D&D Rules but YOUR Game

So a few years back I began buying the 3.5 Addition books for Dungeons & Dragons just now realized that there is a 4th addition! I remember back in high school and buying the 3^rd Addition books, talk about a learning curve! I think I may have had lower marks in school for 6 months as I read and learned to play the game. Every month we got a new book and tried to integrate it into the games. Needless to say learning D&D by the book was very hard!

(I have seen a review that 4th addition is an easier game to play especially for the DM.)

Ok so most D&D gamers and DMs are “Geeks” and “Nerds” I know I was called a nerd in high school but I think that was because of the community. In any other school I was the bottom of the barrel D+ or C student at best. I still learned the game but at a very slow rate…I think the my friends learned faster and I was the one teaching them the rules.

Rules, are they important?

Only if you want or need them to be!

At the end of the day it’s your game and YOU decide how it’s played.

If you’re new to the game the important rules you need to get started are the basic dice rolls for combat.

See page 135 in the Players Handbook (Core Rulebook 1 v.3.5 ISBN 0-7869-2886-7) for more details.

Attacks are decided by the attacker rolling 1d20 (1 20-sided die) plus modifiers and getting higher than the defenders Armour Class (AC). If the attack roll is higher than the defenders AC a hit is made. After that the attacker rolls the dice that corresponds to their weapon to see how much damage is dealt to the defender.

• Melee (Hand held weapons) Attacks: 1d20 + base attack bonus + Strength modifier + size modifier.

• Ranged (Arrows, spears & such) Attacks: 1d20 + base attack bonus + Dexterity modifier + range penalty.

When defending:

• Armour Class: 10 + armour bonus + shield bonus + Dexterity modifier + size modifier

These basic combat rules is all you really need to get a game going…the rest you will learn or make up!

I also liked to add 2 extra house rules to spice the game up:

• Natural 1 on an attack roll is always a miss and the attacker gets 1 damage. This is because the attack has over swung his weapon or miss stepped in the heat of the battle.

• Natural 20 on an attack roll is always a hit and plus 1 damage to the defender.

Also, if you're a beginner try the Dungeons & Dragons 4th Addition for Dummies book. I'm not kidding I have read several dummies books and they do a great job of teaching new things.

Have a great game,

Ian Hopfe

Campaign Ideas #1

I know what it’s like to get an idea for a game when you just can’t think of anything! From time to time I will just post some random ideas that you can use.

Simple Ideas (Will give you time to think of something better):

• Bar fight!
• Recovery of stolen item AKA street brawl with ruffians
• Steal something from a local tyrant or wealthy merchant

Complex Ideas (You may need to add some sub-adventures along the way):

• Explore rumours of a magical item hidden in a mountain cave. Another group of adventurers may be after it also. They may have to gather clues of the caves locations before heading out to the mountains.
• Quest to slay a magical monster that has kidnapped a whole school of young children and the town is in extreme despair. First they have to find clues to the location of a magical item that will help kill the monster. Make one of the characters have to sacrifice themselves to get the magical item. Don’t let them know that when the magical item kills the magical monster it will resurrect the fallen character.

Well that’s just a few ideas for now!

Have great game,

Ian Hopfe

Happy Halloween & House Rules for XP

The one time a year that us hard core Dungeons & Dragons players don’t get funny looks when we are heading to a game!

To be honest I never dressed up and none of my friends dressed up for games. If anyone did dress up I think I would have given them like 1,000 XP (Experience Points) extra that game.

Many of my friends do get into character and when they do I always give them extra XP. D&D is not just about dice roles and complex rules it’s about having fun. If someone makes me laugh during the game I give them XP. Remember that as the DM you can award XP for anything you want OR take them away!

Think about making a few house rules for earning XP. Think of things like:

• Arrives to play early or on time 100XP,
• Player stays at least 3 hours to play 500XP,
• Players brings snacks or drinks 1,000XP,
• Player offers to pay for pizza delivery 2,000XP!

This is a great way to make your games a bit more fun because players love to earn XP.

But wait…

Some people think advancing characters fast is not as fun. I say it just allows you to bring out the big monsters sooner! It’s no fun killing hundreds of Orcs for 3 hours. Players what to try their hand at killing a dragon!

Also, you could also create new characters more often. Character creation is half the fun sometimes.

Happy Halloween & Have a great game!

Ian Hopfe

Chronicles of a Dungeon Master

No one wanted to be the DM or Dungeon Master when I first started to play Dungeons and Dragons back in the early 90’s. “You bought the book” was their excuse for not wanting to be the Dungeon Master. I know now that the truth is my friends just wanted to be the giant sword wielding Fighter, the cunning and free willed Thief, or the all-powerful Mage.

I was not a very good reader or writer back then but I was good at making up stories. Most of these stories were used to keep me out of trouble with my parents and teachers of course. After my initial resistance to being the Dungeon Master I found I began to like it!

I was now the true master of my world! I was every character in the game not just one. I could tell crazy stories and no one could argue with my story and if someone found a flaw…I mad it law! I was a god creating a world for my friends to live in and I never wanted to give the power up.

Every now and again one of my friends would try to be the Dungeon Master but it just wasn’t the same. Their stories were short and narrow but mostly they didn’t understand all the rules I used to run a game of Dungeons and Dragons. So, I always ended up being the DM again.

My longing to be just a normal D&D character was not enough to overpower my love of being a DM. I may have begun to be lost in the game more than my friends.

I created towns and places that I would like to live or adventure in and created Non-Player Characters or NPC’s that I used all the time. My imagination was allowed to run free with every aspect of life, love, adventure, and death.

My DM role opened me to so much I now write in my spare time and I read all the time. D&D has helped me personally and kept me out of trouble in my teen years. So, don’t let anyone say you’re wasting your time on D&D because as the DM you have to read a lot of books to learn the game and you have to learn a lot about vastly different things to make your game worlds fun.

This is my first post on a blog I plan to have fun with! I will talk about Dungeons and Dragons, being a Dungeon Master, how to create your world, changes with the D&D game, rules of the D&D game, ideas for game play, and anything DM related.

Have a great day!

Ian Hopfe