Articles Archives

A Glowing Handful of Scenes:
A Conversation with Ed Greenwood Part II

By Jeremy L.C. Jones / May 27, 2009 / Articles, Behind the Spells, Front Page, interview, Reviews

Did you miss Part I of our Greenweek interview series? It’s easy to get caught up! In the opening scene of Ed Greenwood’s <href=”http: www.amazon.com=”” gp=”” product=”” 1844166171?ie=”UTF8&tag=themonkeyki04-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1844166171″”>Dark Lord, the protagonist Rod Everlar awakes to a bloody winged female warrior named Taeauna falling onto his bed. Everlar is scared and confused, Taeauna begs for mercy, […]

A Glowing Handful of Scenes:
A Conversation with Ed Greenwood Part II Read More »

Making the Realms Shine:
A Conversation with Ed Greenwood, Part I

By Jeremy L.C. Jones / May 26, 2009 / Articles, Front Page, interview

Early in Ed Greenwood’s novel Elminster: the Making of a Mage, the ragged knight Helm gives young Elminster a sword and encourages him on his journey. As the smiling boy heads off, the knight wrestles with his own ambivalence, thinking, “The first duty of a knight is to make the realm shine in the dreams

Making the Realms Shine:
A Conversation with Ed Greenwood, Part I Read More »

Trapsmith: Fear the Arrow

By Maurice de Mare / May 26, 2009 / Articles, Front Page

Fear. Fear is a trapsmith’s ally, as nothing deters tomb robbers better than seeing a valued comrade perish in the most gruesome way possible. A trapsmith asks intruders a simple question: “Is this carnage a price you are willing to pay, to progress further?” If the trapsmith is good at his job, he will only

Trapsmith: Fear the Arrow Read More »

Monday Monster: 4E Frostfang Yeti

By Benjamin McFarland / May 25, 2009 / Articles, Front Page, Monsters

Art by Philippe Semeria With broad shoulders and thick, nearly translucent ivory fur, this powerfully muscled ape-man sports savage claws and wicked black teeth; dried gore stains its chin a rusty brown. A small cyclone of ice and snow swirls around its feet, and it leaves no tracks in its wake. Fiercely cold air surrounds

Monday Monster: 4E Frostfang Yeti Read More »

The Secret to Paizo’s Success, According to Sean K Reynolds

By Jeremy L.C. Jones / May 22, 2009 / Articles, Front Page, interview

Welcome back for the second part of our SKR interview, in which we finally learn the secret of lobsteak and of Paizo’s success. Also, he explains how and when he’ll be playing 4E! If you missed Part 1, it’s easy to catch up. Jones: You have been involved in developing games both before and after

The Secret to Paizo’s Success, According to Sean K Reynolds Read More »

The Awesome-ication of the PATHFINDER RPG: The Grand Design of Sean K Reynolds

By Jeremy L. C. Jones / May 21, 2009 / Articles, Front Page, interview

Sean K. Reynolds is the developer on Paizo’s PATHFINDER roleplaying game, but he didn’t start his career there. It took him a while to land at Paizo Publishing. In 1995, Sean left his job at a video game company to become the online content coordinator for TSR. When Wizards of the Coast bought out TSR

The Awesome-ication of the PATHFINDER RPG: The Grand Design of Sean K Reynolds Read More »

Ask the Kobold: the Definitive Grappling Answers and Design Notes

By Skip Williams / May 20, 2009 / Articles, Front Page

Attempting a grapple is a special attack that takes place of a regular attack. So, if you gain multiple attacks in a round, and you fail at your first grapple attempt, you can try again, etc. until you run out of attacks, right? Does this mean I can convert any of my regular attacks to

Ask the Kobold: the Definitive Grappling Answers and Design Notes Read More »

Trapsmith: Deadly Darts

By Maurice de Mare / May 19, 2009 / Articles, Front Page

Focus, intent, misdirection, quality versus quantity: these are all concepts a good trapsmith plays with to achieve his goal. Indeed, a great trapsmith does more than set a trap; he asks a question of intruders: “Is this a price you are willing to pay, to progress further?” This week the author of the astonishing “Traps

Trapsmith: Deadly Darts Read More »

Monday Monster: Ychen Bannog, Great Beasts of Burden

By Richard Pett / May 18, 2009 / Articles, Front Page, Monsters

The hill moved, which of course is ridiculous. Then I heard deep breathing and the crash of the willow coppice as the creatures—for there were two—came into view. The ychen bannog of legend: longhaired oxen the size of churches, flanks steaming in the morning mist from a night’s toil while crows danced about their horns.

Monday Monster: Ychen Bannog, Great Beasts of Burden Read More »

Hidden Assumptions: A Pact with Dario Nardi

By Jeremy L. C. Jones / May 14, 2009 / Articles, Front Page, interview

By day, Dario Nardi is a lecturer at the University of California Los Angeles, where he teaches classes in “artificial intelligences and robotics, personality and organizational behavior, modeling and simulation of complex systems, and undergraduate curriculum design.” He uses computer models, group simulations, and he encourages students to pursue their own interests in their own

Hidden Assumptions: A Pact with Dario Nardi Read More »

Ask the Kobold: Gaze Attacks

By Skip Williams / May 13, 2009 / Articles, Front Page

I need a little clarification for gaze attacks; it seems that those attacks are always functioning. For example, a character who begins a turn within range of a creature with a gaze attack must make the appropriate saving throw. However, a creature with a gaze attack also can take an action to force another save

Ask the Kobold: Gaze Attacks Read More »

Behind the Spells: Instant Summons

By Bret Boyd / May 12, 2009 / Articles, Behind the Spells, Front Page

Welcome back to Behind the Spells, the series that provides a historical background, secret effects, and related material to classic spells of the world’s most famous fantasy roleplaying game. The rules (presented after the “Spell Secret” header) are compatible with any 3.5/OGL fantasy game, and the background weaves the spell into the lore of the

Behind the Spells: Instant Summons Read More »

Monday Monster: Dancing Tableware

By David Schwartz / May 11, 2009 / Articles, Front Page, Monsters

…Sturmgar kicked in the door, and strode into the hall, greatsword drawn. Sir Norrick and the rest of the Company of the Wyvern filed in behind him, weapons and spells at the ready. The officers of the Iron Legion were in the midst of their evening meal. At the head of the table, General Sidion

Monday Monster: Dancing Tableware Read More »

Review: Why I Like Scarrport, City of Secrets

By Aaron Broder / May 8, 2009 / Articles, Front Page, Reviews

Scarrport: City of Secrets is a supplement from Reality Deviant Publications that offers a “campaign cutout”, a single city that can easily be dropped into any campaign setting. For me, Scarrport was love at first sight. In addition to a city full of plot hooks, inventive monsters, and and even new equipment, it also had

Review: Why I Like Scarrport, City of Secrets Read More »

Friday Funny: the Dead Template

By Oritian Oates / May 8, 2009 / Articles, Front Page

Tired of hearing about triple-templated messes? Here’s the last template you’ll ever need. [More…]

Friday Funny: the Dead Template Read More »

A Better Play Experience: a Conversation with Jason Bulmahn

By Jeremy L.C. Jones / May 7, 2009 / Articles, Front Page, interview

As the lead designer for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game (PFRPG), Jason Bulmahn has one job: produce a game that is true to the feel of 3.5e, but that offers “a better play experience.” And the word among the members of his design team is that Bulmahn has outdone himself. “Jason’s been working 24–7 on the

A Better Play Experience: a Conversation with Jason Bulmahn Read More »

Christmas in July