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More About Us: David Roberts
is a 32-year-old doctor who lives in North London, England
with his wife Jo and their two dogs. As well as playing,
writing, and painting, he enjoys drinking Guinness and
singing very loudly and badly (usually after the Guinness).
He is an avid Arsenal FC supporter, and still rates
Michael Thomas’ goal against Liverpool in 1990 as one
of the best moments of his life.
He has been playing the D&D game since 1983, and
is a founder member of the Stormhaven Dominion. As part
of a regular group of eight players, who share responsibility
for being DM by allocating settings, David presides
over the Ravenloft campaign and 1920s Call
of Cthulhu. Favourite
3E features:
1) The wonderfully smooth and flowing combat rules.
By ironing out all the inconstancies and difficulties
of 2nd Edition, the group have enjoyed some of their
most exciting moments ever during fights.
2) The Sorcerer class. A militant arcane spellcaster
with a limited number of known spells and more combat
skill has allowed concentration of the essential (and
most fun) parts of the magic-user without feeling like
one is being a munchkin.
3) The difficulty class skill system. This allows such
openness within roleplay and adventuring that the story
is enriched as never before. Most
memorable playtest moment: Recreating House
of Strahd with 3rd Edition rules and running the
best game sessions we have ever enjoyed. Favourite
DM moment: The Strahd von Zarovic lift trick. Tim Collinson
is a 28-year-old network analyst from Birmingham, England.
He is currently working for a broking firm in Central
London in between 3E playtesting and moving house. Other
hobbies include drinking beer and occasionally sleeping.
He has been playing AD&D since the age of 11 and
is currently DMing a Forgotten Realms campaign, with
hopes of eventually running Planescape, Spelljammer,
Al-Qadim and Legend
of the Five Rings campaigns (though not all at the
same time). Favourite
3E features:
1) The DC system which allows a DM to easily determine
whether or not a PC has passed a skill check, without
having to reveal the difficulty to any of the players.
2) New poison rules with clear initial and periodical
damage differentiation.
3) Initiative-based combat rather than a round-based
system. Most
memorable playtest moment: Scoring the first ever critical
hit of our 3E playtest campaign, then being killed in
the next round. Favourite
DM moment: Making it rain for two weeks continuously! Stuart Sands is
a 26-year-old office manager for a London Council.
Hobbies include land yachting. cross breeding orchids,
lion taming, and making up fictional hobbies for interviews/questionnaires.
He has been playing AD&D on off since age 10, and
Call of Cthulhu for the last couple of
years. He doesn’t DM for D&D, but plays Forgotten
Realms, Greyhawk, Ravenloft and 1920’s CoC,
and is a keeper in Delta Green. Favourite
3E features:
1) Streamlining of combat / casting, so you don’t need
to spend ages administering after each round for fatigue,
spell points, initiative, etc.
2) Meta Magic Feats, especially improved initiative
based ones
3) Concentration—no more ruining a great spell by a
goblin/kobold/yokel hitting the Mage with a stone/arrow/dart
for 1d4 damage. Most
memorable playtest moment: Becoming the King, but not,
despite strenuous insistence, “The Land.” John Fowler
George as he is more affectionately known, is a 31-year-old
business analyst from London. He is currently working
and living in a place called Manchester, a place of
misery and dread, surrounded by mists and populated
by monsters. He has played Rugby Union at all levels,
including as an international. He can drink a yard of
ale faster than any other human being on Earth.
He has been playing D&D since he was at school and
spent a major part of his University career with his
two characters, Ugh and Scoots, two fighters with superhuman
strength, and intelligences rolled with 1d4. (Not unlike
him!) He did try being DM once, but after 15 deaths
and an unsolved mystery he was retired by his players.
Favourite
3E features:
1) Critical hit rules. They augment weapons so well
that all are interesting: No longer are weapons classifiable
as “Long sword” or “Other.”
2) Unrestricted combinations of classes, with feats
and skills. This has expanded the system to such a degree
that no character feels “standard.”
3) New Armour Class system: it is far more logical and
speeds play. Most
memorable playtest moment: Becoming the highest-level
character in the group with his dwarf fighter. Fiona Brewster is
a 26-year-old data analyst for a gas company. She used
to live on a boat in the centre of London until this
year, when she moved to Ipswich to be nearer the sea.
She is notorious for her unforgiving ruthlessness and
her passion for South Park.
She began playing D&D while at university, where
she launched herself into the role of paladin. After
slaughtering a host of humanoids, she moved to barbarians
and made “I’m in a bad mood” her mission statement. Favourite
3E features:
1) Quicker, streamlined battle system.
2) Feats, alowing for more exciting and satifying ways
to kill things.
3) New initiative rules. Most
memorable playtest moment: Walking away from House of
Strahd. Justin
Price is a 25-year-old industrial espionage consultant
who works in the city of London. He lives in a flat
on the River Thames opposite the Millennium Dome, where
he enjoys one of his hobbies, boat spotting. He is a
keen folk-music fan, and is a life-member of the North
London Morris Dancers Association. He used to race pigeons,
and won several national competitions.
He first got into fantasy roleplaying via Warhammer, which he began playing when
he was 8 years old. Since starting to play D&D,
he has made the priest his speciality, and is currently
involved with a priest-class playtest for Greyhawk.
He is also a founder member of the Stormhaven Dominion,
and is the DM for the Greyhawk setting. Favourite
3E features:
1) Priests can cast any curative spell instead of a
learned spell. This has revolutionised the class and
has made spell choices a vital and exciting part of
play.
2) Clear distinction between arcane and divine magic,
with clarification over how they are learned and cast.
The new spell lists are very user-friendly.
3) Equalisation of the level powers. This is the key
part of 3E, and has been worked out brilliantly. In
the course of playtest we found all the classes were
immense fun to play. Most
memorable playtest moment: Turning my 15th-level cleric
into a 15-foot-tall giant infused with his god’s holy
power, and smashing a stone golem. Jo Roberts is
E-commerce coordinator for a British department store
chain. She lives in Enfield with her husband David,
who introduced her to D&D when she was 19, and she
has been hooked ever since. She DMs the Dragonlance
Saga and specialises in playing dwarfs and fighters
with subnormal intelligence though superb fighting skills.
When she isn’t playing hostess to marathon gaming weekends,
she enjoys walking with her dogs (both adopted strays),
painting miniatures with her husband, and cooking. Favourite
3E features:
1) Feats, especially Power Attack and Cleave.
2) The clear and concise death rules.
3) Single initiative rules. Most
memorable playtest moment: Walking into an inn known
to be run by wolfweres and asking in a loud confident
voice, “Bartender, my good man, can you tell me where
I can buy some iron weapons?” Favourite
DM moment: Tasslehoff’s amazing bee flying adventure. Mookie Roberts is
a PhD neuroscientist who has just started research at
Kings College Hospital, a post that returns her to London
after four years in the wilderness of South Wales. Despite
mutterings and snide comments, she insists that she
is a natural blonde.
She has been playing fantasy adventures since she could
read, starting with the Steve Jackson classics through
basic D&D and finally hooked by a Ravenloft campaign
that is now 10 years old. She enjoys playing characters
that are a challenge and completely unlike herself—like
her current character Tizzy, a spoiled haughty blonde
with a flirting skill of 30+. Favourite
3E features:
1) The new rules for familiars. This has added a richness
to the wizard that keeps one focussed on their personality
as well as their abilities.
2) The unlimited ability scores, with bonus steps applicable
to all numbers. She especially likes the fact that these
can be improved with increases in levels.
3) The new skill system. This exemplifies 3E more than
any other change: it is simple, clear, exciting and
very well put together. Most
memorable playtest moment: Zarok, her gnome sorcerer,
creating a magical quiver by accident. |
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