D&D: Neverwinter Campaign Setting

Reduced to ruins by supernatural cataclysms, Neverwinter rises from the ashes to reclaim its title as the Jewel of the North. Yet even as its citizens return and rebuild, hidden forces pursue their own goals and vendettas, any one of which could tear the city apart.

Wizards of the Coast has launched a new line of products from board games to traditional RPG products which feature the City of Neverwinter.

I had the opportunity to get my hands on the Neverwinter Campaign Setting hard backed book that was recently released for the Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition game.

This Book contains pretty much everything you will need to know about the city of Neverwinter. It introduces you to the people who live in Neverwinter, the geography, 3 factions vying for control, new character themes, and 1 new character class.

The book looks nice and clean with beautiful fantasy artwork throughout, although the cartography of the city of Neverwinter itself appears very crudely drawn.  Oh well, you can’t win them all and besides, the rest of the book is very aesthetically pleasing.

I’m brand new to 4th edition D&D.  I started my foray into Dungeons & Dragons at the young age of 8 and have played D&D basic, AD&D 1st edition, 2nd edition, and 3.5.  Due to time constraints I never had to the chance to learn 4th, so here I am, a veteran DM once again stumbling through the rules.  One of the biggest changes I noticed in the 4th edition of Dungeons & Dragons are the clean page layouts.  As a DM I sometimes find it frustrating attempting to locate a detail while the players wait.   The clean layout and easy to follow color codes found in the Neverwinter Campaign Setting help me find what I’m looking for quickly and keep the game moving.  The fonts are crisp and clear, and the book has a nice organized and balanced feel which is very attractive to me.

This book delves pretty deep into details about the various characters in Neverwinter and displays quality fantasy art alongside character descriptions.  There is also a new character class in this book.  It’s a kind of variant on the traditional classes, what we would have called a “kit” in AD&D 2nd edition.  The Wizard Bladeslinger is the new character class variant which looks quite appealing to me should I decide to roll up a 4th edition character.

Here’s a brief run down on the Wizard Bladeslinger:

WIZARD, BLADESLINGER

Arcane Controller:  You realize the ultimate blending of swordplay and spellcasting, unleashing magic and making attacks with your blade with equal ease.

Why This Is the Class for You:  You enjoy having a character in the midst of melee who can also cast deadly wizard spells.

Key Abilities: Intelligence, Dexterity

The description continues,  digging into special abilities and the spells you obtain as you advance in this class.  The open options that 4th edition and the Neverwinter Campaign Setting provide are very appealing.

In the coming months I will be sitting down with my friends and family to learn D&D 4th edition and write about my experiences through the eyes of a Dungeons & Dragons veteran of 25 years.  I hope that the knowledge I glean will assist other “old timers” in taking the plunge with me, and exploring this new rule set that is 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons.


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