BEST READS OF THE WEEK! MAY 23 - 31, 2015!

 

Welcome back to the Best Reads of the Week! Every week I read through more than 450 blogs looking for the best rpg related articles and bringing them directly to you. This week we've got: forbidden tombs of occult lore; +Jack Shear's continued exploration of his Arksylvania setting; thoughts on Callers; one of the most fantastic collections of terrible tables I've ever seen; and so much more!

As always, if you liked any of the posts listed here be sure to let the author know. Leave them a note on their blogs, give them a plus 1, like them on the Facebooks, and share their posts in your social media feeds! Till next week!

BEST READS OF THE WEEK!

MAY 23 - 31, 2015

Eternal Lies – Books of the Los Angeles Cult: Cult’s Library (Part 1) and Eternal Lies – Books of the Los Angeles Cult: Cult’s Library (Part 2) by Justin Alexander, from the blog The Alexandrian: Vile cults are supposed to have libraries filed with mysterious tomes on forbidden lore and the esoteric, demonic summoning arts. These volumes in this two part series from Justin is a great place to get your imagination working.

Not Very Good at This by +Tom Doolan, from the blog Wishful Gaming: I'm firmly convinced that Tom is an incredibly underrated blogger whose focus on games like Mutants and Masterminds is a refreshing breath of air in a hobby dominated by dungeon slaying crazies who are looking for a good time. So reading a post where he talks about the things he's not very good at just relieves all this internal pressure that I end up putting on myself about the things I'm not good at either.

Arksylvania Part 4: Karnberg, Locksley, Malheim and Part 5: Konstantine, Wounded God, Crimson Martyrdom by +Jack Shear, from the blog Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque: The continuing posts describing Jack's fantastic Arksylvania setting. Be sure to check them out!

Clerical Work Part VI: Specialty Priests of Azuth for D&D 5th Edition; Part VII: Specialty Priests of Illmater; and Part VIII: Specialty Priests of Umberlee by +Mark Craddock, from the blog Cross Planes: Mark's continuing efforts to bring in the Specialty Priest into 5e. Still rocking.

Judging Dungeon Designs: One Page Dungeon Contest by +Martin Thomas, from the blog Daddy Rolled a 1: In this post Martin, one of the judges during this year's One Page Dungeon Contest, discusses why the contest is so cool (aside from the fact that it provides us all with lots of free dungeons to use in our own campaigns).

On Callers by Delta, from the blog Delta's D&D Hotspot: The Caller is one of those early aspects of D&D that never gets enough love. In this short post from Delta we're treated to his thoughts on the benefits of this much maligned part of the game.

D20 NPC's from Pandelver by +Mark Van Vlack, from the blog Dust_Pan_Games: Are you looking for some quick NPCs? Mark has your back in this excellent d20 table.

Some Thoughts on the Indie RPG Industry by +Vb Wyrde, from the blog Elthos RPG: The Indie RPG Industry is an odd one that becomes incredibly difficult to conceputalize because there are so many different companies attempting to gain a foothold and to make ground in a crowded field. Vb's thoughts on the matter put things in a perspective that anyone contemplating entering the field should consider.

The Last Word on Edition Warring by +Jeremy Smith, from the blog Froths of D&D: In this short post Frothsof reprints the powerful words of Frank Mentzer on edition warring. Well worth reading for anyone foolish enough to think arguing about what edition people play is a valid use of their time.

My Job as a GM by +Tim Shorts, from the blog Gothridge Manor: What are the things that you worry about doing as a Game Master? Tim's got some valuable thoughts on what concerns him.

Call for LotFP Monsters [PAYING WRITING WORK] by +James Raggi, from the blog Lamentations of the Flame Princess: While I believe that the submission time has passed I still wanted to draw attention to this post because what James is looking for here is what we should all be looking for in the monsters we create and use. That is to say that they should be more than just a stat block of damage and abilities.

DISPLACER KLAUS STRANGLING A UNBORN WORLD by +Scrap Princess, from the blog Monster Manual Swen from Pants: All the tables you never asked for and didn't want when you got them. Whole post is great stuff.

The Book Shelf: The Broken Cycle by A. Bertram Chandler

The Broken Cycle is part of the John Grimes adventure line of novels from A. Bertram Chandler and it's the first of that series that I have ever had the opportunity to read. Chandler has an easy to read style that makes the book feel more like watching your favorite TV show than working your way through some dense volume of immense and importance. As a result it's a lot of fun to read.

At times the story moves at a breathtaking pace with Grimes and Una Freeman, his only companion throughout much of the novel, desperately trying to find their way home after being hurtled through space and time. The aliens they meet along the way are interesting, and while not as terrifying as the plasmoids in Spider Robinson's Telempath, they nonetheless get the job done. On the whole this aspect of the novel has made me glad that I picked up several other John Grimes novels when I was at the used book sale because the character has a lot of potential and Chandler's writing is quite enjoyable.

That isn't to say that the novel doesn't have its issues. The character of Una Freeman is an unsympathetic mess who I often found myself wishing had died along the way. In a lot of ways it seems that she is a caricature of the modern woman (of the late 70s fashion). By turns she is independent and strong, then she turns caustic, then she turns into this sexually liberated individually who gleefully jumps into Grimes' bed even though she doesn't actually care much for him as a person. Without question she was the most difficult part of the story as she often bounced from one personality to the next with little connection to the events surrounding them.

Still, the novel was an enjoyable read and I look forward to reading more from the Grimes series in the future. If you have the chance to pick this one up for a good price then I highly recommend it.

BEST READS OF THE WEEK! MAY 16 - 22, 2015!

Welcome back to the Best Reads of the Week! Every week I read through more than 450 blogs looking for the best rpg related articles and bringing them directly to you. This week we've got: the beginnings of yet another fantastic setting from +Jack Shear; a breathtaking interview about fire; a controversial new game; dungeon shorthand; a fantastic post from +Mateo Diaz Torres; and so much more! 

As always, if you liked any of the posts listed here be sure to let the author know. Leave them a note on their blogs, give them a plus 1, like them on the Facebooks, and share their posts in your social media feeds! Till next week!

BEST READS OF THE WEEK!

MAY 16 - 22,  2015!

White Hot Star by JB, from the blog B/X Blackrazor: JB's review of White Star launched a thousand words of digital ink as bloggers both prominent and not-so-much went out of their way to dissect his review with some calling it "sour grapes" while others described it as an "on point" assessment of the new release. Either way this review is a rather good glimpse into the product from someone who wasn't instantly in love with it - and that can be a really good thing for all of us when it comes to not wasting our money and time on games that won't fulfill their promise.

Arksylvania Introduction, Part 2: Blighter's Manse and Dunlowe, and Part 3: Exford Heath, Hawking Moor, Hungry Hollow by +Jack Shear, from the blog Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque: The Arksylvania setting represents Jack turning his talent towards a setting that combines the best elements of Castlevania, Bloodborne, Penny Dreadful, and Darkest Dungeon to create something that is wholly his own. Like his previous efforts in remixing Ravenloft the Arksylvania series is well worth checking out and plundering for all the things you never knew you needed in your home games.

Clerical Work Part IV: Specialty Priests of Lathander for D&D 5th Edition and Part V: Specialty Priest of Mystra by +Mark Craddock, from the blog Cross Planes: Mark's continuing attempts to bring in the Specialty Priests through the use of Feats in 5e.

Princes of the Apocalypse Tactics: Black Earth Priest by +Daniel Davis, from the blog Detect Magic: Are you running the Princes of the Apocalypse but finding that the Black Earth Priests are just a little too easy for your players to run over? Then try this incredibly useful tactic Daniel has come up with to increase the difficulty without manipulating the Priests into something else.

Why Wizards Suck on the Battlefield by +Rick Stump, from the blog Don't Split the Party: When 4e first came out there was a lot of talk about Quadratic Wizards and Linear Fighters - as though such a thing had any real meaning - with a general consensus being reached that Wizards were far superior to fighters. Rick has a counterpoint that ends with dead wizards, everywhere.

An Interview with Dungeon Smash about Fire by +Patrick Stuart, from the blog False Machine: This is arguably the best interview I have read all year. It's intense and +Dungeon Smash talks about fire in a way that makes you want to hold your breath. Great, great read.

Drawing villains from PC back stories by +Geek Ken, from the blog Geek Ken: Sometimes you're struggling to come up with a villain that will have an impact for your players. Ken has a great suggestion for how to do just that in a way that will strengthen your players' own personal narratives.

XIII by +Mateo Diaz Torres, from the blog gloomtrain: While having these sort of random events in a campaign is not for everyone I love the 13 Warlocks and think the last one in particular, Maastricht, is particularly inspired. Check this one out because Mateo knocked it out of the park.

Settings or Rules or Both and Why Not, Another Giveaway by +Tim Shorts, from the blog Gothridge Manor: Inspired by a discussion between +Erik Tenkar and +Michael S this insightful post tends to do as so many of Tim's posts - it cuts right to the heart of the matter in a reasonable fashion. What's more, Tim's post sparks a lively discussion in the comments of this blog that brings out some rather interesting thoughts from his readers. Where do you stand?

Braunstein! Or Do Ethics Matter in OSR Publishing? by Harvard, from the blog Harvard's Blackmoor Blog: A company took the Braustein name - something it did not own - and used it to make an OSR game with the implication that the original Braustein creator, David Wesely, was, if not involved, agreeable to the game. This was not the case.

Geekway to the West 2015 by +Kevin Smith, from the blog Melvin Smif's Geekery: Geekway to the West is a convention that I've never heard of before Kevin mentioned it on his blog, but after reading this post it's one I definitely plan on attending. In every way it appears to be well worth the money to attend as you not only get a free board game (like the expensive one and not any of that Monopoly crap) but you have the opportunity to win more throughout the convention. Check this post out if you've never heard of Geekway because there's a lot here!

Dungeon Shorthand: A Quick Reprise, Dungeon Shorthand Addendum, and Dungeon Shorthand Sample by Talysman, from the blog The Nine and Thirty Kingdoms: The idea of a dungeon shorthand just fascinates me and the way that Talysman is able to flesh out the idea in these three posts has me convinced of its viability as a system. What do you think?

BEST READS OF THE WEEK! May 9 - 15, 2015!

Welcome back to the Best Reads of the Week! Every week I read through more than 450 blogs looking for the best rpg related articles and bringing them directly to you. This week we've got: a fantastic group of npc organizations from +Patrick Stuart; a look at Grappling rules and how to make it so they don't completely suck; thoughts on how to keep a dungeon threatening; the most terrifyingly helpful organization you'll ever think about putting in your games; and so much more! 

As always, if you liked any of the posts listed here be sure to let the author know. Leave them a note on their blogs, give them a plus 1, like them on the Facebooks, and share their posts in your social media feeds! Till next week!

BEST READS OF THE WEEK!

MAY 9 - 15, 2015!

Eight Navigating Houses of Nox by +Patrick Stuart, from the blog False Machine: There is something exceptional about the way that Patrick is able to create an underground environment that evokes a sense of nightmarish claustrophobia and other worldliness even when he's writing about an underground sea. Good stuff here.

Random Zonal Anomalies by +trey causey, from the blog From the Sorcerer's Skull: If you're looking to give an area a different feel this post, with its tables, is a great place to explore. Lots of good ideas here to give an area a unique feel that your players will remember.

Rules for Grappling Rules by +Douglas Cole, from the blog Gaming Ballistic: If you've been reading along with Douglas' excellent Violent Resolution series you already know that he's got a certain knack for combat in role-playing games so it should come as no surprise that he's decided to take on Grappling rules. Yet this entry is more than just a look at grappling in role-playing games - it's a look into making the rules we use and how we use them better for all of us.

5 Things I would like to see from WotC in the next 2 years by +Johua De Santo, from the blog Genius Loci: I think that we can all agree that there are things we would love to see some of our favorite companies do in the coming years, and Johua's list is right in line with my own. Would love to see Wizards do these. So what are yours?

Violent Resolution - Hit Him with my Mace by +Douglas Cole, from the blog Gaming Ballistic: In this Violent Resolution post Douglas looks at the classic weapons of fantasy role-play and their use in a variety of games. It's always interesting to see the way different games handle these things and his expertise is greatly appreciated.

Keep Dungeon Threats Threatening by +Arnold K., from the blog Goblin Punch: How do you maintain a dangerous environment in the dungeons your players explore if you allow spells like light, flight, and see invisibility? Arnold has some thoughts on the matter that make me long for the days of Fourthcore.

The Future of Gamebooks? by Graeme Davis, from the blog gramedavis: Do you remember the old choose your own adventure books that colored the early days of the role-playing game scene? Graeme was asked if he thought those halcyon days would ever come back again. Does he think we'll see a resurgence? Do you?

Healers. Curing haemorrhoids, one hot poker at a time by +Alasdair Cunningham, from the blog Iron Rations: The Sisters of Mercy; it has a pleasant sound to it, doesn't it? Unfortunately when left in the hands of some madman like Alasdair they become the most terrifyingly helpful organization you've ever encountered wandering about a fantasy setting. I love them and they will soon be in my home campaign waging war against the every day ailments of life. May God help my players.

Good Riddance Experience Points by Clovis Cithog, from the blog Jasoomian Dreams: So what happens when you get rid of experience points? Do you just level up at some arbitrary point? Well, what if you had a random roll that gave the players something special instead? Sometimes a level, sometimes something else entirely.

BEST READS OF THE WEEK! MAY 1 - 8, 2015!

Welcome back to the Best Reads of the Week! Every week I read through more than 450 blogs looking for the best rpg related articles and bringing them directly to you. This week we've got: new monsters; lots of great set pieces for your home campaigns; an amazing campaign write up that will have you salivating for more; orcs, orcs, orks, and orks; a great random table; thoughts on game design from +Arnold K. and +Courtney Campbell; a love letter to Blueholme that will have you picking up that game; and so much more! 

As always, if you liked any of the posts listed here be sure to let the author know. Leave them a note on their blogs, give them a plus 1, like them on the Facebooks, and share their posts in your social media feeds! Till next week!

BEST READS OF THE WEEK! 

MAY 1 -8, 2015!

You don’t have time to build up to something great by 1d30, from the blog 1d30: We live in an age when there is an abundance of resources you can draw on to launch the campaign of your dreams, but with all this wealth sometimes we forget that we don't have all the time in the world. Here's some helpful advice in that regard.

The Art of the Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Game (TSR, 1985) (Part Two) by 2W2N, from the blog 2 Warps to Neptune: This post is a continuation of 2W2N's examination of the Art of Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Game that began last month and features some beautiful illustrations from the Second Edition of the game. Really enjoyable for anyone who's a favor of the older D&D artwork. You can check out part one here.

Weejas by bygrinstow, from the blog Appendix M: A quick write up of the iconic Star Wars creature by the same name. What I like about this one is how bygrinstow manages to make them more than just a box of stats and instead manages to make them something that I actually want to bring into one of my games.

Vladimir Putin’s Last Voyage 1: Strangers in a Strange Land by faustusnotes, from the blog Compromise and Conceit: My God, this game is a beautiful beast that keeps my attention and has me desperate for the next part. Check it out because this is a wild and magnificent ride.

Interview with Rachel E.S. Walton, designer of The Long Orbit by +Ariana Ramos, from the blog Contessa: If you haven't heard of the Long Orbit before this interview then you need to stop what you're doing and read the interview right now. This game sounds like so much fun! Thank you Contessa for bringing some much deserved light to a game I had never heard of before!

Orcs are so Passe by +Charles Akins, from the blog Dyvers: I know you are trying to say that you don't like orcs anymore because they're just the same thing that everyone's been using the same way since forever but all I'm hearing is, "Blah, blah, blah . . ."

Porc N Orc Talk inspired by Dyvers by +Chris Tamm, from the blog Elfmaids & Octopi: If you can read Chris' take on anything and not feel inspired to do your own thing then I've got nothing for you. His imagination is second to none and when he puts his mind to any topic you had best take note of the results because he's putting out solid gold.

An Introduction to the Elementals of Subazurth by Trey, from the blog From the Sorcerer's Skull: I'm really kind of digging this short introduction to the elementals of Subazurth. Trey has this natural talent for taking concepts you're familiar with and giving them a new life.

Question of the Day - Will there be an OSR version of Frigga's Chosen? by +Johua De Santo, from the blog Genius Loci: In this post Johua discusses how the OSR isn't providing enough revenue for him to break even on his projects anymore which is why he's doing 5e products now. Is this an isolated event; one game designer's problem within a crowded field, or is this a sign of a change in the market away from OSR products?

What is Tested? by +Arnold K., from the blog Goblin Punch: When you're designing your dungeon what are you attempting to accomplish with it? Are you attempting to test the players' skill, their ability to min / max their characters, how many times your players will let their characters die in room A7 before they slash your tires? Figuring out what you're trying to test with your dungeons is important and Arnold has some thoughts about it.

On Balance in 5th Edition by +Courtney Campbell, from the blog Hack & Slash: The subject of balance in the various versions of D&D tends to come up a lot and often it tends to be hinged upon shady math. When Courtney looks at 5th Edition, however, it's through the eye of someone who isn't interested in manipulating numbers for an outcome he likes which often makes him an incredibly valuable resource. His conclusions on this matter interest me. What do you think about them?

d6 Wandering Monster Table with added sounds. Batteries not included by +Alasdair Cunningham, from the blog Iron Rations: This post is just fantastic. Seriously, just read this line: ". . . behold, I give you, Ignus Ursus. The Fire Bear! Like a Polar bear, only hotter, and wielding weapons, and using armour, so maybe not much like a Polar bear at all then . . ." If that line doesn't make you want to check out this post then I don't know what's wrong with you. This thing's a riot!

Does Rule Zero Empower Game Masters To Handle Problem Players? by +Jeffro Johnson, from the blog Jeffro's Space Gaming Blog: For certain segments of our hobby Rule Zero, that the Game Master is always right, is a sore spot that has never gone away. It excuses every terrible excess in gaming that you can imagine; but are they right? Jeffro has some thoughts on the matter that you may find interesting.

Toss Out Alignment Entirely and Try This… by +Moebius Adventures,  from the blog Moebius Adventures: This is an interesting idea for how to deal with alignments that has players weighing their decisions against two moral spheres. I'm not sure how it would play in a game but it has me intrigued nonetheless.

Blueholme by +Denis McCarthy, from the blog Northport: Why should you choose Blueholme over any of the other OSR games out there? What makes it so special? In this fantastic essay Denis discusses his love for this elegant game and in the process has made me want to play it too!

FAQ for May 2015 BEST READS OF THE WEEK!

How many blogs did you check?

452

How many posts did you read to make the lists?

2,901

How many posts were read for May1 - 8, 2015?

698

How many posts were read for May 9 - 15, 2015?

708

How many posts were read for May 16 - 22, 2015?

727

How many posts were read for May 23 - 31, 2015?

768

How do I get my blog checked for next month?

Send me an e-mail titled Please Add My Blog to the GBRC and I'll put you in the queue.

If you have any other questions please let me know and I'll add them and their answers to the FAQ.

Quick Notes

Quick notes: 

• 450 blogs surveyed. 
• 8,092 posts read in 7 days
• One post will be going up every day for the remainder of the month going live until we're all caught up on August 31.
• I'm recycling the banners I've been using because that's what I'm doing. 
• Had a lot of blogs move into the abandoned and deleted column. Not sure what's going on but something is definitely happening.
• Also ended up with 60-ish new blogs in this survey that had previously not been involved. 
• Started a new project during all of this as well. Hoping to get it published by the 1st of September. 

What's happening with you kids?

I Need a Glass of Wine and a New Chair

In the last two days I've been working pretty much continuously on the Best Reads of the Week series in an effort to catch it back up. That shouldn't really be a huge deal since I normally read everybody throughout the weeks and add them to my running list - only here's the thing: back when I was having so much trouble with blogger all my Best Reads that were in the works were deleted. So now I'm having to go back over three months worth of entries just to catch up. So what does that mean in real terms? It means that I've read over 140 blogs and 3,600 posts. 

I'm never falling behind again.

The D&D Guidebook, 3rd Edition Part 2: Let’s Talk About All That Funny Math

Shortly after you open the 3e Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG) you’ll find a little section titled General Guidelines. It’s here that the mathematics that you’ve grown up with are going to begin abandoning you and it’s here that our exploration of 3e really beings.

Rounding Fractions

In 3e you’re going to encounter fractions and like when you were in elementary school these fractions are always to be rounded to the nearest whole number. Only unlike the math you learned alongside your letters and what it means when a pretty girl slides you a note asking if you want to be her boyfriend in Third Edition there is no artificial demarcation line drawn at 1/2. Everything rounds down to the lowest number – except for when it doesn’t. Certain types of damage, hit points, and on a few other occasions it isn’t possible for the math to give you a result lower than one.

Congratulations, we’ve just run into our first exception of the game and we’re only on page six of the 3e DMG. Get ready because there are going to be a lot more.

Multiplying

So let’s talk about how you multiply in 3e because this is going to come up eventually in any game you play. Now normally multiplication works as it always has when you have a single multiplier. For example, if you make a critical hit (the best result in combat) then your weapon damage is multiplied by its critical modifier as always (the numbers here for new players are going to look a bit crazy but don’t worry about them right now as this is just putting a little bug in your ear so that you will remember it later). Let’s say that your fighter is swinging a war-hammer which has a X3 critical modifier. When you roll that critical you multiply your normal damage as follows:

3(1d8+6) = 3(1d8) + 3(6) = 3d8 + 18

Pretty standard stuff, right?

Now where things get weird is when you have an additional multiplier to factor into the equation for combat.  Let’s say that you have a special magical effect that happens when you fight a particular enemy that multiplies your damage by two every time you attack that creature with your war-hammer, and on this particular occasion you score a critical. How would you imagine that you would combine those two multipliers? For some of you it would be obvious that you should follow the order of operations. First you would resolve the doubling of the damage, since it happens every time you attack that enemy, and then applying the triple for the critical to arrive at a result similar to this:

3[2(1d8+6)] = 3[2(1d8) + 2(6)] = 3[2d8 + 12] = 3(2d8) + 3(12) = 6d8 + 36

Not so fast my friend. In 3e you combine the multipliers through an addition of a subtraction. Sound odd?

It is.

When you have two multipliers in combat you’re supposed to take one away from the lesser of the two multipliers and add the results. Let’s again consider our magical war-hammer and the critical strike. 3e would like us to combine the 3 multiplier and the 2 multiplier, minus one. This results in a multiplier of 4. To put it in a mathematical formula:

((3 + 2) – 1)(1d8 + 6) = (5 – 1)(1d8 + 6) = 4(1d8 + 6) = 4(1d8) + 4(6) = 4d8 + 24

In the revision of 3e, lovingly referred to as three-five, this would be explained as follows:

“. . . Another way to think of it is to convert the multiplication into additions. Tordek’s critical hit increases his damage by 2d8 + 12, and the dwarven thrower’s doubling of damage increases his damage by 1d8 + 6, so both of them together increase his damage by 3d8 + 18 for a grand total of 4d8 + 24 . . .” (Tweet, 304)

Over the years I’ve played Third Edition using both systems of math, that found in the real world and that found in 3e, and honestly, the game plays better when you use the 3e method. Oh, it’s a strange math all right, but the game is more challenging and exciting when you use it.

Before we close up this section of the Guidebook I should note that at the time 3e was first published the multiple multiplier rule was confusingly written and implied that this sort of math should be applied to all situations where multiple multipliers were in play. This would be cleared up in the revision of the game to show that only combat modifiers as described above should be handled in this way. All other similar situations should be handled like the rest of the world deals with all math: in a standard order of operations, with a calculator, and avoided whenever possible.

Works Cited:

Tweet, Johnathan. Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook, Core Rulebook I v.3.5. USA: Wizards of the Coast, Inc., 2003. Print. 304

The D&D Guidebook, 3rd Edition Part 1: Welcome and Remember These Two Things

Hi, my name is Charles and I like Third Edition Dungeons & Dragons (3e, 3ED&D, 3.5e, or 3.5ED&D*). I know that probably sounds odd considering that the game is wrapped up in moth balls and that most of the people online who love D&D mean either: Original D&D (OD&D); one of the Basic versions of D&D edited by either Holmes, Moldvay, or Mentzer (HBD&D, MOBD&D, or MEBD&D respectively); Fourth Edition D&D (4e or 4ED&D); Fifth Edition D&D (5e or 5ED&D); Pathfinder; or some retro-styled indie variant of the earlier editions of D&D (like Swords & Wizardry or OSRIC). The focus always seems to fall on these other versions of the game with Second Edition D&D (2e or 2ED&D) and 3e receiving little love among the role-playing game blogs. 

Trust me, I know. 

So why focus on 3e? Because I fucking love it. 3e was the game that got me to actually spend time on D&D and it was the one that got me playing role-playing games after years of wanting to but never having the opportunity. It was the game that opened itself up to me and that I completely got from the get go; so much so, that I've run well over 800 sessions of it in the last decade. This, then, is my love letter to Third Edition. 

This series will be looking at 3e, warts and all. It won't cover every book that was produced but it will focus on the ones that I liked and that got me excited to play the game. Some of the parts that I'll be looking at might sound a bit boring (I'm looking at you grapple rules) but stick with me and I promise it'll be worth it. Before we go any further though you need to remember two things about Third Edition: (1) we always, always round our fractions down; (2) the math you learned to get here will be meaningless. 

Welcome to Third Edition; you're in for a fun time.