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I made the first update on my last post, DMing after research: notes on the Nerath Empire, regarding the history of the Nerath Empire.

To avoid endless repetition, I'll not repost over and over while adding new information. I'll just update the post and mark the changes in blue. Updating the post will be followed by a post like this one with the change log.

I hope it helps.

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Change log (18/04/2012)

1. Added information from the Monster vault. Threats to the Nenetir Vale and the Dungeon master's kit boxed sets. 
2. Provided evidence on where to put the height of the Nerath Empire.
3. Adjusted the date of the Saruun Khel civil war.
4. Revamped the chronology; it's now presented in a table containing the events and their dates in two simple

...

EDIT: New info is written in blue.

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If anyone has read my blog posts, they may notice something: I'm an obsessor. I'm so obsessive that right now I'm obsessing over being clear on how obsessive I am... (?)

Point is, I'm currently DMing a campaign in the Nentir Vale which includes the published module Thunderspire Labyrinth. In there (v. 1, p. 2) it says that the minotaurs of Saruun Khel got into a civil war "three centuries ago". As a good obsessor, I went back to my DM notes and placed this event where it would fit in the chronology, but then wondered "What if I'm missing something or my reckonings are wrong?" So I went online and looked for some forums or blogs where this matter was discussed, but found that many people wonders...

I was cleaning my DM files (some folders I keep with info on adventures I've ran through the years) and came upon something I thought I lost: the character record sheet for my very first 4th ed. character... A dwarf fighter.

His name's Theoderik (I know...). If you check his profile, you'll see the revamped version. He was originally a normal dwarf guardian fighter created back in 2009. He was meant for a campaign a friend of mine was supposed to DM, but the other player's reaction wasn't positive because the story meant for us to become evil and I seemed to be the only player to be ok with that... Even though the rest of the troupe were told in advance the adventure was meant for evil characters and everyone said it was fine (that's why Theoderik got stuck in lv. 4). This gave us several...

I've never said it here, but I'm an obsessor. For me it's never enough just having a plain battle grid: if there's an alcove in the northern wall of the chamber, there should actually be an alcove in the northern wall of the chamber. In a combat encounter, such is my view, the environment should be as concrete as possible in order to play strategy.

This, of course, is a matter of personal taste. For some DMs imagination is the best prop. For others, it's not a mere prop, but the engine of the game itself. Even though I put roleplay first in any context, in combat it's necessary to make it easy for players to take quick decisions in order to not hinder action synergy and leave more room for roleplay even inside heated combat. Less imagining how tall is an abstract mound equals more imagining...

I went to the postal office today. Some D&D minis I ordered should be delivered these days. Because of unforseen working conditions, there's nobody home around office hours to receive the delivery, so I gotta check at the post office once in a while to see if they're here. I'm a bit on a rush, because I ordered some hobgoblins I need for saturday's session and it's been 16 work days since I got the shipping confirmation. The guy at the post office said my package is probably being delayed in customs, so... I repeat: "developing country". *sigh*

Anyway, this post isn't about shipping anxiety. This post is about my story getting a battle grid for my D&D campaigns.

After deducing I needed rulebooks for everyone in the game to consult, I remembered my horrific experiences some of my D&D 3.5 games....