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Post by wyvern on Jul 3, 2014 12:49:26 GMT -9
Well, I can't imagine there'll be many folks here who won't already know that D&D's fifth (or 40th anniversary) edition releases over the next few months, but I thought it might be worth providing a link to the free 100-page PDF Basic Rules, released today (2014 July 3). These are set to be updated in-line with Wizards of the Coast's release schedule for the three core rulebooks and the first batch of scenario/campaign packages through to the end of this year, and will continue as a free download, according to the Wizards' publicity. Naturally, these are cut-down versions of the main rules, and don't have all the pretty artwork, but equally, they don't cost $150 (the combined price for all three core rulebooks when they appear, bar a couple of cents), so at this price, they've got to be worth a look at least! D&D stirs a lot of emotions for some people, I know, some good, some less so, and while I haven't played it in decades, it's where I began in RPGs 38 years back, because back then it was virtually the only RPG! So, I have a long-standing fondness for it, even in its clunky original form (we didn't see it that way; pretty well everyone who played made up and rewrote wargaming rules all the time back then, so it was pretty well expected you'd have to make at least some tweaks to any bought set of rules). And I'm quite looking forward to seeing how this revamped incarnation has turned out. Even if I may never play it
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Post by WackyAnne on Jul 3, 2014 16:23:10 GMT -9
Thanks for the reminder, wyvern! My copy of the starter box doesn't come until the full release date, so I'd almost forgot to check for the Basic Rules so soon.
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Post by gilius on Jul 3, 2014 18:06:55 GMT -9
Interesting. I will have to take a look before I say anything.
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Post by wyvern on Jul 4, 2014 4:08:48 GMT -9
WackyAnne: I gather some copies of the Starter Set were released to a few select stores yesterday too, but of course the official release date isn't till the 15th. You can find some Starter Set teaser extracts among the Daily D&D news releases if you can't wait though After a skim through the Basic Rules, I could be tempted by the main rulebooks I think, probably after checking them out in the games store first. It's that anniversary thing...
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Post by kane on Jul 4, 2014 10:44:09 GMT -9
Gotta say,I was not sold during the test period, but the final game has some great ideas. Feats being an optional system is certainly welcome since I know a lot of people who would rather avoid that level of crunch. Very plug and play and easy to adapt new systems into. Tactical combat ala 3rd and 4th seem entirely optional now. Definitely going to keep reading. Got the Basic Set myself and it's mostly the adventure book! Impressive.
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Post by WackyAnne on Jul 4, 2014 21:05:37 GMT -9
WackyAnne: I gather some copies of the Starter Set were released to a few select stores yesterday too, but of course the official release date isn't till the 15th. You can find some Starter Set teaser extracts among the Daily D&D news releases if you can't wait though After a skim through the Basic Rules, I could be tempted by the main rulebooks I think, probably after checking them out in the games store first. It's that anniversary thing... Oy! Another reply eaten by the system... I pre-ordered my copy of the starter set at my FLC&GS, Strange Adventures instead of at the WotC-linked LGS, Gamezilla. The answer to why is in the "F" - better experience @ Strange Adventures, friendlier people, one of their employees is the Pathfinder Society Venture Lieutenant for the province, they supported Free RPG Day again this year (the day I chose for pre-ordering the Starter Set), and their prices are US MSRP. Gamezilla, on the other hand, is overwhelmingly MTG, WH40K, and assorted anime stuff, skipped FRPGD2014, and charge ~25% more for their books (they also don't mark their prices, so you find out at the cash). So, I'll be waiting a little longer, for my Starter Set... but I may pick up a second copy at Gamezilla because it looks like they will be running Encounters/Adventurers League...
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Post by wyvern on Jul 5, 2014 4:05:45 GMT -9
Oy! Another reply eaten by the system... I've tried to get round this by copying any longer replies as I'm going along (but you have to remember - psychically - to do that just BEFORE the system decides it can't cope any more, of course). However, a couple of replies using the full "Reply" button have been magically saved by the system when I've accidentally cut away from the page in recent times - to check web-links in both cases, stupidly without opening a fresh window - which was really helpful, and unexpected. Commonly, I remember to save a reply just after I've hit "Create Post", which is a little late... Back to topic. After a more thorough read through of the downloaded Basic Rules now, I think indeed it might be fun to give this version of D&D a try. It's brought back so many memories of earlier days! And nice to see things haven't changed dramatically in the interim - spells and much of the systems, for instance - but with enough tweaks and new extras to add interest, or more options, and clear up some of the many vaguer areas from the past. It'll also be the first D&D since first edition "Advanced", where I'll have been in at the launch, so I'm quite keen to see how things progress and develop.
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Post by wyvern on Aug 9, 2014 4:25:04 GMT -9
Although not technically part of the free Basic Rules set, Wizards of the Coast have now made available free PDF downloads (including a printer-friendly version) of the stats and descriptions for the monsters - about 60 of them - spells - 20-odd - and dozen magic items to be featured in the forthcoming "Hoard of The Dragon Queen" adventure supplement, due for general release on August 19th, along with the new 5th edition "Player's Handbook". Like the Basic Rules, there are no pretty pictures, just the game details and numbers, enough to be useful, and to whet appetites of those keen to follow D&D's latest incarnation, certainly! You can find links to both versions of the PDF via the Hoard of the Dragon Queen product page on the Wizards website.
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Post by WackyAnne on Aug 10, 2014 19:09:14 GMT -9
WackyAnne: I gather some copies of the Starter Set were released to a few select stores yesterday too, but of course the official release date isn't till the 15th. You can find some Starter Set teaser extracts among the Daily D&D news releases if you can't wait though After a skim through the Basic Rules, I could be tempted by the main rulebooks I think, probably after checking them out in the games store first. It's that anniversary thing... Oy! Another reply eaten by the system... I pre-ordered my copy of the starter set at my FLC&GS, Strange Adventures instead of at the WotC-linked LGS, Gamezilla. The answer to why is in the "F" - better experience @ Strange Adventures, friendlier people, one of their employees is the Pathfinder Society Venture Lieutenant for the province, they supported Free RPG Day again this year (the day I chose for pre-ordering the Starter Set), and their prices are US MSRP. Gamezilla, on the other hand, is overwhelmingly MTG, WH40K, and assorted anime stuff, skipped FRPGD2014, and charge ~25% more for their books (they also don't mark their prices, so you find out at the cash). So, I'll be waiting a little longer, for my Starter Set... but I may pick up a second copy at Gamezilla because it looks like they will be running Encounters/Adventurers League... Wow, what a difference a month makes. Since just before that post, I've been playing twice a week at Gamezilla, finishing up Dead in Thay (using play test rules, at level 7-8) with the existing crowd, and playing in the Starter Box adventure on Mondays. Having a blast, and now that we've taken a week or two break while our organizer DM heads down to attempt a few TPKs at GenCon I'll finally get a chance to really read the rules. Picked up the Players Handbook from the store to support them for having a great place to play every week for free. It was 15% off for pre-ordering it there; so passed up Amazon.ca & Chapters.ca 50% special.
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Post by wyvern on Aug 14, 2014 10:19:28 GMT -9
Another free item for D&D 5th released this week is a PDF with a couple of pages from the forthcoming Monster Manual (due for general release on September 30th), featuring the Sphinx, so you can get a taster of the page appearance, this creature's description and game stats, and some of the artwork, though the quality of the latter on the PDF isn't the very highest - it is a "buy me, buy me" freebie, after all There's a link to the PDF at the end of this page of the Wizard's website (button marked "THE SPHINX/ANDROSPHINX"), which page includes some more sketches of the two main Sphinx varieties, plus a link to artist Brynn Metheney's website - she also did the Owlbear in the Starter Set; check her blog pages for that - which is worth a visit in its own right. I think my favourite piece is the "Elegant Lady Concept", which might not be quite what you'd expect from this title
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Post by WackyAnne on Aug 14, 2014 20:52:59 GMT -9
Free Basic releases now include an update of the first PDF (now called the Player's D&D Basic Rules). See below for the additions made. Also released for free are the Dungeon Master's D&D Basic Rules, which include a few monsters, tips on how to prepare balanced encounters, etc. They can be both be found here: dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrulesI skimmed through both current and original Basic Rules releases, compared them, and here are the only significant differences I’ve found (insignificant changes were the shuffling around of some tables, and a font change in one place). Additions: Background: noble (p40, BRPv.02) Wizard Spells | Cantrips (0 Level) | Acid Splash p82, 83 Wizard Spells | 3rd Level | Counterspell p82, p86 Appendix B: Gods of the Multiverse p107-108 Appendix C: The Five Factions p109-111 That should save you some time, some frustration, and some paper
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Post by wyvern on Aug 22, 2014 1:06:00 GMT -9
Checking up on the latest free items on the Wizards' website this week, I noticed there's now a Change Log feature on the Basic Rules homepage, just above the download links, which highlights what's new in the latest version of the free rules. It's pretty much what WackyAnne already noted (except the D&D website doesn't give page numbers or quite as much detail), plus four extra spells, Disguise Self, Poison Spray, Shatter, and Wall of Fire, and some legalese to allow repro of the document for personal use (oops!). The free monsters & magic PDF download I mentioned above on August 9th for the Hoard of the Dragon Queen adventure supplement turns out to be essential for running that game, because none of the monsters are statted in the adventure book, which is a little irritating, though it's difficult to be too harsh given the download is a freebie, even if it would need printing out to run a game with, or operating a PDF-reading Electronic Marvel while you're doing so. Part of the problem in having a staggered release of the three core rule books, presumably. There's also a new single page Monster Manual teaser, as a free download PDF, on the Bone Devil (link at the page end again). Not as good as last week's Sphinx effort, as it's just the page with a low-res version of the illustration and stat blocks, not the description, plus the webpage mentions the artist, but doesn't provide a link to his other work. Maybe a little rushed because of GenCon?
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Post by WackyAnne on Aug 22, 2014 7:04:33 GMT -9
They were going to release a special preview of the flumph, but somebody (contrary to WotC's expressed wishes beforehand) uploaded a pic of the page to twitter :/
On the plus side, I discovered excellent free paper minis (full front and back art) for the flumph and other classic D&D monsters on Prodigy Duck's deviantArt page. (He also did ones for the full cast of characters of both The Guild and Acquisitions Inc.)
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Post by wyvern on Aug 23, 2014 5:14:32 GMT -9
They were going to release a special preview of the flumph, but somebody (contrary to WotC's expressed wishes beforehand) uploaded a pic of the page to twitter :/ Hadn't realised that. Disappointing, but sadly typical of what happens on the Internet. On the plus side, I discovered excellent free paper minis (full front and back art) for the flumph and other classic D&D monsters on Prodigy Duck's deviantArt page. (He also did ones for the full cast of characters of both The Guild and Acquisitions Inc.) There are some really excellent A-frame standees on Prodigy Duck's pages. Loved the Executioner's Hood and the Wolf In Sheep's Clothing especially!
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Post by wyvern on Sept 16, 2014 1:33:59 GMT -9
Latest news from WotC is the 5th edition DM's Guide release date has been set back to December 9th (Nov 28 for those stores in the early release programme) from Nov 18th. The Monster Manual is still scheduled for general release on Sep 30th, however. Presumably, this delay will also put back the likely release of the later/final updates for the free Basic Rules PDF available online, though there's no comment about that as yet if so.
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Post by WackyAnne on Sept 16, 2014 7:34:55 GMT -9
There is also talk of upcoming conversion guides for various editions of D&D into 5th - I am very excited for these! I hope to convert the original Ravenloft module, as that was my first RPG experience, c. 1986-88.
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Post by wyvern on Sept 17, 2014 0:35:34 GMT -9
I missed the original Ravenloft, having drifted away from D&D by the early '80s, but I did pick up the boxed set for the Ravenloft campaign setting in 1990, as I was so impressed by the ideas and the box of goodies - books, maps, cards, monster file pages, etc. However, I have got a PDF copy of the original module now too, thanks to the scanned reissues via OneBookShelf. I only wished they'd been able to correct the minor errors in it before it was redone, but I suppose without electronic files of the original texts and maps, that would have been a huge amount of extra work. If Ravenloft's your thing though, you might like to check out Jason Thompson's forthcoming 18 inch by 36 inch printed poster Ravenloft Walkthrough map, due to start shipping sometime this month according to his Mockman website, via WotC, though I haven't seen anything about this on the Wizards' website still. (Mind you, I'm not too impressed with the new Wizards website generally, as it seems less easy to navigate, and has a lot less stuff on it, than their older one.) The map's $30, but it, and the others Jason's been working on, look wonderful, if his style appeals. First came across his art some years ago, in his comic strip version of Lovecraft's "Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath". His "blank" Everyman character for Randolph Carter struck me then as such a clever idea, and I think it works well in this case too.
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Post by mahotsukai on Sept 17, 2014 8:37:03 GMT -9
Yeah I played The original Ravenloft Scenario. Quite good, you could take an eighth level character and finish the adventure with enough XP to make 5th level.
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Post by aleks on Sept 22, 2014 23:59:06 GMT -9
Thank you for the link... it remind me my first RPG play, early '90... such a nostalgia effect!
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Post by wyvern on Oct 3, 2014 11:49:23 GMT -9
So, the 5th edition Monster Manual went on general release this week (Sep 30th), and I managed to pick up a copy on October 1st - the last in either of my only two local-ish games stores! That's impressive, even allowing for the fact one of the shops had it in earlier, being among the advance-release stores. Monsters are ever-popular, of course! Also in WotC news this week, close on the heels of the announced delay to the 5th edition DM's Guide, they've now also put back the publication date for the second part of the inaugural adventure package. So while you can still pick up copies of the first part, Hoard of the Dragon Queen (assuming someone hasn't had the last copy ahead of you, anyway!), The Rise of Tiamat won't now be on general release until November 4th (or Oct 24th for stores in the early release programme). Apparently, this was down to quality issues with the test printed version, which if correct, makes sense, and is another plus-point for Wizards and this 5th edition D&D roll-out overall. Again, not sure how, or if, this may affect/delay updates to the free Basic Rules package, but you can now download a free PDF page with the new magic items from The Rise of Tiamat via the linked news page above, for those desperate for any advance news from it You can also download another free three-page PDF with a listing of Monsters by Challenge Rating (CR) from the Manual via the MM webpage on the Wizards' site. Note this listing isn't in the Monster Manual otherwise (maybe due in the DMG?).
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