XDM X-Treme Dungeon Mastery [Hardcover]

Tracy Hickman (Author), Curtis Hickman (Author), Sandra Tayler (Editor), Howard Tayler (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 20, 2009

The cure for the common game! Throw off your chains! Too long have your role playing games been held in the bonds of substandard gamemasters, bound in needlessly complicated rules sets, and enslaved by players who will avoid doing anything unless it counts toward leveling up! It is time to take a stand!

Learn from the masters the ancient secrets of how to:
Officially become an XDM and impress dates. (Do-it-yourself secret initiation rites included.)
Master the secrets of designing adventures that tell stories.
Create magic illusions that can even make your players disappear!
Use actual fire in your game properly.
Hijack the game as a player, and how to deal with a player revolution as an XDM.
Plus loads more!

If I could go back in time and rewrite Dragonlance, it would be this book...only with more dragons in it. --Tracy Hickman

I can say without any shame or bias, that this is one of the best books ever written and should be in every hotel room next to the bible. --Curtis Hickman

Possessed by the spirits of Da Vinci, Van Gogh, and Jack Fred, I illustrated a book that you should buy two of...one to read and one to hang on your wall.--Howard Tayler

Editorial Reviews

Review

Moments into the introduction [of XDM X-Treme Dungeon Mastery] I found myself chuckling, several minutes later I was laughing out loud, and before I knew it I had spent most of my work day shirking my duties while reading the book from start to finish ... Although the book is written in a very humorous, tongue-in-check manner don t make the mistake of assuming that it isn t a serious gaming supplement. The Hickman s goal of getting gamers to remember to enjoy the game and not get so caught up in mechanics really comes through. They are gamers after my own heart. The book is loaded with excellent advice on how to put the fun back into your game. ----John Lewis Roleplayingpro.com

I continually found myself chuckling at the awesome illustrations by Howard Tayler. I d pass the book to one of my friends, he d start laughing. As he d pass the book back to me, my other friends would say, Hey, hey. Pass that over, I want to see too. It got to the point that when I found a funny illustration, I just passed it around because I knew everyone wanted to see it. ... The initial appearance and way it is written may make you think, at first glance, that it is a book primarily written for humor. I found myself laughing at the illustrations and the way the book was written, but I also constantly found myself thinking, Wow, that s a really good idea. ----Samuel Van Der Wall Roleplayingpro.com

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: The Tayler Corporation; First Edition edition (July 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977907465
• ISBN-13: 978-0977907465
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #697,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

`Dragonlance' originators Tracy and Laura Hickman have been publishing game designs and stories together for over thirty-two years - nearly as long as their marriage - and thus started them both on a life of adventure and imagination.

Tracy is a NYT Best-Selling co-author (with Margaret Weis) of many Dragonlance novels including the original `Dragonlance Chronicles', `Dragonlance Legends', `Rose of the Prophet" and "Darksword" trilogies as well as the seven-book "Deathgate Cycle".

Tracy and Laura are remembered together for their role-playing game designs in `Dragonlance' and the `Oasis of the White Palm' series but are perhaps best known for their classic adventure, the original `Ravenloft.'

Life now has provided them the opportunity to fulfill a dream: to write novels together. Tracy and Laura work from adjoining offices in their home and answer questions on their work through their website at www.trhickman.com.

Visit www.dragonhearthproductions.com for information on our monthly podcasts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best RPG System EVER, February 21, 2010

By 

D. DeFazio (NY, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: XDM X-Treme Dungeon Mastery (Hardcover)

Questions for you RPG players:
1. How long does it take you to roll up a new character in your current RPG? In Advanced XDM it takes sixty seconds.
2. How long is a character sheet in your game? Does it resemble a tax return? An XDM sheet has 4 stats.

Questions for you DMs out there:
1. How long does it take for you to write down the stats for say, ten monster encounters? In XDM it takes 5-10 minutes.

Look at the index of any other RPG "Core Rulebook" and your going to see it break down like this: rule mechanics 90%, storytelling/ scenario design 10%. Here, the opposite is true. Most of the book is about how to manage players and design scenarios. The game "rules" are about 10 total pages in length. I particularly like the entire magic system and all spells....it takes one page of text. Furthermore, the system is completely adaptable to any genre of RPGs

The system works like this: You have 4 stats which cover your physical ability, mental ability, luck, and health. You tell the XDM what you want to do, he uses his/her best judgement and tells you what you need to roll on a 20 sided die, taking your stats and level into consideration. If you roll the number or higher you succeed and roll a second time if neccessary for damage. If you don't roll the number you fail.

Magic, Hickman points out, should work the same way. The wizard describes the effect he wants to create and the XDM assigns a difficulty number. No looking up casting times, note-taking about componants, memorizing , re-memorizing, proficieny slots. No more snivelling in the background and hiding behind fighters...a 1st level wizard is just as powerful as a beginning fighter.

Experience and advancement are handled brilliantly too. You get experience and your character can change careers and advance in levels but that doesn't change your stats. It just allows you to say to the XDM, "I'm a third level fighter. Shouldn't I be able to hit that orc easier than that 1st level guy?" No more complicated record keeping every time the character gains a level.

I know, I know, some of you are freaking. "That's too simple!" and "My group won't go for that!" Hickman quite brilliantly points out that the reason one rolls dice in an RPG is to find out only two things:
1. Did the charcter succeed or fail?
2. How well/badly did the character succeed or fail?

In order to do this, you roll dice and....and this is key....EVERY ROLL COMES DOWN TO ONLY TWENTY NUMBERS. That's it. Even a percentile based game can be broken down into a d20. If you want to make your RPG "more realistic" you'll have to add lots of rules, charts and stats. You may gain in terms of realism but the combat will take longer to adjudicate. But even the most realistic system still boils down if character succeeds or fails and there are only twenty possibilities.

The best part about XDM: since there are no "rules" there can be no "rules lawyers" and there are no charts of any kind to look up. This keeps combat fast and exciting.

I recently converted my 15 year old Warhammer fantasy RPG campaign to XDM. After a brief period of skepticism my players embraced XDM, noting that combat was far swifter, equally deadly, just as gory, and even more fun. Even the younger guys (in their 20s) who play the new 3rd Edition Warhammer say XDM is as good or better.

The only downside that XDM relies heavily on the prudence and quick thinking of the XDM. And the players need to be mature enough accept the XDM's decision making.

Another reviewer called this book "the best RPG book you never knew you needed". I've played and DMed since 1981 and thought I knew everything about RPGs. I was wrong.

Buy this book today. Your players will thank you.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to Tell a Story, August 2, 2009

By 

Karl Bielefeldt (Huntsville, AL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: XDM X-Treme Dungeon Mastery (Hardcover)

Wanting to improve the story aspect of my game, I picked up The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference a few months ago. While it was a great source for creating an interesting fantasy setting, it had nothing about creating an interesting fantasy story. XDM X-treme Dungeon Mastery filled that gap nicely.

The book was funny throughout, in that unique blend of humor only roleplaying gamers can appreciate: one part cerebral inside jokes, one part puerile enjoyment of shiny destructive things.

There was also some great advice packed between the humor about making your storytelling more interesting. The authors view dungeon mastering first and foremost as a performance. Like most ingenious innovations, that perspective is blindingly obvious in hindsight, and leads to some great insights. They don't disappoint in the follow up, either. XDM was literally game changing for me, and I highly recommend it for any DM who has felt too much like a referee lately.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved, laughed, cried (from too much laughter), August 1, 2009

By 

C. Raymer (Santa Fe, NM United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: XDM X-Treme Dungeon Mastery (Hardcover)

I received this a week ago and it has been great! So many incredible ideas, tips and hints.
It is written using D&D type games for most of the references, but by no means is limited to them. This would be a great reference for any type of RPG.
And it is truly hilarious! The comments and drawing are over the top. The rest of the family kept looking at me funny as I would break out giggling every few minutes.

For those whom being a game master is one of their favorite activities and desire a REAL challenge, Read Chapter 13: Killer Breakfast To Go. I have been a GM for over 10 years and played for 7 more. I don't know if I could pull one of these off. But oh, would I love to try sometime!

I rate this a strong "Must Have" for any GM.