Today, you can download 17 Archer Feats. Save it out while the download is still available.

If you missed the previous two offers, the previous PDFs are still available for the time being: Monday’s expansive Treasures of Malevolent Magic and the comically named (but seriously useful) Pimp My Paladin.

Yesterday’s offer was a free PDF copy of Treasures of Malevolent Might, a collection of 36 magic items including several artifacts.

Today, you can download Pimp My Paladin, a tongue-in-cheek titled collection of serious ways to beef up your divine warrior for Dungeons & Dragons 3.5. Save now while the file is still available!

Gen Con VII took place in 1974 from August 23-25. It was at this convention that TSR launched the original Dungeons & Dragons, in a print run of only 1,000 copies. This August also marks the tenth anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons third edition Player’s Handbook, estimated to have sold several hundred thousand copies per year.

To celebrate, we’re giving away a selection of The Le Games’ player-oriented third edition PDFs, one every day for the next three days.

Today’s release is Treasures of Malevolent Magic, a collection of 35 magic items for Dungeons & Dragons third edition. Right-click and Save As to download your copy – the offer won’t stay up for long.

If charity doesn’t appeal to you, Book of Experimental Might I made #1 on RPG Countdown’s Best of 2008, ahead of the 4th Edition Player’s Handbook at #2, followed by Book of Experimental Might II at #3. What’s more, both are available in PDF from RPG Now at $9 each, reduced from $20 and $16 respectively.

In addition, RPG Now is offering a coupon for $20 which entitles the bearer to 100% off a massive selection of PDF titles, worth over $1,000. The proceeds of the coupon go to Doctors with Borders. The pack includes Kobold Quarterly #11 and 173 other PDFs. RPG Now is requesting that users wait a few days before downloading the products after their purchase, as the server is struggling to cope with all the donations.

Purchase links:

• Book of Experimental Might
• Book of Experimental Might II: Bloody, Bold, and Resolute
• Gamers Helping Haiti $20 Donation with Coupon

The summoner’s spell list mainly contains arcane abjuration and conjuration spells, making this a good support mage class. His summoned monsters can be used to set up flanking manoevers and such, reach enemies in difficult positions, block opponents from charging, and all sorts of useful things.

The best way to explore this class is to examine it at various levels, which I’ll do now.

At level 1, the summoner begins with cleric’s base attack and hit dice, and the good Will save. He knows 4 cantrips and 2 first-level spells, and can cast unlimited cantrips (as Pathfinder rules) and one first-level spell per day, casting spontaneously using Charisma like a sorcerer. In addition to normal spells he can cast summon monster i as a spell-like ability, a number of times per day equal to 3 + Charisma modifier, and use this as a standard action with a duration of 1 minute per level (instead of a full round to cast and a duration of one round per level). He also has an eidolon, a summoned companion like a familiar but about as strong as a wolf.

At level 5, the summoner has 6/4/3 spells known and casts unlimited/4/2 per day, and his summon monster i is upgraded to summon monster iii. His eidolon is about as strong as a brown bear, has evasion, and has 8 ‘evolution’ points to spend on improvements, which for example can buy water breathing, +8 to one skill and two extra sets of arms with claw attacks dealing 1d4 damage as secondary attacks.

At level 10, the summoner has 6/5/5/4/2 spells known and casts unlimited/5/4/3/1 per day, now able to cast summon monster v. Twice per day he can teleport his eidolon to him, or teleport to switch places. His eidolon is as powerful as an polar bear or slightly more, and has six more evolution points to spend, which can buy fire immunity, increased damage dice on three attacks, and the ability to overcome damage reduction to magic. It also gains increases to Strength, Dexterity and natural armor.

At level 15, the summoner has 6/6/6/5/4/4 spells known and casts unlimited/5/5/5/4/3, with summon monster viii as his spell-like ability. Any time the summoner takes enough damage to kill him, the eidolon takes enough of the damage instead to keep the summoner alive. The eidolon gains another six evolution points, which it can spend on gaining Huge size growth (or spell resistance or fast healing) and flight.

At level 20, the summoner has 6/6/6/6/6/5/5 spells known and casts unlimited/5/5/5/5/5/5 (maxing out at level 6), and can cast summon monster ix or gate as his spell-like ability. He can assume the form of his eidolon for one minute per level, and his eidolon is now about as powerful as a Huge earth elemental, gaining another six evolution points, which the summoner can alterantively spend on himself to gain 12 points of evolution abilities.

Now as this is only a playtest release of the class, it might have a few broken spots. For example, there have been some complaints that a well-configured eidolon can be more powerful than a fighter of its level, and that it can be configured with a ridiculous number of attacks. Lets look at a 11th level summoner’s eidolon, a 10HD creature with 15 evolution points.

A biped type eidolon of this level can have 22 Strength, 12 Dex and 13 Con, with 10HD (65HP), +10 natural armour, saves as a cleric, and two secondary claw attacks dealing 1d4 damage. For 7 points we can increase it to Large and then Huge size, for 38 Str, 8 Dex, 21 Con, +8 natural armour (in total), +4 to Fort, -2 to Ref, +6 to hit, -4 AC (including changes to Str and Dex), and increasing to 105HP. With 8 points we can buy a bite attack, two new sets of arms, two sets of pincers, and let it overcome damage reduction to magic and its own alignment (practically mandatory).

Its full attack is as follows: bite +22 (2d6+16), four pincers +20 (2d6+8), two claws +20 (1d8+8). Alternatively, the 8 points spent on attacks could buy a bite and eight tentacles, as so: bite +22 (2d6+16), two claws +20 (1d8+8), eight tentacles +20 (1d8+8). At level 10, you’ve got a minion with better attacks than Valeros, Pathfinder’s iconic level 14 fighter, roughly equal AC and saves, and 75% as many hit points. Why play a fighter when you can summon one?

Oh, and there’s a witch class in the PDF too.

Here’s some advice on making the experience go smoothly.

1. Don’t overshadow the players

Newbie DMs sometimes make the mistake of having an NPC tag along and do the party’s job for them. It detracts from the players’ victory if your NPC wins all their battles for them.

If you do have an NPC join the party, be sure he’s only assisting the party and not hogging all the glory. Especially, don’t have a high-level character step in and solve all their problems. Nobody wants to sit back while you teleport Gandalf in and fight all your own monsters.

2. Use simpler game stats

NPCs don’t need as much detail as a full player character. Unnecessary detail makes an NPC more time-consuming to generate, and can slow down play by presenting the DM with too many options.

Since NPCs tend not to have many wild abilities (damage reduction, fear auras or the like), it’s safe to write down their base stats: HP, AC, Fort/Ref/Will, Initiative, any skills you think they’ll need, and their attacks.

Don’t bother with individual feats, skill points, powers or racial abilities. With 4E NPCs, one or two at-will attacks and an encounter power should be enough. More detail only slows NPC generation and detracts from the player characters.

3. Fill missing players with NPCs

If your group is missing a player this week, one option is to fill in with a “Biff the Understudy”.

Biff the Understudy is an NPC in the PC game Baldur’s Gate who replaces any plot-relevant NPC you manage to kill. Likewise, the DM can run a quickly generated replacement character of the same class. As above, you don’t need full stats.

4. Use character generation software

Some character generation software can throw together an NPC very quickly.

A particularly useful feature of the 4E D&D Character Builderis the “Quick Character” option, which lets you auto-generate a character in a few seconds. This is actually quicker than the in the NPC generation guidelines in the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

Similar software exists for third edition, or you can use the quick NPC stats in the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

NPCs who join a party can be generated with full treasure for their level, but hired troops and opponents should not. If a player runs an NPC henchman, don’t let the henchman hand over his equipment to the player for free. NPC allies with full treasure may take a share of XP and treasure.

5. Give NPCs some character

Each NPC should be more than a set of statistics. Pick a name and at least two distinguishing features.

Drop a comment with your own suggestions for handling NPCs, henchmen and hirelings.

When a character eats the corpse of a monster, what side-effects await him? Will poison or magical effect make the attempt more trouble than it’s worth? Or, might he gain some strange and wonderful power?

Below are effects for several iconic monsters of D&D third edition. You are encouraged to invent your own.

As a general rule, monsters must be eaten promptly when slain to have any effect. Preserved corpses (frozen, pickled, etc) may provide nutrition, but lose their special efficacy when stored. A Medium creature provides enough vital body parts to feed two characters, plus one for every size class above Medium.

Orc or gnoll

According to the human barbarians tribes of the cold north, eating the liver of savage humanoids is a way to gain their courage. However, it’s not without risks.
Risk: Character risks acquiring blood parasites. Treat the parasites as a disease. (Savage bloodflukes: Ingested, DC15, incubation 1d3 days, damage 1d4 Int, 1d4 Wis, +1 inherent bonus to Str. If reduced below 3 Wis, victim must pick melee target at random each round, from all adjacent creatures, including allies, and must make attacks of opportunity against allies who would provoke one. If reduced to 0 Wis, target remains conscious but loses free will and enters a killing frenzy until slain.)
Effect: The next time the target scores a critical hit in earnest combat, he gains a number of temporary hit points equal to the target’s hit dice.

Dragon

Dragon meat is tough to eat and difficult to prepare. Cooking red dragon meat is impossible without magical fire.
Risk: Dragon flesh is toxic. Character makes a Fortitude save equal to the dragon’s breath weapon DC; on failure, the character takes 1d6 damage per four hit dice the dragon has (minimum 1d6). This is a poison effect.
Effect: Gain energy resistance to the dragon’s breath weapon type, equivalent to half the dragon’s hit dice. The effect lasts until the character takes a full rest.

Ghost

Ghosts leave behind a small amount of residual ectoplasm which can be swallowed. It otherwise evaporates after a minute, and cannot be stored as a potion.
Risk: One of the character’s hands comes to life and begins to attack with any weapon it can grasp. The hand has the same AC and defences as the character, and 10% of the character’s hit points. Any damage dealt to the hand is also dealt to the character. The hand ceases on its own after two minutes or twenty combat rounds.
Effect: Any attacks you make are treated as having the ghost touch weapon property. This effect lasts for one hour per hit dice of the ghost whose ectoplasm you consumed.

Skeleton

The bones of an undead bone creature, such as a skeleton, mohrg or lich, can be ground to dust and swallowed in a mixture with holy water.
Risk: Character takes 2d4 damage (Fortitude DC15 negates).
Effect: Character gains the benefit of a protection from evil for one minute per hit die of the undead creature.

Giant

Dwarven legends speak of a hero who gained his strength by eating the hearts of slain hill giants.
Risk: The amount of the heart which much be eaten in one sitting to gain the benefit is immense. Character gains no benefit unless he makes a successful Fortitude save (DC20); on failure, he vomits and takes 1d8 nonlethal damage.
Effect: The character adds +2 damage to his next melee attack, a +2 bonus to all Strength based skills for one day, and treats his Strength score as 2 higher for the purpose of carrying capacity for one day.

Beholder

The blood of this creature is tainted with residue of antimagic. Its effect on human physiology is potent.
Risk: The character’s eyes become bloodshot, clouding his vision. He suffers -2 to all melee and ranged attacks until he next receives magical healing. The antimagic imposes a -1 penalty to the DC of any spells, spell-like abilities and supernatural abilities for the same duration. (Additionally, repeated consumption of beholder blood can cause unpredictable mutations and is considered dangerous.)
Effect: Character gains a spell-like ability called Evil Eye, which he can use once only. As a standard action, the character glares at his target. Target suffers -2 to all attacks and saves for one minute (Will negates DC 10 + half character level + Charisma modifier). The character loses the use of this spell-like ability after he uses it or if he receives healing which cures his bloodshot eye penalty.

Mind flayer, githzerai or githyanki

According to certain lorekeepers among the githyanki, their race first gained power by eating the brains of the mind flayers who once kept the gith as slaves. The githyanki, however, hold this as heresy.
Risk: You project an uncontrolled psychic aura, which lasts for one week. Any creature within 50ft gains a +10 bonus to Spot and Sense Motive checks against you. If the creature has any psionic power points, the bonus increases to +20 and the range to 100ft.
Effect: While you project the uncontrolled aura, you gain a +1 enhancement bonus to overcome spell resistance. At any time while under the effect, you may (once only) add +2 to the DC of a divination or enchantment spell or psionic power, or make a melee or ranged attack which, if successful, also leaves the opponent dazed for one round. Using this ability ends the spell resistance effect, but not the drawback.

Spider or poisonous insect

Eating the venom-producing gland of a giant spider is dangerous, but is guaranteed to work as a potent antivenom.
Risk: You suffer the effect of the creature’s poison. Make a saving throw against the poison as normal, but reduce the DC by 2.
Effect: You gain a +5 alchemical bonus to Fortitude saves versus poison for one day. Any ability score damage you do take from poison is reduced by one point per die.

Elemental creature (fire)

Elemental fire creatures include magmins, thoqqua and efreeti.
Risk: Character takes 10 fire damage.
Effect: Character gains the effect of endure elements for one day.

This is a D&D third edition conversion of Monday’s article: Wizard Needs Food Badly: Eating Monsters (4E).

Loaded Dice is a new D&D webcomic from D&D resource site Red Dragon Inn.

Dungeon Mastering Tools from popular RPG blog Dungeon Mastering now offers 384 monsters for D&D 4th edition, 43 magic weapons, 12 traps and 4 power cards, plus tools to write your own statblocks.

Also, if you missed it the first time, I linked more D&D resources in March of this year.

At the beginning of the session, ask your players for their core stats: AC, Fort, Ref, Will, and the Perception (4E) or Spot/Listen (3E) skill bonus. Write these down in a table with player names on the left and stats along the top.

This table has two uses. First, you can see stats at a glance, so you can quickly tell if your attacks hit without asking the player. This is particularly useful in internet games where communication is slow, and in 4E games where Fort, Ref and Will are flat numbers like AC instead of player rolls. Remember that your players may have temporary bonuses or penalties that aren’t listed on your grid, so take care if your roll is only a few points off the number when you know that there are modifiers in play.

Second, you can use it to make secret rolls for the players. It’s particularly useful in third edition for secret Spot/Listen checks (so you don’t tip the players off if no characters notice anything) and secret attack rolls and saves (mainly for illusions and mental domination effects). You might also record other skills where the DM rolls so the player doesn’t know if he’s failed, such as Stealth (4E) or Disable Device (3E).

If it helps, you can do the same for your monsters. I find this useful when holding the Monster Manual open at several pages and flicking between the two. This keeps important stats like a monster’s AC readily available during player turns.

Hit points and you

To summarize our last article, hit points are an abstract number representing how much damage a character or monster can take. That number can represent a great range of things, including injury tolerance, resistance to pain, stamina, morale, luck, discipline, training, magic and even divine protection.

Now as a Dungeon Master, or even as a player who wants some descriptive flair to his actions, deciding just what this means can add realism and common sense to your game. That in turn can make your game more engaging, and more enjoyable. There are many ways you can describe the effects of damage and resisting damage.

By ability score

Pick the monster’s highest ability score. For descriptive purposes, that’s the source of its toughness. Even if, mechanically speaking, the monster only gains hit points from Constitution, that won’t matter: we’re really only using the ability scores for inspiration here.

Strength: Strong creatures resist injury with innate combat prowess and physical control. When an attack hits, describe how the creature attempts to parry, blocks the brunt of attacks with his weapon or other parts of his body, or diverts the attack to less lethal angle. Many high-Strength monsters are also high-Constitution (see below).

Dexterity: The creature is especially nimble. When an attack hits, describe the creature as rolling with the punch, or trying to dodge but not quite succeeding. Be careful not to give the impression that a successful attack missed or dealt less damage than normal.

Constitution: Creatures like this rely on raw guts. When an attack hits, describe the creature as taking the hit full-on and fighting regardless. The creature suffers the wound quite clearly, but doesn’t flinch.

Intelligence: Some creatures are highly intelligent. Describe how the creature watches carefully in combat, executing cautious, well-planned manoevers. When an attack hits, describe how the creature attempting to execute a parry or defensive technique but failing to prevent the full force of the blow. See also magic-users, below.

Wisdom: High-Wisdom creatures take advantage of strong instinct and combat insight. Describe how the creature always seems to place himself in the best stance or spot to defend against your next attack. When an attack hits, describe the creature ducking or dodging but moving too slowly or too little, or making an unlucky move in the wrong direction.

Charisma: Charismatic opponents survive by force of personality. Describe them as having an intimidating presence, physique, or glare, that seems to invoke fear and throw his attackers off their attack. When an attack hits, describe how his intimidating presence seems to psych out the attacker, making even other opponents cringe by exuding a sense of danger. See also magic-users, below.

By monster type

Corporeal undead and regnerating creatures are particularly fun because they often feel no pain and can keep going after a lot of serious physical damage. Feel free to describe a skeleton as its ribs smashing, or its jaw being knocked clean off and continuing to chatter uselessly on the ground. You can go as far as to impose penalties, such as a badly-wounded creature losing an arm (loses an attack or perhaps its shield bonus), a leg (slows the creature and may knock it prone) or its head (creature effectively blinded, head might continue on with one hit point and weak damage).

By character class

Warrior classes (defenders) typically gain hit points from rigorous training and discipline. They parry hits, roll with punches and strike careful defensive stances. Warriors weaken the impact of attacks by taking blows to a different part of the body than the attacker intended. A swordsman might step forward into his opponent’s attack, so that the attack only hits with the haft of the axe and not the blade.

Rogues and similar (strikers/skirmishers) take their hit points mainly from quickness and agility. They lack the training of a fighter, but generally have the advantage of lighter armour, greater mobility, greater flexibility and better cunning.

Magic-users may be considered to draw hit points from magical defences, even if there’s really no such spell. Describe attacks as making dents in a spellcaster’s invisible personal shield, or being absorbed by attending spirits, or deflecting around the wizard as he holds out his staff. Take care not to give the impression that the spellcaster is immune to the attack.

Divine classes (particularly clerics and paladins) benefit from their deity’s protection. Describe these as simply surviving attacks in a surprising manner or due to suspiciously coincidental happenings. Perhaps a crossbow shot deflects from his helmet, an opponent’s sword catches on a low-hanging branch nobody noticed was there, or a fireball leaves him surprisingly unscathed.

Templated characters, including 4E’s “Elite” monsters, often have more hit points than their counterparts. This is especially noticeable in 4E when applying a template to low-hitpoint characters. A low-level wizard with the Death Master template (an elite necromancer) can have around 100 hit points, when the player characters have around 35. Create a concrete reason for the extra hit points. Perhaps the necromancer is surrounded by spirits and wears living bone mail armour, or the tiefling acolyte is protected by a faint spirit in the guise of the demon prince he serves.

This list isn’t absolute. Some classes fall into a mixture of these categories, while others may draw their power from techniques or talents not listed here.

Describing the hit

Be careful not to cause confusion by suggesting that a successful attack was a miss, or that the creature has some damage reduction ability that it doesn’t. Make it clear when an attack misses completely (“You miss: it dodges and your attack swings wide”) or the creature negates some damage (“A hit, but its steel carapace resists your sword: minus five damage”).

Describe a critical hit or final shot as a complete failure of your opponent’s defensive technique. A high-Constitution monster takes the hit in a particularly vital spot, or a super-Intelligent lich curses as your attack slices through a gap in his arcane shield.