charlesatan’s blog

Keeping Track of Your Spells

nobody@vox.com(charlesatan) — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 01:42:37 -0700

Technically, I've relocated to my main blog at http://charles-tan.blogspot.com but here's a more recent idea I've come up with: If you've ever tried playing a spellcaster in D&D, it's a lot of bookkeeping. It really tempts you to computerize ever...

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Thoughts on WotC's Digital Initiative

nobody@vox.com(charlesatan) — Fri, 04 May 2007 04:53:33 -0700

My initial thoughts on the end of Dragon and Dungeon's print run can be found here. It's only now however that I've extensively thought about Wizards of the Coast's (WotC) Digital Initiative and what could possibly be done with it (pretty much lik...

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More AD&D Pics

nobody@vox.com(charlesatan) — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 05:31:26 -0700

Is this what the Expert Rules box should contain? Contents of the Companion Rules box? Various modules

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D&D Backyard Sale

nobody@vox.com(charlesatan) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 19:59:09 -0700

During the 80's, one of the sources for D&D books in the Philippines was Nova Fontanna, a hybrid toy store and gaming store. Unfortunately, it shut down years ago (it never got to import D&D 3.0 and the last item I bought there was a paperback of...

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Farewell Dragon and Dungeon

nobody@vox.com(charlesatan) — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 04:34:06 -0700

It seems like the biggest announcement since D&D 3.5 just broke out: Paizo Publishing ceases publication of Dragon and Dungeon and magazine. Now both Dragon and Dungeon have been staples in D&D's long history. Both magazines weren't there from th...

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Building a Better Character Sheet

nobody@vox.com(charlesatan) — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 20:23:26 -0700

Character sheets I think are important in terms of game design. Sure, it's nor your priority when designing the system from scratch, but it's something you'll need to tackle eventually. What's vital is to treat it as a legitimate concern and not s...

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"If You Build It, They Will Come"

nobody@vox.com(charlesatan) — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 18:45:07 -0700

Currently, the trend at Wizards of the Coast is to develop more GM-oriented products instead of the deluge of character options products that marked the first few years. That's why this year and the previous, you're seeing more large-scale adventu...

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Beyond Reserve Points: Temporary Hit Points

nobody@vox.com(charlesatan) — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 23:34:53 -0700

The classic D&D party assumes that there is a healer in the group, usually a Cleric. Sometimes, however, no one wants to fill this niche -- turns spent healing a companion usually means turns that's not hitting, blasting, or backstabbing monsters....

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Random Hit Points

nobody@vox.com(charlesatan) — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 16:46:08 -0700

Perhaps one of the sacred cows of the D&D game is rolling for hit points. Now while rolling dice as a game mechanic can be fun, the problem with rolling for hit points is that it has long term consequences. Unlike an attack roll or skill check wh...

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Martial Adept NPCs: No Thanks

nobody@vox.com(charlesatan) — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 22:10:22 -0800

I've been stuck with GM duties for the past few months and it's not something I altogether regret as I get to create and explore various class and monster combinations. Still, when running an actual game, I shy away from using classes from Tome of...

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