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Playtest Group of the Month
(March)

More About Us:

by Todd Antill

Our playtesting group enjoyed a great deal of action using the 3rd Edition Rules. From the Return to the Keep on the Borderlands to an epic Forgotten Realms campaign, each game session was a delightful discovery of a new rule or a realization that this is the way a game should be played.

Todd Antill (Dungeon Master)

I am a 27-year-old web developer living in Beaumont, Texas, with my wife Brandy and my five-year-old son Bradley. I’ve been playing Dungeons & Dragons in some form or fashion since I was ten years old, and don’t plan on stopping, ever. When not playing Dungeons & Dragons I enjoy painting miniatures and learning every possible web-based computer language that exists.

Playtesting the rules for 3rd Edition has been a pleasure. The staff has been supportive and responsive to our questions from the very beginning.

My favorite thing about 3rd Edition as a Dungeon Master has to be the universal mechanic that serves as the game’s core system. It has proven itself easy to learn and easier to use than any other game system I’ve played. (And that’s a lot of games.) The shining crown of the rules, however, has to be the initiative system. Combat that once took hours has been cut down to minutes, forcing players to react in an instant where before they had minutes. This served to make combat unique and unpredictable for player and DM alike.

Our most memorable and fantastic moment was a vicious and unpredictable combat with the goblin king found in Return to the Keep on the Borderlands. The players never expected a goblin king barbarian with Improved Initiative and a double weapon called a dire flail.

Bradley Antill

Bradley is Todd’s five-year-old son, and avid lover of all things medieval. Bradley was present at a majority of our playtest games, and from his point of view, the rules are really cool. Bradley’s favorite thing about the game was when got to knock over the miniatures of dead players. He hopes to one day inherit his father’s collection of Forgotten Realms material.

Brandy Antill

Brandy is a 23-year-old science teacher who lives in Beaumont, Texas, along with her husband Todd and stepson Bradley. Brandy has been playing Dungeons & Dragons for about five years off and on, becoming much more involved in the game once playtesting began.

Her favorite thing about 3rd Edition:

The seamlessness between rounds using the new initiative system. Combat takes on a new meaning when you don’t have to wait 15 minutes for your next turn. This system forces you to be thinking of your next move as soon you are done with one.

Another favorite thing is how easy it was to pick up the rules. Todd sat down with us for an hour, and we understood the basis of the entire game. That was a refreshing change.

Chris Altnau

I am a 30-year-old computer network administrator and part-time college student. I am majoring in English, with a minor in Anthropology. I live in Beaumont, Texas. I started playing D&D in 1979 (fifth grade). I switched to AD&D 1st Edition while I was in seventh grade. I haven’t looked back since; Now, besides playtesting 3rd Edition, I run my own Skills & Powers 2nd Edition game in the Greyhawk setting. I plan to convert it to 3rd Edition once the game is officially released. When I am not playing AD&D, I spend my time as an active member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Professional Music Fraternity. (Eta Mu Chapter).

Playtesting 3rd Edition has been a blast. I have to agree with Todd, the initiative system for this game ROCKS.

My favorite thing about 3rd Edition has to be the improvements made to the wizard class. I like the fact that a 1st-level wizard can now summon a minor creature with which to defend himself. Also, in the area of character development, I was pleased to see that characters are now able to increase their attributes over time. It never made sense to me that a fighter with a 17 Strength who swung a 30-lb two-handed sword every day and walked around in 70 lbs. of armor wherever he went never seemed to get any stronger. I know for a fact that such things are not easy to do; I own a full suit of chainmail, and participate regularly in a local medieval combat reenactment group. After running around for 4–6 hours on Saturdays in the chainmail, I am near the point of collapse. A fighter who can do that 24/7 has my fullest respect, and the rules reflect that sentiment.

My most memorable moment was when my 2nd-level fighter Kandell Ironhull scored two critical hits in a row, taking out one gnoll per stroke! Talk about your heroic frays!

Adam Revia

Adam is a 26-year-old case manager who works with children. He lives in Orange, Texas,with his wife Dee and their cat. Adam has played all sorts of role-playing games, but names 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons among his favorite to play. Adam is notorious for finding new and inventive ways to defeat the DM using low-level cleric spells. "It’s a gift," Adam says.

Adam thinks that although there were some rough rules at first, the game has become much stronger than it was earlier. Adam’s favorite thing about the game is the modular way it all fits together. It’s streamlined to quicken play, and offer more versatility, and he is all for that!

Alan Apperson

Alan is a 26-year-old case manager who works with young children. He lives in Beaumont, Texas, with his "larger than a tarrasque" dog named Gabe. Gabe has been known to eat character sheets—players beware. Alan has played Dungeons & Dragons for about 12 years, his beginnings stretching back to a home-brewed campaign based on the original Ravenloft module. He claims to have been killed by Strahd over 147 times, and becomes very nervous if the DM even mentions that name at the gaming table.

Alan’s favorite 3rd Edition Rules:

Wizards, it has to be the wizards. With a wider variety of spells to choose from at low level, and the ability to cast more of them, the wizard has made a comeback. Cantrips really make the wizard a more playable class, giving them a variety of options, even at low level.

In agreement with the rest of our group, combat in 3rd Edition is very, very fun.

Alan is well know for his4th-level sorcerer Brehs, who once cast monster summoning so many times the DM lost track of which monsters were the bad guys, and which were summoned.

Matthew Steele

Matt is a 25-year-old shop foreman at a Beaumont, Texas, car dealership. Matt is relatively new to the Dungeons & Dragons game, having played 2nd Edition just a few times before trying 3rd Edition. For Matt it didn’t take long to figure out that he liked 3rd Edition much, much better.

Favorite things:

The new cleric is his favorite, hands down. The cleric is more versatile, carries more spells than its 2nd Edition counterpart, and is all around a better class. Another favorite is the skill resolution mechanic. It was easy to learn, and sped up game play considerably.

Matt is waiting impatiently to see the Forgotten Realms 3rd Edition specialty clerics.

Joe Parish

Joe is away serving his country in the United States Army. But if he were here, he too would tell you how much he loves the new 3rd Edition rules.