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Author: Robin Miller

Nerdarchy > Articles posted by Robin Miller (Page 5)

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.

MTG fabled hero 5E D&D folk hero

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!

5E D&D Bladesinging Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

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.

5E D&D entertainer background

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.

5E D&D adventurers motivation This Is Your Life Xanathar's Guide to Everything

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?

MTG Innistrad

Plane Shift Your 5E D&D Game Into Magic: The Gathering — Innistrad

Salutations, nerds! You’re probably already aware Wizards of the Coast is releasing Adventures in the Forgotten Realms — the first Dungeons & Dragons themed expansion for Magic: The Gathering — but they’ve already done something similar previously with the Plane Shift supplements for fifth edition D&D even before even before Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica and Mythic Odysseys of Theros. We’ve been revisiting Amonkhet, Dominaria, Innistrad, Kaladesh, Zendikar and Ixalan, which all all Plane Shift-ed over to 5E D&D. So without farther ado let’s get into Innistrad!

5E D&D criminal background characteristics

Expanding 5E D&D Background Characteristics — Criminal

Salutations, nerds! As per the continuing rules of alphabetical order today I’m writing about more suggested characteristics for the criminal 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.

ghosts of saltmarsh xendros 5E D&D

Expanding 5E D&D Background Characteristics — Charlatan

Salutations, nerds! Alphabetical order dictates that today I’m writing about the charlatan background for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. 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 suggest 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.

D&D alliances

The Secret to the Best D&D Character Flaws

Salutations, nerds! A while ago I did a post about 10 flaws you can give your character that won’t bog down your game. Today I want to write about another school of thought regarding fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons character flaws. The goals here are to add another dimension to your character, not make you think too hard about adding something entirely new and avoid complications at the table. Make your 5E D&D character flaw a part of their best quality.

5E D&D acolyte background

Expanding 5E D&D Background Characteristics — Acolyte

Salutations, nerds! We’re about to go on a journey of new background characteristics for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. The backgrounds in the 5E D&D Player’s Handbook and other sources include suggested characteristics to help define a character and spark your imagination for roleplaying. In this series I’m going to create additional personality traits, ideals, bonds and flaws for you to choose from during 5E D&D character creation. Maybe you’ve burned through all of the ones in the PHB and really want something new to chew on.

5E D&D favorite characters

Describing Your 5E D&D Character in Memorable Fashion

Salutations, nerds! Today I’m writing about a moment many fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons players dread — when the Dungeon Master turns to you and says, “Introduce your character. Who are they and what do they look like?” Doesn’t it always kind of feel like there’s no good happy medium between too much detail and not enough? I aim to demystify this process and talk about three important things to remember when called upon to physically describe your 5E D&D character. The idea is to pin down things you’ll remember the next time you get caught unprepared. Fingers crossed this of some use to you but if not the first point is the most important.

D&D traps Nord Games

Incorporating Traps Effectively in 5E D&D

Salutations, nerds! Today I’m writing about traps and how they work in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. This is one of those things I don’t see in 5E D&D play as often as I used to and honestly it’s a bit of a shame. In this post I’m thinking about ways of incorporating traps into dungeons and instead of throwing a bunch of traps out for Dungeon Masters to use I’m going to break down what goes into a good one and how to make them satisfying for players. Ready? Let’s do this.

Discovering RPG Conflict in Unexpected Places

Salutations, nerds! I’ve written about tabletop roleplaying games and what it means to be a Game Master in terms of scenes and what goes into making one. I’d like to touch on a brief recap regarding conflict in RPGs. The only metric that matters in terms of what makes a great RPG scene is if everyone involved in it enjoyed themselves. Some players are perfectly content to roleplay shopping scenes with no conflict. They’ll enjoy the conversations when the time to do so affords. These players are blessings and should not be taken for granted because they make a GM’s job easy. But there are those who won’t be satisfied with these circumstances and don’t mistake me — this doesn’t make them bad players! Conflict is the life blood of the RPG experience. Often the difference between a good story and a boring one is the good story understands a scene really begins when there is a conflict and ends when this conflict is resolved.

How to Evoke Fear in a TTRPG Character

Salutations, nerds! Today I’m writing about striking fear in the hearts of tabletop roleplaying game players. And no I don’t mean just in the sense of a player making an obscenely high attack roll and telling them they miss. I mean truly unsettling the players. This may just be a me thing but nothing turns me off of an adventure faster than someone telling me my character feels terrified. This is acutely true in a situation where my character wouldn’t even be unsettled. Some TTRPG characters may be really freaked out walking into a room strewn with viscera for example but a character with a history of murdering people and using their internal organs as a sacrifice to a dark deity probably isn’t going to be too bothered by these circumstances. And honestly forcing a character into having a fear response to a scenario that wouldn’t scare them is cheating.

TTRPG Stock Sessions — Nightmare and Phobia

Salutations, nerds! At the time of writing this post I am getting ready to run a session going along with the subject matter. Hopefully by now the players involved have already done it and there won’t be any chance of spoilers. Today I’m focusing on character phobias in tabletop roleplaying games and the nightmare stock sessions where they’re brought manifest for the characters to deal with during the TTRPG experience.