With this update falling on a Wednesday we have a few more exciting pieces of news from Wizards of the Coast to include in this post. Not only have Dungeon and Dragon magazine delivered some great pieces with the Prince of Frost and the Remains of the Empire adventure, but the D&D Character Builder and Compendium have been updated. Probably the biggest piece of news this week, however, is that WotC is giving away D&D for Free! Read below for more.

Dragon Magazine

Note that these articles require a subscription to DDI to access.

Court of Stars: Prince of Frost ~ link

This article by Keith Baker is portrays one of the Winter Fey, the Prince of Frost and his palace the Fortress of Frozen Tears.  Keith delves into the history of this great eladrin lord and his court.  As a fully detailed opponent, this article shows us the goals and motives of the price, adventure hooks, and even a full write up of the prince as a level 31 solo controller. Several allies are presented as well including Mournwind and Soulsorrow the Sisters of Lament. In addition player options accompany these NPCs in the form of a paragon path and a Warlock feat for fey pact warlocks to tie themselves more closely to the Winter Fey.

Playtest: The Wilden ~ link

From PH3, the Wilden are the spiritual ancestors of the Killoren who appeared in the Races of the Wild for 3.5.  The Wilden are fey who take on aspects of their ancestors in their eternal battle against the encroaching forces of the Far Realm. With bonuses in Constitution and Wisdom along with their 3 different aspects which can change each extended rest, the Wilden are appropriate as druids or shaman.

Dungeon Magazine

Note that these articles require a subscription to DDI to access.

Remains of the Empire [Heroic - L3]~ link

In this adventure by Kolja Raven Liquette the characters befriend a unique, docile drake who accompanies them to an ancient Dragonborn citadel that fell from the sky centuries ago. The citadel shattered across a mountain time with pieces of the tower suspended in mid air.  The party must unravel the plot of a zealous dragonborn intent on raising the citadel to its former glory.  Filled with interesting skill challenges and unique encounter locations, this article features some amazing art as well.

Dungeoncraft: Background ~ link

In this issue of Dungeoncraft James Wyatt reviews his implementation of PH2′s background system for his Greenbrier game. He discusses the player’s choices and how, as a DM, he will incorporate those choices into the campaign.

D&Di

Character Builder and Compendium Update ~ link

The Character Builder and Compendium were updated with the information from Arcane Power, Dragon 373, Dungeon 164, E1 Death’s Reach, and the Player’s Handbook Heroes I miniature series. I’m looking forward to re-tooling my wizard as a conjurer with the Tome of Readiness.

D&D Test Drive ~ link

Wizards of the Coast is giving away D&D 4E for free. You can now download the quick start rules that were published last May in Keep on the Shadowfell and you can get the entire adventure as well.  Linked from this page is the Character Builder free version with all information for levels 1-3.

From a great adventure to an incredibly well written piece by Keith Baker this week’s updates couldn’t get any better until they released all the Arcane Power content into CB and gave away KoS for free! Proof that WotC is trying to engage their online fans more and more. If only they could bring back PDF sales as well.

After several posts each Monday that are 2000-3000 words in length, I’ve decided to try and change my strategy a bit by spreading it out in many posts. For this week I’ll start with a review of the DDI articles from the past week. Tomorrow watch for a follow up with insight into the Dungeonaday.com articles and the day following will showcase Open Design and Kobold Quarterly.  On Thursday then will be the Blogroll and Podcast feature.  That should keep me busy this week. I’ll look to add the other pieces on the Quasi Elemental Plane of Ash and a review of KQ9 this week if possible.

Without further ado, today we look back over the Dragon and Dungeon magazine contents of the week. It has been a very fruitful week with many great articles for DDI. Several follow up on articles presented last week, including the White Lotus Academy and the Get Familiar pieces. Orcs and Devas get top billing in Dragon and Mike Mearls explores Skill Challenges in his ongoing column.

Dragon Magazine

Note that these articles require a subscription to DDI to access.

Creature Incarnations – Orcs ~ link

Mike McNerney and Greg Bilsland present the latest article in the Creature Incarnations column.  The Creature Incarnations series examines existing favourites like kobolds, zombies, gnolls, and now orcs in greater detail. This installation of the series truly shows off the versatility of orcs, portraying their barbaric brutality and stunningly destructive tribal culture. Interestingly, Mike and Greg show us three replacement attack powers to replace the iconic warrior’s surge shared by all orcs. Each of which alter the flavor of orc’s encounter enhancing the creature when bloodied. Each of these is great for combating the 4e combat grind as they increase damage rather than healing the orc.

• Warrior’s Rage
• Bloodied Strike
• Gruumsh’s Fervor

As is the case with each of these articles, several additional orcs are presented, of which my favorite is the Pyromaniac. The orcs featured in this article include:

• Orc Harrier – an orc with great mobility when charging into combat
• Orc Darkblade – with a poisoned blade the drakblade infiltrates enemy ranks
• Orc Pyromaniac – a minion that attacks from range, sometimes setting itself on fire!
• Orc Alchemist – with stink bombs, acid jars, and caustic glue
• Orc Crescent Hurler – throws battle axes chained to him
• Orc Gruumsh Sworn – a front line controller who weakens, slows, or knocks prone
• Orc Warlord – inspiring blood-lust and encouraging allies while hitting with a double axe
• Orc Beastmaster – leads a pack of hounds on the hunt
• Pack of Hounds – a savage swarm of dogs harry opponents nearby

Design and Development – Familiars ~ link

Logan Bonner and Stephen Radney-MacFarland talk about the design decisions they took while revamping familiars for 4E. Last week we saw a number of new familiars but it was difficult to see what additional stats might be presented in Arcane Power. The answer is similar to summoned monsters, they use defenses and hit points based on your own.

Familiars have simple move stats and constant benefits while sticking close to it’s master or active benefits if it’s master orders it out of the backpack. In fact one of the key goals Logan and Stephen discuss is to bring the familiar out of the backpack. There is quite a bit of room to add more familiars to the game on this basic framework.

The other piece of information missing last week was the method with which one acquires a familiar. As many assumed the Arcane Familiar feat in Arcane Power will allow just that and there are several other feats that build on the relationship and enhance your familiar’s defenses.  I definitely think I’m going to make that Ash Mephit familiar soon.

Ecology of the Deva ~ link

Elegy © Apis Teicher, 2009

Chris Sims expands seriously on the Deva presented in the PH2.  One of the most praised new races in the new Player’s Handbook, the Deva was the only new race to cover new ground.  When reading the PH2, you are only given a glimpse into these new transcendental purple folk with a two page write up, a paragon path and a few feats. A full race writeup was needed and here it is.

Chris looks into the history of the Deva in the D&D non-universe, as well as their physiology and psychology. Art includes an image of a Deva being re-born in true Terminator style (okay he’s not curled into a ball, but close enough). The article continues to explore this new race with great detail. It finishes with a page of additional feats (including one that grants a daily power ~Astral Splendor) and a few opponents for characters to face including:

• Deva Seer – prevents opponents from taking most types of actions
• Deva Discarnate – dominates and attacks an opponent’s spirit
• Deva Catspaw – attacks an opponents ability to sense it

Dungeon Magazine

Note that these articles require a subscription to DDI to access.

Danger at the White Lotus Academy [Heroic - L7] ~ link

This short adventure by Peter Schaefer uses the background material from the White Lotus Academy article in Dragon this month. In this adventure visitors to the academy become embroiled in a secret battle going on behind the scenes. The characters are drawn in as a hidden opponent sets mystical traps and guardians on them.  When the headmaster refuses to investigate the players must solve the mystery on their own.

Ruling Skill Challenges ~ link

Mike Mearls continues his monthly column which is one of the best in Dungeon magazine. Skill Challenges are the most challenging aspect of 4E to get right and the one that has the most potential. Many blogs have tackled the subject and are phenomenal resources in their own right. Mike Mearls, as designer of the system, is in the unique position of being able to show us how he intended them to work. This week’s article he approaches a single suggested skill challenge, Haggling. While not one I would generally turn into a skill challenge the article offers several tantalizing reasons to try it out.

And there you have it, my first shorter article in a new format. As this blog is still relatively new, I’ll continue to experiment with format a bit until I hit my stride as a blogger. Stay tuned tomorrow for a review of Dungeonaday.com over the past week.