Run Your D&D Encounters with a Battle Pack
There are all sorts of ways to run encounters in D&D. Whether you are using hazards, lair actions, legendary actions or just monsters there is a lot to keep track of during an encounter. Today I’m exploring going one for one with the party. Typically a good group of adventurers comprises a warrior, a sneaky character, a healer and some kind of damage dealing spellcaster. In the years I have been playing very rarely do I see combats being pitted against such an encounter unless we are in direct opposition of another adventuring party.
Plant the Seeds of Adventure with More Treants for your 5E D&D Games
Whether you are talking about Dungeons & Dragons or Lord of the Rings, treants have the ability to make a big impact. Not only are treants very large creatures — Huge in fact — but they are quite long lived and quite powerful.
Adding Magic Schools into Your Fantasy World
There has been a recent rush of ideas talking about schools teaching magic in relation to fantasy gaming. As a gamer who has been playing for decades this does seem like an alien concept to me. Before you get all up in arms about it I am not opposed to the concept. It just seems rather odd to collect a group, possibly a large number, of untrained magical practitioners and keep them all in a confined space.
Top 10 5E D&D Homebrew Backgrounds by a Factor of Three
I know, it’s crazy. Nerditor Doug wrote so many of these but now I’ve taken over, at least for this one. Backgrounds in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons have so many criteria so we get to see how they all stack up. But like usual we are going to look at the backgrounds and evaluate them three different ways and see which of these fan created backgrounds you want to add to your 5E D&D game.
Adventure the Length and Breadth of a Two Dimensional World
I am always looking for inspiration to do something other Game Masters are not especially when gaming with my kids. In addition I like incorporating my gaming supplies into the game at the table. One idea I had originated from my son’s love of Minecraft and LEGO. What if there was a place where everything was literally made of blocks and everything had 90 degree edges?
WizKids Throws its Hat (and Various Other Pieces and Parts) into the Kitbashing Ring
Ever since the release of plastic miniatures during the release of third edition Dungeons & Dragons I have loved collecting, using, painting and then kitbashing figures. If you are not familiar with kitbashing it has its foundation in model cars and airplanes long before us nerds who roll funny shaped dice decided to give it a go. Kitbashing means taking parts from one kit and adding them to another or salvaging parts from even outside a kit to make the model you imagine. A super famous kitbash you might not be aware of is the Death Star for the original Star Wars movie. It was put together with model kits used in new ways and new angles to give the Death Star its iconic look.
Go Bigger and Badder with More Archdevils and Demon Lords for 5E D&D
I explored some of the baddest baddies from the Nine Hells of Dungeons & Dragons in the past. If you want to check it out you can do so here. Now it’s time to check into a few more of these amazing lords of hell and how you might use these wonderful meanies in your next campaign or session.
Sitting on the Dock of the Bay Watching the Monsters Roll Your Way
When I am preparing my session material I like to see what new things I can add to the game. Is there a fun mechanic I would like to explore, an amusing hazard I can add or a location I have not used at all or in a long time that will be engaging for the players?
Scaling Up Your D&D Game to Giant Proportions
Giants have been a part of Dungeons & Dragons since the beginning of the game. I have always struggled with giants. They did not come up a lot early in my game play and when I watched the old ’80s D&D cartoon giants were much more massive than they are listed as now. But whether giants are just over 10 feet tall or over 100 feet tall they are still ginormous and difficult to interact with in D&D.
How Often Should Dragons Show Up in Dungeons & Dragons?
I have been playing tabletop roleplaying games for over 30 years at this point. I can honestly say there have been long stretches of time and numerous games played with no dragon encounters. Today I ask the dreaded question, “How often should you face a dragon?”
Ember Roc and Other Monsters of Tal’Dorei Inspire New Characters and Adventures
Tal’Dorei Reborn recently released and if you managed to get your hands on a copy from the wonderful people over at Critical Role’s Darrington Press you’ve seen a bunch of new monsters and their respective stat blocks for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. But enough of the book for now — you can hear more on this from us over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel.
Survive the Underdark against Mushrooms and Dangerous Water
Adventures in the Underdark are usually considered more dangerous than adventures above the surface. The typical denizens are bad enough without all the random dangerous creatures. If this was not enough the natural hazards can be even more deadly. Pits, drops and hazardous terrain can be a horrible way to go. When you explore the Underdark you might want some awesome terrain to put on your tabletop.
Retooling the Bladed Gauntlet for 5E D&D
We started a new video series over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel where we look at things from previous editions of Dungeons & Dragons that have not made it into fifth edition. In the first video we talk about the ridiculously powerful character builds you could make with the bladed gauntlet, a weapon from 3.5 D&D. As a follow up I am making a bladed gauntlet inspired weapon to fit the themes and tone of 5E D&D.
If You’re Gonna Go Bad, Go Big with Archdevils and Demon Lords for 5E D&D
My first fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign focused on the big bad of a Demon Lord. Gnar’Kee’Tis was a major deal and the final battle of a game lasting over four years. Over the course of this 5E D&D campaign I newly written lore for the current edition. The players were shocked when I described gnolls being transformed from straight up hyenas. As the quadrupeds became bipedal humanoids the players thought I had made it up. But it was right in the Monster Manual.
Prepare for the Gith Invasion of Your 5E D&D World
There are a handful playable race options in fifth edition who are not truly native to the Material Plane. One of these is the gith. When I think about the gith I see them as one of the few races who could easily facilitate a thematic crossover between science fiction and fantasy.
