All Entries in the "4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons" Category
The One Thing 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons Does Better Than Pathfinder (Or “You’re Saying That Wrong, Part 2″)
No matter what the critics say, no matter what views people enforce, when you strip the opinions and the judgments, there’s one thing no one can deny that Wizards of the Coast did better with 4th Edition D&D than Paizo did with Pathfinder. That’s my cliffhanger, now to step back. Last week, I was interviewed [...]
Questioning Piracy, Part 3 – The 1 Per 5 Rule
Third Party Companies are justified in getting a little sensitive about the topic of copyright and piracy, regardless of the details of legality. When Amethyst was criticized on RPGNet (not relating to this topic), I held my hat in my hand to be civil. It resulted in more fans and my hardest critic becoming my [...]
Questioning Piracy, Part 2 – The Curtain of Profit
(These series of articles involve quotes from posts on a forum website that distributed copyrighted material. With certain exceptions, names and website addresses have been withheld) When I was younger, I started a webpage where I would post my own homebrew role playing games, of which Amethyst was a sophomore member. I had a donation [...]
Review – Crime Pays: A Godfather’s Grimoire by Goodman Games
When I sat down to read Crime Pays: A Godfather’s Grimoire by Goodman Games I was extremely shocked! And, in a very good way! I was expecting a DM resource to bring the Medieval Mafia down on your unsuspecting PCs. And of course, it does this very well. There are 60 new stat blocks with [...]
Paper vs. Pixels. Part 1: Why I don’t play World of Warcraft
Despite his love of books, Aiden indulged in the occasional video game. Most of them were Martin’s—guns, robots, and tanks vaporizing whatever monsters moved before the reticule. Aiden favored sword-wielding and spellcraft, but those games were difficult to find. His mother located one as freeware from a seldom-surfed website. His warrior dodged and flipped in [...]
Open Letter to WOTC Follow-Up: Repercussions of an Open Mouth
In the Aftermath of the Wizard’s Letter Holy Crap… What else can I say? The letter posted two weeks ago took a life of its own. I was hoping it would have an impact, but I had no idea it would do this. Let me explain, or as Montoya would say, let me sum up. [...]
AN OPEN LETTER TO WOTC: SAVE 3RD PARTY DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS PUBLISHERS
This is an open letter to Wizards of the Coast in a bid to stave off the flight of GSL companies and promote an atmosphere of mutualism to better all parties. Dear Wizards: I’ll attempt to word this letter in a fashion that promotes compromise and expresses my understanding of the situation. It starts with [...]
Adapting to the Adaption
How does one adapt to a game that is constantly changing? Let’s look at what’s better–a single revision or numerous updates. I’ve spoken at length about the differing atmosphere that has gravitated around 4th Edition D&D compared to its predecessor. There is an increased intolerance with deviating from accepted D&D principles. Knee-jerk reactions from certain [...]
You’re Saying That Wrong
If you think conforming to the GSL is hard. Try conforming to 4th Edition D&D’s vocabulary. On numerous occasions I’ve been asked about what is the most difficult aspect of writing 4th Edition. I offered a few general answers from ensuring that all the powers balance with each other to adapting Amethyst to the evolving [...]