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When thinking back at fond memories of playing Dungeons & Dragons, I almost always recall sessions and situations where a greater goal was completed. The moments that have stuck the most in my head are the ones where the group completed a quest/mission that had meaning, and ultimately smoothed out the rough edges of a longer story. I bring this up because as I journey through my own personal goal of becoming a better game designer, I want to find ways that provide for this experience in a more meaningful way. Around the time that I started work on Monster Vault : Threats to the Nentir...

I have been engaging with some D&D regulars on Twitter over the possible outcomes of adventures and their story. In many regards, a lot of adventures and plots usually climax with a rigorous fight—one where success is contingent upon slaying the antagonist. But what if you want something more dynamic than that? What if success and failure revolved around something less defined? Let’s delve into this and more. Image from SlyFlourish.com. Artist: Jared Von HindmanI’ll be honest. In 1988, when my older brother first introduced me to Dungeons & Dragons, I was captivated by...

We had a live chat with Chris Perkins and Logan bonner on January 18th, focusing on the design and development of D&D Lair Assault: Talon of Umberlee, as well as some general R&D topics and breaking into the business. Below is the transcript of that chat. _____________________ WotC_Trevor: Alright! Moderation is working which means we can get started. Let me explain a couple things first. WotC_Trevor: Moderated chat means that only moderators and our guests can talk. WotC_Trevor: For you lovely people in the crowd, when you type something up and send it, we get it on a little side...

By now many of you have heard the exciting news regarding the development of the next iteration of Dungeons & Dragons. If you haven’t already, take some time to read over the recent Lore & Legend article by Mike Mearls. wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4ll/2... Based on what we already know, and what possibilities lie ahead, what are some of the core intrinsic features of the game you would like to see enhanced? Are there any specific parts of the game that you feel contrast D&D from other popular tabletop roleplaying games? Why do you feel it is important to emphasize....

Being a successful Game Master is relative to an array of deciding factors: The makeup of your gaming group, the personalities involved, and the actual game being played all make this job difficult and demanding. I have been playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons since I was very young—even before I really knew what roleplaying was. I often tout that I was a bushy-eyed 6 year old when my experience with gaming began. Some might be deceived in believing this would make me far superior in my storytelling ability. Well, what with my vast experience, surely I am a god amongst men!...

On November 30, we hosted a live online chat with Steve Townshend. Steve is a freelance writer and game designer who has contributed to numerous D&D products, most recently Player's Option: Heroes of the Feywild, Madness at Gardmore Abbey, and Beyond the Crystal Cave. WotC_Huscarl: Welcome to our live chat with Steve Townshend! Drammattex: I feel like I'm on the Muppet Show. WotC_Huscarl: This is a moderated chat, which means that any of you can pose questions, but they'll appear in the room only when one of us selects and forwards them. We'll also be pulling select questions from...

On November 8, we hosted a live online chat with Shelly Mazzanoble. Shelly writes the monthly "Confessions of a Full-Time Wizard" column in Dragon online, and she's also the author of two books: Confessions of a Part-Time Sorceress and Everything I Know, I Learned from Dungeons & Dragons.WotC_Huscarl: OK, we're on the air. Shelly_M: Scary... WotC_Huscarl: Let's start by letting you tell us about yourself. Shelly_M: Hi everyone. Thanks for being here. I want to apologize in advance because many of you know brevity is not my strong suit. Neither is spelling. I've been working at WotC...

This series of articles offers some of the design concepts that went into each of the Encounters Season 6 sessions. From weaving a story to sculpting an attack by a creature 8-9 levels higher than the PCs, the plan is to give you a sneak peek into the making of The Lost Crown of Neverwinter. If you're an Encounters DM, this information might be a helpful guide to running the encounters. If you're a player, you're certainly welcome to read these articles, but it might be best if you wait until the day after the week's Encounters session. You can also catch up with Erik and ask him...

On October 25, we hosted a live chat with D&D game designer Peter Lee. Peter has worked on games such as Castle Ravenloft, Wrath of Ashardalon, The Legend of Drizzt, Conquest of Nerath, and the upcoming skirmish-like miniatures game. WotC_Huscarl: To get things rolling, let's have Peter tell us about himself. Peter Lee: Ok! I started working at WotC in the beginning of 2008. I've worked on the old D&D Miniatures game, D&D RPG books, Dungeon Tiles, Star Wars miniatures, and Heroscape. I then moved over to the board game side, and I've worked on all the Adventure System games (Castle...

This series of articles offers some of the design concepts that went into each of the Encounters Season 6 sessions. From weaving a story to sculpting an attack by a creature 8-9 levels higher than the PCs, the plan is to give you a sneak peek into the making of The Lost Crown of Neverwinter. If you're an Encounters DM, this information might be a helpful guide to running the encounters. If you're a player, you're certainly welcome to read these articles, but it might be best if you wait until the day after the week's Encounters session. You can also catch up with Erik and ask him...