D&D Next- Loads of Old Fashioned Fun

Art and Writing by David Finley


 In my last few posts, I talked about why I started playing games like Dungeons and Dragons (spoiler: cause I was cool in high school) and how to use novel writing techniques to enhance your campaigns.

 Today, I'll discuss the newest version of the game (still in its playtest stage): D&D Next. I won't bore you with a complete review here, but would like to say that my group's experience has been very positive with it so far.

 Personally, I find it to be the first version of D&D in a long time that feels like the old AD&D days. Combat is simplified, character builds are focused more on the character's story and background, and the game encourages thinking outside of your stats and powers. This feels like I found the D&D I fell in love with in my teens, who, despite some added years, is still hot.

 My group agreed to playtest the game with an adventuring party of dwarves, in an adventure of my own called, "The Caverns of Murder". Since the game feels a lot like the classic D&D, I wanted to play things on the nose a bit, and write a similar feeling adventure. Those treacherous caverns are filled with spiked pits, acid pools, demons, giant boulder traps, gelatinous cubes, and gobs of treasure.

 The barbarian in the group, Braun Bloodstone, has been particularly successful, even jumping from a mountain cliff and seizing his own griffin mount. A miss would have meant certain death, but he went for it. (pictured above)

 So, all in all, consider me really excited about where Wizards of the Coast is taking the venerable franchise. While no version is perfect, I haven't had this easy of a time playing it in a long time, and that has made for some really fun sessions.

David

Dungeons & Dragons is owned by Wizards of the Coast.


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