THE ART OF THE "RED BOX"

It's not secret that I'm in love with Larry Elmore's artwork, especially his cover to the classic Dungeons & Dragons "red box," but there's an alternate "red box" cover out there that I think deserves as much respect as the original Elmore design.

When WOTC decided to update the original 1983 basic set as part of their new Essentials line, I was excited because it was the first time in many, many years that the classic Elmore print I so loved would be back on store shelves, but when I opened the box, I was surprised to see that Elmore's artwork no longer donned the actual books! What greeted me was a new print by Ralph Horsley that paid homage to the Elmore classic. I was a little ticked off at first, but as I studied the artwork I became more and more enamored over it. The print not only pays homage to the original Elmore classic, it takes the idea of a single man battling a force of great evil and presents it to a new generation. I think that is why I have always loved this particular image, it, to me, showcases what DnD is all about: a lowly adventurer overcoming great odds.

GEN CON 2011 THOUGHTS

No, sadly, I wasn't able to attend Gen Con this year...or any year, for that matter...but I have been following its coverage on Twitter and some of the announcements Wizards of the Coast made gave me inspiration to type up this post.

One of the major things that caught my attention was the announcement of the player classes forHeroes of the Feywild, a book I've been excited about since its announcement last year. WOTC announced that the Satyr (that's right, an f'ing Satyr!), Pixie, and Hamadryad will be playable classes. One of them, they admitted, would be able to fly at 1st level...which I'm assuming will be the Pixie. In addition to the new classes, WOTC also announced a new Barbarian build (that goes from Defender to striker while raging), a new Bard build (a Skald type build), and several new Druid builds. Damn. My excitement level for this book just went from about 9 (out of 10) to about...oh, 20 or so.

Another bit of news that touched my fancy was some more information on the super-adventure Madness at Gardmore Abbey. WOTC announced that it would be an "open-ended," "non-linear" adventure. They also stated the box set would contain all a DM needs to run it: tokens, maps, adventures, and a 4e version of the Deck of Many Things (as an actual deck of cards). I must say, I'm more intrigued about this now than I was before.

The other big thing WOTC mentioned was the new campaign setting for next year. They would not say what it was but admitted that it would be something different and would be a "twist" on what people think of as a campaign setting. Now, the word "twist," when used by WOTC, kind of worries me. Their "twists" are usually things they think are great but fall flat on most gamers.

They did admit the campaign setting would not be Dragonlance, although it is on the "back burner." They also stated both Kara-Tur and Al-Qadim would be getting DDI support. Which I rather like.

Let's see, what else... Oh, they are working on a new miniature skirmish game that uses cards instead of dice, and they are planning to release non-randomized miniatures for both the skirmish game and the RPG.

Those were the main topics that I found interesting. Oh, yeah, they also showed interest in releasing digital copies of classic Dungeons and Dragons rules...which would kick all sorts of ass!

Other topics: new board games, new novels, whole bunch of elemental based things(including a new "Heroes" book), and a few more, mundane things.

All in all, I'm rather excited about the future of 4e DnD...first time in a long time.

No, no 5e was announced. That's probably next year. ;)

HOLD THE TOWER, BRING ME A MANSION...

Well, I've put the Tower of Mirrors on hold and decided to work with an adventure that's been running around in my head. Hopefully I can have it completed by October. I shall call it:

THE MANSION ON THE HILL

THE ESSENTIALS OF DUNGEON CRAWLING...

Picked up my copies of HEROES OF THE FALLEN LANDS and the RULES COMPENDIUM today! I have to admit, I'm pretty excited about the Essentials line. It makes me want to start a fresh, new campaign based more on the traditional dungeon crawling aspects of the game.

Just flipping through the books, I can tell these will be great references to new players or older players who have yet to play 4e. The books feel more "classic" than the actual PHB and DMG for 4e, and I think that will be a big selling point for the line. I also like the format of the books. When I first heard of the change from hardback to a smaller, digest sized paperback, I was a little dismayed. The end result, however, is quite nice and will be of more use to players and DMs at the table.

Oh, well, I better stop. I'm starting to sound like a WOTC spokesman.

THE TOWER OF MIRRORS...

So, I'm beginning work on a 4e adventure. It's not really fleshed out at this point, but I'm using the working title: THE TOWER OF MIRRORS. The name is partly inspired by the ending to Conan: The Destroyer, but the context of the adventure will center around the exploits of a 4e character I once played as an NPC. The character was a dwarven artificer who was exposed to the elements of the Far Realm...the after effects of which...well, let's just say it "changed" him a bit.

I had originally used this character to flesh out a party, but had the idea (around the time Psionics was introduced into 4e) to have him turn on the party. I had deduced that since Psionics were not a natural part of the character's world, exposure to it would probably cause him to go quite mad. He was going to become a major villain after turning on the party, but, sadly, that never came to complete fruition.

Anyway, he now has become the major villain of my newest adventure.

Stay tuned for details.



Edit: I've changed the title of the adventure from "The Temple of Mirrors" to "The Tower of Mirrors."

Wait...is it 1983 or 2010?!

So, I purchased the new Dungeons & Dragons "Red Box" today. I have to admit, I got somewhat of a thrill seeing that classic Larry Elmore illustration and retro DnD logo on a store shelf! I haven't opened it yet...I suppose I am savoring the moment. I'll put a review up when I open it.

ATTEND, YE GODS!

Love the new retro look on the official Dungeons & Dragons page! They're using everything from the Moldvay basic set to Warduke! All the people on the message boards are bitching because of it. It's funny, the current 4e players are bitching because the game has "gone retro" and the old-school guys are bitching because 4e is a "World of Warcraft wannabe." Nobody's ever satisfied. Oh, well, I like it myself...

STOCK UP ON SUNSCREEN!!!!

Oh, man, I received a copy of DARK SUN 4e today, and I have to agree with most of the reviews I've read: this is one of the best products WOTC has put out for 4e! I've only flipped through the guide, and I've seen tons of things that have inspired me! Can't wait to actually read through it...and hopefully run it at some point...