It will make exploring the town a lot easier and a lot less abstract. I encourage DMs to print a copy for their table. I’ve scanned it and posted it here (click to enlarge). In the adventure there is a map of the village provided for the DM. This time around there are two double-sided poster maps, the new norm for an 8-week adventure. The final session in week 8 is the same for everyone no matter what order you completed the sessions that came before it. This may create some challenges if players at your FLGS don’t always play at the same table with the same party.Īs the PCs complete each objective they learn new information about what’s really going on and find resources that will ultimately help them defeat the greater evil. Once the heroes choose a path they must complete both encounters before taking on the next one. Each mini-quest is two encounters and will take two sessions to complete. There is no advantage or hindrance to completing these tasks in any particular order. The PCs can tackle the quests in any order they see fit depending on how the role-playing drives them. in each, they face a different boss villain. There are three quests/problems/mini-adventures set before the heroes. However, after that anything goes until week 8. This establishes what’s happening and gives the PCs a chance to get the lay of the land and meet the important NPCs. This season is the best yet when it comes to the players driving the story.Įveryone will play the same session during week 1. The folks at Wizards realized that players don’t like to be railroaded and over the past few seasons have presented us with more options and less linear stories. This will be abundantly apparent as soon as you see the maps (which I’ve provided below).Īlthough it does use 4e mechanics it is not as a run-of-the-mill adventure. This adventure draws heavy inspiration from three D&D classic adventures: Keep on the Borderlands, The Village of Hommlet, and Against the Cult of the Reptile God.
DUNGEONS OF CHAOS MAPS DOWNLOAD
All of the characters Wizard has ever provided for D&D Encounters are available for download in the Dungeon’s Master Pre-Generated Character Library. Just because you’re using a pre-gen doesn’t mean you should limit your choices to only six PCs. The same six standard pre-gens are provided (again) for anyone who doesn’t have the time or inkling to create their own PC. Although the character sheets looked great, no one at my FLGS used them so I have no problem with Wizards saving a few bucks and cutting this promo item. I guess now that all race and class options are on the table they expect most of us will use Character Builder. This is the first time in many seasons that Wizards did not provide special character sheets. They do encourage new or less experienced players to limit their class and race choices to those presented in the D&D Essentials materials, but anything goes.
I’ll be honest, I’ve let the players run pretty much whatever they wanted every season so this really won’t change anything at my table. Warforged, Thri-Kreen, Genasi, Runepriest, Batttlerager Fighter, and Ardent are all legal choices this season. Character Creationįor the very first time ever players can create characters using any source materials that are 4e legal. More likely the conversion kit will provide revised stat blocks for monsters and revised numbers for skill checks.
DUNGEONS OF CHAOS MAPS FULL
I do not believe for a second that the download will be a full reprinting of the adventure using the D&D Next rules. DMs will still need a copy of the 4e adventure to run the session (for the maps if nothing else). Although the packet isn’t available yet, it seems that the D&D Next Encounters package will include character creation guidelines, character sheets, pre-generated characters, and a conversion kit for the DM. It is possible to run some tables as 4e and some as D&D Next but once you pick one or the other you’re expected to stick with it for the season.ĭMs running D&D Next can download the materials from the D&D Next website. Groups that decide to play test need to sign the NDA. During the week 0 character creation session, everyone involved with D&D Encounters at your FLGS (players and DMs) should discus whether they want to return to regular 4e rules this season or if they’d prefer to try out the new D&D Next rules.