And... nothing.
Check it. As of this last minute or so, even if you just try to log on to "wizards.com" you'll get Service Unavailable.
I'm wondering if all of Hasbro went down in a blaze of hits. Off to check (chuckling to myself the whole way....)
|
This is so exciting !!!
- I cannot wait to get my worldwide gaming group together to log onto their virtual gaming table (Service Unavailable)
- I cannot wait to log into my account and access my character sheet before I head out to my weekly game (Service Unavailable)
- I cannot wait to read that article that I paid for (Service Unavailable)
And all the links are dead.
can you copy paste anything here?
As soon as I can get anything else to load.
|
Service Unavailable.
I'm wondering if all of Hasbro went down in a blaze of hits. Off to check (chuckling to myself the whole way....)
Actually, its unavailable because we haven't yet ponied up our 9.95/month subscription fee. try typing in your CC info and see if the webpage appears.
grumble grumble..
From the site:
Check out what’s coming in Dragon—our first digital issue! Issue #360 hits in October, and the theme is D&D: Past, Present, and Future, so we’ll be examining the way the game has evolved over the years. Plus, you’ll see more of the great D&D content you’ve come to expect from Dragon (a new Demonomicon entry, anyone?), plus exclusive 4th Edition coverage.
Ah yes, a 4th edition... And then comes the subsequent 200 dollar plus flood of 4E material to hit the bookshelves.... Oh I can't wait.
|
|
From the site:
"Check out what’s coming in Dragon—our first digital issue! Issue #360 hits in October, and the theme is D&D: Past, Present, and Future, so we’ll be examining the way the game has evolved over the years. Plus, you’ll see more of the great D&D content you’ve come to expect from Dragon (a new Demonomicon entry, anyone?), plus exclusive 4th Edition coverage."
\
gawd dont' let El Azalin see that...don't need him talking about electronic balls....
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
|
From the site:
Check out what’s coming in Dragon—our first digital issue! Issue #360 hits in October, and the theme is D&D: Past, Present, and Future, so we’ll be examining the way the game has evolved over the years. Plus, you’ll see more of the great D&D content you’ve come to expect from Dragon (a new Demonomicon entry, anyone?), plus exclusive 4th Edition coverage.
Thanks Grindor.
Looks like they had a plan for Dragon/Dungeon after all.
My F5 key is going to die soon.
Nice one wizards, way to put your best foot forward. This stunning display of competence will surely silence the nay-sayers.
Sigh.
See? See? (I'm just reading off my script here. These views are not endorsed by Eltanin (TM).)
& seems to be the blog of Bill Slavicsek
Ah yes, a 4th edition... And then comes the subsequent 200 dollar plus flood of 4E material to hit the bookshelves.... Oh I can't wait.
It doesn't look like it will change how much people buy really. They seem to be releasing one core book a month and that is about how many books were coming out before.
Design & Development: Class
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drdd/20070816b
Here’s a highly probable conversation lifted from the future, one year from today, as two players who’ve just met at a convention discuss their PC choices for their upcoming D&D game.
“I’m playing a 3rd-level human fighter named Graelar.”
“Cool. Is he weapon and shield or two-hander?”
“He’s sword and board, man.”
“Longsword?”
“Yeah. I thought about going high Con and using a hammer, but I wanted to start with the chance to make a couple of attacks, so I’m using rain of blows as my good weapon attack, and I went with high Wis so that I can switch to the better oppy powers later.”
“My elf fighter uses a spear. I like the speed and the option to go past AC. But you’ve got the fighter covered. I’ll play a halfling rogue.”
The names and destinations of the powers mentioned above might have changed by the time the game is in your hands. What won’t change is that fighters care about which weapons they use much more than other characters. Other character classes have specific weapons and weapon types that they tend to rely on while still maintaining access to a larger chunk of the weapon chart. The fighter is the only current 4th Edition class with capabilities that depend on the weapon they have chosen to train the most with. Even at 1st level, a fighter who uses an axe has a different power selection than a fighter who relies on a flail or a rapier or a pick. In the long run, fighters can diversify and master powers related to a few different weapons, but most will opt to focus on the weapon that suits their personal style, helps their interactions with the rest of the PCs in the group, and carries all the magical oomph they’ve managed to acquire.
Many fighters will opt for swords. Swords have the most flexible assortment of powers. In a fighter’s hands, the longsword is the queen of the battlefield and the greatsword is the queen’s executioner. But each of the other significant melee weapons offers the fighter unique advantages and opportunities. For the first time, you’ll be able to say “I’m an axe fighter” or “I’m a flail fighter” and that will mean something cool.
Looks like they had a plan for Dragon/Dungeon after all.
I absolutely hope so...
But if this plan is as good as their server capacity just now... (hey, I think you can rent server capacity these days, so that´s really not that professional - what did they think, make a big annoncement, and no one will listen, or what?)
Stefan
It says that Dungeon #151 will continue the "Chimes at Midnight" 3 part series.
Where's that Logue?!? He could have easily violated his NDA and told us. I mean, c'mon!
I was on but clicking on a link screwed me over.
|
|
Design & Development: Class
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drdd/20070816bHere’s a highly probable conversation lifted from the future, one year from today, as two players who’ve just met at a convention discuss their PC choices for their upcoming D&D game.
“I’m playing a 3rd-level human fighter named Graelar.”
“Cool. Is he weapon and shield or two-hander?”
“He’s sword and board, man.”
“Longsword?”
“Yeah. I thought about going high Con and using a hammer, but I wanted to start with the chance to make a couple of attacks, so I’m using rain of blows as my good weapon attack, and I went with high Wis so that I can switch to the better oppy powers later.”
“My elf fighter uses a spear. I like the speed and the option to go past AC. But you’ve got the fighter covered. I’ll play a halfling rogue.”
I just felt like I heard two people talking character builds in WoW :\
Design & Development: Class
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drdd/20070816b
How do you do that? All I get is "service not available."
Stefan
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drpr/20070816a
Castle Smoulderthorn
Playtest Report
by Bruce Cordell08/16/2007
Playtest Reports Archive
Our staff is hard at work playtesting 4th Edition, and each week, we’ll give you a look inside one of our very own D&D games. These articles include plenty of homebrewed material that the players and DMs have made up to suit their own campaigns, just like your games, but we’ll be sure to point out when they’re stretching their creative muscles.
Keep in mind that the game is still in a state of flux, as refinements are made by our design and development staff. You’re getting a look behind the curtain at game design in progress, so enjoy, and feel free to send your comments to dndinsider@wizards.com.
June 28th, Thursday Night, Wizards Conference Room (Wayne Manor).
Campaign Arc: Castle Smoulderthorn
DM: Dave Noonan
Players: Bruce Cordell (yours truly), Richard Baker, Logan Bonner, and Toby LatinBefore we begin play, another player is giving Rich grief about one of Rich’s character’s abilities that grants the rest of us a blanket +2 to saves; it just ain’t sexy. Rich says something like, “I don’t know, I doubt I’ll use it that much, but who knows, maybe everyone in the party will get entangled.”
Sure enough, not 10 minutes later this fire-crazed flame priest has entangled half the party with fire snakes! Rich throws up his +2 to saves and, voila, at least two of us get free immediately. I guess that power isn’t so corner case after all.
In my case, I’ve thrown together a “psion.” It’s because prior to the shift to the new playtest rules, I was playing a psion elan named Infandous. You wonder, why the scare quotes? Well, just between you and me, updated-Infandous-the-psion is actually a wizard with the serial numbers filed off.
Anyhow, I missed the last few sessions, so I’m slightly confused when the session begins—apparently the group is still breathing hard from their last session, not even rested or healed, when we hear a shuffle of footsteps from behind a set of double doors. The doors aren’t completely closed, so I “mentally” whip them open from across the room.
Coming down the hallway is a troop of azer, some sort of burning serpent, and the flame priest I mentioned earlier. And it was a fight! And . . . we won. Without really breaking a sweat, either, truth be told.
Emboldened, we advanced down that hallway now littered with azer remains and ash, took a right, and pretty quickly found a dusty lintel inscribed with the words: Tomb of the Black Host.
“Sounds like someplace loot is stored,” said Infandous, eager to expand his repertoire of cool equipment. A little more discussion, and we pushed on the door. It opened . . .
And Dave spent nearly 10 minutes constructing (using Dungeon Tiles!) an ominous, crypt-lined ruin complete with three golden sarcophagi that emanated magic. Dave did a good job laying out the floor plan of the room. Such a good job that we lingered in the door looking into the shadow-lined mausoleum for a minute, then, another . . . then decided as a group that, loot or no loot, perhaps it would be better to let whatever lay in the deathly quite of the tomb alone. So, we closed the door and continued down the main hallway.
Sorry, Dave.
Starting in October, this is your destination for the best in D&D adventures. Coming in issue #151, we’ll be wrapping up a three-part Eberron series, which began with “Chimes at Midnight” in issue #133, as well as returning to a classic 1st Edition adventure, updated for D&D 3.5.
Design & Development: Class
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drdd/20070816bHow do you do that? All I get is "service not available."
Stefan
Just lucky, I guess. All the links give Service Unavailable, but I managed to get the site and that link to load, somehow.
by Bill Slavicsek08/16/2007
I always thought we should have a magazine called “&”. After all, it worked so well for Dungeon and Dragon that it just seemed to me that we were losing an opportunity to make use of the bit that brings it all together. So, until we figure out what to actually do with that recognizable little ampersand, I’m going to use it as the identifier for my regular feature here at D&D Insider.
I’m Bill Slavicsek. I’ve been the R&D Director for the Dungeons & Dragons game since Wizards of the Coast acquired the company. Before that, I was a Creative Director and Game Designer with TSR, Inc. And way back when, I ran the creative portions of West End Games. Over the years, I’ve worked on roleplaying games, board games, computer games, miniatures games, novels, and nonfiction books of all kinds, and you can see my work on everything from Star Wars to d20 Modern to D&D. I’m going to use this space to regularly talk to you about things related to D&D from the unique perspective of my Director’s chair here at WotC. Let’s start out by talking about 4th Edition D&D and D&D Insider.
At Gen Con this week, we announced that the 4th Edition of the Dungeons & Dragons game will debut in May 2008. We also announced that for the first time, the D&D game would consist of four integral and integrated parts. In addition to the physical products—the core rulebooks, supplements, adventures, miniatures, and accessories—the D&D experience would be enhanced by robust Community features (powered by Gleemax.com), a fully integrated Organized Play program that will offer benefits to convention and home play alike, and the digital initiative we’re calling D&D Insider.
Why 4th Edition and why now? Because the time was right. My R&D team has been watching the play environment since the release of the 3.5 rules, listening to what you, the players, have been telling us. Two years ago, I assembled a team of designers, led by Rob Heinsoo, Andy Collins, and James Wyatt, to review all the data we’ve been collecting and see if we could make the d20 Game System (the engine that powers the D&D game) better, more intuitive, and more fun. When I saw the first expressions of that effort, I knew we could make D&D better, stronger, faster, more fun. We could rebuild it. We could take the d20 Game System we all know and love and rocket it to the next level.
At the same time, we also began imagining a robust and exciting suite of digital features that could enhance and complement the roleplaying game. It became clear to me that we had two winning directions that would be even more powerful when we combined them, and that’s when we made the decision to move forward with D&D 4th Edition.
The future (only nine months away!) contains the same D&D we all play on a regular basis. It’s still going to be a tabletop roleplaying game. It’s still set in a medieval fantasy world of magic and monsters. It’s still the d20 Game System. But the rulebooks appear more vibrant, more visually stunning, and much easier to use. The game mechanics have been amped up to eliminate the game-stoppers, accentuate the fun factors, and make play faster and more exciting. In the future (now only eight months, 29 days, 23 hours, and 50 minutes from now!) D&D Insider provides its members with immediate access to Dragon Magazine and Dungeon Magazine, to enhanced and expanded content tied to the newest physical book products, to an amazing suite of digital tools to make Dungeon Master preparation and campaign management easier to handle, to a Character Creator that provides not only an interactive character sheet but a visualizer that lets you determine the exact look of the characters you create—and, D&D Insider provides a digital D&D Game Table that turns the Internet into your kitchen table. This amazing application, which we’ll talk more about as the weeks go on, allows you to supplement your face-to-face gaming 24/7, helps you find a group to game with if you don’t happen to have a face-to-face group, or lets you hook up with gaming buddies who long ago scattered to the four winds. Take a look at the prototype movie we showed at Gen Con to get a first taste of the D&D Game Table.
Wow. There’s a lot more that I want to share with you, but I’ve already exceeded my allotted word count for this first column. We’ll pick this up next time, when I describe a typical day in (and reveal a few secrets about) the life of an R&D Director—specifically, this R&D Director.
Keep playing!
--Bill Slavicsek
Grindor - you rule. Thanks and please keep it coming.
:D It's pretty messed up, even once I'm in there: the site hasn't fully loaded, but I dare not refresh. If it was fully loaded though, it'd look familiar but new. Most of the links are overloaded, and you just have to keep trying.
Cool! Hoyret, got a link to load that hasn't worked for me yet.
Here's the text about Dungeon.
Starting in October, this is your destination for the best in D&D adventures. Coming in issue #151, we’ll be wrapping up a three-part Eberron series, which began with “Chimes at Midnight” in issue #133, as well as returning to a classic 1st Edition adventure, updated for D&D 3.5.
Sneak Attack!
It all looks fine to me, seems like they have been hard at work, although that may just be an illusion.... A server upgrade for the announcement might have been a good idea. On the other hand, the have to be pleased their are getting all the attention.
total bummer i have now wasted a day lurking on forums.
|
Chris Thomasson in the editorial:
So What’s Next?
If you read Bart’s editorial, you know have a better idea where we've been and an inkling of the community features we'll be showcasing. There's a lot more to show, and you’ll just have to come back from time to time and see what’s up for yourself. But we would be poor hosts if we didn’t at least offer a taste of what’s to come.Bart already told you about the Gleemax/DnD site. We’re really excited about putting Gleemax’s functionality to the test. “But what,” you ask, “is this log-in thing? Why am I doing it? What does it mean?” Here’s the plan:
Sometime in the spring, when all of D&D Insider’s digital components go live, we’ll begin charging a monthly subscription fee to access some of our online content. We don’t have final pricing details ready to share, but one subscription fee will cover all aspects of D&D Insider, including more than two print issues’ worth of editorial content each month. You’ll get access to the amazing set of tools D&D Insider will provide—the D&D Game Table, the D&D Character Creator, and the Dungeon Master’s Toolkit, details of which will be unveiled in the coming months. You’ll also get more of the great content you’ve come to expect from Dragon and Dungeon over the past umpteen-dozen years.
In the meantime, we want to start showing you the type of editorial content you’ll get for your money, and help you understand what constitutes subscription-level content (that is, something you need an account to access). And that’s where the current log-in system fits in.
Over these next few months, we’ll be keeping an eye on the things you like and don’t like, making adjustments based on your feedback. Feel free to drop us a line at dndinsider@wizards.com or post on the new Dragon and Dungeon forum. Your voice will help shape future content.
Dungeon and Dragon magazines are industry titans, with storied histories. As the D&D game has evolved, so too have the magazines. Our goal going forward is to provide you with great content plus much more utility than print magazines can allow. Don’t believe me? Heck, both Chris Perkins and I started our careers in the industry on these magazines. And speaking for myself, I wouldn’t be walking this path again if I didn’t think it was worth it, or if I didn’t think we couldn’t do an even better job this time around. But I’m about as giddy as this kid when I think about what’s coming.
Which leads me to the next few months. From now to the 4th Edition launch, Dragon is going to give you the latest 4th Edition developments. We’ve revamped the Design & Development column, which has run on the site now for some time, and we’re using it to show you now not only what is coming, but why and how. Several times each week, we’ll give a detailed look at one specific part of the new system, with commentary by the folks doing the design and development of the game. At the same time, Dragon will continue to bring you favorites such as Ecology articles, campaign setting support, and other great content written, as always, by members of the D&D community. You’ll see this in Dragon #360, which, among other things, includes a spectacular 360-degree panoramic view of the D&D game.
Need adventures? Check out the new Dungeon pages for a sneak peek at issue #151, which also comes out in October. This issue heralds the return of Dungeoncraft. James Wyatt—D&D game designer, co-author of the Eberron Campaign Setting, and Eberron novelist—takes over as the new master of Dungeoncraft, and I can’t want to show what he’s up to.
Then there’s the comics, the free maps, Sage Advice, all the stuff Bart already talked about, and more I'm probably forgetting. Every Monday we’ll have a weekly update to tell you what’s in store for D&D Insider in the coming week, as well as new editorial content every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We’ll also use these newfangled tubes we call the “Interweb” to bring a new spin to classic D&D content. We’re looking at more innovative ways to leverage the technology at our disposal and bring your game to new heights of cool.
So stick around. We’re just getting started here, and I can’t wait to show you what we’re gonna do next.
--Chris Thomasson
|
|
My wife and her co-worker that games with us just messaged me, one asking if the surprise was that Wizards was taking down their site, and the other asking if I had crashed the site from refreshing too much.
Still waiting for the site ... thanks for passing on morsels, those of you who have gotten somewhere with Wizards!
I wonder what 5th edition will be like?
