“Smells Fishy” – Out of the Box D&D Encounters #48
I once found a free adventure online that delved into a concept that D&D has often covered, but essentially in reverse. We have seen Underdark versions of several surface races. Duergar, Derro, Drow, Svirfneblin, etc., have all been a part of D&D for decades, and the public has accepted them as part of the D&D canon. It’s often the case whereby we will take any number of surface races and apply this non-specific “Underdark template” to these races. However, this online adventure did one thing that, at least to my experience, has never been done before – it turned that concept around in 180 degrees. It had surface, swamp dwelling Kuo-Toa. Perhaps this is due to a particular and very popular MMORPG that shall remain unnamed in this article.
E14- YR 1 Freak Vs. Geek (Beholder Vs Lich)| Dungeons and Dragons Monsters Podcast
Episode 14 brings us to a fun little experiment where we pit Dungeons and Dragons monsters against each other. In this case we have a beholder square off against a lich in Screw Attack Death Battle sort of scenario. https://soundcloud.com/david-friant-458990853/e14-yr-1-freak-vs-geek-beholder-vs-lich-dungeons-and-dragons-monsters Monster Vs. Monster with the Freak Vs....
10 Things You Don’t Need to Know About Your RPG Character
There’s a certain kind of player, and I myself am one, who just wants to know everything about their character and has a tendency to overthink it. If you’re one of those, this article is for you. None of these are things you absolutely have to know the answers to, but they can be fun to think about. So if you’re the kind of player who spends way too much away-from-table time thinking about your PC, have fun with this.
1 – What does your character smell like?
E13- Yr 1 Lycanthropes Baring Their Fangs and Sharpening Their Claws| Dungeons and Dragons Monsters Podcast
Our trek through memory lane continues with the Nerdarchy Year One podcast. We have more Dungeons and Dragons Monsters for you. This time we explore lycanthropes in the D&D game. Men and women cursed to obey savage lusts and compelled by the moon to take...
Scarlet Sisterhood is a different kind of streaming RPG
Moving closer to home this week, I’m taking a look at a live streaming RPG show that has grown to become one of my favorites to watch. The Scarlet Sisterhood of Steel & Sorcery is streaming live every Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. EST on Nerdarchy’s YouTube channel. Each week, DM Nerdarchist Dave hosts Staff Writers Megan Miller and Samantha Karr with gamer girl and Nerdarchy fan Vex on their D&D 5E adventures in and around Gryphongaffe, Nerdarchy’s homebrew campaign setting.
Improve Your Writing by Forgetting About It
You’ve just finished writing your book or article or poem or what-have-you. You’re ready to plunge into editing and rewriting.
But hold on a second. Unless you’re on a tight deadline, it’s probably best to set aside your recent writing project for a while. Why? So you can come to the words on the page or screen with fresh eyes.
E12- Yr 1 Fear For Your Immortal Soul With Demons and Devils Dungeons and Dragons Monsters Podcast
For this episode of our podcast we will be visiting the lower planes. Demons and Devils have been a staple of Dungeons and Dragons since the very beginning of the game. They've created this interesting back drop called the Blood War where the Abyss and...
E 11- YR 1 Hunted By The Ultimate Apex Predator The Bulette Dungeons And Dragons Monsters Podcast
Welcome to another episode of Nerdarchy Year One Podcast. This time it's an all monster episode. We delve into one of my favorite Dungeons and Dragons Monsters the Bulette. These guys are so fearsome and terrifying creatures that have been in all the editions of...
Open Legend kobold character concept
Hey, guys, Professor Bill here, and I’m playing in the Nerdarchy “Open Legend” game on Friday’s at noon Eastern Standard Time. Actually, I’m the auxiliary player, so when someone else can’t make the game, then I show up last minute. Nonetheless, I want my character to be on point and I figured I’d share my concepts with you. And, of course, I made him with superheroes in mind.
Villains are the RPG Gift That Keeps on Giving
Greetings and salutations, Nerdarchy readers!
Jim Carrey as Count Olaf in the 2004 film, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.”(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I was watching a show on Netflix while I was deathly ill (or so it felt to me) and could not help but be inspired to write on a subject I seem to be gathering a reputation for. Namely, villains who inspire the protagonist to excel into feats of legend. You see, like the villainous Count Olaf, a good villain will be a thorn in the protagonist’s side for a long time and alter their lives on every level. The thing is, in gaming it is too easy to create a villain who is a one trick pony or is killed in a single fight. For this reason, I am going to list a few things to keep in mind and a few things to avoid all together. Let’s dive right in, shall we?
New DM Handbook: Rethinking Firearms
No, this isn’t a conversation about gun control. This is about introducing and including modern firearms into your Dungeons & Dragons campaign from the Dungeon Master’s Guide (264). With some help from Ty Johnston, who graciously aided me in my implementation for this article with his thoughtful insights and suggestions, I have something I think can be integrated into any campaign that wouldn’t explicitly forbid it by the nature of the world. I’ll go into further detail later when I’m going to be talking about ammunition, but gunpowder doesn’t even need to be introduced into your world to make it work. Artificers could infuse a cantrip-level spell of thunderwave, which we’ll call thunderblast, that can be activated by a mechanic in the firearm itself, which would then propel the ammunition without the need of gunpowder.
E 10- YR 1 Part DM Tip Part Favorite Character Class All Podcast
Year One Nerdarchy the podcast continues with episode #10. It's another mash up of two shorter videos to make a longer podcast. https://soundcloud.com/david-friant-458990853/e-10-yr-1-part-dm-tip-part-favorite-character-class-all-podcast Mastering Media for Inspiration In Your Tabletop Role Playing Game| Game Master Tips https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOPoy6F2F44 Game Master Tips Mastering Media for Inspiration In Your Tabletop Role Playing...
“Shadow of Your Former Self” – Out of The Box D&D Encounters #47
Ask any Dungeon Master what the most dangerous thing in a Dungeons & Dragons game is, and I’ll bet the majority will come back to you with “the players.” Players can range in power and abilities more than any monster and will always find the cracks in any system and crawl through. Players will think outside the box more often than not and will work around problems you might think they need to face head on. I can remember playing “Zelda: The Ocarina of Time” forever ago, and the most frustrating encounter was fighting a shadow mirror image of yourself.
Sourcebook Review: Recovery Dice Options
In Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons, healing works a little bit differently. Each class, as usual, has a certain type of hit die that you can roll to get more hit points at higher levels. What isn’t quite so usual is the idea that you have a pool of these dice you can use to heal yourself during short rests. The reason for this is to allow parties to keep moving longer without having to camp inside dungeons. Spend some hit dice, recover your health, and keep moving.
Recovery Dice Options ([amazon_link asins=’1545236488′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’nerdarchy-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’d4c37b80-209b-11e7-8ec2-75f53789e3bc’] from Amazon) is about alternative ways to use these dice. Conceptually, the idea of being able to use your recovery dice for things other than recovering hit points is intriguing. After all, you are quite literally using your own life force to fuel some of what you can do with this, and it is taking a resource that is, otherwise, very limited, and giving it more purpose.
E9- Yr 1 The Basics Of Building And Running Interesting Encounters Game Master Tips Podcast
Year 1 of Nerdarchy the podcast continues with episode number 9. This time we go through encounter design for fantasy style RPGs like Pathfinder and Dungeons and Dragons. We are about half way through Year 1 at this point perhaps a little less. Our YouTube...
