The Glass Key

The domain dndrules.com now points to the blog (which was surpringly easy to setup considering that I’m using the free WordPress.com hosting) — so bookmark that instead of the dndrules.wordpress.com domain. It’s becoming clear that to get a really cool theme, I’m going to have to move hosting to another site. No hurry for that though.

Just to keep the discussion D&D related, I’m posting a tidbit from our current adventure. The party recently recovered an ornate glass key as part of a larger treasure trove. They thought little of it until it was exposed to a strong source of radiant energy (a natural formation called the “hot rock”), at which point it “activated”.

The Glass Key Quest Item
This large, ornate key is made from fine glass. The key glows brightly when exposed to radiant energy.
Wondrous Item
Power (Daily): Free Action. Use this power after anyone within 5 squares of you uses a power that has the radiant keyword. You and all allies within 2 squares of you can teleport 5 squares.
Power (Encounter): Minor Action. When you touch this key to a single locked door, chest, gate or other object, make a single Thievery check with a +20 modifier against the DC required to open the object.
Special: The key is fragile. You’ve been warned.

A little research (and some good history and religion checks) led the party to a legend that told of a glass key. Here’s an exerpt:

The legend of the Glass Key tells of two identical twin sisters, Zinzerena and Vandria. Eldarin twins are extremely rare, and like most before them they became powerful divine spellcasters. The sisters served Araushnee, the elven god of fate (also called the “Weaver of Destiny”). But, like the goddess they served, the twins were jealous schemers and sought to rule the eldarin nation. This led them to make a terrible pact with the orcs to usurp power.

The legend goes on to tell that when the sisters had final victory at hand, the orcs became wanton in their slaughter the elves. Zinzerena, faced with the terrible harm she had caused, was overcome with guilt. She turned on her sister and their orc allies. The sisters were evenly matched, but with Corellan’s help Zinzerena defeated her evil sister but was mortally wounded. Corellan sealed Zinzerena in a glass tomb both to heal her ravaged body and as punishment for her betrayal. Legend says that she has slept for more than a thousand years in her glass coffin.

The legend also tells that Corellan was so angered by Vandria’s treachery that he cursed her. Since she was a weaver in life, she would remain a weaver in death. He transformed her body into a swarm of black spiders and cursed her to protect her sleeping sisters for all eternity.

 

They also have a good idea where to look for the glass tomb of Zinzerena, so we’re going to see how much of that legend is true!

Fixing Wizards, Part 1

A wizard has the character role of Controller; here’s what the PHB has to say about Controllers.

“Controllers deal with large numbers of enemies at the same time. They favor offense over defense, using powers that deal damage to multiple foes at once, as well as subtler powers that weaken, confuse, or delay their foes.” – PHB, p16.

In a nutshell, a wizard can handily deal with minions (”using powers that deal damage to multiple foes at once” ) and apply conditions to the monsters the party is fighting. Wizards exert a higher level of control over the situation, allowing the rest of the party to combine and focus their attacks without worrying about every monster in the encounter. To be effective in the role, wizards need to be able to do this at all levels of play.

Although the wizard has many of these abilities, the class falls short of the expected role of controller, especially at low levels. The previews of the druid and invoker shows the designers are moving in the right direction, but that leaves the wizard a bit behind in their ability to act in their assigned role.

At 1st-level, a wizard must have four basic ways to control the battlefield:

1. Kill Minions: A ranged, at-will attack power that does moderate damage over a small area. The wizard’s scorching burst and cloud of daggers fits this category very nicely.
2. Hamper Foes: A ranged, at-will attack power that does a small amount of damage and applies a weak condition to a single target for a brief duration (e.g., ray of frost) OR a ranged, at-will attack power that does a miniscule amount of damage and applies a brief, weak condition over over a small area (e.g., the druid’s call of the beast and the invoker’s grasping shards).
3. Hobble the Boss: A ranged, encounter attack power that does a moderate amount of damage and applies a brief, moderate condition to a single target. Chill strike and the invoker’s spear of the inquisitor fit this category.
4. Serious Style Cramp: A ranged daily attack power that does a moderate amount of damage and applies a strong condition to a single target (e.g., sleep and the druid’s faerie fire). The duration of this condition should be longer (i.e., save ends or encounter).

A 2nd-level wizard should have access to one of the the following types of powers.

1. Zone of Annoyance: A zone utility power that creates a lingering effect over a area. The druid’s obscuring mist power is a decent example of a 2nd-level utility power.
2. Wall of Anything: A wall utility power that applies a condition to enemies that cross the barrier. The invoker has a wall of light power is an example of a 2nd-level utility power, but a wizard’s wall should apply a penalty or condition to his enemies.

Our solution to the problem is to re-work the wizard class to have more options for powers. I’ll list some of those new powers (our houserules) in the next article. I’ll also be adding some changes to the basic class that creates a more versatile (and more “wizard-y”) class!

Thanks for reading and comments are always welcome!

Welcome to DND Rules!

Hi! Welcome to D&D Rules (DNDRULES.COM), a blog about the journey of a group of design-minded players through the landscape of D&D 4E. I’ll tell you more about myself, my gaming group and my motivations for creating the blog in future posts. But right now I want to show you how to add the wicked HTML stat blocks from Asmor’s Monster Maker to your WordPress blog!

If you don’t use Monster Maker, then I recommend checking it out (and all of Asmor’s other scripts and programs). It helps you create custom monsters by doing all of the heavy lifting, like the math and formatting, for you — leaving you to focus on the more creative parts of your campaign!

Example Monster Stat Block (exported from Monster Maker):

Stat Block Smasher Level 6 Brute Medium Natural Humanoid (human) XP 250
Initiative +6 Senses Perception +6
HP 86; Bloodied 43
AC 18; Fortitude 18, Reflex 18, Will 18
Resist 5 fire; Vulnerable 5 cold
Saving Throws +1 vs. charm
Speed 5
M Slash (Standard) ♦ Weapon
+10 vs. AC; 2d6+5 damage.
m Overhand Slash (Standard; recharge 456) ♦ Weapon
+10 vs. AC; 4d6+5 damage, and the target is dazed (save ends).
Alignment Evil Languages Goblin, Common
Skills Athletics +10
Str 16 (+6) Dex 16 (+6) Wis 16 (+6) Con 16 (+6) Int 16 (+6) Cha 16 (+6)
Equipment chain mail, great sword

Here’s how I added it to WordPress (I use a WordPress.com hosted blog, so just about everything involves a song and dance). But don’t worry, I’m not a web programmer – so just about anyone can do this!

1. Purchase the ability to edit the site’s CSS ($15.00 per year).
2. Now you need to edit your blog’s CSS file. From your Dashboard, click Appearance, and then the Edit CSS link.
3. Open the 4e.css file that came with Asmor.com’s Monster Maker. Copy the file’s contents and paste it into the CSS Stylesheet Editor and save the stylesheet.
4. Now WordPress will look for (and properly format) Monster Maker’s stat blocks.
5. When you make a monster, export the stat block to HTML (Monster Make does all the hard work for you here).
6. Then open the HMTL file for the monster and copy the text between the “Begin stat block” and “End stat block” comments.
7. Create a WordPress post and click the HTML tab (to let the program know that you are about to add some code) and paste in the text you have copied to your clipboard.
8. If your WordPress site is narrow like mine (only 450 px), then you’ll need to make a minor edit to the CSS Stylesheet so that none of the stat block is cut off (or you can just choose a wider blog template). Go back to the CSS Stylesheet you created and look for the code that defines the width of the stat block (it should be near the top and it says “width:500px;” — just change the 500 to 400 (or the width of your blog, if you prefer). Then save the stylesheet and you are done.

Thanks for reading and comments are welcome!

Now I’m working on adding the CSS code for powers and magic items! This is a bit trickier, so thanks to Ian Toltz for all the help!

Example Encounter Power

Wizard’s Wall Wizard Encounter 1
With the wave of your hand, wall of sparks erupts from the ground.
Encounter ♦ Arcane, Conjuration, Implement
Standard Action Area wall 8 within 10 squares
Effect: You conjure a wall that consists of contiguous squares filled with sparks and smoke. It can be up to 5 squares long and up to 2 squares high. The wall lasts until the end of your next turn.
Sustain Minor: The wall persists.

Example Magic Item

Spirit of Ioun Heroic Level
A unique and powerful Ioun stone, this artifact appears to be a large and faintly glowing white pearl, forever traveling in a patient orbit. The stone acts as a +2 holy symbol.
Item Slot: Holy Symbol
Enhancement: Attack and damage rolls.
Critical: +2d6 radiant damage
Property: You can speak and understand Supernal and read the Supernal script.
Power (Encounter): Standard Action. You can turn undead (cleric class feature).
Power (Encounter): Standard Action. You can use radiant smite (paladin 1).
Power (Daily): Minor Action. The stone gains fly 6 and phasing. You can see and hear using the stone as if you were using the Wizard’s Sight ritual. The stone occupies its own space, but cannot be the target of any attack.