The Inside Scoop on Gaming

There's been quite a few reviews of the new 3rd edition books but I wanted to do something a bit different. I resisted the urge to post my thoughts right away and instead began a campaign using the new rules without any house rules or modifications. The group I gathered was composed of four people who hadn't touched the game in a decade, one who preferred 1st edition, and one who was an exclusive D&D player who was psyched about the new edition. Everyone here, with a single exception, has been role-playing for 15+ years. We've been playing now for three monthes and I think it is time to share what we think and our experiences.

Character generation was as fun as it gets. There were a lot of options which did slow things down as people fought with which direction to go, but there was no disappointment at a lack of flexibility. The main problem was poor organization of the information in the Players Guide. For the simplicity of the system, it just could have been presented in a clearer manner. The layout and fonts are great, but the decisions on what order and where things go was lacking, we felt, in a few spots. However, it should be noted that all the information was there we needed, it just sometimes took a few moments to find it. Proliferation of charts made this easier.

I was impressed at how compelling some of the class and race options had become. Humans seemed to be really choice and five of the six players chose to go with them. The last chose a gnome, which also had been reworked and had some really interesting perks which she took advantage of by giving the character the Alchemy skill. In the end we had a good spread: a fighter, a ranger, a rogue, a druid, a cleric, and the gnome bard. The rogue intends to multiclass into cleric at some point (when he feels his faith is strong enough) and the bard has just picked up illusionist as her fifth level. Everyone else is too enamoured with the high level powers of their first class to switch out, a testament to how well they've managed to balance the options available.

Just because I was anxious to try out the combat stuff, I arranged for a fight in the first session. Close quarters combat against orcs. As is my habit, I stacked the odds against the party in order to provide a challenge and they lived up to it. Combat went fast. The new initiative system saves a lot of rolling and keeps things neat and orderly as far as what happens when and I think it was very strongly demonstrated that a high init rolls only really helps you in the very beginning of the fight. The only two areas of concern were having a clear idea of battle layout (after a few sessions, I bought a white board and easel) due to the extensive rules regarding positioning and grasping the intricacies of the attack of opportunity (which the rest of the group let me worry about and trusted my judgements).

I really liked the options for monster creation, I must say. The group of orcs they were trying to clear from the keep had an adept, two warriors, and a wererat-orc that gave them a good run for their money. The adept in particular was a major bother. He escaped and then harried them with the wererat-orc as they tried to recover enough to clear out the rest of the keep. Out of spite, though, they killed and ate his familiar. As the game has progressed, I've tried out a bunch of templates and 'pumping' options and have been happy with them all. I am still annoyed that they got lucky with a 'hold person' spell and were able to (barely) defeat my half-fiend fighter/blackguard, but these things happen.

One impediment to combat has been keeping track of the various bonuses and penalties. The sheets have been found to be a bit confusing to a few of the players and tracking the modifiers has prompted us to start writing them on the white board, especially when we have the bard singing and the cleric casting Aid and Protection from Evil. Also, it can be tough remembering feats, particularly for me. About half of the folks they've been fighting have been classed humanoids and I have gone over notes after combat only to slap myself for forgetting some neat feat or skill I gave a guy and forgot about, in the hussle.

Treasure was quick and easy to do, though it took me a bit to figure out how I wanted to go about it. Rather than randomly rolling, I opted instead to just assign equipment, money, and magic items according to the monetary equivalents offered and that worked out well. Splitting magic items into minor, medium, and major was very helpful and let me keep the power level of the group reasonable very easily. I also like the inclusion of 'mundane items' as treasure. It lets the party get cool stuff without inundating them with magic items.

Advancement is fast. This should be noted. The party has been gaining a new level every other four hour session since the game started. Granted, I really pack the game with encounters, but this is still pretty rapid. However, it hasn't unbalanced things at all. The progression is smooth, with no big jumps, and with the ease of doling out appropriately powered magic items, it has been easy to up the ante each time they get more powerful. Also, the group seems really happy with the rate of advancement and with the smoothness of it. So far there has only been one level (the latest, 5) that has been sort of sparse as far as getting stuff. They really feel like they are making progress and getting more competant and I enjoy being able to throw bigger and badder challenges at them. At this rate, though, they are likely to be in the 15th+ territory by the end of the campaign. I'm not entirely unhappy with the prospect, though, as the epic scale of the game is going to really take advantage of that.

On that topic, the Challenge Rating/Encounter Level method of matching characters to monsters and determining xp is actually nice. It is easy to use and apply and seems to have consistant results. Since this party is 150% the size of the basic assumed party, I've been compensating by throwing stuff at them on the high side of what the books suggest (usually a CR of 2-3 higher than their level) and this has worked out fine. They've had some really close fights, but we have yet to lose anyone (not for lack of trying, though, I'm a right bastard as a DM). I would, however, have preferred if there was a set number of xp per level and the xp rewards were based simply on CR relative to party level. I see little reason to add the complication of upping the xp required per level and the xp rewards, particularly since they've stated that it is meant to keep a consistant 13 encounters per level advancement. I assume it is because of the xp costs of magic item creation and casting certain spells, but I would have rather they'd kept it simpler.

Skills have seen a lot of use. We have one fighter who is really into using his Jump skill in battle and it has been very cinematic and he's having a ball. The ranger, of course, is getting a lot of use out of Wilderness Lore and our bard has been having fun with Perform and has gotten some use out of her Alchemy and Spellcraft skills. Spot, Search, Listen, and Ride have played a big role, too. They integrate very nicely and are simple to use. The consistant die mechanic is more convenient than I can express.

The last really nice thing I'd like to note is the consistancy and clarity of the rules. They've really put a lot of effort to make sure things work in a self-consistant manner and that terminology is very precise. Spontaneous casting, for example, lets you substitute cure spells for ones taking up slots. Which spells are 'cure' spells, you ask? Those with the name 'cure' in the title. Thus, Remove Disease isn't a cure spell, because it isn't called Cure Disease. This sort of attention to detail is nice. Also, having all the monster powers work the same is great. I only need to check one place to see how Etherealness or Poison works.

All told, we have had a lot of fun. It runs smooth, fast, and with a minimum of fuss. As the DM, I have had a great time making up scenarios and encounters. The options available make it so much more fun than before. Instead of just throwing a group of orcs, I can add classes to some, assign feats and skills, and buy them equipment keeping with their level. The rules for environmental effects have been a joy to use (the group's trip through the arctic mountain pass was a challenge in itself, between the freezing winds and finding food and water for themselves and their mounts) and every time I delve into the magic item section I find new gems.

The main downsides have been those indicative to the D&D line and the style of play. The modifiers and variables in combat can get a bit thick, but they've done everything possible to make them as easy to manage and painless to apply. I don't think it could be designed much better without losing the D&D-ness of the system. Some of the book layout is a bit tough to use, which can make looking things up tough at first, but once you get the hang of where stuff is, it is pretty easy to find on the fly.

I'm giving the line a 4 in Style, detracting a point for the layout choices, and a 5 for Substance.

3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons Eric Christian Berg
Item type: RPG Product Name: 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons Author: Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Johnathan Tweet Company/Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Line: Dungeons & Dragons SKU: n/a Cost: n/a Page count: n/a ISBN: n/a Ratings: Style 4 (Classy and well done) Substance 5 (Excellent!) Review type: Playtest Review	There's been quite a few reviews of the new 3rd edition books but I wanted to do something a bit different. I resisted the urge to post my thoughts right away and instead began a campaign using the new rules without any house rules or modifications. The group I gathered was composed of four people who hadn't touched the game in a decade, one who preferred 1st edition, and one who was an exclusive D&D player who was psyched about the new edition. Everyone here, with a single exception, has been role-playing for 15+ years. We've been playing now for three monthes and I think it is time to share what we think and our experiences. Character generation was as fun as it gets. There were a lot of options which did slow things down as people fought with which direction to go, but there was no disappointment at a lack of flexibility. The main problem was poor organization of the information in the Players Guide. For the simplicity of the system, it just could have been presented in a clearer manner. The layout and fonts are great, but the decisions on what order and where things go was lacking, we felt, in a few spots. However, it should be noted that all the information was there we needed, it just sometimes took a few moments to find it. Proliferation of charts made this easier. I was impressed at how compelling some of the class and race options had become. Humans seemed to be really choice and five of the six players chose to go with them. The last chose a gnome, which also had been reworked and had some really interesting perks which she took advantage of by giving the character the Alchemy skill. In the end we had a good spread: a fighter, a ranger, a rogue, a druid, a cleric, and the gnome bard. The rogue intends to multiclass into cleric at some point (when he feels his faith is strong enough) and the bard has just picked up illusionist as her fifth level. Everyone else is too enamoured with the high level powers of their first class to switch out, a testament to how well they've managed to balance the options available. Just because I was anxious to try out the combat stuff, I arranged for a fight in the first session. Close quarters combat against orcs. As is my habit, I stacked the odds against the party in order to provide a challenge and they lived up to it. Combat went fast. The new initiative system saves a lot of rolling and keeps things neat and orderly as far as what happens when and I think it was very strongly demonstrated that a high init rolls only really helps you in the very beginning of the fight. The only two areas of concern were having a clear idea of battle layout (after a few sessions, I bought a white board and easel) due to the extensive rules regarding positioning and grasping the intricacies of the attack of opportunity (which the rest of the group let me worry about and trusted my judgements). I really liked the options for monster creation, I must say. The group of orcs they were trying to clear from the keep had an adept, two warriors, and a wererat-orc that gave them a good run for their money. The adept in particular was a major bother. He escaped and then harried them with the wererat-orc as they tried to recover enough to clear out the rest of the keep. Out of spite, though, they killed and ate his familiar. As the game has progressed, I've tried out a bunch of templates and 'pumping' options and have been happy with them all. I am still annoyed that they got lucky with a 'hold person' spell and were able to (barely) defeat my half-fiend fighter/blackguard, but these things happen. One impediment to combat has been keeping track of the various bonuses and penalties. The sheets have been found to be a bit confusing to a few of the players and tracking the modifiers has prompted us to start writing them on the white board, especially when we have the bard singing and the cleric casting Aid and Protection from Evil. Also, it can be tough remembering feats, particularly for me. About half of the folks they've been fighting have been classed humanoids and I have gone over notes after combat only to slap myself for forgetting some neat feat or skill I gave a guy and forgot about, in the hussle. Treasure was quick and easy to do, though it took me a bit to figure out how I wanted to go about it. Rather than randomly rolling, I opted instead to just assign equipment, money, and magic items according to the monetary equivalents offered and that worked out well. Splitting magic items into minor, medium, and major was very helpful and let me keep the power level of the group reasonable very easily. I also like the inclusion of 'mundane items' as treasure. It lets the party get cool stuff without inundating them with magic items. Advancement is fast. This should be noted. The party has been gaining a new level every other four hour session since the game started. Granted, I really pack the game with encounters, but this is still pretty rapid. However, it hasn't unbalanced things at all. The progression is smooth, with no big jumps, and with the ease of doling out appropriately powered magic items, it has been easy to up the ante each time they get more powerful. Also, the group seems really happy with the rate of advancement and with the smoothness of it. So far there has only been one level (the latest, 5) that has been sort of sparse as far as getting stuff. They really feel like they are making progress and getting more competant and I enjoy being able to throw bigger and badder challenges at them. At this rate, though, they are likely to be in the 15th+ territory by the end of the campaign. I'm not entirely unhappy with the prospect, though, as the epic scale of the game is going to really take advantage of that. On that topic, the Challenge Rating/Encounter Level method of matching characters to monsters and determining xp is actually nice. It is easy to use and apply and seems to have consistant results. Since this party is 150% the size of the basic assumed party, I've been compensating by throwing stuff at them on the high side of what the books suggest (usually a CR of 2-3 higher than their level) and this has worked out fine. They've had some really close fights, but we have yet to lose anyone (not for lack of trying, though, I'm a right bastard as a DM). I would, however, have preferred if there was a set number of xp per level and the xp rewards were based simply on CR relative to party level. I see little reason to add the complication of upping the xp required per level and the xp rewards, particularly since they've stated that it is meant to keep a consistant 13 encounters per level advancement. I assume it is because of the xp costs of magic item creation and casting certain spells, but I would have rather they'd kept it simpler. Skills have seen a lot of use. We have one fighter who is really into using his Jump skill in battle and it has been very cinematic and he's having a ball. The ranger, of course, is getting a lot of use out of Wilderness Lore and our bard has been having fun with Perform and has gotten some use out of her Alchemy and Spellcraft skills. Spot, Search, Listen, and Ride have played a big role, too. They integrate very nicely and are simple to use. The consistant die mechanic is more convenient than I can express. The last really nice thing I'd like to note is the consistancy and clarity of the rules. They've really put a lot of effort to make sure things work in a self-consistant manner and that terminology is very precise. Spontaneous casting, for example, lets you substitute cure spells for ones taking up slots. Which spells are 'cure' spells, you ask? Those with the name 'cure' in the title. Thus, Remove Disease isn't a cure spell, because it isn't called Cure Disease. This sort of attention to detail is nice. Also, having all the monster powers work the same is great. I only need to check one place to see how Etherealness or Poison works. All told, we have had a lot of fun. It runs smooth, fast, and with a minimum of fuss. As the DM, I have had a great time making up scenarios and encounters. The options available make it so much more fun than before. Instead of just throwing a group of orcs, I can add classes to some, assign feats and skills, and buy them equipment keeping with their level. The rules for environmental effects have been a joy to use (the group's trip through the arctic mountain pass was a challenge in itself, between the freezing winds and finding food and water for themselves and their mounts) and every time I delve into the magic item section I find new gems. The main downsides have been those indicative to the D&D line and the style of play. The modifiers and variables in combat can get a bit thick, but they've done everything possible to make them as easy to manage and painless to apply. I don't think it could be designed much better without losing the D&D-ness of the system. Some of the book layout is a bit tough to use, which can make looking things up tough at first, but once you get the hang of where stuff is, it is pretty easy to find on the fly. I'm giving the line a 4 in Style, detracting a point for the layout choices, and a 5 for Substance.

3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons