Tag Archives: Analysis

Guest Post: The Power of +1

Posted on August 7, 2012 by

Several weeks ago, I was approached by one of my players who wished to write a guest post for the blog. He plays a Ranger in my Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition campaign, and his character has the wonderful genre-breaking … Continue reading →

Posted in DM Advice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Combat Speed in D&D Next

Posted on July 2, 2012 by

Over the weekend, I was finally able to play Dungeons & Dragons Next. Our group had first playtested the game over a month ago, but I had to miss that session. I jumped into the fray as Professor Giroux, High Elf … Continue reading →

Posted in D&D Next, Research | Tagged , , , , , | 22 Comments

Dungeon Mastering: Theory & Practice

Posted on April 24, 2012 by

Several moons ago, I posed the following question on Twitter, “What is your biggest flaw as a DM?” I also asked, “What is your biggest strength as a DM?” It should come as little surprise that more DMs responded to … Continue reading →

Posted in D&D Next, DM Advice, Research | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Critically Hit by Mike Shea

Posted on January 23, 2012 by

I had the pleasure of talking about Dungeons & Dragons and several psychological components of roleplaying games with Mike Shea for the Critical Hits Podcast. You may know Mike Shea from his popular blog, Sly Flourish. Long-time readers of this … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, DM Advice, PC Behavior, Podcast, Research | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Power Options, Status Effects & Mutual Assured Destruction

Posted on November 29, 2011 by

Last week’s Legends & Lore column by Monte Cook discussed issues related to rule complexity. Many have suggested in that past that 4th Edition is too complex, which is one of the primary reasons for combat encounters grinding to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Research | Tagged , , , , , | 45 Comments

Do You Know Your Role?

Posted on November 25, 2011 by

My article next week will address several combat-related issues. Before that time, I compiled preliminary data to obtain feedback from readers. The following tables were created by coding the powers for three character Classes found in the Dungeons & Dragons … Continue reading →

Posted in DM Advice | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Dungeon Economics 101

Posted on September 12, 2011 by

Managing treasure parcels for the my players is always an interesting challenge for me while DMing. It takes zero preparation to dish out monetory rewards to the party, “The lair has been cleared of enemies. In the corner, you find … Continue reading →

Posted in DM Advice, Research | Tagged , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

Introducing RPG ATTACK

Posted on July 19, 2011 by

I started The Id DM after being motivated by a lack of data on combat encounters in Dungeons & Dragons, 4th Edition. There was a great deal of discussion about the length of combat in 4e but no real numbers … Continue reading →

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Podcast, Podcast! Hear All About It!

Posted on July 12, 2011 by

A few links that I’d like to share today. Both of them are podcasts, and both of them discuss this site to a certain extent. The first is a recent interview conducted by Flagons & Dragons. You may recall my … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Podcast | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Combat Encounter Analysis: Penny Arcade/PvP Podcast Series Enters “The Dungeon”

Posted on June 2, 2011 by

Introduction I recently listened to an episode of the DM Roundtable Podcast and someone – can’t remember who – suggested that if you do not see the type of information you are looking for, don’t complain and go create it. I had … Continue reading →

Posted in DM Advice, PC Behavior, Research | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments