Magic Item Availability in D&D

I was reading this post at the "Tales of the Rampant Coyote" and it got me to thinking. Like the author and some of the commenters I also favor the more "magic rare" style of campaign where magic is special and not a medieval substitute for technology. You hear that a lot and yet the norm is magic as a commodity (and that was the case long before MMORPGs). So is this just something you hear from the DM/GM types? My guess is yes.

Though in the defense of players, often you end up in a game with a mediocre DM such that you need something to make the game more interesting, since the setting and storyline doesn't hold much promise for you. From a CRPG standpoint, I tend to equate this a comparison between Diablo and Ultima. The Diablo games were cool but ultimately they were just Nethack with better graphics and sound and awesome cutscenes. Ultima drew you into the world in such a way that combat wasn't the norm, it was more the exception. And there was enough to hold your interest that you didn't need to be distracted by shiny new magic items. I'm not saying Diablo wasn't fun, because it was, but we're talking two types of gaming experiences.

Dragon Magazine Commentary #3

Myriad tidbits this time:

Issue #152, "The Game Wizards"
Wow, Jim Ward really comes off as a prima donna douchebag in this column. That probably wasn't his intention, though from other things he's written it's obvious he has a rather large ego.

Ken Rolston's Reviews
I like a lot of what he's written, but he really comes off as a pompous elitist in the reviews he used to do for Dragon. Whether 18 years ago or today, the "my nerd activity is superior to your nerd activity" attitude is simply ridiculous.

The More Things Change...
In issue #185, Roger Moore (one of the best editors Dragon ever had, IMO) addresses someone who wrote in complaining that Second Edition was targeting too wide of an audience, claiming the game used to be for "smart people" and too many children were now playing. Besides the fact that more people (like children!) playing is a good thing, this smacks of many of the same complaints we heard about Third Edition, and what we're hearing about Fourth Edition.

..the More They Stay the Same
In a letter in issue #186 (October 1992), titled "Dying Breed", the writer complained: "When I first started reading DRAGON Magazine, it seemed to be tailored to folks like myself. Now I'm reduced to Dragonmirth. Listen, I know the gaming industry is changing, but how about remembering those players who have been with you for years and helped get the gaming industry where it is today?"

Warhammer Building Set Mini Review

I recently picked up Games Workshop's Warhammer Building Set. I hadn't planned on getting the big box, but I had store credit to burn and, as they say, I couldn't afford not to take advantage of the savings!

The full set (which may not be available anymore; I believe it was a limited release) contains one Watchtower, one Chapel, two Walls and Fences sets, and a Fortified Manor (which is really a Watchtower, Chapel, and Walls/Fences with some extra pieces to combine the tower and chapel and some extra walls for the manor's court).

I've been very slowly assembling the buildings and have primed all the walls and fences; a few of the latter have been painted. Once painted, they look pretty good, though I highly recommend following the picture on the box and covering the bases with static grass. The bases have little definition and look crappy otherwise.

The towers and chapels glue together fairly well. I was surprised, as I expected more flimsiness, but they fit nicely with few gaps. The gaps can be filled in with "green stuff" or some other filler. The instructions from GW are a little ambitious; they instruct you to glue together multiple parts of walls at the same time. I found it easier to do sections at a time (i.e.; the four bottom parts of the tower walls), let the glue dry sufficiently, and then do the next section (i.e.; the four upper parts of the tower walls, glued to the lower parts and each other).

There are tons of little extras to add: hanging ornaments, rifles for the tower battlements, statues, flagpoles, wooden supports, alternate windows, etc. They transform the buildings from simple affairs to the baroque structures you see in Warhammer pictures. There's also enough extras that you can apply them to other buildings you might make or buy.

I won't be painting the buildings until spring, but I plan on having the fences and walls done by the end of winter. Overall, I'm pleased with the set and recommend it if you're comfortable with assembling and painting the components yourself. Note (for whatever it's worth) that I'm going to be using mine for D&D since I don't play WFB.

Nerd Wars Revisited: WoW Players, Guess What - You're Dorks Too

I was perusing this thread on the WoW forums about the new WoW miniatures game, and a couple comments made me laugh:

That's a pretty expensive game of Dorks and Dragons you have there.

It looks like Geekfest 08. Count me out.

'Cuz, you know, countless hours playing WoW isn't a geek activity or somehow is "cooler" than people who play D&D.

I just love people with attitude "my nerd activity is less dorky than your's".

Link dump

Cool seamless textures: I found these sites while searching for textures for the new Mythosa map (though I ended up not using them in the end):

David Gurrea, 2D/3D Artist

Spiral Graphics

Texture Library at Filter Forge


Fantasy Art: Some cool art and maps here at "The Red Epic", the site of Jared Blando.


Best Band Website Evar: Tripod's website. I ran across them from one of their songs. Even though I usually don't like Flash-based website, this is one of the coolest sites I've ever seen - though unless you're a D&D player from way back, you may not get it.


MST3K Revisited: The guys that used to do MST3K (or some of them) are doing something similar with "RiffTrax". Basically they're MP3s you download and play in conjunction with a DVD you're watching. Interesting idea; I haven't tried any of them yet, but I want to try one to see how it goes. The samples are pretty funny, so I'm optimistic.