Initiative Checks

At the start of a battle, each combatant makes an initiative check. An initiative check is a dexterity check. Each character applies his or her dexterity modifier to the roll. Characters act in order, counting down from highest result to lowest. In every round that follows, the characters act in the same order.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Death and the Afterlife

I recently read an article about character death in D&D (I would post a link but, alas, I've lost the site). Anyway, today the topic is character death. If you play any RPG you've had to deal with it. But in D&D, and perhaps in other RPGs, there is a shining ray of hope on the other end of that long, dark hallway. Resurrection! Now this is assuming that your fellow party members want to fork over the 2,000 gold pieces (gp) per ten levels to revive you. In many cases, *cough* my group *cough*, the other party members may divide the dead person's stuff and leave the corpse to rot. This also raises the question: Are there ways for the characters to die from which they should not be able to return? For example, if a fighter is blasted by the fiery breath of a 700-year-old dragon, then thrown from a 400-foot-cliff and lands on a bed of sharp and jagged rock, assuming the party can find his body, should they be allowed to restore him to the world of the living? To answer this question we have to ask another question: Why does D&D allow resurrection in the first place? Well I believe that perhaps D&D allows resurrection for two reasons. One, characters become more than a piece of paper upon which are written numbers and strange words. They become a source of imagination - perhaps you've spent time perfecting a back story, or drawing pictures, or even just imagining how kick-butt your character is in combat. The point is, once you've invested all that time you don't want it to end. Number two also has to do with time. Once you reach higher levels starting over just doesn't seem to be a viable option. It's like playing a video game half-way through and then it crashes and you have to start over. Not fun.

As with most things there is another side to this proverbial coin; character death isn't always a bad thing. Perhaps your character went down a different path than you expected, or maybe the character sacrificed himself for "the good of all goodly folk", thus reaching his personal "Valhalla". The character doesn't even have to die - sometimes they just retire. Becoming king, marrying and settling down, or even avenging the last of his/her people are all good reasons to end you character's adventures in the world. Sometimes the character just loses its fun, and fun is the main reason to play. 

To answer my own question with an incredibly vague statement: Yes and No. There are times when a character is dead... no questions, he has shuffled off this mortal coil. But there are times, too, when a character's story may just be beginning again. 

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Thanks!


I wish to thank all of the people who are reading/have read my blog and commented, either in person or online. I have entered a contest with this blog and won a prize with the help of you, my readers. I have enjoyed sharing my imaginative mind, so I will continue to post on this blog, whether you like it or not.

Thank you.
Johnathan Rolen Revard the Bard

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Recap 3 - The Tomb of Gauhul (GAH-u-hal) Are they still fighting?



Part Three awaits you. In the series of recaps about the Tomb of Gauhal (GAH-u-hal).

Toc, Human Fighter/Berserker (A beast of a man, of some fame about the land)
Brug, Half-Orc, Fighter (Think Darth Maul...)
Drake, Winged Vampineze, Avenger/Wizard (His charming smile fools most but make no mistake - he is deadly)
Alden, Dwarf Berserker (Hairy, Loud, and Smelly. Yeah, that about describes him.)

As you read above Alden has returned to us, however Damakos is still MIA. One problem we discussed during this last game was XP distribution. I'll write another post soon covering that topic.

Part Two - Clean as a bubble...

Alden awakes on the hard stone floor in the darkness. His wounds have healed slightly but not enough for him to move yet. Drawing upon his dwarven heritage he finds the strength to move and forces his body to heal faster. He stumbles to his feet and, guided by a soft glow from up the hallway, begins to walk, keeping one hand pressed tightly against the wall at all times.

Brug's axes flash again and again, striking out at the mummy before him. The battle has been long and arduous and he hopes it will soon end. A noise from behind, drew his attention. A dwarf the one they had left for dead came stumbling along the corridor. Alden readied his axe in order to join the fray but is waved away by Brug who know there was no room for the barbaric dwarf and his mighty swings.

Toc, still trapped by the gargoyle's claw, dangled dangerously over the bridge. With a roar Toc brings his great axe up and into the gargoyles face. The surprised gargoyle drops Toc back to the bridge and sails out wide, over the spiked pit. It falls impaling it's self on one of the spikes. The second gargoyle watches in horror as his comrade crumbles to dust. It tries to turn and fly away, but Toc's axe claims the other send up a wave of dust.

Drake continues north, into a room filled with floating glass spheres, each about the size of a baseball. He reaches out to touch one but draws his hand back quickly as it explodes. He just barely avoids the acid that shoots out. After this display Drake carefully picks his way about the room and in a few moments he is in front of a pair of large oaken doors on the other side.

Toc's trail leads into a room covered in ropes. They hang from the ceiling, the walls, and even seem to jut out of the floor. He enters boldly and is quick tangled in the living ropes. Several forms rise from the piles of ropes and others drop from the ceiling on hanging ropes, all are undead. Hosting his axe in a great swing, Toc cuts most of the ropes and in result slays the foul creatures.

Alden, coming to the same conclusion as Brug, enters the tomb where previously there where ghosts. The last ghost, notices Alden and, still sworn to guard that tomb, follows him phasing through the walls in great haste. Alden sees the ghost at the last second before he is thrown against the wall and held there by some invisible force.

Drake throws open the doors. Beyond, in the center of the room stands a large portal. After much deliberation he steps through the portal. He is immediately teleported far from the room and right next to Brug!

Will Brug's battle even end? Will Alden escape the ghost clutches? Will Toc's undoing finally come? Find out in the next recap!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Pain is the Bard's Middle Name...

I knew that sooner or later I'd have to post something about the bard. The bard is my favorite class, up there with the assassin and the rogue. I admit that the bard is a tad lame (they hurt people with music - I mean, come on!) but for some strange reason the idea of a musical rogue steals my heart. That being said, I now believe that the "Heroes of the Feywilds" bard addition the "Skald" is really, really underpowered. Half of his attacks require making a basic attack which, correct me if I'm wrong, don't really do that much damage at higher levels. To send you off today here are a few links having to do with bards. Enjoy!

Bard Picture (Just a fun picture)

Cruel Lullabies (A guide to making a wonderful bard)


And for the record: Toc stop breaking my weapons!