Dungeons and Dragons is one of my very favorite games. Contrary to popular belief it is not demonic and doesn't cause suicide or derange people. I play and have a 4.0 grade average and am happily adjusted. Actually, studies have showed a lower suicide and crime rate in teenagers who play AD&D. To read more about this click here.
Well, enough preaching. Let's dive right into the good part of this page. This section is for beginners who want to know the opinions of another beginner. I will also explain a little about the game and how it is played. If you know about AD&D and don't care about my opinions you can skip this part.
The best way to learn to play AD&D is by watching and/or participating with an already established group. Generally this can be a great intro. However, you may be unlucky enough not to have a group around you. Such was my case. I taught myself. To start out the only books that you need are the Dungeon Masters Guide and the Players Manual. Another possibility is for you to buy something like "First Quest" in which is a CD that will teach you to play.
The first step is creating a character. This can take anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour depending on how detailed you get and whether you've made a character before. I'm not going into the specifics because whatever books you get should tell you how to make a character.
D&D is a role playing game. You pretend that you are someone else and create their life. The fun part of the game is making your character do things that you could never do in real life. In the game you can become a king or save a kingdom. When you play you can expect the unexpected. You can expect to have fun.
Basically there are two groups in AD&D. There are the players and the DM. The DM is usually going solo, but he/she can use an assistant or two. The DM controls the game and is responsible for making it fun to the players. The players are responsible for making their characters, keeping track of their maps and treasure, and for working as a team.
There are basicallly two ways to make adventures. You can buy them at a store, or the DM can create his/her own. I prefer to make my own because I find that it's easier to create a story in line with the plot of the campaign than to try to adapt something already written out. The most common adventure is in a dungeon, castle, or ruins. However, a town or above ground trip can provide a lot of fun and enjoyment for the players and give the DM to throw a few tricks at the players that would not be possible in a dungeon.
That is pretty much it for the beginner section of this page. The most important things to remember are to keep an open mind and to have fun. You may find that AD&D is a game that you really enjoy. I did, and I hope you do too.
Well, this is the part of my page where I'm assuming that you know how to play. I mostly DM, so a lot of the stuff in this part of the page is tricks that I use to throw the players off guard.
The undead can be a great enemy for a DM to use, especially if he/she is one of those people who have a knack for creating a feeling of horror throughout the adventure. This trick was submitted by Hawk, otherwise known as Will A. You can email him here.
"A party I was running had to stop a priest that was going to sacrifice the blood of a virgin, gather it in a chalice and feed it to a dead Dragon to create a Draco-Lich. (I am an FR guy) They get to the room to find the virgin is guarded by undead, the cleric in the party steps up and thinks no-prob, 'turn' them and get the girl. Her 'turn' is successful.........however......... The undead are on meat hooks, like you find in butchers shops...they could not run. And as stated in the DMG "...if turned undead are cornered they will fight..." and that they did! Since they could not run the fought.(with pluses) Hanging 4 inches off the ground (they did not see this) they had to claw thier way to get to the girl. Beat the group down to a pulp. They would kick and claw at them. The party got hurt real bad......they have new respect for the undead. I will say that they got the girl and saved the day. (for now)"
Now, I'll be the first to say that there are a few problems with this. First of all, the undead would probably suffer a disadvantge with respect to AC because of their inability to dodge. Also, if they ate flesh like ghouls they would get VERY hungry. However, I think this would be a great addition to any adventure and give a new fear of the undead.
First of all, I am going to say that "Council of Wyrms" (owned by TSR) is one of the best campaign settings that I've seen, and I've seen a lot. Dragons are great things. They can give a boring campaign a good burst of excitement. However, it is prudent not too use them too often. Then they become cliche and old stuff.
Ever considered the possibility of an albino red dragon? I thought not. Needless to say this is but one trick a clever DM can come up with. (BTW this idea was borrowed from a friend of mine and I just decided to borrow it. Sorry Brad.)
Another fun trick is to use a dragon that I made up that has stone colored scales. Thats no statue boys! Anyway you get the idea.
Another thing that you can do with dragons is make half-breeds. This probably should not be done often, because it spoils the surprise. Another reason is that it is very unlikely that a red and a silver dragon are ever going to mate. A gold and silver would be more reasonable, but still it's not very likely.
The "half-breeds" could have a combination of the two breath weapons, or they could have four weapons of lesser strength. For example, a red dragon crossed with a white dragon could have a breath weapon combining fire and ice, perhaps a blue fire that seems to rotate from hot to cold. It would be at least partially immune to fire and cold, and should have a good mix of special abilities. Keep in mind that this is for a high level party, because such a creature could easily rule a small continent.
Click here to see a gallery of my dragon artwork.
These are the newest members of my family, Glitter and Sky.
This is Castle of the Winds 1. It is not the most graphic game, but it is incredibly easy to play and took up hours of my time. The clickable graphic does NOT reflect the graphics in the game. It was my sad attempt to draw a castle. This game requires windows to run.
This is Cloudflier my Cyberslug and Emerald the dragon. Cloudflier is a Giant Winged Slug of the mystical variety. He was drawn to by page by the creative eminations from it and has made it his home. Slugs are much more intelligent than people give them credit for and Cloudflier is no exception. After all, without his help I could never have made much of this page. A little encouragement goes a long way.
Emerald is much more of a mystery. I have no idea why she chose this cave as her lair, but she seems to plan on staying here for a while. As far as I can tell she is a young adult dragon. Her native language seems to be beyond my comprehension. She may be able to speak english but she has never spoken to me. However, I have often seen her and Cloudflier close togeather with conspiratorial looks in their eyes.
Click here to adopt your own cyberslug!!!
Click here to go to my Thieves Shrine. Sorry, but this page is closed for renovation.
Click here to go to my main page.
Click here to go to my cyberpets page.
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Click here to adopt a slime.
