Tag Archives: D&D Encounters

When megadungeons ruled Dungeons & Dragons

Posted on November 5, 2015 by David Hartlage

In the early 70s, as Gary Gygax developed Dungeons & Dragons, he played the game seven times a week. He wrote, “As I worked at home, I did not schedule play sessions, but when a gamer or two dropped in … Continue reading →

Posted in Role-playing game history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Fifth-edition D&D strategy for fourth-edition players: Choose your battles

Posted on October 6, 2014 by David Hartlage

Over the last few months, I have introduced fifth-edition Dungeons & Dragons to lot of folks who have only ever played fourth edition. In the new game, these players tend to make assumptions likely to get their characters killed. For … Continue reading →

Posted in D&D fifth edition | Tagged , | 7 Comments

User hostile: How to make a good game book painful to use

Posted on June 11, 2014 by David Hartlage

Dreams of the Red Wizards: Scourge of the Sword Coast has the seeds of a solid adventure. While characters visit the town of Daggerfall, they investigate mysteries like a theft and a suicide. Leads take them to a variety of … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Dead in Thay Player’s Handout

Posted on May 18, 2014 by David Hartlage

I’m interrupting my series of advice on observation and perception to present a player’s handout that anyone running the Dead in Thay Encounters season will need last week. Dead in Thay features teams of adventures raiding the sprawling Doomvault dungeon … Continue reading →

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Converting Scourge of the Sword Coast from D&D next to fourth edition

Posted on April 19, 2014 by David Hartlage

The regular players at my regular Dungeons & Dragons Encounters games include a mix of fourth-edition loyalists and folks indifferent to edition. Although I would happily run D&D next, I have bowed to the group and still run Encounters in … Continue reading →

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Actions players always take and choices players never make, part 2

Posted on March 11, 2014 by David Hartlage

This post continues a list I started in part 1. Players will not mix and mingle. Adventure authors come from a secret coterie of role players who enter a tavern or a royal ball and then spend the evening mixing and … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Actions players always take and choices players never make, part 1

Posted on March 7, 2014 by David Hartlage

At conventions and in organized play, I’ve served as dungeon master for a lot of adventures from other authors. Every adventure author makes certain guesses about what the players will do. Typically the authors guess pretty well, but sometimes they … Continue reading →

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Why second-edition Dungeons & Dragons dropped thieves and assassins

Posted on February 12, 2014 by David Hartlage

I have only run an evil-themed D&D campaign once, and only because Wizards of the Coast cornered me. They released the Drow Treachery cards and the Menzoberranzan campaign book and promoted the products with the Council of Spiders season of … Continue reading →

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Example: Finding the hidden chambers from Halaster’s Last Apprentice

Posted on December 17, 2012 by David Hartlage

(Part 6 of a series, which begins with Evolution of the skill challenge.) The first D&D Encounters season, Halaster’s Last Apprentice, included a skill challenge that works perfectly within the original conception of the skill challenge rules. “You make a perilous … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice, D&D fourth edition | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Dungeon Master’s Guide 2 remakes the skill challenge

Posted on December 10, 2012 by David Hartlage

(Part 4 of a series, which begins with Evolution of the skill challenge.) Just a year after fourth edition’s debut, the Dungeon Master’s Guide 2 upended the original skill challenge. The new material makes just one specific revision to the original rules: … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice, D&D fourth edition, Role-playing game design | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments