Parleying with Monsters in 5E D&D Reveals the Power of Social Interaction
Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything is officially released! Like countless others around the world I poured through the new fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons book oohing and ahhing over the fun new character options, my imagination awhirl with possibilities. (We’re already talking about twists and turns for our characters when we revisit Those Bastards!) In the coming weeks we’ll surely create plenty of videos and posts right here exploring what’s inside but there’s one section of the book I absolutely love above all others and I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into Parleying with Monsters. So let’s get into it.
Social Interaction in 5E D&D is All About Attitude
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted interact socially for a discussion on fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons adversaries whose weapons lean more towards a sharp tongue than a sharp sword. You might be surprised to learn there’s a section in the 5E D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide covering social interaction both narratively and mechanically. So let’s get into it.
10 Tiny Terrors of 5E D&D
Not too long ago I took a look at the chonkiest bois in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. It turns out 5E D&D’s most massive monsters when it comes to hit points also stand at the top of the size chart with ten out of 13 boasting Gargantuan size. But big threats don’t always come in equally big packages. While there aren’t a whole lot of deadly creatures on the Tiny side of things there’s plenty to put adventurers in peril. So let’s get into it.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Dragon Champion with this New Magic Item
Tempered in the Mage Forge, Drukal the Fang of Drasusgino comes to you by way of Nerdarchist Dave’s Court of Wyrms campaign. A Land of the Lost style setting for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons adventures this hidden region sees reptilian and draconic entities as the dominate creatures. Kobolds, lizardfolk, dragonborn, yuan-ti and others of the scaly persuasion hold sway in a land of dinosaurs, drakes and dragons.
Player Choices Foster RPG Division of Labor for Better Game Experiences
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted ponder the ins and outs of Dungeon Masters recognizing and respecting player and character choices in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. The discussion applies to any tabletop roleplaying game and encompasses both mechanical and narrative choices during character creation and throughout a campaign. To me this speaks to paradigm shift in the RPG hobby. So let’s get into it.
Buff Your 5E D&D Battle Master Courtesy of Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Dungeons & Dragons Principal Rules Designer Jeremy Crawford recently shared a bit of inside information about Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything sure to get fans of the fighter class excited. In particular Crawford wrote about Battle Master builds included in the upcoming book of expanded rules for fifth edition D&D. So let’s get into it.
Ten Candles Makes Your Final Moments Have Meaning
Over at Nerdarchy Live we recently welcomed Stephen Dewey as a guest for Live Chat Revivified. Stephen is the creator of Ten Candles, a certainly unique tabletop roleplaying experience described as a storytelling game of tragic horror. Before appearing on the live chat Stephen sent me a copy of Ten Candles. After reading through the book and listening to him and Nerdarchist Dave discuss the game you can color me intrigued. So let’s get into it.
Exploring Eberron through the College of the Dirge Singer Bard for 5E D&D
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted strike a chord with Exploring Eberron with another look at the character options included in the Dungeon Master’s Guild book produced by Keith Baker, the original creator of the megapopular Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. D&D players embraced Eberron’s rich and detailed setting from the very beginning. Exploring Eberron does a terrific job illustrating how curating character options creates a tremendous opportunity to show, rather than tell, what is special about your world. Exploring Eberron includes several subclasses for 5E D&D characters to choose from specially tailored to the setting, and Nerdarchy explores them all like we do. In the case of the College of the Dirge Singer bard I’m going through the book to find the connection points between the subclass and the larger world it comes from. So let’s get into it.
What Do Your Unearthed Arcana Subclasses Say About Your 5E D&D Character? Part 5
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted do what they do and pour over the latest Unearthed Arcana 2020 — Subclasses, Part 5 for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. This new playtest document presents two new subclasses for 5E D&D. Way of the Ascendant Dragon monks revere the power and grandeur of dragons while Drakewarden rangers use their magical connection with nature to form an enduring bond with a minor dragon, a drake. Dave and Ted cover the subclass specifics in the video and here I’ll look at these 5E D&D playtest subclasses with a mind towards what sort of characters they might represent. So let’s get into it.
Follow the Steps to Make Best Use of 5E D&D Skills
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted explore fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons skills every character should have or at least the three skills that keep coming up most often in their games. I’ve got a different Perception on when, how and what particular skills get checked during a 5E D&D game. (See what I did there?) So let’s get into it.
Consider Your Character Backstory Before Your Next RPG Experience
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted share their thoughts and perspective on the essentials of backstory for a tabletop roleplaying game character. A terrific post from Tribality got the wheels turning on approaching a character backstory not so much as a narrative piece of fiction detailing the events leading up to the adventuring life. Instead a great character backstory functions as a resource to inform game play in the present tense. So let’s get into it.
A Dazzling Future Awaits Quest RPG from the Adventure Guild and You
The Adventure Guild, creators of Quest, made an announcement recently and I’m back to share the news along with another exciting aspect to the fun and forward thinking tabletop roleplaying game. Not only are the creators of this wonderful game expanding on the fantastic content they’ve already put out into the RPG space but there’s opportunities for you, too! So let’s get into it.
Multiclass Without Multiclassing Courtesy of Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted go through all the character classes in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons to sample the 1st and 2nd level features making multiclass dips so juicy. Plenty of video comments notwithstanding they make it clear early in the video they’re looking at broadly useful class features. So while the whataboutism as regards specific or niche character concepts do indeed make perfectly valid sense in many cases this simply isn’t the scope of the video. What is very pertinent when discussing mutliclass options in 5E D&D though is Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. So let’s get into it.
Two Critical Qualities to Make Your 5E D&D NPCs Memorable
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted dance to the beat of a different drum and use a group of NPC musicians from a recent game of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons as a jumping off point for discussing this dwarven band in greater detail. Several key points emerge, ones I took note of as salient points to keep in mind for any individual or group of NPCs for 5E D&D or any other RPG. This 5E D&D dwarven jug band wonderfully illustrates what makes NPCs so compelling. So let’s break it all down and get into it.
3 Iconic Fantasy Characters Who Dumped Constitution
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted go the distance to examine the health, stamina and vital force of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons characters. The mere thought of dumping Constitution in 5E D&D or any edition of the game — or any game at all — is anathema for many players. Say what you will about being weak or clumsy or dumb, a character with poor health faces some tough obstacles in any game incorporating physical danger. Is a 5E D&D character with low Constitution doomed? Here’s three fantasy characters who suggest anything but, so let’s get into it.
