Dungeons and Dragons for Dummies

Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition For Dummies

Author: Slavicsek, Bill and Baker, Rich
Format: Trade Paperback
Type: Roleplaying Game Core Rules
Page Count: 456pp.
Pub. Date: July 15, 2008
Publisher: Wiley Publishing

Explore the fantasy world of Dungeons and Dragons and delve into dungeons, slay monsters, and gain treasure!

If you’ve been thinking of playing Dungeons and Dragons or you’ve played before and you want to get up to speed on the all-new 4th Edition, this is the book for you. Here’s what you need to know to join the fantasy fun.

• D&D terminology — understand what ability check, modifier, saving throw, AC, gp, hp, and XP mean
• Roll the dice — add modifiers and see if you rolled the d20 high enough to beat the challenge
• Minding your manners — know D&D etiquette so you’ll be welcome in any adventure
• Character building — select your character’s race and class, and choose the best powers, skills, feats, and gear
• Roleplaying — give your character a background and personality quirks
• Combat — use combat rules, a battle grid, and miniatures to play out furious battles

Open the book and find:

• Everything a new player needs to get started playing D&D
• Details on four fantasy races and four iconic classes
• Explanations of every number and statistic on the character sheet
• The best magic items and equipment for characters of all classes
• Advice on roleplaying and teamwork
• A ready-to-use adventure to get you started as a Dungeon Master
• A ready-to-use battle grid with character and monster markers

Dungeon Master 4th Edition For Dummies

Author: Wyatt, James; Slavicsek, Bill and Baker, Rich
Format: Trade Paperback
Type: Roleplaying Game Core Rules
Page Count: 408pp.
Pub. Date: November 2008
Publisher: Wiley Publishing

Whether you’ve been a Dungeon Master (DM) before and want to fine-tune your skills or want to get ready and take the plunge, this is the book for you. It gives you the basics on running a great game, info for more advanced dungeon mastering, guidelines for creating adventures, and tips for building a campaign. It shows you how to:

• Handle all the expressions of DMing: moderator, narrator, a cast of thousands (the nonplayer characters or NPCs), player, social director, and creator
• Use published adventures and existing campaign worlds or create adventures and campaign worlds of your own
• Conjure up exciting combat encounters
• Handle the three types of encounters: challenge, roleplaying, and combat
• Create your own adventure: The Dungeon Adventure, The Wilderness Adventure, The Event-Based adventure (including how to use flowcharts and timelines), The Randomly Generated Adventure, and the High-Level adventure
• Create memorable master villains, with nine archetypes ranging from agent provocateur to zealot

To get you off to a fast start, Dungeon Master For Dummies includes:

• A sample dungeon for practice
• Ten ready-to-use encounters and ten challenging traps
• A list of simple adventure premises
• Mapping tips, including common scales, symbols, and conventions, complete with tables

Authors Bill Slavicsek and Richard Baker wrote the hugely popular Dungeons and Dragons For Dummies. Bill has been a game designer since 1986 and leads the D&D creative team at Wizards of the Coast. Richard is a game developer and the author of the fantasy bestseller Condemnation. They give you the scoop on:

• Using a DM binder to keep records such as an adventure log, PCs’ character sheets, NPC logs/character sheets, treasure logs, and more
• Knowing player styles (role players and power games) and common subgroups: hack’n’slasher, wargamer, thinker, impulsive adventurer, explorer, character actor, and watcher
• Recognizing your style: action movie director, storyteller, worldbuilder, puzzlemaker, or connector
• Using miniatures, maps, and other game aids
• Using 21st century technology, such as a Web site or blog, to enhance your game

The book includes a sample adventure, The Necromancer’s Apprentice, that’s the perfect way to foray into DMing. It includes everything you need for a great adventure — except your players. What are you waiting for? There are chambers to be explored, dragons to be slain, maidens to be rescued, gangs of gnoll warriors to be annihilated, worgs to be wiped out, treasures to be discovered, worlds to be conquered . . .