Community

    wrecan
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    Terms of Service I have read and agree to the Terms and Conditions
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    [value] => I've been playing D&D pretty much continuously since 1978, when I was 10.  I've played each edition of the game except 3.0, and loved them all.  I've been a member of these forums since 2005.  Please check out my personal forum, <a href="http://community.wizards.com/wrecan/go/thread/view/111401/25328093/Unearthed_Wrecana:_Table_of_Contents">Unearthed Wrecana</a>!
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    [value] => Casablanca, Chinatown, High Noon, Young Frankenstein, Star Wars, Star Trek II, Fight Club, and Indiana Jones, among others.  But my guilty pleasure is anything post-apocalyptic and/or zombie related.
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    [value] => I still love Boot Hill, Gamma World, Top Secret, and Paranoia.  (And Mage: the Ascension, which is how I spent my time between 2d edition and 3.5, but don't tell anyone.)
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    About me I've been playing D&D pretty much continuously since 1978, when I was 10. I've played each edition of the game except 3.0, and loved them all. I've been a member of these forums since 2005. Please check out my personal forum, Unearthed Wrecana!
    Movies Casablanca, Chinatown, High Noon, Young Frankenstein, Star Wars, Star Trek II, Fight Club, and Indiana Jones, among others. But my guilty pleasure is anything post-apocalyptic and/or zombie related.
    TV shows Once Upon a Time, Walking Dead, Doctor Who, LOST
    Books, Comics, and Graphic Novels Currently, Song of Fire & Ice. Previously, the Classics (Shakespeare, Milton, Hugo, Dostoyevsky, Poe, Verne, H.G. Wells, and Kafka, in particular), as well as Andre Norton, Tolkein, Moorcock, Bradbury, and Stephen King.
    Music Blues, Classic Rock, some Alternative.
    Hobbies D&D. Duh.
    My Games Dungeons & Dragons
    Other games I play I still love Boot Hill, Gamma World, Top Secret, and Paranoia. (And Mage: the Ascension, which is how I spent my time between 2d edition and 3.5, but don't tell anyone.)
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    What Editions do you play? Dungeons & Dragons (4th edition), Dungeons & Dragons (3rd edition and/or 3.5), Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (2nd edition), Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1st edition), Dungeons & Dragons Basic set (blue box), “Original” Dungeons & Dragons (three-volume boxed set)
    What settings do you play? Blackmoor, Dark Sun, Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Mystara (aka The Known World) -includes Savage Coast and Red Steel sub-settings, Planescape, Ravenloft -includes Masque of the Red Death sub-setting, Spelljammer
    When you play Dungeons & Dragons, how often do you act as the Dungeon Master? Always
    Are you looking for players? No
    Are you looking for a DM? No
    Alignment Unaligned
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Switch to Forum Live View Unearthed Wrecana: Table of Contents
3 years ago  ::  Jul 09, 2010 - 6:31AM #1
wrecan
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Date Joined: Jun 23, 2005
Posts: 17,727
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CURRENT BLOG ARTICLE


HOW BOUNDED YOUR ACCURACY IS


Over a month ago, I ran a poll designed to see what the community felt was an appropriate rate of progression for players in three areas: attack bonuses, skill checks, and saving throws. More than a hundred of you responded and now I am going to examine the responses.


UNEARTHED WRECANA


This thread shall serve as a sort of Table of Contents for my blogs and assorted musings.  If you would like to follow my blog, subscribe to this thread.  I will update the Table of Contents each time I post a new blog and post a reply to this thread with a link to it.  As always, I appreciate any constructive comments made to the blogs (and I do periodically check to see if new comments are made to old articles).  Alternately, feel free to start a new thread in this forum about any of my ideas.  Thanks for following!

Chapter One:
Game Design


The Playtest


Analysis of and proposals for changes to the playtest known as "D&D Next"


General Game Design


Principles of good RPG design and analysis of trends in game design


Chapter Two:
Heroes of Blogging

Interesting D&D-related blogs written by forum members who are not "Featured", but worth reading.

Chapter Three:
Fourth Edition


Materials for Players

 

Materials for DMs

 

Dungeontech


A supplement allowing players and DMs to include
fantastical technology into the Fourth Edition campaigns


Chapter Four:
Third Edition


Chapter Five:
Afterword


About the Author

Did you know wrecan has a wife and kids? That he runs his own campaigns and has created campaign worlds?  It's true!  Here's the evidence. 

Professional Work

 wrecan has been published!  See where.
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3 years ago  ::  Sep 12, 2010 - 6:45AM #2
wrecan
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Chapter Four:
Third Edition


Variant Poison Rules

In this article, originally written in December 2006, I present a more rational (in my opinion) method of pricing and designing poisons for D&D Edition 3.5

Adept Crafters

In this article, originally written in December 2006, I use the NPC Adept class to explain how magic items can be created in quantities necessary to supply adventurers, and also explore how this affects the magic item economy and society in general.  This article pertains to D&D Edition 3.5

Economicon

I created a series of eight comic strips in which I criticize, with humor, various schemes by which players would try to manipulate Third Edition rules to make unlimited cash.
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3 years ago  ::  Sep 19, 2010 - 4:26PM #3
wrecan
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Chapter Five:
Afterword


Subchapter One:
About the Author


Playester Profile with Wrecan

September 7, 2012 D&D Next official blog, and discussion

Spawn and Brood of Wrecan

Did you know wrecan is a real person with a wife and children?  It's true!  See the evidence right here.

Nostalgia

In this article, I discuss a Games magazine article reviewing DDi, but then reveal a bit about how I came to become a part of Dungeons & Dragons.

My Gamma World Teaser

A video I made to excite my players about Gamma World

My Eberron Teaser

A video I made to excite my players about Eberron.

Kishar

A group and wiki dedicated to my Fourth Edition Campaign, which went from 1st level through 30th.

Patronage

A group and wiki dedicated to the most detailed campaign setting I ever created.

LOST and the Isle of Dread

As part of the D&D Next Playtest, I ran the classic Isle of Dread adventure, reflavored  to incorporate elements from the television series LOST
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3 years ago  ::  Sep 24, 2010 - 6:13AM #4
wrecan
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Chapter Two:
Heroes of Blogging


In this series, I highlight interesting D&D-related blogs written each month by forum members who are not "Featured", but worth reading.  In the beginning of August, I also award those bloggers who show consistently great blog articles througout the prior year.  These awards are known as the HoBbies!

2012-13


August


September


October


November


December


January


February


March


April


May


June


July


HoBbies


2011-12


August


September


October


November


December


January


February


March


April


May


June


July


HoBbies


2010-11


August


September


October


November


December


January


February


March


April


May


June


July


HoBbies

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3 years ago  ::  Oct 01, 2010 - 4:27AM #5
wrecan
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Date Joined: Jun 23, 2005
Posts: 17,727
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Chapter One:
Game Design


Subchapter Two:
General Game Design


The World is Not Made of Numbers

In this article I describe the benefits and little-understood ramifications of the abstraction of 4e.  A must-read!

On Power Creep

This article examines the phenomenon of "power creep" and whether it is truly is as inevitable as many seem to believe.

To Build a Better Stat Block

In this article I propose revisions to the power block to make it more attractive to different categories of people who process information in different ways

What Works and What Doesn't Work For DMs

This article compiles the compliments and criticisms of 4e suggested by the community, as requested by Steve Winter and Mike Mearls

A Balancing Act

This article discuss the types and importance of balance in a RPG

Combat Length: You Decide

I created a poll to see how long people think combat should last in rounds, in 4th edition.

Long Division

In this article series, I review the history of classes in D&D, and try to devise a reasonable way to organize the divisions of magic, weapons, and implenets, and of martial, gish, and spellcasting classes.

Of Maps and Grids

This article discusses the various levels of abstraction and description different tables employ to represent encounter areas.
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3 years ago  ::  Oct 07, 2010 - 7:29PM #6
wrecan
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Chapter Three: 
Fourth Edition


Subchapter Three:
Dungeontech


In this series of blogs, I discuss the incorporation of fantastical technology into a Dungeons & Dragons campaign.

Introduction


Background and Flavor


Innovators and Anachronisms


Genres


Archimedean
Geberian
Da Vincian
Wattian
Coltian
Teslan
Turingian
Mixing Genres


Planes


Diseases


Vehicles


Vehicular Traits 
Personal Vehicles


Skills


Skill Challenges

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3 years ago  ::  Oct 21, 2010 - 7:04PM #7
wrecan
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Posts: 17,727
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Chapter Three:
Fourth Edition


Subchapter Two:
Articles for Dungeon Masters


Piecework Creatures

This four-part article presents a new way to design creatures, like elites and solos, that are as challenging for a party as multiple creatures of the same level.  The second article expands the idea with Piecework Minions.  The third article introduces Piecework Companions.  The fourth article uses the prior three articles to introduce Piecework Armies for mass combat.

Behold the Begourder

In this article series, I present a Halloween-themed creature.

Monstrous Motivation

This article proposes to replace a monster race's default alignment with a more useful description: motivation.

SARN-FU

This three-part article presents SARN-FU, a system I devised for running combat without the benefit of a battlemat.  It is easy to run and works well for any edition of D&D, including Fourth Edition.

Social Challenges

This six-part article describes a new method for designing social encounters that are both engaging and that do not rely exclusively on the "party face".  All players can now participate in social challenges.

Expected Character Wealth By Level Chart

In this article, I present a chart of expected character wealth by level for campaigns using the inherent bonus optional rules

What Magic Items Should Be

In this article I deconstruct magic items in D&D and offer a new way they can be included in a game so they remain wondrous without being overwhelming.

Combat Investment

"Combat investment" is a phrase I coined to explain a phenomenon people seem to experience in Fourth Edition.  Some players seem to concentrate on combat to the exclusion of roleplaying, even if they are accomplished roleplayers in other editions.  I examine the problem and offer some tools to counter it.

Random Personae for NPCs

This is a reprint from pages 99-101 of the First Edition Dungeon Masters Guide, which presented a handy set of charts for randomly generating personalities for your background NPCs.  These charts can go a long away to prevent your less consequential NPCs from all feeling like carbon copies.

A Nonant Cosmology

Based on my Long Division discussion of the nine "nonants" of magic, I developed a campaign world that can be used by any DM looking for an alternative to established D&D campaign worlds.

An Alternate History of Hell

This article offers a more traditional take on Hell, as a prison realm, located not in the Astral Sea, but "below".  It preserves devils as viable antagonists while preserving the damned nature of the infernal realm.
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3 years ago  ::  Oct 31, 2010 - 8:53AM #8
wrecan
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Date Joined: Jun 23, 2005
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Chapter Three:
Fourth Edition


Subchapter One:
Articles for Players


Hybrid Races

In this article, I present mechanics to let players hybridize races the way we can currently hybridize classes.

Cantrips for Every Power Source

This two-part article describes how to give characters of any power
source -- even martial -- minor roleplaying tricks like a wizard's cantrips.

Improvised Attacks

This two-part article describes how to make the most out of improvised attacks.

Lucky Power

This six-part article introduces a new power source for simplified play and advanced roleplay.  These characters are luckier than they are skilled, but can hold their own alongside traditional characters, and are a heckuva lot of fun to play.

Team Player Characters

A new type of player character to be played by the whole party.  This is ideal for adding characters to supplement a small group, or even for playing one on one with a DM and a single player.

Rituals

In this article, I deconstruct rituals and offer a more comprehensive way to include them in the game.

Convalescence Points

This article describes a mechanic that complements hit points and healing surges.  For those uncomfortable with the notion that both can be restored after an extended rest, this mechanic will simulate the wear and tear that an adventure suffers in between adventures.

Encumbrance

An alternate system of encumbrance that is almost as easy to use as the current system, but adding a few more challenges for people who want to add an element of resource management to the game.

Unbloodied Heroes

This six-part article analyzes the present Skill system, offers some easily introduced new mechanics better tailored to enhancing the non-combat experience, and then proposes a massive overhaul of the Skill system for ambitious house-rulers.
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3 years ago  ::  Nov 01, 2010 - 5:59AM #9
wrecan
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Date Joined: Jun 23, 2005
Posts: 17,727
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Chapter One:
Game Design


Subchapter Two:
Playtest Articles


What's Next

In this article series, I offer my unsolicited advice and speculation about the Next "iteration" of D&D.

D&D Before

In this ten-part article series, I review the Design and Development articles that preceded the release of 4e, and look to see what we've learned in the intervening years.

The Three Pilasters of D&D

In this four-part series, I discuss the three elements of D&D that, while not as important as the three "pillars" are still important considerations for the D&D Next Design Team: 'Ludes, 'Sage, and Travel.

A Next Division

In this article series I tackle a variety of topics concerning game design, such as weapons, gish, spell resistance, and skills.

Secondary

In this article series, I expand on the various skill options that I suggested in the prior article, What's Next in Skills.

Next Weapons

In this three-part article series, I delineate a series of rules for weapons that include options for very simple play, s well as options for more complex differentiation of weapons, as well as guidelines to design your own weapons.

What Player Abilities Should the Game Encourage

This article discusses eight different categories of player abilities that the game might reward and polls for you to state what you want the game to encourage.  (The poll ran only for April 2012.)

What Makes a Good DM

This article polls people on the minimal qualities necessary for someone to be a good DMThe second part analyzes the results.

Adventure Time!

This article and poll asks people how much time adventurers can commit to pursuits other than adventuring.  (The poll ran only from April 11-May 11, 2012.)

What Advanced Rules Might You Use?

This poll takes the suggested advanced rules from one of Mike Mearls' L&L articles and asks people to determine which they might use.  (The poll ran only from January 28, 2013 through February 28, 2013.)

How Bounded is Your Accuracy?

This discussion thread and poll asked people to rate how much assumed progressionin attack rolls, saving throws and ability/skill checks they preferred int heir game.  (The poll ran from March 5, 2013 through April 5, 2013.)

To Build a Better Creature Stat Block

This article discusses what information should appear in a creature's stat block, and how it should be presented.  In the first article, two different stat blocks are proposed for Next. In the second, a poll was added to let people state their own stat block preference.  In the third, I discuss adventure blocks and include a poll.
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3 years ago  ::  Nov 13, 2010 - 5:20PM #10
wrecan
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Date Joined: Jun 23, 2005
Posts: 17,727
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Chapter Five:
Afterword


Subchapter Two:
Professional Work


 Court of Stars: Hyrsam, Prince of Satyrs


My first article published for Dragon (Issue 422, April 2013), it details Hyrsam, an archifey so ancient that he remembers — and misses — a time before Corellon and the other gods discovered the Feywild.  (Subscription required.)

Queen of the Interwebz Pits

April 1, 2013 Wizards.com Web Content

D&D Tutorial: Terrain Powers

April 14, 2011 Wizards.com Web Content

Terrain Powers and What You Didn't See

I present a piece of fiction I had originally written as companion to my Terrain Powers article, but ultimately chose not to submit.

The Alliance LARP Tabletop Rules

The Alliance is one of the oldest (if not the oldest) LARP in the world. Founder Mike Ventrella asked me to design a very bare-bones tabletop version of the LARP for players to use at home when they can't make it to a live event. You can see these rules by getting the current edition of the Alliance Rulebook.

Non-RPG Work


Back in the day, I worked for a company called Blond's Law Guides and co-authored some of their books.  (Student guides for law students.) So, technically, I am also a published author!

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