Moving...

It quickly became apparent that a blog was no place for this kind of site, so I moved it to here...


http://sites.google.com/site/ddsummercampaignseries2010/

New Playable Race: Kobolds!

Sure, they are a bit weedy and kind of shy (not to mention are considered fodder by D&D 3/3.5 vets) but as a Player/Character they have some fine abilities. Check it out...


Kobold Racial Traits

-4 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution +1 Charisma. Short and a bit weedy.

Small: As a small creature, a Kobold gains a +1 size bonus to AC, Attack Rolls and a +4 Size Bonus on Hide checks. Kobolds use smaller weapons than humans as well as lifting and carrying limits being 3/4ths that of Medium creatures. All hit point rolls are 75% of value, rounding up (NOT including level 1 max).

Kobolds have a base land speed of 30 feet. (10 feet greater than other Small creatures!)

Darkvision out to 60 feet.

10x more likely to attract a Draconic Familiar (see GM for details).

+1 Racial bonus on Attack Rolls against Gnomes and Fey.

Racial Skills: A Kobold character has a +2 racial bonus on Craft (Trapmaking), Profession (Miner) and Search checks.

Racial Feats: Deep Denizen feat (SS Pg32) +2 Listen, +4 Track using scent. Peak Hopper (SS Pg37) +2 bonus on Balance and Climb checks. Improved Evasion as per Rogue (PHB pg 51). Scramble (SS Pg39): Once per day, when receiving damage reducing you to 0 Hit Points or less, in combat (From weapon or other blow, not spell or spell-like ability) you attempt to scramble out of the way using Reflex Saving Throw (DC 10 + damage dealt). You must be aware of the attack and able to react (i.e. Dex bonus included in AC for attack). If successful, ALL damage from attack is avoided. This does not stack with (but can be used after failed) Improved Evasion.

+1 on all spells if character is a Sorcerer. (Subject to change)

Special Qualities: Light Sensitivity. Dazzled in bright sunlight or within the radius of a day-light spell. Can be bought off with a feat,

Automatic Languages: Draconic, Common and Undercommon.

Special Abilities: If Sorcerer class is taken, character is able to learn one Bonus Spell per level (beginning at Character level 3) only from the Savage Species Wizard/Sorcerer list (SS pg62). This obviously does not include any 0 level spells and still must adhere to PHB Table 3-17 (Pg54) regarding level restrictions (i.e. At Character Level 3 the Sorcerer learns 1 Bonus 1st level spell from SS list, and on per 3-17). This ability does not modify the number of spells the Sorcerer is able to cast per day.

Favored Class: Sorcerer. A multiclass Kobold’s Sorcerer class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty (see XP for Multiclass Characters PHB pg 60).

SS = D&D Book: Savage Species
PHB = D&D Book: Player's Handbook 3.5

DM Notes: The Improved Evasion and Scramble Feats more than compensate for the reduced Hit Points. Also, I own a copy of Savage Species.

D&D Thought for the day...

For a fighter, there is no such thing as, "Too big."

Welcome and here is the skinny...

Hello dear friends and family members. I hope this finds you well. First things first regarding the upcoming "Summer Break" Campaign of D&D. First things first, aka Rule #1: As game designer Jolly R. Blackburn says (In the voice of uber-hard GM Nitro), "The Gamemaster is always right." Of course, don't let this somewhat harsh tone scare you, the game belongs to everyone. Now, onto brass tacks:

First things first: This will be a D&D v3.5 game. I have almost all of the books and even a few extra Player's Handbooks for gameday use.

(Click on any image to see a larger version)

Our first session will be (tentatively) the weekend of May 22-23, exact day and time to be determined. This first session will be a general meet-and-greet and character creation/refinement.

If you choose to make a character beforehand, you may not be privy to some options I may include by that date. If you do decide to roll your own character (ahem: Mikey) you are only allowed to use the Player's Handbook v3.5. No other crazy and/or potentially unbalanced crap will be allowed from the multitude of D&D 3/3.5 books. As for the characters you create;

I am all for originality and uniqueness, however, I have no qualms in disallowing character names and ideas based on and/or variations of real celebrities, known people, popular characters etc. (e.g. Christiano the XVII, Yensid Tlaw, Wooden Tiger, Ubermensch, Klar Ken, etc.) The idea needs to be original, not recycling someone's name or concept that you like and admire. Also, in May I will have a background of the world you are going to adventure in, this may give you hints and ideas for a name appropriate for the world (if you are having trouble coming up with an original name).

Also, the format for rolling abilities will be thus: 4d6 for 3d6 worth of stats. re-roll 1's and 2's the first time. Re-roll 1's the second time but if you choose to re-roll a 2 the second time, you are stuck with the result, even if it is a 1. No third re-rolls. Drop your lowest number, add the remaining three and assign it to an ability. This should give all Player Characters a very decent set of beginning abilities and modifiers.

or...

On the day of our first session, you can choose to roll for your PC, in front of the GM (or as D&D veterans call it, DM) using the classic "guts" method of using 3D6 and assigning the pure and un-tampered result to an ability in the order in which they are rolled. If you cannot meet the requirements of the class you are going for, you will be allowed to re-roll (from the beginning, i.e. another set of abilities) until you match them (all subsequent re-rolls still must follow the "guts" method). If you choose to roll using the "guts" method, you will enjoy an in-game ability called "DM's Favor", exactly what that means has yet to be determined.

With all of this said, if you are available earlier than that date, please feel free to come on over and make a character, and/or play D&D in a gladiator style environment to help you (and me) get the rules down pat. No experience will be awarded, it is for us all to understand the rules better.

One final (and potentially ominous) note: You, as a player, are responsible to have an understanding of how your character works. Including feats, skills, spells and special abilities. You, as a player, should also have a basic understanding of how combat works (which is actually very simple). This is not to say that I (as the DM) am looking to kill anyone outright but I do like to run a deadly game and while I have no problem helping new players, the points I have listed above can be learned in a couple hours reading, if that. If you have not cracked your Player's Handbook at all, your chances of Player Character death (and total party wipe-out) increase exponentially, not to mention your (and everyone else's) enjoyment of the game is reduced.

Thar be dragons here...