Hunter’s Quarry as Monastic Battle Focus, and lose the Prime Shot class feature. (You thought you were getting that +2 bonus to Will for free, didn’t you?)
7. Focus on mobility-oriented powers, particularly those that reward a high Wisdom score (such as evasive strike, yield ground, and weave through the fray). As desired, you can rename those powers with a flavor that befits your monkish heritage (peerless balance of the crane instead of fox’s cunning, for example).
8. Pick up feats to recreate other 3E monk class features—Evasion, Fleet-Footed, Long Jumper—and use multiclass feats (p209) to replicate the supernatural features. For example, the warlock has several teleportation powers reminiscent of abundant step.
This doesn’t faithfully recreate every element of the 3E monk, but it’s definitely a reasonable stopgap if you’re really committed to sticking with the character. Feel free to experiment with additional tweaks, and by all means please share your results on the D&D message boards!
Of all the classes in 3rd Edition, the paladin might be happiest to see his new incarnation in the 4E Player’s Handbook. Gone is the weak nod to divine spellcasting, replaced by the wide variety of divine smites and smashes that now define the class. That’s not to say that you’re a one-track defender; you still have lay on hands, and a range of utility and daily powers retain just enough of the classic paladin’s “backup leader” flavor. Your ability array will point you either to the avenging paladin (high Strength) or the protecting paladin (high Charisma) build (p90).
If your 3E paladin felt more like a leader than a defender, the battle cleric build (p61) might be more your speed… or maybe you just need the Initiate of the Faith and a couple of power swap multiclass feats (p209) to gain cleric powers in place of your paladin prayers.
There’s no option for a paladin’s mount in the Player’s Handbook; instead we gave the paladin a few utility powers that can move him across the battlefield quickly to his allies’ aid (such as benign transposition, radiant charge, and angelic intercession).
Ranger
Just as in 3rd Edition, the 4E ranger offers two distinct combat styles, making it easy for you to identify the right build for you. If you favored two-weapon fighting, take the two-blade ranger build (p104); archers should select the archer ranger build (p104).
However, 4th Edition intentionally removed two familiar but decidedly second-tier ranger class features—spellcasting and the animal companion. The ranger now sits firmly alongside the fighter and rogue as a non-spellcaster, and he doesn’t bring along four-legged cannon fodder.
You can recapture some of the divine spellcasting flavor of your previous ranger (assuming you gained enough ranger levels for spellcasting to be noticeable). Pick up Initiate of the Faith (for one healing word per day) and one or more power swap feats (p209) for other cleric powers. There’s no option in the Player’s Handbook for a ranger animal companion, however… but rangers missing their pets should check out the Martial Power sourcebook, releasing October 2008.
Most 3E rogues fit very easily into the 4E rogue class, choosing either the brawny rogue or trickster rogue build (p117) based on their ability scores and skill preferences—the former for high Strength, climbing and jumping rogues, the latter for high Charisma, fast talking rogues.
That said, there are some viable 3E rogue builds that fit better into the 4E ranger class. If your rogue wields two weapons, you can either choose feats to support that style or go whole-hog by using the two-blade ranger build (p104). And if the whole idea of melee combat repulses you, the archer ranger build (p104) is probably more your speed. (In either case, a few multiclass rogue feats (p209) will help you recapture your sneaky identity.)
Beyond their mechanical methods of gaining and expending spells, the sorcerer and the wizard effectively did the same thing—drawing from the same spell list, for example—and thus you face the same decisions as the wizard player does (see the Wizard, below). Unlike the wizard, however, it should be easier for you to identify your character’s spell preferences since you’ve been using the same subset of spells over and over again for most of your career.
Wizard
Yes, you have a new version of your class in the Player’s Handbook… but that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to translate every single one of your spells. Like a few other classes, the 4E wizard has a narrower range of power options than the 3rd Edition wizard. Some of these powers are coming later (summoning and illusions, for example), while others simply aren’t appropriate for the character role. Wizards don’t have a lot of party-buffing spells, for example; that’s more appropriate for leaders than for controllers. Taking those spells off the wizard list helps keep that class from overshadowing other characters in the party (see the Cleric, above).
If your 3E wizard focused on area-damage spells such as fireball, lightning bolt, and cone of cold, the war wizard build (p157) is for you. On the other hand, if you preferred spells that hampered your enemies’ ability to move freely and act effectively (such as ray of enfeeblement, stinking cloud, and slow), you’re better off with the control wizard build (p157).
Some 3E wizards might actually find the warlock class more to their liking—particularly if they fancy themselves more as “single-target killers” than battlefield controllers. If your 3E wizard is defined by his scorching ray, vampiric touch, enervation, and similar one-target ranged attacks, check out either the scourge warlock or deceptive warlock build (p130).
Well folks, that covers the 3.5 Player’s Handbook. Join us next time for a look at classes from Complete Adventurer!
About the Author
Andy Collins works as the system design and development manager for D&D at Wizards of the Coast. His development credits include the Player's Handbook v.3.5, Races of Eberron, and Dungeon Master's Guide II. He is also one of the lead designers for 4th Edition D&D, along with Rob Heinsoo and James Wyatt.
So is this a bad thing or a good thing? What's your opinion?
To check out more on these adventures go to Wizards.com. You will need to register to get the downloads.Each year in the village of Steeplefall, the villagers celebrate the Day of the Straw Men. A villager must merely whisper his or her sins to the small effigy, then burn it in a massive fire at the town square to be scoured clean.
But someone has an ulterior motive at this year's burning. After the PCs have had a chance to enjoy the festivities, at the evening's bonfire, a dark power strikes. Can the characters save the festival and the innocent townsfolk in attendance? Even if they do, who or what was behind the attack?
 clipped from www.wizards.com
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You are floating through oblivion. Everything is quiet in the never ending darkness. Brief images appear to you in the void and quickly fade away. Obscure images they are, of warm hearth fires & fresh baked bread and beautiful landscapes of trees and rivers. Some scenes include the specific individuals but you don’t know if they are friend or foe. Some of these beings seem vaguely familiar, others completely unknown. A few of the scenes include shining crystals and otherworldly landscapes.
Soon the fires of the hearth grow cold and the bread begins to mold and rot. The forests burst into flames and hordes of demonic soldiers begin marching to war. You see the individuals suffer and die horrific deaths. Blood and torture follow all of the twisting scenes but you have no feeling or concern of that here in the dark emptiness. Accompanying some of them are faint whispers but you can’t make out what they say. Are they memory or visions? You cannot be sure.
Somewhere beyond the images in the depths of darkness are two yellow ovals. Perhaps they are eyes watching. You care not. No feelings, desires or pain exist here.
Eternity passes and you continue in quiet existence. Then the whispers begin to get louder. Images of fiends battling become more frequent. The whispers become talking, then loud screams of pain. The blasts from explosions make the dark void shake! Something is happening around you!
With a gasp you reach consciousness and your eyes flare open to a blinding red light followed by a thunderous boom! While you try to blink away your light blindness, you can hear a battle raging and inhuman screams echoing very close. Another flash of light sends a wave of scorching air over your body making it hard to breathe. With horror you realize that you are strapped down and cannot move your arms or legs.
As your eyes begin to adjust, you begin to realize that you are in some sort of dank, torch lit, grey stone chamber. A scan of the area shows that this is some sort of bizarre laboratory filled with a clutter of alchemical equipment. Other beings, some unmoving, are strapped to the same type of bloodstained stone tables that you now realize you lie on. Everyone is clothed in only dirty, torn breeches and have nasty scars, stitches and bruises on their bodies. Your brain aches trying to make sense of it all but you cannot remember who you are or how this came to pass.
Another loud crash and gurgling screams issue forth from behind a huge solid iron door in the far wall of the room. A series of metal bending thunks echo through the room and the shape of large, clawed fingers begin to form and push their way through the door! Two black, razor sharp claws pierce the iron and begin to bend and rip it back to form a jagged hole.
More horrid screams echo along with the clang of steel. The huge claw retreats from the door and the sound of ripping flesh and breaking bones follows. With a final blood curdling shriek, you hear a squishing slap followed by a deep, throaty roar that reverberates through your skull. In an instant another fiery eruption releases beyond the door with such a force that the center of it folds inward, nearly breaking off its hinges and jets of white hot flame pour into the room through the gaps in the frame and clawed holes! The force blasts over tables, destroying equipment and the room becomes a furnace while you feel your skin begin to burn and blister. The taste and smell of brimstone invades your mouth and nose and you begin to suffocate as your lungs burn.
Thankfully, the heat quickly subsides and so do the sounds of battle. All is eerily quiet except for crackling fires now burning items on the tables nearest the door. Shadows dance around the room from the flames, but otherwise no movement can be seen.
