If you are DnD player and more specifically a DM, you will want to check out this amazing tool. I have uploaded a custom library with some graphics to our download section if you are interested.

 MasterPlan is free software designed to help D&D 4E Dungeon Masters with their plot organization, adventure building, combat tracking and overall campaign design. It is FREE software, available on Windows platform computers and has tie-in functionality with your DNDInsider subscription. This is part one of a fan series of videos going over the different functions of the software to demonstrate its capabilities.

Watch the video, 'nuf said. :)

You know you want these!

  This holiday break my family and I have been playing an adventure called "A Stick in the Mud" which takes place in the Chaos Scar. We have been having fun with this adventure and it seems to be a good adventure for introducing new 4e players to the mechanics and rules of the game. As of today, we have a Warden, Wizard, Cleric, Warlock, Bard, and Rogue in our adventuring party. We have created a small town named "Stromebol" which resides about 40 miles east of the Chaos Scar. I have recreated the "A Stick in the Mud" maps in Maptool and have posted them in PDF format in our dowloads section (here). I have a funny feeling that once my girls leave the ruins and camp for tonight they are going to be greated by some Kobolds, but "shh" don't tell them that! :) I hope that you enjoy the maps and can use them in your own adventures. If you are interested in a basic campsite in the forest map, you can find one done by me (here).

  Happy Halloween to all Exclusive members. Remember to take some time over the holiday outside the games we play to enjoy the holiday's. :)

  I believe as a Dungeon Master (DM) one of my primary duties is to help my players stay engaged in the game. Engagement outside of the normal game sessions is as important as the game session itself. One method for keeping my players engaged is having them constantly create layouts of encounters. I do not mean that they decide the adversities that they are to overcome, rather the scenery in which future encounters will take place. It doesn't take a masterful artist to create a gridded layout of an encounter, in fact my youngest daughter who is in 2nd grade has a blast sitting at the kitchen counter with her father creating such works. I draw the outlines of objects and terrains, and she colors them. We start by using a 8.5 x 11 1" gridded PDF file (one can be obtained here) and one rule; if something is in a grid which provides cover, impedes movement or requires special movement to navigate, mark it in the lower-left hand corner with a clearly visible small triangle. By allowing your players to submit encounter layouts, you:

1) Engage your players and let them think about how they would utilize the layout in overcoming an adversary, potentially making for more fluid encounters.
2) Free up some time for yourself in creating encounters, as eventually you will have a library of layouts at your disposal and can give more of you time to the story.
3) Allow players a method for contributing more to the game and give them ownership of portions of the game.

  In the near future, I will be scanning our creations and posting them in the downloads section of our site for Exclusive Guild members to use in their games.