Artisan Toolkits: Glassblower

Weight: 25 lbs (11.3 Kilograms)
Cost: 45 gold

Contents:

Blowpipe

Gathering Iron

Marver

Tweezers

Block

Jack

Punty

Crucible

Silica (purified sand)

Glass blowing is a very odd toolkit to have for an adventurer as it’s not really a profession that travels very well without the use of a portable gas furnace. Still, there may be people who wish to be glassblowers in the game and they’ll need their basic supplies which are included above. To actually blow glass they’ll need to set up a work space where they can create a permanent (or semi-permanent in case they’re using someone else’s work space) area where they can be involved in the rather laborious process.

Artisan Toolkit Series

Introduction

Alchemist

Brewer

Calligrapher

Carpenter

Cartographer

Cobbler

Cook

Glassblower

Jeweler

Leatherworker

Mason

Painter

Potter

Smith
Surveyor

Tinker

Weaver

Woodcarver
Final

Artisan Toolkits: Cook

Weight: 30 lbs (13.7 Kilograms)
Cost: 60 gold

Contents:

1 Large Steel Pot

1 Large Cast Iron Skillet

Set of 5 Wooden Spoons

1 Large Wooden Ladle

3 Spatulas

1 Set of Chef Knives

1 Spice Rack

By and large the Cook’s Toolkit will probably be the most popular choice for players of Fifth Edition. Not only is it useful for making unpalatable food along the way more enjoyable but it provides the character using it an opportunity to make a living along the way as everywhere you will ever travel will need a cook. Perhaps it is that need for cooks that will make it so popular as players will be able to use it to infiltrate enemy camps, armies, and strongholds as that most necessary of professions.

No matter why you choose the Cook’s toolkit the contents will be readily recognizable to all who see it except for the spice rack. This will often vary depending upon the campaign world but for generic purposes the rack contains the following spices: Pepper, Salt, Cloves,Oregano, Thyme, and Basil. For additional common spices (per the Game Master) add 1 gold per spice. For uncommon spices, such as saffron, add 3 platinum per ounce.

Artisan Toolkit Series

Introduction

Alchemist

Brewer

Calligrapher

Carpenter

Cartographer

Cobbler

Cook

Glassblower

Jeweler

Leatherworker

Mason

Painter

Potter

Smith
Surveyor

Tinker

Weaver

Woodcarver
Final

Artisan's Toolkits: Cobbler

Weight: 7 lbs (3.2 Kilograms)
Cost: 50 gold, 5 silver, 3 copper

Contents

Leather Cutting Scissors

Last Stand

Set of 3 Stitching Awls & Needles (varying sizes)

Hammer Set (4 of various, small, sizes)

Shoe Thread (3 colors of player’s choice)

There are variations on the Cobbler’s Toolkit that can be adjusted based on the world setting that you are playing in but for our purposes with the generic kits it’s best to go with the bare essentials. The leather cutting scissors are large, broad bladed instruments that make it easier to cut right through the thick hide. The Last Stand is where the shoe is actual built. It can be either wooden or steel (add 5lbs to the overall weight of this kit). The stitching awl and needles are fairly common throughout the world. While the interchangeable needles are relatively new I would rather have them in my game than not. The hammers are all smaller than a normal construction hammer but can still be used for more nefarious purposes if one has a mind bent to evil intent.

Artisan Toolkit Series

Introduction

Alchemist

Brewer

Calligrapher

Carpenter

Cartographer

Cobbler

Cook

Glassblower

Jeweler

Leatherworker

Mason

Painter

Potter

Smith
Surveyor

Tinker

Weaver

Woodcarver
Final

Amazon is Having One Hell of A Sale on D&D Right Now

This morning I was checking out the Dungeons & Dragons listing on Amazon; trying to decide if I should pull the trigger on a couple of the books I've not yet gotten, when I noticed that they were having one hell of a sale on them. Everything from Fifth Edition is at least 25% off the regular price and a few of the books are 50% off or more. So I thought I would collect them all together with their regular prices, current prices, and how much of a discount they're giving for you all. 

Personally, I'm picking up the Monster Manual since I've been looking at getting it since the launch but just didn't like the price. Hope some of you can use these links to fill out your collections.

Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set

Regular Price: $19.99 

Currently: $11.99  Save 40%

Dungeons & Dragons: The Complete Animated Series

Regular Price: $19.98
Currently: $7.50 Save 62%

Player's Handbook

Regular Price: $49.95

Currently: $23.89 Save %52

Monster Manual

Regular Price: $49.95

Currently: $23.89 Save 52%

Dungeon Master's Guide

Regular Price: $49.95

Currently: $25.96 Save 48%

Princes of the Apocalypse (D&D Accessory)

Regular Price: $49.95

Currently: $32.69 Save 35%

Temple of Elemental Evil Board Game

Regular Price: $64.99

Currently: $52.29 Save 26%

D&D Dungeon Master's Screen

Regular Price: $14.95

Currently: $6.83 Save 37%

Hoard of the Dragon Queen

Regular Price: $29.95
Currently: $22.19 Save 26%

The Rise of Tiamat

Regular Price: $29.95
Currently: $21.61  Save 28%

Legacy of the Crystal Shard

Regular: $34.95

Currently: $24.26 Save 31%

Murder in Baldur's Gate

Regular: $34.95
Currently: $20.68 Save 41%

Artisan Toolkits: Cartographer

Weight:15 pounds (6.8 kilograms)

Cost: 28 gold

Contents

Weather tight, Leather Carrying Case

Prismatic Sighting Compass

Pen (set of 24)

Nibs (set of 12)

Rectangular Protractor

Marquois Scale

Protractor (metal)

Gunter's Scale

Measuring tape (50 ft.)

Scroll or Parchment Paper (player choice)

For some time now I have been struggling with the Cartographer's Toolkit. This difficulty has arisen as I researched what would be included in the kit because I don't particularly feel that it is a natural fit with a party of explorers. While the Cartographer would be a natural ally for anyone creating a map back in the comforts of city life it is the Surveyor who actually explores the wild places of the world. For that reason I have now added the Surveyor Toolkit to the Artisan Toolkits project. 

Still, there is a value in the Cartographer's Toolkit for players looking for a quick an easy aid in mapping their adventures. Most of the kit has been described in earlier sections so I will only mention the Marquois Scale and the Gunter Scale as those are unlikely to be common knowledge. The Marquois Scale is actually a pretty nifty construction consisting of two rulers and a triangle and using it correctly ". . . will often greatly facilitate work, producing various constructions with much neatness, accuracy, and rapidity . . . (Hulme, pg. 93) which allows for the Cartographer's work to be greatly improved. The Gunter Scale is actually kind of a short cut that allows a Cartographer to work out the math in a cleaner fashion and to prevent the sort of wild inaccuracies that plague any mapping endeavor.

It may be that some readers will balk at the inclusion of the the prismatic sighting compass, the Marquois Scale, and the Gunter's Scale in this toolkit or at the relative inexpensiveness of the overall kit. There is some validity to this as the Medieval compass was a massive thing that would be impractical to carry about and the two scales did not come about during that period. The decision to include a prismatic sighting compass in the list was because I genuinely have no enjoyment in having my players wander about in circles for countless sessions as the get lost thinking they're going northwest. It simply makes life easier for me both as a Game Master and as a player. The two scales were also included for this reason as it allows for the players to create a more accurate map if such is their aim. If your heart is set on clinging closely to what was available at the time then feel free to remove them.

As for the price I could have vastly inflated the price of a compass to an inaccessible value that prevented anyone from playing with it until later in the game when even dragons fear their approach, but by that time what need would they have for such a kit? In the end I elected to put it at a price that was expensive but not to such an extent that it would penalize anyone who wanted to pick it up as part of their character's equipment. If you feel that the price is too low than I suggest increasing it by a factor of ten as it will still see some use.

Artisan Toolkit Series

Introduction

Alchemist

Brewer

Calligrapher

Carpenter

Cartographer

Cobbler

Cook

Glassblower

Jeweler

Leatherworker

Mason

Painter

Potter

Smith
Surveyor

Tinker

Weaver

Woodcarver
Final

Works Cited
Hulme, Frederick Edward. Mathematical Drawings, Instruments, and How to Use Them. London. Trubner & Co., 1879. Digital Scan. pg. 93

Artisan Toolkits: Carpenter

Weight: [Set 1] 13 pounds (5.90 kilograms) [Set 2] 32 pounds (14.52 kilograms)
Cost: [Set 1] 30 gold [Set 2] 64 gold

Contents

Set1

Z Saw

Hammer

Pry Bar

Stanley - 5044 Bit Brace 250 Mm 10In

Steel Carpenter's Square
Set of 12 Bits of Varying Sizes

Various Screws and Nails

Set 2

Wood Rasp

Block Plane

Hand Saw

Set of 3 Z saws

Rubber Mallet

Pry Bar

Drill Bit Brace
Steal Carpenter's Square

Set of 12 Bits of Varying Sizes

Set of 6 Screwdrivers of Varying Sizes

Set of 6 Chisels of Varying Sizes

Hammer

Various Screws and Nails

It's hard to imagine too many groups that will eschew the carpenter's toolkit if they've got the option for a proficiency with it as any real interest in exploring underground dungeons, or abandoned castles, will find the carpenter incredibly valuable to the effort. The carpenter's eye for woodworking and the applications of its practices makes them an ideal candidate for weakening supports, removing doors, creating and disarming traps, and in general just being incredibly useful to have along. Yet there is a problem associated with their equipment that comes from the natural limitations for an individual to carry as carpentry tools can become very large and heavy if you don't keep an eye on what's being brought along.

Since the contents of the Carpenter's Toolkit are still common today I'll not worry with describing each item and instead will note that I have divided this toolkit into two sets. The reason for this division is based around the idea that not every player will want to fully role play the Carpenter but might want to instead play a former apprentice with enough knowledge to do basic work but not enough commitment to master the skill. My expectation is that most people will go for the lighter, and cheaper set. 

On a related note I linked to mostly Stanley tools above because they still have a lifetime warranty on some of their tools (with most of them changing over to a limited lifetime warranty) - BUT if you're thinking about picking up some of these tools for yourself then you should really go with Craftsman. The vast majority of Craftsman tools still come with a lifetime warranty and though you'll pay more for them at first, knowing that you can bring in any tool when it breaks and they'll replace it, no questions asked, more than makes up the difference. 

Artisan Toolkit Series

Introduction

Alchemist

Brewer

Calligrapher

Carpenter

Cartographer

Cobbler

Cook

Glassblower

Jeweler

Leatherworker

Mason

Painter

Potter

Smith
Surveyor

Tinker

Weaver

Woodcarver

Final

[Edit - 3/6/2015 5:09 PM Eastern]

I received a message from +Kirwyn this evening that may have some bearing on those of you contemplating picking up Craftsman tools. I've not had kirwyn's store experience and I would have been in the Store Manager's ass if I had, but the fact that anyone thought it was a reasonable way to replace a tool is bullshit of the highest order.

Kirwyn wrote: "+Charles Akins oh man! I used to agree with your assessment of Craftsman tools. No longer.
 
"A) They're no longer all made in the USA. A few might but I've seen made in Taiwan and made in China on them now.
 
"B) Still primo price but nowhere near primo quality. The finishes have gone to crap, they no longer have that "feels just right" quality in the hand that they once did.
 
"C) Their famous return policy is crap. I took back a 1/4" drive ratchet (the pawls gave out) and the guy at customer service asked "well, are you sure you want to bring it back? It has seen some use." I said yes, he goes and pulls out a hand full of other ratchets from the back and says "ok, choose one." The ratchets he brought out we're all returns that had been cobbled together. They were scratched, banged up, dented and one has a piece of the handle ground off, all while being condescending and abrupt.
 
"I told him that I expected better, I had spent $38 bucks on a good ratchet to be offered this was ridiculous. He shrugged and I still haven't forgotten what he said "get with the times or get out. Your choice." I needed a ratchet that worked so I grabbed one, against my better judgement.
 
"D) Then I heard about this: http://abcnews.go.com/US/MadeInAmerica/wrench-inventor-claims-sears-stole-idea-china/story?id=17720122

"I will not darken sears doorways again nor will I buy another craftsman tool.
 
"Fuck sears. They don't even get a capital S from me. I'll save the effort of using the shift key for something worthwhile." 

So I guess that linking to Stanley may be your best bet as the tools I've bought from them continue to be of a good quality and have a solid feel (though not as good as the old Craftsman tools once felt).  They have mostly moved away from their lifetime warranties which were as good as Craftsman's once was and have shifted to limited warranties. I have recently exchanged a tool with them (a wrench that wouldn't stay in position) and had no troubles as they handled my return in an excellent way.

Artisan Toolkits: Calligrapher

 
Weight: 2 pounds (0.91 kilograms)
Cost: 58 gold

Contents:

2 Bottles of Ink

2 Wood Pens

1 Glass Pen

8 Nibs of Varying Sizes

Wooden Case

A Calligraphy toolkit seems like an odd fit into the game since such a thing is intrinsically a superfluous thing. It isn't just used for a scribe as a quill and ink would be far easier to gather since the quill could be gathered freely during the molt (most commonly from a goose but crows, eagles, hawks, owls, and turkeys are also used) and then only the ink would have a cost. 

It stands to reason then that the Calligrapher's toolkit is going to be as much a decorative as functional item. This kit is a representative of both the Calligrapher's skill and their accomplishments. So the box itself will be something special, lined with decorative fabrics, and hinged with wrought metal (perhaps silver?). The pens themselves will be beautifully carved and blown to present the Calligrapher with a utensil for their craft that speaks of the elegance of their craftsmanship.

To be a Calligrapher is to be in a luxury profession where the richest nobles call on your services and even the lowliest scribe rolls their eyes in your wake. For that reason I can only imagine such professionals to use a box as beautiful as the Windsor Prose Writing Set (pictured above). It's a good benchmark for what the sets your Calligraphers use should look like and feel like.

Artisan Toolkit Series

Introduction

Alchemist

Brewer

Calligrapher

Carpenter

Cartographer

Cobbler

Cook

Glassblower

Jeweler

Leatherworker

Mason

Painter

Potter

Smith
Surveyor

Tinker

Weaver

Woodcarver

Final

Artisan Toolkits: Brewer

Weight: 22 pounds (9.98 Kilograms)
Cost: 77 gold

Contents

11 Bottles

Bottle Capper

22 Bottle Caps

Fermenter

Boiling Pot

Measuring Cups

Siphon

Racking Cane

Wooden Spoon

Thermomenter

Brewmaster's Guide

Various Ingredients (Malt, Barley, et al)

Where the Alchemist's toolkit required a distinction between a fragile, professional setup and the traveling kit that your average adventurer might use the Brewer's toolkit requires only a distinction in size. For our adventurous brewers their toolkits will be easily mobile until the two weeks required for fermentation, during which time the Fermenter will have to be stored in a cool, dark environment to allow the beer to mature.

For our adventurers the brewing toolkit is much as it has been for millennia with the only real variation being the ingredients and durability of the materials being used. For my purposes the Fermenter will be a large, thick, glass jug, the boiling pot will be a ceramic lined copper pot, and the racking cane will be made out of bamboo. I'm glossing over a lot of this kit since the materials are so common throughout the ages that finding them isn't really a problem.

That said there are two parts of this kit that deserve a bit of attention: the Brewmaster's Guide and the Various Ingredients. The Brewmaster's Guide will contain two recipes at the beginning of the character's career. These will represent the two most common varieties of beer in the region they're from. Other than that, the book is filled with blank pages so that new recipes can be added from their travels. As for the Various Ingredients the character will start with enough ingredients to make two batches of beer and after that they will be forced to either find new ingredients or purchase them.

My suggestion is to have them visit local brewers for new and replacement ingredients as that's the most logical way to find such things (and practically every town will have a local brewer - especially during the quasi-Medieval period that dominates Dungeons & Dragons games). This will give a bit of variation in the price of such ingredients. For my games I have established a baseline of 35 gold + 1d6 gold to account for local variations. This tends to put me right in line with the prices that I've encountered in shops and on Amazon so I feel pretty comfortable at that level.

While we're on the subject of home brewing let me just tell you guys that as I was researching the equipment for brewing that I have just fallen in love with the concept all over again. Back when I was in college one of the guys down the hall used to brew his own beer in the closet (which is a terrible idea since the shit can blow up) and we would go down to his room every so often and test out his latest creation. Sometimes they were just ridiculously good and then other times . . . Well, on other occasions I would switch over to rum and Dr. Pepper and go read Sartre since I now hated myself sufficiently enough to enjoy the bastard.

Anyway I've just ordered myself the Mr. Beer Premium Edition Home Brewing Craft Beer Making Kit from Amazon because it's on a stupid great sale (regular price $208.99 and I got it for $38.29!) and the True Brew India Pale Ale Home Brew Beer Ingredient Kit. They ingredient kit is a bit more than I would normally spend on something like this but the wife and I decided that it will pay off in the long run as I'll spend more on that on beer this spring in May alone - especially since my Dad and Brother can go fishing with me again! So I'm going to be brewing the beer we'll be drinking. Which is a bit full circle since I've started digging for my own worms again. Okay, that enough of that.

Artisan Toolkit Series

Introduction

Alchemist

Brewer

Calligrapher

Carpenter

Cartographer

Cobbler

Cook

Glassblower

Jeweler

Leatherworker

Mason

Painter

Potter

Smith
Surveyor

Tinker

Weaver

Woodcarver

Final

Artisan Toolkits: Alchemist

Weight: 20 pounds (9.07 Kilograms)
Cost: 50 gold

Contents

Alchemist’s Book

Crucible

Mortar and Pestle

Retort

Adjustable Stands

Show Globe

Case

The Alchemist’s toolkit can go one of two way: it can either be a fragile, highly precise setup that is not intended for travel; or it can be a functional, inaccurate, and sturdy traveling kit designed to compensate for the roughness of life in the wilds. Since the former does not apply to our adventurous players I will put it aside and instead focus on the traveling kit. The kit will include eight items: Alchemist’s Book, Crucible, Mortar and Pestle, Retort, Stands, Show Globe, and a Case. These items represent the bare necessitates required for performing the trade but do not represent all that may be required in order to successfully create some alchemical processes.

For the Alchemist a book filled with all the needful knowledge of the profession is just as necessary as a Wizard’s spell book. Inside it will contain the procedures for distilling certain chemicals, elements (such as are known in your gaming worlds), the manufacturing of chemical medicines, the correct way to set up an alchemist’s laboratory, and how to manufacture things such as a cupellation furnace for the refining of certain metals. Without the book an alchemist can become lost when dealing with processes that aren’t common in their day-to-day working life, which can result in disastrous consequences that range from blowing up the lab to accidentally poisoning someone when you’re trying to prepare a medicine for them. For an adventurer this can present a substantial problem as there are no regular routines to reinforce the ways of alchemy in their minds so the book is incredibly important.

Medieval Book

In my campaigns I intend to treat the book as being about the size of a hardback dictionary. This means that the book will be roughly 2 1/2” thick, 12” long, and 9” wide. The paper inside will be hand pressed which means that it will be thicker than modern paper and slightly heavier as a result. The ink on the pages should be fairly weather resistant so long as it isn’t left out in the rain or set on fire. Weight wise the book should be between five and six pounds depending on if you have a metal lock on it and how much decorative junk you’d like on the outside of it. If you’d like a title for the book I suggest calling Llull’s Transactione vel Alchimisticam (Latin for alchemical treatise). It’s got a nice ring to it and is loosely connected with Ramon Llull who actually wrote about such things.

The Retort is essentially a one piece pot still that is designed for boiling off liquids. Typically in laboratory settings you see them as glass vessels; but for a traveling alchemist who is more than likely to go hunting monsters at some point than sitting comfortably in a lab the very idea of taking glass anything along for the trip is madness. Instead it will need to be metal, and copper is the best choice. It conducts heat well, is relatively lightweight, and can be reasonably repaired without too much trouble. To be useful for the travelling kit it needs to be about the size of a medium sized Mason Jar. Which means that it should take up about a 4” square of space in the kit and weigh between a half pound and whole pound depending on if you want to make it larger.

copper retort

A crucible is nothing more than a container that can withstand high temperatures without losing its shape, and for alchemists trying to combine chemicals it’s perfect. Traditionally crucibles were made from clay and though that makes them fragile the case should be able to keep them relatively safe if they’re packaged correctly so on this piece we’ll make do with their fragile nature. For the size it needs to be no bigger than a coffee cup. That will keep its weight under half a pound which is perfect for us.

The Mortar and Pestle are used by alchemists to grind up ingredients into a fine powder or paste. Their importance for the alchemist (and for other toolkits) is hard to overstate. At the typical time period of most quasi-Medieval Dungeons & Dragons it would be relatively easy to find them made of marble, stone, wood, iron, steel, and brass. Other than wood, which should be used as a last resort since it is highly absorbent, most of these should be of similar weights due to the time and should take up the same volume of area that the crucible took up. For my purposes I will be using the stone crucible and will be setting the weight at 2 1/2 pounds.

Adjustable Stands are necessary for keeping the Retort at a set height and they can be simple things that collapse or are able to be taken apart and stored in a smaller area. Their weight is so small for each one that it’s easy to include a half dozen of them and not have to worry about raising the weight more than a half pound.

Alchemist Show Globe

The Show Globe is a symbol of the profession. Like the huge red dots on the side of liquor stores in South Carolina the Show Globes are designed for the illiterate to find you and know what you’re offering them. These globes are made of glass and can be of any color that fits your setting (though I’ve only ever seen them with a red color). They will be bound in chains so that they can hang from a staff or pole to show people that you’re open for business. The globe needs to be about the size of a soft ball and open on the top so that you can drop a candle into it to light it up. Due to its size and accouterments I’m placing the weight of this at a 2 pounds.

The case is a velvet lined, wooden box with small doors and straps to keep everything bound in place. Its edges are given extra support with steel fittings and the lock will be of a good quality. It will have similar styled handles with loops to help bind it to backpacks and pack animals. It is designed to be durable and as long as everything is placed properly it should be more than capable of protecting everything and keeping anything from breaking. I’m setting its weight at five pounds and worth every ounce of it for the protection it will provide everything.

Artisan Toolkit Series

Introduction

Alchemist

Brewer

Calligrapher

Carpenter

Cartographer

Cobbler

Cook

Glassblower

Jeweler

Leatherworker

Mason

Painter

Potter

Smith
Surveyor

Tinker

Weaver

Woodcarver

Final

Artisan Toolkits: Introduction

One of the aspects of Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons that I enjoy is the looseness of it. The game doesn't bog you down with knowing all the minutia that make up a thief's toolkit and that's great - but there are times when I actually want to know what goes into a kit because there might be something there that's integral to how it's used or that makes choosing one preferable to another. I mean, what is actually different between a smith's traveling tool set and a mason's? How do I know that one can't be used in substitution with the other? I don't know the answer; but I want to find out. So over the course of the next few days I'm going to be looking into the Artisan Toolkits and making them into a more defined list that should help answer those questions and a few others that arise in the process.

This guide will lay out what is actually contained in each toolkit, how much those contents might actually weigh, and then come to a reasonable price for those items using the gold standard we're all so familiar with. Once I'm done with everything I'll collect it all in a free PDF that will be available at the end.

I'm releasing this series under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Artisan Toolkit Series

Introduction

Alchemist

Brewer

Calligrapher

Carpenter

Cartographer

Cobbler

Cook

Glassblower

Jeweler

Leatherworker

Mason

Painter

Potter

Smith
Surveyor

Tinker

Weaver

Woodcarver

Final

Those New Monsters Look Great

Over at the Escapist - which I generally avoid because of their hijacking advertisements - some of the art from the Tyranny of the Dragons panel at PAX East has been released, and I'd like to comment on three of them. 

The new Beholder

I've been looking at this picture most of the morning and I can't decide if I like or hate it. Without a doubt the artist is an impressive individual who has really made this bad boy look like something that could jump off the page. But if you cover the eye and mouth it looks like a giant testicle with ten fleshy dicks writhing about it. I hate saying that because this is one of the best beholders I've ever seen, but it's all can see.

The new Cloaker

This picture is what a Cloaker should look like and if you had asked me what was in my head when it came to one this would have dropped out. The colors are amazing on this guy and I fucking love the Frazetta influence with the creature's body texture. He's gone from being a nondescript, flying stingray into a creature that fucking rocks. 

I want to fight this thing and I want to win. 

This is the sort of art I wished for when Third and Fourth editions came into my hands. I'm loving this shit!

The new Ogre?

I believe that this is the new Ogre and all I can say is FUCK YES! There's a clear influence from Warhammer - which is not a bad thing at all - as this guy is the sort of brutal son of a bitch I've wanted showing up in my games for years. 

Wizards keep giving us this more of this shit! I fucking love this art style!

97% is Still Failing 3% of the Time

PAX East Exhibit Hall as photographed by Kiko Villasenor

This weekend PAX East happened and more information about this summer's release of Fifth Edition was revealed, as well as, some really interesting bits on the Tyranny of Dragons program. Now speculation going into this weekend's convention had many observers predicting that not only would the launch date for Fifth Edition's Starter Set and the core books be announced, but that the prices for them would be confirmed (see Release Date for Next Leaked? for more). Neither prediction occurred. Instead we learned a lot about what the Tyranny of Dragons program was, a bit about the current state of Fifth Edition, and a lot about the upcoming art for the program.

Fifth Edition and the Return of the Multiverse

The panel was mostly about the new Tyranny of Dragons program yet some information about the new edition was revealed. The panel was asked about the current state of the new edition and Chris Perkins stated that the game was about 97% done. This number sent some people into a tailspin of despair about the new edition as it seems impossible that 3% of the process could get resolved into a finished product in time for Gen Con on August 14, 2014. 

Chris Perkins at PAX East

While many commentators lamented the missing 3% from Fifth Edition they missed a huge revelation that has confirmed a rumor that many of us in the hobby have been hoping was true since it first appeared. In August of last year Ain't It Cool News contributor Abstruse reported, ". . . A rumor has been going around that . . . [Wizards of the Coast] is approaching the various creators of their most iconic game worlds to bring them back in some capacity as the worlds are re-created or re-imagined for the next edition of D&D . . ." (AICN Tabletop! A Ton Of Stuff About D&D Next! This Week's RPG Kickstarters! And More!).

The rumor reported by Abstruse in August was given new life when James Wyatt wrote his December 18, 2013 Wandering Monsters column. 

". . . Pretty early on, we agreed that the core rules for D&D Next had to acknowledge the existence of all the worlds of D&D—not just the Forgotten Realms we’ve been talking a lot about, but also Greyhawk, Eberron, Krynn, Athas, Mystara, Ravenloft—and, most importantly, the thousands and thousands of worlds created by DMs for their own games. So we’re writing from that perspective, and you’ve seen snippets of it in the playtest materials—for example, the inclusion of the kender and the warforged in the last races document, with explicit mention of the worlds they come from . . ." (Worlds of D&D)

We now have confirmation (see Secrets from the Tyranny of Dragons for more) that all of the key settings are coming back with some major names attached to them. Ed Greenwood, who has been contributing his Forging the Realms column on the Wizards website, is involved in the creation of the new edition's version of the Forgotten Realms. We also know that Keith Baker is back on board and that we'll have more on that soon thanks to Jon Bolding. Then there's Raveloft which was confirmed to be on the way by Forbes. 

While Dragonlance has not been confirmed there is strong anecdotal evidence to suggest that this setting will be revived with the new edition as well. Kenders, the iconic Dragonlance race, has been playtested for the new edition. Chris Perkins stated that Dragonlance was not dead, but that they would need a specialist to revive it. Tantalizing bread crumbs but nothing substantial. 

What we do know for sure is that of the major settings - Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, Eberron, Dragonlance, Mystara, and Ravenloft - three of them are confirmed for the new edition with one that has been strongly hinted at being involved as well. Dark Sun's recent revival with Fourth Edition was really well done so it would not be beyond the pale to assume that it will continue its revival with the new edition. That leaves us with two settings not mentioned publicly since Wyatt's World of D&D article: Greyhawk and Mystara. Will they make a return?

The Art of Fifth Edition

Unlike the art of Fourth Edition, which was highly stylized and manga influenced, the new edition seems to be harkening back towards the realism of Second Edition art while avoiding the foibles of that earlier age. This change in style has been abundantly clear during the Sundering event but many were worried that the art might turn away from this style and back towards the cartoonish art of Fourth Edition - or worse, the hit or miss styling of Third Edition.

Happily that does not appear to be the case.  

Zhentarim.

Cultist of the Dragon

A Harper Bard

There were many more photos of monsters and of some items but sadly none of the pictures were of very good quality. Hopefully in the coming days Wizards will release more images and I'll be able to post those as well.

The Tyranny of a Stand-alone Product

While many of us were hoping for more concrete news on Fifth Edition, Tyranny of the Dragon was making news of its own. This product, unlike so many others Wizards of the Coast has released, does not require that you own the Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, or Dungeon Master's Guide to play. In fact, ". . . [Tyranny of the Dragon] adventures will be separate from the core system rules coming out this summer, but will be closely tied into those rules, and the first major adventures . . ." (Secrets from the Tyranny of Dragons).

This tied in, yet separate, structure for Tyranny of the Dragon seems to be reinforcing the goal Wizards of the Coast established when they announced that Fifth Edition would be a modular game. It also has led some to speculate that the very nature of Tyranny of the Dragon may make it easier for Wizards to get the game in the big box retailer stores, like Target, Wal-Mart, and Toys 'R' Us. 

Wizards of the Coast has done a lot to reinvigorate the game by integrating it in a wider market, however, it has not been their stated goal to get the game in the big box retailers. Instead the company has been focusing on their 'transmedia experience.' With Tyranny of the Dragon we're seeing the fulfillment of a goal established by C.E.O. Greg Leeds (see Greg Leeds, C.E.O. of Wizards of the Coast, On the State of Everything for more) and the continued evolution of their marketing strategies since the release of the Sundering. In September he laid out a vision for how the company would increase the presence of Dungeons and Dragons that included not only the standard novels and splat books that dominated Third and Fourth Editions but would also include video games, organized play events, and more.

That more has always been a tantalizing prospect as we have yet to see it materialize during the Sundering. That more, though, may show up with the Tyranny of Dragons as in the Forbes piece this line sticks out, ". . . We’ll see parts of the story not only in the tabletop RPG, but in the organized play program, in the Neverwinter MMO, and in other outlets Perkins can’t talk about yet . . ." (Secrets from the Tyranny of Dragons).

What other outlets might there be? 

Could we expect to see a new comic book? Perhaps we might expect a board game tie-in as we saw with the board games Castle Ravenloft and Lords of Waterdeep. Would it be unreasonable to expect an app of some sort that ties in with the Tyranny of Dragons? 

I expect all of those things to be around sooner than later; it only makes sense given what we've seen the company do so far. Still I cannot help wondering, in this day and age when Game of Thrones has millions on the edge of their seats, why are we not hearing about a television series? Why aren't we seeing Hasbro putting some of their best minds to work in developing a series that would capture the imaginations of millions? Why isn't there an HBO deal in the works that will finally break this hobby wide open and show the world how amazing it is?

Expanded Dungeons and Dragons News from GAMA.

This morning (see Dungeons and Dragons News for more) I posted put out a bit of information coming from the Game Manufacturers Association trade show, or GAMA for short, and I wanted to take a few minutes and expand on what we've learned in the intervening hours and to put some of those points into context.

The Starter Set

"D&D presentation showing off gorgeous D&D starter set box" I'm Board! Games

After reading a few different first hand sources who attended the GAMA show the Starter Set is going to be a White Box. This appears to be a homage to Original Dungeons and Dragons and the 1974 White Box - which is a nice touch. It seems to be part of emerging pattern of behavior from Wizards of the Coast over the last few years.

Previously, Wizards of the Coast seemed to treat older editions of Dungeons and Dragons as though they were something to be ashamed of and forgotten entirely. That changed with the release of the Red Box Starter Set for Fourth Edition. Suddenly we started getting classic products available again in pdf format through the Dungeons and Dragons Classics website. We've seen recent Encounters Series that have been compatible with Third, Fourth, and Fifth edition. The playtest packets even went so far as to make it a point of running classic adventures, such as the Keep on the Boarderlands' Caves of Chaos,  with the new edition rule sets.

In many ways it's as though the people running Wizards of the Coast woke up and realized that one of the great failures of the Fourth Edition was their insistence that old views and products weren't relevant to the game anymore. It created bad blood and drove people away from the game, myself included.

I am encouraged by this change in philosophy and hopeful that it continues as the product launches.

"Opinion: The 5e 'white box' Starter will be more like the 4e Starter Set than the Pathfinder Beginner Box . . ." I'm Board! Games

The Fourth Edition Starter Set has been maligned for a number of reasons (not the least of which was it being part of the Essentials Line), but some of this criticism has been simply because it wasn't what we wanted - whatever that was. I've gotten a couple of questions about what the actual difference between the Pathfinder Box and the D&D Box entail. These two videos should answer all of those questions. First we'll look at the Dungeons and Dragons Red Box:

Contrast the Red Box with this short presentation by Erik Mona and the Pathfinder Beginner's Box:

The Three Books

Wizards of the Coast has confirmed now that there will be a Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual. They still have not announced a release date for any of the books or the Starter Set it seems that the leaked information from Barnes and Noble's website (see Release Date for Next Leaked for more) is shaping up to be pretty accurate at least as far as was shown. 

There has been little information released on the actual look of each of the books as cameras weren't allowed during the presentation but that hasn't stopped some people from doing their best to imagine the covers:

Player's Handbook Cover by @NewbieDM

While that's not necessarily bad I'm hopeful for something more in the vein of the action oriented Advanced Dungeon Master's Guide than the static pose that graced the Forth Edition Player's Handbook. Maybe we'll get lucky and the cover will be somewhere in-between. 

"D&D Presentation: no multiple PH's . . ." I'm Board! Games

In many ways it's a relief to know that there aren't going to be five or six Player's Handbooks being published but in others it doesn't really matter. We all know that more classes, races, backgrounds, feats, spells, and other gaming ephemera are going to come out in the countless supplemental books that will be published after the core grouping. So this isn't really a win or lose statement. 

"Monster Manual. Pretty! "All the iconic monsters are there." I'm Board! Games

By contrast this statement has far more weight in it. When Fourth Edition first came out the Monster Manual was missing several of the old standbys, most notably the metallic dragons. Leaving them out isn't a cardinal sin, but it's a bit like going to see a baseball game and the right fielder is left off the roster. Yeah, you can play, but . . .

One of the major points that keeps coming up in discussing these books is how beautiful the covers are. That was something that was lacking in many Fourth Edition books as the creatures seemed to become far more cartoony than beautiful and as a whole the artistic style just wasn't as inspiring as previous editions (though clearly a three legged hog covered in leprous legions would be more attractive than the Third Edition core book covers).

I'm excited to finally see these covers when the pre-orders start launching. By the way, I'm betting that the pre-orders for the Starter Set will launch by the end of next month and the Player's Handbook will follow by the end of the following month. 

"What would Gary and Dave do?"

It tickles me to see that this is their guiding philosophy, even if it is just lip service, because what that line says to me is: make the game fun first and foremost, the rest will follow.  

Here's hoping they succeed because I'm really looking forward to the launch at this point.

Your thoughts?