Sterling is an architect, writer and game designer. As an architect, he works on projects of all sizes, local to international. As a game designer and cartographer he works in fantasy settings and a galaxy far, far away.

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Entries in D&D 4e (14)

Friday
Nov042011

D&D Insider: Dragon: History Check: Rary the Traitor

My first article on the Dragon side of D&D Insider went live today. History Check: Rary the Traitor. Must be a subscriber to read.

Wednesday
Aug102011

Star Wars Wednesday - GenCon 2011

It's been a busy week and a half, or so, between GenCon, preparing for GenCon, work, home and car disasters and work travel. On the plus side, GenCon went well and I think it will be an interesting year, both personally and in the gaming industry. We'll see how things go.

Click to read more ...

Thursday
Jul212011

Threat Detected podcast interview

Recently, I was a guest on the actual-play Star Wars Saga Edition podcast Threat Detected. They're running through the entire Dawn of Defiance campaign, recording the sessions and posting them. They also post pictures of their sessions to their website, mainly of the map and terrain layouts during play. Part 1 of the interview runs in Episode 9, from the 1hr 29m to the 1 hr 53m mark. We discuss Star Wars and a bit of D&D 4e.

Thursday
Jun302011

Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale on The Tome Show

This week, I was a guest on The Tome Show podcast, talking about Nentir Vale along with two of my co-authors, Brian R. James and Matt James. You can find it here.

Thursday
Jun162011

D&D Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale Releases

Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale is now available in a lot of places, a bit ahead of schedule. You'll find all kinds of great monsters and organizations ready to throw into your Nentir Vale campaign, or any locale of your own devising. My co-authors are Brian James, Matt James and Steven Townshend.

Along with many of the monsters, I designed the swamp map contained inside (though I didn't do the art). The black dragon and the lizardfolk on the cover are also mine, story and stat-wise. They would be Shadowmire and his Witchlight lizardfolk underlings. If you're a D&D Insider subscriber, check out my tie-in adventure, Battle of the Witchlight Hermitage, just released TODAY, to see these guys in action. It uses the the swamp map as well. 

Tuesday
May312011

Battle of the Witchlight Hermitage Coming to DDI

My next D&D adventure for Dungeon magazine issue #191 / D&D Insider is due out later this month:

Shadowmire, the black wyrm of the Witchlight Fens, doesn’t like his neighbors. Can you protect a poorly defended hermitage from the dragon’s wrath? A D&D adventure for characters of levels 3–5, designed to support Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale.
As you might guess, it builds on some of my sections of Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale, to be released June 21.Check out the issue's cover art on the for a hint to the adventure...(though for some reason, I can't see it in firefox...may be a setting here, since it works in IE and android)
Saturday
May072011

CHAOS D&D and GenCon 2011

I see from my site stats that a few eager GenCon 2011 attendees/players found my old post on CHAOS D&D, some through a google search. Thanks for the interest! I've gone back and edited the plot info out of the entry, but reading it may still give a way some spoilers on how the game itself is played. Though that in and of itself is not a secret (CHAOS has been running for years at ShaunCon and KC Game Fair), it's still more fun for some people to experience it first hand.

As to the plot info earlier readers or players may have read/played, CHAOS plots have a way of developing over time (and even in game), so I'm sure it won't be exactly the same this time around.

For those who aren't following all of that, the Roleplayers Guild of Kansas City, Ltd. is running two rounds of its long running Chaotically Hysterical Association of Systems (CHAOS) event at GenCon 2011.

Click to read more ...

Friday
Apr292011

Chaos Scar: Scarblade now available on DDI

My adventure Chaos Scar: Scarblade is now live in Dungeon Magazine for D&D Insider subscribers. It's my first Dungeon and DDI contribution. Come to think of it, it's my first 4e to be released (though not my first 4e first project).

Somewhere in the Chaos Scar is the Proving Pit, a gladiatorial arena that is associated with an enticing magical sword called the Scarblade. Ruling over the Proving Pit is Morrn Bladeclaw, its foremost champion and former owner of the Scarblade. To claim the mystical blade, challengers must face Morrn Bladeclaw, but not until they've bested the pit's lesser champions first. But the Scarblade, and the Proving Pit itself, might have something to say about the situation. "Scarblade" is an adventure for characters of levels 7 to 9.

Good luck and have fun! 

Monday
Apr042011

D&D Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale preview up

Wizards posted a preview of the upcoming Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentier Vale based on last month's Rule of Three poll. You can see the preview (along with others) here, and download the stats for the Wandering Tower, winner of the poll (but not one of my contributions). 

This product is due to be released in June 2011.

Thursday
Jan272011

MV and Product Updates from DDXP

No, I didn't make it to D&D Experience (DDXP), though I would have loved to go. I haven't been since it was called Winter Fantasy. And 2nd Edition was current. And it was in Wisconsin. Anyway, Wizards is hosting a number of seminars, starting off today with a discussion of new products. There is a bit of new info on Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale, out in June. Much of this has been released before, some not:

  • Includes monsters stats and organizations they are part of.
  • Raven Roost Bandits
  • Ironwood Circle
  • Tigerclaw Barbarians
  • Drow Group
  • 8 Sheets of tokens, monster on one side, bloodied version on the other
  • 2 maps, generic locations usable in any campaign

There are at least two websites liveblogging the DDXP seminars, the host Baldman Games and Critical Hits. It is interesting in that they are both using google docs, but different approaches. For the Products Seminar, baldman's version has a lot of detail, but updates in chunks of information at a time. Critical Hits' version is showing up live as it is being typed. You get more of a feel for the flavor of the event/audience, but less specific info.

Any fan of the game ought to read both. It's the most up to date info available right now. Also, check out the seminar live blogging over the rest of the weekend.