Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Stealer of Souls
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted offer up blood and souls for a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons character. This Stealer of Souls character build for 5E D&D came about because frankly we just wanted to make a paladin/Hexblade warlock character. While discussing it, a certain albino anti-hero from literature came up, so we leaned into the connection. Let’s get into it.
Top 10 5E D&D Homebrew Transmutation Spells by a Factor of Three
You thought this week would be conjuration spells didn’t you? Those who follow along each week might notice my penchant for following alphabetical order so I’m mixing it up this week to check out what rose to the top when it comes to homebrew transmutation spells for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted snuck a look at homebrew Roguish Archetypes for 5E D&D from D&D Beyond. We get a kick out of checking out the 5E D&D content folks come up with and sharing their homebrew creations. (There’s lots of these posts whether for homebrew subclasses, magic items, spells, feats and more floating around for the curious.) Incidentally our upcoming July rewards include a bunch of new spells we created ourselves and several of them are transmutation spells so changing the properties of creatures, objects or environments is already on my mind. There’s currently over 10,180 of them at DDB, which I believe may be the highest number of anything I’ve looked at here before. So let’s get into it.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as an Extreme Brawler
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted knuckle down to punch up a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons character. One of the Fighting Styles in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything creates an opportunity to explore a popular concept and one we think is really fun and cool and now it’s got mechanical support — no reflavoring necessary! Woe be to the unfortunate enemy squaring off
against the Extreme Brawler character whose fists become deadly weapons. These 5E D&D brawlers are tough enough to stay in the fight no matter the odds. Let’s get into it.
Dark Gifts Await 5E D&D’s Haunted Heroes with Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
The Mists of Ravenloft swallow adventurers from across the multiverse to pit them against whatever horrors the Dark Powers conjure. Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft describes these Domains of Dread and the Darklords who both rule them and remain imprisoned by their own nightmare realms. The fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Haunted Heroes facing such horrors can gain an edge though. Whether their origins lie in the same tales of terror or the Dark Powers of Ravenloft grant a Dark Gift these 5E D&D characters forge ties to the grim and haunted domains and gain a double-edged connection to these genres of horror. Let’s get into it.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Beast Binder
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted attract a menagerie of pets for another fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons character. Lots of 5E D&D players love befriending and collecting critters throughout their adventures. We thought it would be fun to create a Beast Binder character whose career is focused on discovering new creatures, researching them and gathering pets, allies and friends along the way. Let’s get into it.
Top 10 5E D&D Homebrew Abjuration Spells by a Factor of Three
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted sneak a look at homebrew Roguish Archetypes for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons from D&D Beyond. We get a kick out of checking out the 5E D&D content folks come up with and sharing their homebrew creations. (There’s lots of these posts whether for homebrew subclasses, magic items, spells, feats and more floating around for the curious.) This time around discrete magical effects — single shapings of the magical energies suffusing the multiverse into specific, limited expressions — get the spotlight when I check out out the Top 10 homebrew abjuration spells for 5E D&D. There’s currently over 5,560 homebrew of them so let’s get into it.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Champion of the Wild
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted get wild with another fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons character. When we were working on a video about what classes are best for an aasimar character we noticed their traits like Healing Hands and Radiant Soul would work while Wild Shaped. So we got the idea for this Champion of the Wild 5E D&D character as a divine guardian of nature ready to lay down the hurt on those that would despoil the land. Let’s get into it.
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft Reveals Other Domains of Dread from The Land of Mists
I enjoy the way each fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons book leans into the modular nature of the game in different ways. Aside from satisfying fans of the classic D&D horror fantasy setting Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft terrifically illustrates how a core chunk of material can fuel innumerable content for games. The other Domains of Dread presented in the book focus a dark lens on the core of 5E D&D for all the tools a Dungeon Master needs to unleash the horrors of Ravenloft. Let’s get into it.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Drunken Tactician
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted take a shot for a very fluid fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons character. Sometimes these character builds start with a narrative and sometimes they mash different classes together out of mechanical curiosity. In the case of the Drunken Tactician it’s the latter. This 5E D&D character started with mechanics and built a narrative around them. Let’s get into it.
Become the Monster as The Undead Warlock from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted venture into the Domains of Dread and play with dead things like The Undead from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. This Otherworldly Patron for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons slowly transforms a warlock into a form best suited to carry out the will of their ancient undead benefactor. Let’s get into it.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Blind Master
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted set out to build a fun and functional fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons character. Forums and social media posts ad nauseum discuss a particular character concept all the time. Many times over the years folks ask for our take too. Among the new character options in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything a new 5E D&D Fighting Style makes the Blind Master puzzle complete. The Blind Master character incorporates both magical and mundane methods as well as some pretty esoteric martial techniques and truly earns the title of master. Let’s get into it.
Top 10 5E D&D Homebrew Arcane Traditions by a Factor of Three
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted explore homebrew feats for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons from D&D Beyond. We have a lot of fun checking out the 5E D&D content folks come up with and sharing their homebrew creations. (There’s lots of these posts whether for homebrew subclasses, magic items, spells, feats and more floating around for the curious.) This time around I’m peering into the subtle weave of magic that permeates the cosmos to check out the most scholarly class in 5E D&D — the wizard — and checking out the Top 10 homebrew Arcane Traditions. There’s currently over 1,500 homebrew of them so let’s get into it.
Talk Your Way Into 5E D&D Adventure with Social Interaction
Not a day goes by when I don’t come across a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master seeking help dealing with a character’s unusual features. One of these reached meme level long ago and doesn’t show any signs of going away any time soon — the Persuasion Expert. Many are the threads of lament and lengthy discussions on how Persuasion isn’t hypnotism, it’s too powerful, it’s abused by players and so forth. By the end of this post I suspect readers will tire of reminders about how it’s the DM — not the player — who determines when skill checks are made. Believe me when I tell you following the proper paradigm enhances the whole 5E D&D experience. But if you don’t I’ll employ a College of Eloquence bard’s Silver Tongue to show how. Let’s get into it.
Channel Tales from Beyond as a College of Spirits Bard from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted enter the Domains of Dread and explore the College of Spirits from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. This Bard College for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons uses occult trappings to conjure spirits straight from the legends and spooky stories they collect during their adventures. Let’s get into it.
Explore Weird Wastelands and Play Great 5E Games in Places Adversely Affected by Magical Forces
Worlds of Web DM: Weird Wastelands launched this morning on Kickstarter and 16 minutes later our YouTube colleagues’ supplement for 5e D&D that gives you everything you need to play great games in places adversely affected by magical forces became funded. Of course the first exclamation to make is congratulations! We know exactly how excited the Web DM team feels after bringing their vision to the crowdfunding world and receiving the support to make it a reality. The heart of the project is Web DM’s passion for exploration, a pillar of 5E play we strongly support ourselves. Let’s get into it.
