Dungeons and Dragons Adventurer Magazine, a Baker's Dozen

Last time I told you that I'd bought my last issue of Adventurer. However, I needed a new set of dice (a present for my son-in-law) and they had a copy in at the local newsagents. The cover price is close to that of a decent set of dice and I didn't have to wait for delivery.

So here we go, a bonus review.

Sage Advice

We have a second article on time. This discusses how different movement rates affect distance travelled and the differences between fast normal and slow travel.

Curses looks at a few of the ways that characters can become cursed. Given the wide variety of curses in the game, the effects of a curse are glossed over. Importantly it also addresses common ways of removing curses 

Character Creation

This issue introduces a new character, a Dragonborn Barbarian. Last issue we had an introduction to the dragonborn race (though no rules as such) this time we have the standard introductory page on the class and a page each for first and second level features. As is standard, any potential choices have been made for the pre-gen character.

Better Roleplay looks at adding quirks to your character and how different drives can influence how characters interact with the rest of the world. This is good advice, though as a DM I shudder at the thought of every player choosing an 'amusing' character quirk

Lore

We have a page on The Weave, which is where magic comes from in the Forgotten Realms setting and a page looking at the pantheon most commonly used in the Realms. This latter is intended to give players some choices for their characters to follow. It very nicely suggests how characters in a world with many different gods with different portfolios might interact with them.

Freebies

The dice are a nice silver and blue and come with their own dice bag. There are also character sheets for the barbarian at first and second level. As an extra bonus freebie there's a large sheet of card printed with a dungeon floor texture on one side and a plainer texture suitable for outdoor encounters on the other side. This is 21 squares by 25 squares, and is the same thick card as the map in issue two. This is an excellent addition to any DMs equipment, though actually using minis and floorplans has yet to be covered. Personally I'd recommend photocopies to allow a DM to cut out individual rooms or perhaps some form of laminated sheets for using whiteboard or dry erase markers.

Conclusion

This is certainly one of the better issues. The articles continue to gradually roll out the rules, and I've expressed my understanding of that necessity and my frustration already.  That said, there are some good points, such as a character's relationship with multiple gods.

The encounter is another very good one too, more details below.

The extras really make this issue. I'd looked on both Fauxhammer, to see what the freebies were and Hachette's website to try and work out what the articles and encounter were likely to be. None of that mentioned the dice bag or the floor plan.

Encounter Chasing Shadows

As hinted last issue, the party have left Phandalin behind them and are on their way to Neverwinter. 

This encounter gives them the opportunity to foil a nasty little scam which is well presented. Bonus points for suggesting that the villain should try to escape if found out, and there's even mention of including them in future adventures.

Definitely one of the better encounters, and another that I'm going to steal.

Yule's Delight

Season's Greetings in whatever guise you are most comfortable.

If you are a regular reader, many thanks. If you've somehow stumbled on this, welcome, stick around and I hope you like what you see.

And the foxes want to wish you a Happy Violet Night.

Dungeons and Dragons Adventurer Magazine Issue Twelve

Issue twelve marks the start of the second adventure. Apparently there will be seven adventures in total over the eighty issue run.  To mark the new adventure we have a new cover picture. Three of the original pre-gens (the dwarf cleric is missing) accompanied by a dragonborn are in an underground setting. Behind them lurks a beholder.

This is the last issue I intend to buy. I hope I've given the part-work a fair run to base my reviews on, and I wanted to see how the first adventure finished and what the difference was between the first and second adventure. I'll do a final post looking back on the first twelve issues, and perhaps even an extra post giving advice on running the first adventure.

Sage Advice

Sage Advice opens with an article on dice. Seriously, twelve issues in and we are just looking at the dice. If you've been collecting all the issues so far you have ten sets plus an extra d20. There are some suggestions on situations where certain dice are more likely to be used, but on the whole, a bit of a let down.

Then a DM guide to setting atmosphere at the table. Essentially this is a look at lighting, sound effects and music. There are some interesting points here, such as comparing film and video game music, and I'm delighted to discover that the BBC Sound Effects Library is now available online. 

I suggest you take the lighting advice with caution. At my age I need as good a light as possible, especially when reading character sheets and rulebooks. For me that's always going to be more important than setting a particular mood.

Finally a guide to grappling and shoving. This is useful, and I'll be using it for player reference. I do think that this should have been presented earlier though, perhaps in issue one's combat booklet?

Character Creation

Age first with a few suggestions how a character's age might affect their behaviour, and a table listing different species' lifespans and when they are considered adults. 

The Dragonborn article introduces the race as it appears in the Forgotten Realms. The next official pre-gen is going to be a dragonborn barbarian (next issue) so this is a bit of foundation laying.

The Life Domain is next, again a broad overview. Frustratingly it mentions that domains grant special abilities and access to certain spells, but these aren't actually covered.

The Folk Hero background gets a page, and we do get the associated rules as well as guidelines on how to play one.

Lore 

Ghouls get a page. As usual, this is just general history and a few suggestions on where they may be encountered and how they are likely to behave. No stat block, but you won't be surprised when you look at the end of this issue's Encounter.

Freebies

This issue we get another set of dice and a booklet of spells. This gives the rules for all the cantrips and first level spells relevant to the pre-gens. 

This is actually a great idea, though, of course, I'm going to suggest that it should have been included earlier. Presumably we will get more of these to cover other spell levels.

Conclusion

I found many of this issue's articles disappointing. I appreciate that the nature of part works means that there may be times when information needs to be imparted, but it might not be very interesting. Similarly, there are times when information can't be given early enough in the magazine's run, so it seems to come late (such as this issue's article on dice). However, I constantly feel that better page layout (and less artwork) would allow for more information to be presented on each page, allowing more to be covered each issue.

I'm not even sure that some of this issues articles are even needed.  The useful information on age could easily have been included on each race's pages (as it is in the Player's Handbook), and I feel that the dice article is long past being useful.

In terms of the Adventure, I'll address the Encounter below, but I will point out that there's no real difference between many of the Encounters in the first Adventure and the opening Encounter of the second (a basic escort quest). There's no sense of starting something new or different, though the PCs are moving away from the village at the end of the Encounter, heading towards Trentor.

Encounter; Plight of the Roaming Dead

The heroes are tasked with escorting an NPC. On the way they meet a pack of ghouls and have the opportunity to rescue more NPCs.

While there's nothing outstanding here, the Encounter is well constructed.  Once the Encounter is over, the party travels on to Trentor and the next Encounter, so the intention seems to be that they are leaving Phandolin.

The initial NPC is a relative of one the party already knows, so there's some continuity here, helping build relationships with the villagers (shame the PCs are leaving, but perhaps they will be back).

Dungeons and Dragons Adventurer Magazine Issue Eleven

Issue eleven marks the end of the first Adventure and nearly the end of my review series. I plan to get issue twelve to see exactly what the transition to Adventure two is (different area? Level increase? New characters?) and also to get the Magic booklet, which hopefully will be as useful for my players as the combat one was (if a bit late).

Sage Advice

A look at temporary hit points and maximum hit points. 

Useful, as I've certainly known players who got confused over this.

Then articles on Treasure, discussing the many and various forms this can take, and Food and Drink. Although the latter article lists common inn prices there's nothing on cost of living.

Then the DM gets a couple of pages on Monsters. An overview of the different creature types and an explanation of how to read a stat block. 

Interestingly it mentions Challenge, which isn't included in the published stat blocks as the Encounters use milestone advancement.  It's nice that they are explaining how to read stat blocks, hope you didn't struggle too much for the first ten issues.

Character Creation

The only Character Creation page is another Background, the Acolyte. 

Once more filling in the stuff for the pre-gens.

Lore

A look at the city of Yartar and a page on Mummies. 

This is very general background stuff, no stats for the mummies.  I wonder what creature will feature in this issue's Encounter?

Freebies

another dice set and another dice tin.

Conclusion

More stuff on more stuff. I can't argue with the usefulness of it all, but I find myself constantly frustrated with the piecemeal nature of the role out. As an example, I previously knew nothing about the city of Yartar. I now know a bit about the leadership, the fact that the city is associated with piracy and a bit about five notable locations. It sounds interesting and suggests several adventure ideas. However, if I were running a Sword Coast campaign I'd want more, probably starting with a map of the city.

It's great to see more stuff aimed at the DM, but by now the DM's in the group have run eight or more Encounters, and should be able to read a stat block by now. Another example of pages that should have been included earlier in the run.

Encounter Cat's Cradle

Can the adventurers help out at an auction? They act as ushers during the sale and then guard the items overnight.

There are some issues with the Encounter, but I did enjoy it. It should be fun to run. The potential final encounter could be nasty for second level characters, but I bet the players will remember it for a long time.  The events leading up to it are all interesting and entertaining, and help foreshadow the main action.  All in all a superior Encounter.

That's the positives, now a few minor grumbles 

A better map of the location would be useful, as would a more in depth description (neither the map nor the introduction mention the skylights that play an important role in the adventure). Again I'm thinking that a website with downloadable content such as maps and handouts would really improve this series.  Would it cost a lot more to run?  I don't know, but it would certainly improve the usability of the magazine, especially if it included digital maps for virtual table-tops.

I do find Phandolin an odd place to hold such an important auction, and apparently the Miner's Exchange is now the closest place to a town hall in Phandolin, despite there being a mayor, as mentioned in the Queen of Scars Encounter.

Also, the Encounter goals states that the adventurers are to guard or steal the gem. If they do take it for themselves there's no indication of what the repercussions might be, though as this is the last Encounter in the first adventure, perhaps the second one begins with them avoiding justice? Given that Halia, the NPC running the auction, is a member of the Zhentarim, I would think that the adventurers might be facing repercussions if they take it. There is a lot of potential for spin off adventures (sorry, Encounters) here. My favourite idea is if at least one of the party is already affiliated to the Zhentarim. Their superiors might be impressed with the party's cunning and replace Halia with one of them.

It's not really the place of the magazine to cover in detail such fall out, but some hints would be good. Also there is no mention of the value of the Star of Khonsu (the value at auction, 2d10 x 100 GP, is laughably low for the effort put in by everyone involved) nor any magical properties it might have. They actually use a picture of the gem of brightness for the Star, but of course this could be simply reusing artwork (if you decide that the Star is a gem of brightness but don't want the characters to have immediate use of it, it does require command words to activate).

Dungeons and Dragons Adventurer Magazine Issue 10

Issue ten includes the final part of the Deadnock Mine Encounter. I really liked the first half, so I'm excited to read further.

Sage Advice

The second part of the article on movement, this time it covers Crawling, Climbing and Swimming. Jumping, including calculating just how far a character can jump, and a bit on riding, both on a mount and in a vehicle.

NPCs offers useful advice for DMs 

Character Creation

The second part of the article on Equipment, looking at some of the more obscure items and some more ready made packs.

Two more backgrounds, the Sage and the Charlatan covering more of the Pre-gens backgrounds.

Lore

Another area, the Sword Mountains and another faction, the Order of the Gauntlet.

Dice

The dice set this issue issue is a set of small metal dice.  These are great, they a nice weight to them.  

Conclusion

We are getting more part two's of articles, which is useful. Careful examination shows that these are rules and guidelines that weren't really necessary for earlier Encounters, though not in every case (I'd suggest that the NPC article would be useful far earlier for example). 

I have to keep reminding myself that the rather scattergun approach will be ironed out as pages are put into their correct order in folders.

The dice are lovely, probably justifying the issue on their own.  On the other hand the Encounter is not my favourite (see below).

Encounter Deadnock Mine part two

Last issue we left the PCs about to enter the second half of the mine, possibly riding in mine carts. What is waiting further down the line?

There is a large central cavern and several smaller caves containing goblins. These are set up as combat encounters. The main encounter is with the goblins' leader, a Nilbog and his unwilling audience. If they aren't careful, the adventurers may end up participating, so to complete their quest they need to defeat him.

And that it. The main encounter is titled Feywild Grotto, but there is no mention of the strange temporal slip that the dwarves were victims of.  This is a shame, as at a rate of one day equals one month, even an hour in here will have some noticeable effect once the PCs leave the mine.

I found this to be an underwhelming encounter, partly because I felt the first part promised much. There are always going to be bits of published adventures that individual DMs feel could be better or that don't work for their world/players/themselves, but often this is simply due to different groups finding different fun. This time there were so many missed opportunities that I'm

One issue is the lack of space. With just three pages, or six sides, there's always going to be stuff that isn't covered, and improvising mid game is an important skill for any DM. However, the way this Encounter is presented is very wasteful of space. The first side is given over to a lovely picture of some adventurers in a cave. I think this is taken from an already published book as it doesn't feature the Pre-gens. There is a brief summary of part one, which I suppose might be useful if the DM missed issue nine, otherwise, once the pages are snuggled up in an Adventures folder all nicely in order, its irrelevant.

There's a nice bit of original artwork showing the adventurers in a mine cart, emphasising the potential fun there, (and indeed they can use the cart to bypass the first group of goblins on this level) then the rest of the rather dull adventure. 

The stats for the Nilbog take up one a half sides (details of the Nilbog's spells are included, and it's nice to have them ready for use). However, the picture of the creature takes up at least half a side, a smaller picture and slight layout changes could have condensed this to one side. 

Worse to come, the back side is a repeat of the Goblin stat block from the previous issue.  Several of the Encounters have referred back to earlier stat blocks, so its not as if this couldn't have been done here.

There are other issues, such as the lack of details on using the mine cart, how fast does it go?  How easy is it to stop or redirect it?  The Feywild Grotto is described as having glowing crystals, stalagmites and wooden platforms, yet none of these are shown on the map, again, requiring DM improvisation (not in itself a bad idea, but this is supposed to be teaching new DMs, and it's quite important to the running of the adventure).

In conclusion we have a disappointing Encounter that promised much but lacked the space to develop them properly, yet two and a half sides were wasted space. I'm baffled by this, as it makes a potentially great scenario much the poorer.

6mm Fantastic Battles: Dark Elves vs Dwarves

Bodvoc came down for a game of Fantastic Battles, the first outing for both our 6mm armies. We had around 1000 points each; I suspect that we will be adding to them soon.

We played a straight up fight since the armies were new, and I'm very rusty with the rules.

Bodvoc set up the terrain, it was all his as I'm still putting together a 6mm terrain set.

The field of battle. This is prior to rolling for Mishaps, but they were relatively minor, just a few outbreaks of disease resulting in a bit of Resolve loss

1000 points of Naughty Elves 

999 points of Doughty Dwarves 

The Dark Elf skirmishing flank makes for the Avenging Hammer. Both main battle lines advance

The Dark Elves' main battle line advancing

And the Dark Elf skirmishing flank

The Dwarves flawed deployment in two lines

The centaurs have done some damage to the Dark Elf infantry, but the dragon charges them, aided by the lizard riders.

The two hosts start their long drawn out melee

More units join on either side

The Avenging Hammers finally take out the Giant Lizard, seeing this the Scouts flee as well

I didn't take any more photos after this point, but the right hand Dwarven Shieldwall fell to a combination of lizard riders, infantry and witch-elves, and the Dwarven artillery were wiped out by the remaining scout company and accompanying rogue.

Sadly we ran out of time, far too much chatting and looking through my collection of 6mm stuff. 

We called a halt at the end of the fifth turn. The dwarves had lost seven companies to the dark elves' three. I'll willingly concede, though we felt the big melee in the centre could go either way with an extra turn.

Bodvoc certainly handles his army very well, I'm very much getting to grips with mine. For some reason I didn't put my Warlord or a Captain into combat, and when they were in combat, such as the ill-fated captain with the centaurs, I forgot to add their dice, those extra dice would certainly have helped. Both of us managed to get units stuck, blocked by others in front. I deliberately set up in two lines, with my elite behind the 'ordinaries'. Rather than having a tough reserve that swept in just at the critical moment, I ended up trapping my best units, they were too close to manoeuvre around the melee to play any part, so I never got to see how well they could perform.

I suffered some bad luck with dice (six dice needing a 4+, only one hit), and my magic was laughably bad, failing the first three spells. Shieldwall on formed or elites is powerful, and I'm tempted to add it to the City Watch. I do need some sort of annoying skirmish type companies, probably Rangers.  I've also got plans for some ROUS's and eventually the DFC.

So an excellent game, the 6mm stuff looks great, and the rules work well (except Blink - I hate Blink). I'm looking forward to many more.

The Dark Elf version of events is here. 

Dungeons and Dragons Adventurer magazine part 9

Part nine brings us our first new pre-generated character and our first two part Encounter.

Sage Advice 

First we have an overview on movement rates both in encounters and for overland travel.

Senses discusses the different types of 'seeing', from normal vision to Truesight.

The section on Dungeon Adventures gives DM's some issues to consider when running traditional dungeons, such as potential dangers and the different atmosphere for different types of dungeons. There could be more details here, but it's a good start.

Character Creation

This issue is dedicated to the new class, the Bard. To give it the same coverage as the first four classes we have an overview and a page on first level features and one on second level features. As with the first four pre-gens choices have been made where relevant.

Lore 

Another Monsters overview, this time goblins, and an introduction to the Dwarven kingdom of Delzoun.

Freebies

Another set of dice, another dice tin. And character sheets for the gnome bard. There's absolutely nothing wrong with having a few sets of dice, but the magazine over it's run is going to deliver rather a lot of them. If you want an indication of how many, check out Fauxhammer's listing here.

Conclusion

There's nothing to hate here, its pretty much all useful stuff that players and DMs will need (especially if they are running through the Encounters).

I'm becoming used to (and more accepting of) the gradual release of rules and information. There's a very deliberate matching of rules and encounter each issue, though I feel that ultimately the folder or folders of rules will seem bitty and disjointed. Only time will tell.

As the Encounter is actually part one of a two part adventure we don't actually know how good it will be, but the first half is promising.  Details, as ever, after the gap.

Encounter

This issue contains the first half of an extended encounter, Deadknock Mine. The characters are asked to find out why a clan of Dwarven miners have reappeared after having gone missing for months.  The reasoning behind this is neat. I'll definitely be using that one myself.

Otherwise, there's a fairly standard series of encounters with dwarves and goblins, and, since it's a mine, the chance to ride in a mine cart.  I'd have liked to have seen a more pressing reason to ride in the mine cart, such as chasing escaping goblins, or the track spanning a chasm, but it's still fun.

The second half of the encounter is in next week's issue, so lets hope it ends as well as it began.

Dungeons and Dragons Adventurer Issue 8

Sage Advice

This issue looks at Sizes, describing the different size classes in D&D and what effect they have in play. 

We get the second part of the series on spell effects, this time looking at cones, cylinders and lines.

Finally, mounted combat. Not, perhaps, that urgent for second level characters, but it is very relevant for the Encounter later this issue.

Character Creation

Alignment lists the nine (and a half, counting unaligned) alignments, along with the sort of behaviour associated with each one.

Then a section on Tools, explaining how proficiency in tools works in game and listing common tool sets found in Dungeons and Dragons. Tools includes musical instruments, and I've always found D&D's treatment of this hopeless. The prices especially are way out, but that's a problem with the game itself, not the magazine.

Finally the first Profession, Outlander, is detailed.

Lore

The City of Neverwinter is introduced and there is a section on The Lord's Alliance.

Freebies

More dice. I rather like this set and find the red and black design appealing. They are a little difficult to read in low light levels, and I've played in some pretty dingy games shops in the past. I guess I'll have to pack these and last issues glow in the dark dice as well.

Conclusions

Some useful stuff, though I feel that further guidance on actually playing different alignments would be very helpful.  We are seeing a gradual build up of the essential rules for D&D, but I find this 'drip feeding' to be slightly off-putting.

The Encounter really makes this issue worth while though, see below for more details (and spoilers).

Encounter - Fun At The Faire

The characters are invited to a fair held in their honour, giving them a chance to show off, and foil a dastardly plot.  There are four events that the characters can take part in. 

The final event is a tourney (hence the earlier article on mounted combat). The result of this has a significant impact on the politics of Neverwinter, though it's not clear how much that will reflected in future adventures.

Why do I really like this encounter? It gives chances for characters to shine out of combat, and there are more opportunities to mingle with villagers and outsiders. Each event is different (though I'm not convinced by the musical one, it reads as more poetry), and there is no problem if the PCs fail. 

6mm Dwarven Command for Fantastic Battles

It's done.  I've got 1000 points of dwarves ready for Fantastic Battles, and nicely in time too, as Bodvoc and I have scheduled  a battle for Wednesday.

Left to right;  Clan Elder (Captain), King (Warlord), Hero (another Captain) and Runesmith (Magic User)

Now admittedly six of the companies were painted many years ago, and I plan to paint up some more clansdwarves to replace them, but it's good to have a solid core to expand later.

Most of the minis are taken from either the Dwarf or Dark Dwarf command strips.  The king at the front of the Warlord group is a Dark Dwarf character and the chap of the pony is a Dwarf character.

The Runesmith is just one of the dwarves I hacked off a command strip to make one of the other character stands.  His altar is carved from a bit of plastic sprue.  I like the result, though it is a bit large.  I'll be using the same technique if I do any more Runesmiths.

I also painted up a second company of centaur archers.  As these started off unpainted I took the opportunity to cut the strip up a bit more to emphasis their irregular nature.  It's not always possible to do this with the Irregular 6mm strips, but I like the effect when I can.

Where's next for the 6mm Fantastic Battles project?  I'd like to get a second army done to 1000 points, both to give myself some variety and to make it easy to demonstrate the game to potential new players.  I'm also desperately short of appropriate scenery.  I've a few small trees of the 'bottle-brush' variety left over from my earlier forays into 6mm, but they need basing.  I have ideas for a mat of the right size for Fantastic Battles in 6mm (50cm x 75cm), and in the process I think I'll do some hills.  I'm also investigating some suitable buildings, but more on that if and when it seems feasible.  I feel I should get those six companies of clansdwarves done first though to bring the whole army up to the same standard.

Recon Haul

I had a fun look round Recon, the early December Wargaming show in Pudsey. Previously it was run by the Wakefield and District Wargames Club. Now The Pit Gaming Shop runs it. I'm not sure what difference this makes, though I noticed that some of the regular traders were absent.

I went with a very clear list of wants; 6mm scenery for my Fantastic Battles dwarves to fight over, the latest Clash of Kings book, and a pack (or two) of Reaper Bones ghouls/ghasts for my D&D collection.

Well, best laid plans and all that. Still, I came away with some nice Oldhammer stuff, something for the 10mm Fantastic Battles in Middle Earth collection and my son got a great piece of roleplaying scenery.

The classic Citadel Skullchucker, it even includes the pile of skulls, an often lost component

Beast of Nurgle, sadly missing one leg

The Eagles are coming!  10mm 3D prints from Explode the minis

Lovely stagecoach for D&D, and also ideal as an objective for many skirmish games

It was also great to catch up with various gaming friends, and I admired some great looking games.  This Aliens game was probably the best looking, complete with dropship!

In all, a great show, and I had lots of fun.  I bought a realistic amount of stuff for painting, and got some nice out of production minis.

Final regrets?  A couple.  I could have got a classic dwarf organ gun, though it was missing a couple of parts.  It was more expensive than the Skullchucker, and I already have a war machine for Team Good in my Oldhammer project, albeit for elves.  There was also a pack of Black Tree Design orc boar riders, quite Oldhammer in style, but these are not hard to get hold of, and it was the Beast of Nurgle or them.