Diesel DM

There is not shortage of posts on the internet talking about how to make 4e combats shorter.  You can find everything from detailed analysis of the Penny Arcade combats to tips for speeding up combat.  To me the faster 4e combat topic breaks down into two separate issues: one is dependent on the game and the actual rules of combat, two is dependent on the players and DM.  Before we get too deep let’s define “speed” of combat: this is the time from rolling first initiatives until the combat has concluded, either with everyone on one side dying or an early out being taken which ends combat.  What I cannot define is “fast” vs “slow” combat.  This is entirely in the eyes of the beholders (pun intended).  What may seem like a fast combat for a beginning group of players may be too slow for an experienced group.  And a highly social group may take much longer to progress through a combat but not care because they all had a good time regardless of speed.

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The only mistake you can make with this book is not buying it soon enough. When I first started DMing my own ongoing campaign I came across this book and thought “I’ll wait until I know what I’m doing before I purchase it.” Instead, I should have bought this book while I was figuring out what I was doing. There are many points made in this book that I struggled with early on. Sly Flourish’s book, as its name suggests, doesn’t replace the DMG or try to abridge it, this book augments it, especially if you’re new to running the game.

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The announcement that Wizards of the Coast was discontinuing their line of pre-painted minis really came as a shock.  WotC had just released Lords of Madness, with much bragging of their new computerized sculpting system that allowed them to make better more intricate minis than ever before.  And then quietly, almost a footnote in the monthly updates, Wizards announced no more miniatures.  Their official reasoning was the failing economy and something about prices in China.  WotC, for those unfamiliar, is a subsidiary of Hasbro.  Hasbro is one of the largest toy makers in the world.  Among Hasbro’s more popular toys are Star Wars, GI Joes and Transformers.  I find it inconceivable that with the plastic making abilities Hasbro has at its disposal, that WotC couldn’t figure out how to sell a box of 6 plastic miniatures for $22.  Now that I’ve had some time to reflect on all this, I’m prepared to write a post that isn’t full of inane gibbering and name calling.

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Wrath of PAX

The most fun I had at PAX East 2011 was playing Wrath of Ashardalon (WoA).  That’s a huge statement to make considering PAX was a giant geek-playground stocked with more board games and table top games than I imagined existed.  I was lucky enough to get in on a Wizards of the Coast (WotC) sponsored WoA game.  Wrath of Ashardalon is for 1-5 players, and with a lengthy queue forming, Wizards of the Coast was getting five in for every game.  As first in line I was picked first along with three guys who knew each other and one more person in line who was also by themselves. (Helpful Hint: At PAX you can sometimes skip part of the queue if you’re by yourself and they just need one more to fill out a group.)

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