Wade Baldwin's page

Still not thrilled with the Spawn of Tiamat after looking at them either . . . especially since so many of them aren't dragons!?! Hm . . . blessing from a dragon goddess, born to true dragons . . . offspring is a monstrous humanoid . . .

I was wondering about this my self... but if you notice, they all have "dragonblood" which technically makes them dragons as far as what sort of things affect them and fills the requirement of 'dragon' for feats and prestige classes and such...

Also, at the beginning of the entry for the Spawn of Tiamat, it directly compares the Spawn to the dragonborn from Races of the Dragon. The dragonborn are humanoids that have transformed into 'draconic' humanoids... so are the Spawn.

As for the book overall, I'm definitely pleased. Sure there are a few entries here and there that could have been left out, but the good stuff wouldn't stand out as much if the bad sutff wasn't at least represented ;)

When the DMG II came out and they had the new stat block I was appalled... I was used to looking at the same basic format for the past 13 years! But after I looked through MM IV and read over the introduction that explains the new format and just the other night I read an article on the WotC website explaining their reasoning for the new format (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dd/20060707a)
I now see that it is a better format. I will find out how much more efficient it is supposed to be this weekend when I start The Red Hand of Doom adventure.

Finally, if I could say only one thing about MM IV it would be that it blows MM II out of the water! I dont' know what it is about MM II, but I don't like it and it doesn't seem to be able to stand next to the other MMs...

I've instated a House Rule that I call the "Hero Bonus".

When characters are being created for my games they get the following in addition to the standard book stuff...

2 bonus feats that don't stack with each other, nor can one of them be "FEAT" and the second be "IMPROVED FEAT"
4 bonus skill points
+2 to any ONE ability score OR +2 to any ONE saving throw

Also, if it is a higher level game, I allow one free magic version of whatever the character's primary weapon is going to be. Depending on the difficulty of the game determines what the total enhancement bonus/speacial properties modifier. Alternatively, if the player would rather armor/protective item of similar power I might allow it.

I acquired my "purple & gold" quite by chance... When I was but a budding gamer ( I was around 13) and I had only been playing a year or two, my "girlfriend" gave me the same Crown Royal bag I still use today. I thought I was being cool because no other gamers in my area at the time had one. When I went to my first Dragon Con and saw other people carried them too I was a little disappointed at first... I wasn't so unique after all :(

But then I accepted my status as a die hard dork and I have sported my CRDB proudly ever since...

That's so weird that I just came across this thread... my girlfriend and I were just talking about this same subject... I haven't converted her into a gamer yet, but I'm starting to get through! (She was looking up dice online while I was off playing D&D at a friend's house... soon she will join us... mwah ha ha ha ha!!!)

Thanks folks for the input! You are probably right about there being enough NPCs already... I am somewhat obessive compulsive and tend to over prepare... I don't get it. I used to sit down with the guys, my dice, a pen and a legal pad and we would game for 10+ hours and have a great time! Maybe I should try that again and see if this new group notices ;) Thanks again!

Hi everyone! This is my first post, but I've read just about all of the others... I just purchased the HC and I'm about to start a new campaign set in the Forgotten Realms. I've been playing D&D since 1993 and I am usually the DM in my group. While my experience is vast and my knowledge of the rules is thorough, figuring out what the players are going to do next is never an easy task. Since this entire adventure revolves around a sizable city MANY NPCs will be encountered.

I was wondering if anyone had come up with a few new NPCs or locations (in the city) for their games. I have a very busy schedule and I am always looking for resources to help lessen my work load when preparing a game.

Also, what have some of your players enjoyed doing while in the city (between adventures). So much can happen in a city setting so I like to be prepared even for the "mundane". I want my players to enjoy themselves and really feel like they are a part of the city.

Finally, I like to use sound effects (on the computer) while running games. I have been searching for old school video game sound effects (like the sound when you find a secret door or new item in the original Legend of Zelda), but I can't seem to find anything like that.

Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!