Alchemy's Workbench #11: Putting Meat On The Bones

In my last post, I made comment that I would be looking to tweak the new release of Dungeon!, the classic board game of dungeon crawling. Despite a couple of questionable choices with the revamp, this was nothing to do with Dungeon! being a bad game. I just think that it could be more.

So here's what I have brewing so far:

Leveling up: Whenever you roll a double that is greater than your current level (you start at level 1), you go up one level. This should give a nice curve to progression, making it harder to achieve higher levels, which I feel is truly representative of early role playing games (and more modern ones come to think of it). I intend to introduce bonuses based on class and race that will be gained at various levels but those are still very much on the drawing board.

Character Generation: Instead of going with the box standard Halfling Rogue, Elven Wizard etc, players will be able to mix and match race and class as they wish. The treasure target will depend upon the combination selected, so whilst certain races may offer bigger benefits to the player, they will need to earn more treasure in order to win.

The race / class build list looks like this so far, using those in the base game:

Class

Rogue: +5,000 GP

Cleric: +5,000 GP

Fighter: +10,000 GP

Wizard: +15,000 GP

Race

Halfling: +5,000 GP

Dwarf: +5,000 GP

Human: +10,000 GP

Elf: +15,000 GP

So a Human Rogue would need to collect 15,000 GP worth of treasure and return to the Great Hall to win the game and, would have access to the Rogues and Humans bonuses as they leveled up.

That's all that I have so far but I also have a few ideas for the bonuses that certain classes / races might grant the player as well as a few other modifications that I would like to add to the game, including different "Monster Attacks" tables for different classes, maybe introducing puzzles in addition to monsters and traps that simply cause a player to lose turns instead of inflicting damage upon failure to overcome them. The actual monsters, their levels and, their values also seriously need tweaking.

Dungeon! (2012): Huh?

I finally picked up a copy of the Wizards of the Coast re-release of the dungeon crawling classic, Dungeon! and, on closer inspection I have been left wondering, well, huh?

As much as I appreciate Wizards breathing new life into this game and opening it up to a new generation of gamers, without forcing them to trawl E-Bay, a number of the changes that they have made have left me puzzled. Some of which just defy logic.

For example, one of the cosmetic changes that they have made is to include a minotaur, which is great. Minotaurs are a firm favorite of mine. But as a level 1 monster? Really? A minotaur on the same level as goblins and kobolds. Level 2 is only orcs and hobgoblins and, you're telling me they're tougher than minotaurs!? The values that they have assigned to defeat these monsters seems more than a little arbitrary as well.

The other major change (other than a tweak to the way magic swords work) is to the characters. This change is purely cosmetic, meaning that instead of Elves, Heroes, Super Heroes and, Wizards you now have Halfling Rogues (instead of the Elf), Dwarven Clerics (instead of the Hero), Human Fighters (instead of the Super Hero) and, Elven Wizards (instead of the Wizard).

Despite being purely a re-branding of the old characters, I did find it interesting that the introduction of Dwarves, Clerics and, Halflings didn't draw upon the expansions for those very classes released for earlier versions of Dungeon!

So all in all, the new release has raised a lot of questions, for me at least, but I am sure as with the previous versions the fans will set it straight in the long run. I may even have a crack myself. As a start though, some veteran players have released some interesting variants on the Wizards website that are worth a look.

Alchemy Bytes #20: Tuck In!

Whilst not the greatest problem ever faced by gamers, safe card storage seems to be one that comes up quite often. Especially with the advent of games like Dominion.

These games involve a LOT of shuffling, which in turn leads to a lot of wear and tear on the game.  You almost certainly have to sleeve up every card (which close to doubles the cost of the game to do it right), which then leaves you with the problem of trying to fit your game comfortably back into the plastic inlay. Believe me, it's not going to happen.

So now what you really need to do is invest in tuck boxes, yet another hidden cost but, one I can help you virtually eliminate! Okay, not me but, Craig P. Forbes has just the website for you.

He has designed a virtual template that allows you to print off as many custom tuck boxes as you need at only the cost of some decent card stock and the ink in your printer. Way cheaper than the shops and, if you're feeling artistic, you could always print a design on the back of the template to really capture the contents of the tuck box.

If you're tucking away Dominion: Seaside, why not print a Pirate Ship on the back? Using the template to create a tuck box for your latest Magic: The Gathering deck, why not throw in a mana symbol or, piece of fantasy art?

Dungeon! And Possibly Some Dragons

On researching one of my previous articles I came across this and all of a sudden I was filled with nostalgia and excitement.

Dungeon! is one of my fondest childhood memories of gaming and, I can actually remember one six week holiday where I did little but play this game, day in, day out.

Sadly my childhood copy didn't really stand up too well to the wear and tear of my less than careful ways as a youth and somewhere in my early teens it had to make friends with the trash heap. :0(.

A few years down the road though and, along came E-bay and, I can happily say that I once again became a proud owner of this fine game. :0).

So, with such fond feelings for this game you can only imagine how happy I am to see what was probably my first ever dungeon crawler reaching out to a new generation of gamers.

Good show Wizards!

Alchemy Bytes #14: Dungeon Command

Another interesting insight into the world of gaming from Tom Vasel and Sam Healey over at the Dice Tower.

This time they take a look at a game that has certainly caught my eye and, promises to have a great deal of potential. I strongly suspect I will be picking up a copy at any rate. I also however suspect that this could very quickly become another expensive collection to maintain.

With each of the two box sets currently available costing over £30 each and, the realistic necessity being that you need both to play a decent game it's not cheap off the bat. Then take into account that there at least two further planned expansions in the works at Wizards and, we start getting into the realms of downright expensive!

Since this is Wizards as well, it isn't unrealistic to expect that they will go down the route of releasing booster packs that will probably set you back about £10 a time.

For that kind of money I could build a 40k army!

Dungeon Command does have certain advantages over Warhammer though. Chiefly the fact that the miniatures you buy here come painted and assembled. Also however, each miniature also comes with cards that allow you to use it in any of the Dungeons and Dragons Adventure System games that you may already own (Castle Ravenloft, Wrath of Ashardalon, The Legend of Drizzt).

So if you do happen to own any of those you're not just getting a new game but an expansion for your old game to boot, which makes the £30 a box price much easier to justify and accept.

In conclusion, I would say that this game would make a great buy for any fan of the now out of production Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures Game but, be warned, keeping up with this one isn't going to be cheap!

Diablo II: More Monsters - Fallen One Shaman

FALLEN ONE SHAMAN

Enraged Fallen One
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 6
Primary Attack: Staff (1D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (1D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Any character targeted by a shamans Fire Bolt may attempt to make a Saving Throw on DEX. If they are successful, the damage taken is halved (round fractions down).

Raise Dead. Instead of attacking a shaman may return an adjacent dead Fallen One to life. The risen Fallen One gains its full compliment of HP but, may not act this round.

XP Value: 35.

Demented Carver
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 8
Primary Attack: Staff (1D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (2D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Any character targeted by a shamans Fire Bolt may attempt to make a Saving Throw on DEX. If they are successful, the damage taken is halved (round fractions down).

Raise Dead. Instead of attacking a shaman may return an adjacent dead Fallen One to life. The risen Fallen One gains its full compliment of HP but, may not act this round.

XP Value: 65.

Deranged Devilkin
To Hit: 10
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 10
Primary Attack: Staff (1D6+1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (3D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Any character targeted by a shamans Fire Bolt may attempt to make a Saving Throw on DEX. If they are successful, the damage taken is halved (round fractions down).

Raise Dead. Instead of attacking a shaman may return an adjacent dead Fallen One to life. The risen Fallen One gains its full compliment of HP but, may not act this round.

If a Deranged Devilkin is damaged by a fire attack, roll 1D6. On a 1 or 2 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

XP Value: 120.

Depraved Dark One
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 12
Primary Attack: Staff (2D6-2 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (4D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Any character targeted by a shamans Fire Bolt may attempt to make a Saving Throw on DEX. If they are successful, the damage taken is halved (round fractions down).

Raise Dead. Instead of attacking a shaman may return an adjacent dead Fallen One to life. The risen Fallen One gains its full compliment of HP but, may not act this round.

If a Depraved Dark One is damaged by a fire attack, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up). 

XP Value: 270.

Warped Warped One
To Hit: 8
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 16
Primary Attack: Staff (2D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (6D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Any character targeted by a shamans Fire Bolt may attempt to make a Saving Throw on DEX. If they are successful, the damage taken is halved (round fractions down).

Raise Dead. Instead of attacking a shaman may return an adjacent dead Fallen One to life. The risen Fallen One gains its full compliment of HP but, may not act this round.

If a Warped Warped One is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1 or 2 the spell fails.

If a Warped Warped One is damaged by a fire attack, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

XP Value: 975.

Diablo II: More Monsters - Fallen One

FALLEN ONE

Fallen One
To Hit: 13
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 6
Primary Attack: Sword (1D6-1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: None.

XP Value: 7.

Carver
To Hit: 13
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 5
Primary Attack: Sword (1D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: None.

XP Value: 7.

Devilkin
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 7
Primary Attack: Sword (1D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: None.

XP Value: 15.

Dark One
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 8
Primary Attack: Sword (1D6+1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: None.

XP Value: 35.

Warped One
To Hit: 10
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 12
Primary Attack: Sword (1D6+2 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: None.

XP Value: 120. 

Diablo II: More Monsters - Counselor

COUNSELOR

Counselor
To Hit: 6
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 18
Primary Attack: Staff (1D6-1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (7D6 Fire Damage) or, Charged Bolt (5D6 Lightning Damage).

Special Rules: A Fire Bolt may only target one creature per round.

A Charged Bolt targets three random enemies within a 20 by 20 area in front of the caster, dealing it's full damage to each of them.

Once per round a Counselor may Blink to a new location. If they do, "to hit" rolls made against them during the next round suffer a -8 penalty.

If a Counselor is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 the spell fails.

If a Counselor is damaged by a lightning or fire attack, roll 1D6. On a 1, 2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

XP Value: 3,000.

Magistrate
To Hit: 6
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 20
Primary Attack: Staff (1D6-1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (8D6 Fire Damage) or, Charged Bolt (5D6 Lightning Damage).

Special Rules: A Fire Bolt may only target one creature per round.

A Charged Bolt targets three random enemies within a 20 by 20 area in front of the caster, dealing it's full damage to each of them.

Once per round a Magistrate may Blink to a new location. If they do, "to hit" rolls made against them during the next round suffer a -8 penalty.

If the Magistrate is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 the spell fails.

If a Magistrate is damaged by a lightning attack, roll 1D6. On a 1, 2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

Immune to fire.

XP Value: 4,000.

Cabalist
To Hit: 4
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 24
Primary Attack: Staff (1D6-1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (10D6 Fire Damage) or, Charged Bolt (5D6 Lightning Damage).

Special Rules: A Fire Bolt may only target one creature per round.

A Charged Bolt targets three random enemies within a 20 by 20 area in front of the caster, dealing it's full damage to each of them.

Once per round a Cabalist may Blink to a new location. If they do, "to hit" rolls made against them during the next round suffer a -8 penalty.

If the Cabalist is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 the spell fails.

If a Cabalist is damaged by a fire attack, roll 1D6. On a 1, 2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

Immune to lightning.

XP Value: 6,000.

Advocate
To Hit: 4
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 28
Primary Attack: Staff (1D6-1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Fire Bolt (10D6 Fire Damage) or, Charged Bolt (5D6 Lightning Damage).

Special Rules: A Fire Bolt may only target one creature per round.

A Charged Bolt targets three random enemies within a 20 by 20 area in front of the caster, dealing it's full damage to each of them.

Once per round an Advocate may Blink to a new location. If they do, "to hit" rolls made against them during the next round suffer a -8 penalty.

If an Advocate is damaged by a fire attack, roll 1D6. On a 1, 2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

Immune to lightning and mind control.

XP Value: 8,000.

Diablo II: More Monsters - Corrupt Rogue

CORRUPT ROGUE

Dark Hunter
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 6
Primary Attack: Sword (1D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Bow (1D6 Damage)

Special Rules: None.

XP Value: 35.

Vile Hunter

To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 8
Primary Attack: Sword (1D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Bow (1D6 Damage)

Special Rules: None.

XP Value: 65.

Dark Stalker

To Hit: 10
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 10
Primary Attack: Spear (1D6+1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Bow (1D6+1 Damage)

Special Rules: If a Dark Stalker is damaged by a poison attack, roll 1D6. On a 1 or 2 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

XP Value: 175.

Black Rogue

To Hit: 10
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 12
Primary Attack: Spear (1D6+1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Bow (1D6+1 Damage)

Special Rules: If a Black Rogue is damaged by a poison attack, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

XP Value: 650.

Flesh Hunter

To Hit: 6
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 6
Primary Attack: Spear (1D6+9 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Bow (1D6+9 Damage)

Special Rules: If a Flesh Hunter is damaged by a poison attack, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

Damage from physical attacks dealt to a Flesh Hunter is reduced by 2.

XP Value: 3,000.

Diablo II: More Monsters - Blood Hawk

BLOOD HAWK

Foul Crow
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 6
Primary Attack: Claws (1D6-1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: Swoop. The first attack made by a Foul Crow hits on a 11+ and deals +2 damage.

XP Value: 35.

Blood Hawk
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 8
Primary Attack: Claws (1D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: Swoop. The first attack made by a Blood Hawk hits on a 11+ and deals +2 damage.

XP Value: 65.

Black Raptor
To Hit: 10
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 13
Primary Attack: Claws (1D6+1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: Swoop. The first attack made by a Black Raptor hits on a 9+ and deals +2 damage.

XP Value: 175.

Cloud Stalker
To Hit: 8
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 14
Primary Attack: Claws (2D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: Swoop. The first attack made by a Cloud Stalker hits on a 7+ and deals +2 damage.

If a Cloud Stalker is damaged by a lightning attack, roll 1D6. On a 1, 2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

If a Cloud Stalker is damaged by a fire attack, roll 1D6. On a 1 or 2 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

XP Value: 270.

Diablo II: More Monsters - Bat Demon

BAT DEMON

Desert Wing
To Hit: 12
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 8
Primary Attack: Claws (1D6+1 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: None.

XP Value: 65.

Fiend
To Hit: 10
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 10
Primary Attack: Claws (2D6-2 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: If the Fiend is attacks, "to hit" rolls against it next round gain a +2 bonus.

XP Value: 175.

Blink Bat
To Hit: 10
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 12
Primary Attack: Claws (1D6+2 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: Blink. If hit, roll 1D6 before rolling for damage. On a 1,2 or, 3 that attack deals no damage.

XP Value: 270.

Gloom
To Hit: 8
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 14
Primary Attack: Claws (2D6 Damage)
Secondary Attack: None.

Special Rules: Swoop. The first attack from a Gloom hits on a 7+.

If a Gloom is attacked with a missile weapon, "to hit" rolls against it suffer a -2 penalty.

XP Value: 650.

Blood Diver
To Hit: 8
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 16
Primary Attack: Claws (2D6+2 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Drain (2D6+2 Damage)

Special Rules: Drain. The drain attack reduces the targets Strength by 1 for 2D6-2 rounds if successful.

If a Blood Diver is damaged by a lightning attack, roll 1D6. On a 1 or a 2, that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

XP Value: 1,400.

Dark Familiar
To Hit: 6
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 20
Primary Attack: Claws (2D6+2 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Shocking Grasp (1D6+2 Lightning Damage)

Special Rules: If a Dark Familiar is damaged by a lightning attack, roll 1D6. On a 1, 2 or, 3 that attack deals only half it's damage (rounded up).

If a Dark Familiar is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1 or 2 the spell fails.

XP Value: 2,000.

Diablo Day: More Monsters - Balrog

BALROG

Slayer
To Hit: 4
# of Attacks: 2
HP: 24
Primary Attack: Claws and Horns (2D6+2 Damage / 2D6+2 Damage)
Secondary Attack: Inferno (6D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Inferno is as per the spell of the same name. This is a ranged attack, effecting all targets within a 20 by 5 foot cone.

If the Slayer is not attacking, "to hit" rolls against it suffer a -3 penalty.

If the Slayer is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 the spell fails.

Immune to Fire.

XP Value: 8,000.

Guardian
To Hit: Only misses on a result of 1,1,1.
# of Attacks: 2
HP: 26
Primary Attack: Claws and Horns (2D6+4 Damage / 2D6+4 Damage)

Secondary Attack: Inferno (6D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Inferno is as per the spell of the same name. This is a ranged attack, effecting all targets within a 20 by 5 foot cone.

If the Guardian is not attacking, "to hit" rolls against it suffer a -3 penalty.

If the Guardian is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 the spell fails.

Immune to Fire.

XP Value: 10,000.

Vortex Lord
To Hit: Only misses on a result of 1,1,1.
# of Attacks: 2
HP: 28
Primary Attack: Claws and Horns (2D6+6 Damage / 2D6+6 Damage)

Secondary Attack: Inferno (6D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Inferno is as per the spell of the same name. This is a ranged attack, effecting all targets within a 20 by 5 foot cone.

If the Vortex Lord is not attacking, "to hit" rolls against it suffer a -3 penalty.

If the Vortex Lord is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 the spell fails.

Immune to Fire.

XP Value: 11,000.

Balrog

To Hit: Only misses on a result of 1,1,1.
# of Attacks: 2
HP: 34
Primary Attack: Claws and Horns (3D6+6 Damage / 3D6+6 Damage)

Secondary Attack: Inferno (6D6 Fire Damage)

Special Rules: Inferno is as per the spell of the same name. This is a ranged attack, effecting all targets within a 20 by 5 foot cone.

If the Balrog is not attacking, "to hit" rolls against it suffer a -3 penalty.

If the Balrog is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 the spell fails.

Immune to Fire.

XP Value: 14,000.

Diablo Day: More Monsters - Acid Beast

Throughout the day I will be posting up more and more monsters for your Diablo II Fast Play game, as I convert them. Unfortunately the Internet is being pretty stingy when it comes to pictures of these critters, offering little of any use.

So if you're reading this and you have a great piece of Diablo fan art that you'd like to share, now would be a great time to pitch in.

ACID BEAST

Acid Beast
To Hit: 10
# of Attacks: 1
HP: 10 
Primary Attack: Acid (2D6-1 Acid Damage) 
Secondary Attack: Spit Acid (2D6-2 Acid Damage)

Special Rules: If the Acid beast successfully hits a target with its spit, they must make a Saving Throw on DEX or, roll for its damage again on the Acid Beast's next round. This is a ranged attack, with a range of 25 feet.

Immune to Acid.  

XP Value: 270.

Poison Spitter

To Hit: 10 

# of Attacks: 1 

HP: 12 

Primary Attack: Poison (3D6-2 Poison Damage) 

Secondary Attack: Spit Poison (2D6 Poison Damage) 

Special Rules: If the Poison Spitter successfully hits a target with its spit, they must make a Saving Throw on DEX or, roll for its damage again on the Poison Spitter's next round. This is a ranged attack, with a range of 25 feet.

Immune to Poison. 

XP Value: 420.

Pit Beast 
To Hit: 8 
# of Attacks: 1  
HP: 14 
Primary Attack: Acid (3D6+1 Acid Damage) 
Secondary Attack: Spit Acid (2D6+2 Acid Damage)

Special Rules: If the Pit beast successfully hits a target with its spit, they must make a Saving Throw on DEX or, roll for its damage again on the Pit Beast's next round. This is a ranged attack, with a range of 25 feet.

If the Pit Beast is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1 or 2 the spell fails.

Immune to Acid.

XP Value: 1,400.

Lava Maw 
To Hit: Only misses on a result of 1,1,1. 
# of Attacks: 1  
HP: 24 
Primary Attack: Lava (3D6+4 Lava Damage) 
Secondary Attack: Spit Lava (2D6+4 Lava Damage)

Special Rules: If the Lava Maw successfully hits a target with its spit, they must make a Saving Throw on DEX or, roll for its damage again on the Lava Maw's next round. This is a ranged attack, with a range of 25 feet.

If the Lava Maw is the target of a Mind Control spell, roll 1D6. On a 1,2 or, 3 the spell fails.

Immune to Fire.

XP Value: 7,000.

Diablo Day: A Ground Breaking D&D Release... That You've Probably Never Heard Of

Fast-Play Goodness

Diablo II is arguably one of the greatest PC titles ever to be coded and, Dungeons and Dragons the best know roleplaying game ever to be written. So what do you get when you cross these two leviathans of their respective fields and give it away for free?

Yet another gem doomed to relative obscurity it would seem.

This is probably in no small part due to the sheer volume of roleplaying products now available freely on the Internet. It's very easy for such a small release, even of such a major brand, to get lost in the crowd and, Wizards did very little to prevent this.

It's a shame really as this is not only a nice little standalone product but, also a bit of a Pandora's Box...

Despite being clearly advertised as a "Dungeons and Dragons Adventure Game" product on the front cover, there's not a funny shaped dice in sight. Now a Dungeons and Dragons product running purely on D6 is nothing short of an oddity in itself (especially in this D20 day and age) but, a little further investigation uncovers something that can only be described as epic!

When compared to the other Diablo / Dungeons and Dragons crossover products available, it becomes clear quite quickly that the fast play rules have been cut from the same pattern as the small Diablo II boxed set, which in turn was based upon AD&D 2nd edition.

So what you have here is more than just a freebie. It's a completely new take on the D&D system from Wizards themselves! In my opinion this is nothing short of ground breaking and, certainly deserving of more attention than it has received, Diablo or no Diablo.

What makes this discovery so important however has to be the timing.

This whole system uses AD&D 2nd edition as a foundation and, AD&D has just been re-released! In real terms this means that there is likely to be a massive nostalgic surge in the number of AD&D players out there. One that Wizards is unlikely to miss cashing in on.

So we should certainly expect more products in the range and, probable re-releases of many of the classics. All of which can be easily converted for play with the "Dungeons and Dragons Adventure Game"... Which really needs re-branding, renaming  and, knocking into production.

Stay tuned into Diablo Day as we continue our exploration of this forgotten system and I answer what seems to be the most popular forum request surrounding it.

More monsters!

Links

Download your free copy of the Diablo II Fast Play RPG