Fear and Horror Emanate from Haunted Traps in 5E D&D with Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Salutations, nerds! Today I’m going to be taking a closer look at the Haunted Traps section of Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. Long story short, normal traps were put in place on purpose by a person for a reason. Haunted traps by contrast aren’t set with purpose and instead manifest like a stain. This is a recurrent theme in a lot of horror works, it turns out, and now it’s represented in 5E D&D too.
Classical Style and Impactful 5E D&D Adventure Meet in Tartarus | Journey Into the Underworld
Salutations, nerds! We’ve got something particularly interesting to chew on today as Elise Cretel brings us Tartarus | Journey into the Underworld! I don’t have any real complaints about this fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons adventure. Those of you who haven’t died of shock, please read on.
Transform your 5E D&D Characters Through Lineages from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Salutations, nerds! Today I’m looking at the Lineages for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons found in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. I’ve got a player in a weekly game I’m in who went with one of these lineages for their character. They didn’t tell any of us up front so we played several sessions assuming the character was human until he opened his entire head and bit a minion’s face off. I can already tell this is going to be a fun one.
Creating a Darklord to Terrorize 5E D&D with Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Salutations, nerds! We’re elbows deep in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft and today I’m going to create a Dark Lord for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, by which I mean going over this section of the book and also following the instructions to do so because it sounds like a lot of fun to me.
Expanding 5E D&D Background Characteristics — Noble
Salutations, nerds! This time around I’m looking at the Noble background in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. For all of you who like to play characters from rich families with expectations, buckle up. I definitely am and this is probably the background I’ve used the most out of all of them. The background options in the 5E D&D Player’s Handbook offer suggested characteristics to help define a character and spark your imagination for roleplaying. Let’s get started.
Discover Your 5E D&D Character’s Horror Background with Van Richten’s Guide Backgrounds
Salutations, nerds! Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft sets up backgrounds a little bit differently from other fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons books. There are two in particular with suggested characteristics but as far as background features go there’s a list of those you can use for pretty much any other set. I like this. As someone who generally uses custom backgrounds anyway simply having the background feature to choose from is cutting out the middle man so to speak. Let’s take a look at what Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft reveals about backgrounds in this 5E D&D horror campaign setting.
Inspire 5E D&D Adventure by Reading the Tarokka Deck and Spirit Board from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Salutations, nerds! It’s time to get down with some mystical woohoo stuff for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. By this I mean fortune telling and communion with the spirit world courtesy of Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. I know you can’t see me but imagine me wiggling my fingers at you. This particular topic is near and dear to my heart because I myself am an avid collector of tarot cards, which the Tarokka Deck is based on for 5E D&D, and use them frequently. I’ve been reading for about 17 years now and whether you believe there’s any real magic in them or not there’s something really fun about turning over a card and seeing what the reading has to say for you. In Ravenloft this is doubly true. A draw of a card from the Tarokka Deck or contacting spirits or other mysterious forces via a Spirit Board can greatly change the shape of your 5E D&D adventure and this is really cool. So let’s get to it, shall we?
Expanding 5E D&D Background Characteristics — Hermit
Salutations, nerds! I’m rolling on over to yet another background and focusing on the Hermit background in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. The background options in the 5E D&D Player’s Handbook offer suggested characteristics to help define a character and spark your imagination for roleplaying. Seclusion, contemplation and keeping away from the rest of the world in what is at the very least isolation represents the formative part of life for these 5E D&D characters. As with every background there’s a lot to chew on here so let’s get started.
Create an RPG Character Backstory Your Game Master Will Actually Read
Salutations, nerds! I’m writing about backstory when it comes to tabletop roleplaying game characters. Generally you see a lot of backstory elements going one of two ways, or at least this is what memes would have you believe — 10 pages of detailed history your Game Master probably isn’t going to read. (If you have one who does never let them go.) On the flip side there’s players who show up to the table with absolutely no idea who their character was before the game begins.
Expanding 5E D&D Background Characteristics — Guild Artisan
Salutations, nerds! I’m rolling back in with another expanded set of suggested characteristics for fifth edition character background with a visit to the Guild Artisan. The background options in the 5E D&D Player’s Handbook offer suggested characteristics to help define a character and spark your imagination for roleplaying. Guild Artisans make wonderful characters because you can imagine them casually existing in the world. They have some big layfolk energy in many ways. As a writer this makes the Guild Artisan background feel a lot more relatable to me than most of the others and I know a lot of people who feel the same way. So let’s have some fun creating some additional personality traits, ideals, bonds and flaws for this one.
Control the Flow of Life and Death as a Way of Mercy Monk from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Salutations, nerds! Today I’m taking a closer look at manipulating the life force of others to bring aid to those in need through the Way of Mercy for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. Monks who follow this 5E D&D Monastic Tradition from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything are skilled in the art of healing and often go around with their faces concealed by masks. I’ve got a huge soft spot for characters in masks.
Expanding 5E D&D Background Characteristics — Folk Hero
Salutations, nerds! Today I’m revisiting the Folk Hero background for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons to expand on the list of suggested characteristics. When you look at the background options in the 5E D&D Player’s Handbook there are a number of background characteristics suggested for you to help define a character and spark your imagination for roleplaying and in this series I’m creating some additional personality traits, ideals, bonds and flaws for you to play with on the off chance you’ve burned through all of those and are interested in some new ones. Let’s dive right in!
Master the Magical Dance of Bladesinging from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Salutations, nerds! Today I’m going to honor and expand on the elven ways with a closer look at the Arcane Tradition of Bladesinging for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. You might be aware that I’m playing one of these wizards, Chessalyne, in our latest Chaos Crew game Untraditionally Arcane where normal magic is on the fritz and those of us who study more obscure magic have been called in to go try to fix it. The campaign is a lot of fun and you should totally check it out.
Expanding 5E D&D Background Characteristics — Entertainer
Salutations, nerds! Following the unassailable law of alphabetical order I’m writing about more suggested characteristics for the entertainer background in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. From small time pickpockets to hired muscle hopefully you find something here that works for you. When you look at the background options in the 5E D&D Player’s Handbook there are a number of background characteristics suggested for you to help define a character and spark your imagination for roleplaying and in this series I’m creating some additional personality traits, ideals, bonds and flaws for you to play with on the off chance you’ve burned through all of those and are interested in some new ones.
RPG Character Backstory — Family
Salutations, nerds! Today I’m taking a closer look at RPG character backstory, specifically what your character’s family looks like. Raise your hand if you’ve played an orphan or a character whose entire village has been burned to the ground. If you don’t have your hand up I very nearly don’t believe you. And you know what? Me too. Avenging loved ones is a totally compelling reason for a character to get out and adventure! But…what if we didn’t do this? Let’s take a look at different kinds of families and the sorts of people who shaped your character’s life. Even if you are playing one for whom everyone is dead these people matter in terms of who your character is now and they would at least remember them, right?
