Is the pen mightier? | Tool Time with Calligrapher’s Supplies in 5E D&D
Tool proficiencies are a staple of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons but with the prevalence of skills, where do they fit into the game? That’s exactly what we’re here to discuss in this new series of articles. Please note tool proficiencies and how to use them are less defined in the official rules than skills. As such the options and explanations presented here might differ from how your own Dungeon Master treats tools and tool proficiency. On top of that, any DM can adjust rules to fit their own table at their discretion, so check with your DM if you have specific questions about how they deal with tools in their own games. And with all the necessary caveats out of the way, let’s dive into our topic!
Give Your Monsters Personality with Alignment in 5E D&D
Remember how monsters were such a big thing in the ’90s and early aughts? If you grew up in that time (like I did) then you’d be hard pressed to have avoided any number of monster themed TV shows, games and the like. Shows like Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark, Animorphs and many more showcased monsters in a variety of contexts from creepy to vicious to the occasional twist or subversion of the benevolent monster. And then you had the genre that really grabbed my young attention and held it for hours — monsters as allies and companions. I remember waking up at the ghastly hour of 5 a.m. many days just to watch Monster Rancher (now on Amazon Prime and I’m stoked!). As soon as I got off school I watched Pokémon then Digimon before starting on homework. Something about having a loyal friend just as big and scary as the things opposing the main characters made those shows special. It made it feel like the heroes had a real shot at winning, and it gave into the power fantasy of fighting fire with fire. It also helped teach me not to judge people and situations by initial impressions. After all, if the heroes in my favorite shows and games could befriend monsters, maybe making friends in general wasn’t as scary as I often felt.
Nerdarchy Live is Alive! …But What Is It?
We’ve created a second YouTube channel! There’s no sense in burying the lead and we’re proud to announce the launch of Nerdarchy Live, the new home of our longform video content. Nerdarchy the YouTube channel remains our flagship source of news, views and homebrews where we share new videos three times each week about fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons (and sometimes we talk about other tabletop roleplaying games too).
Hooked on Adventure — Too Many Gnolls
In this fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons adventure a party catches wind of villagers gone missing. If you’ve played D&D for any length of time this scenario arises fairly commonly — someone or groups of people often need rescuing — with perilous circumstances on both sides. In this case a Demon Priest of Yeenoghu orchestrates a diabolical plan to swell the ranks of gnolls in the area. Thankfully adventurers take up the cause to put a stop to the demonic designs.
Adventures for 0th Level Characters in 5E D&D
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted take on a community request for how to run 0th level characters and adventures for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. During the early playtest stages of 5E D&D when it was called D&D Next I recall a starter adventure designed with decision points and prompts. This gives me some ideas to start from and explore another way to structure a 0th level adventure for 5E D&D, so let’s get into it.
D&D Ideas — Charm
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is charm, which we discussed in our live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST and talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of charm, we’ve created quite a few magical trinkets of this variety, stashed away in the Mage Forge Vault. But! Someone cracked open the vault and absconded with a bunch of them over at Nerdarchy the Website here. You can get the Nerdarchy Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy, by signing up here. Visit us over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel here and hit that notification bell so you don’t miss live chats on Mondays at 8 p.m. eastern plus our regular three videos each week where we talk about D&D and other RPGs. While we are at home following health safety guidelines we’re continuing to film our videos remotely and Live Chat Revivified streams weekdays at noon eastern with creators joining Nerdarchist Dave to talk nerdy and take questions from the live audience. With the COVID-19 pandemic situation we want to assure everyone we’re following all the guidelines and regulations, and practicing safety and preventative measures like social distancing, and we strongly urge everyone to do the same. Our partners and employees health is our No. 1 priority. Visit Coronavirus.gov for the latest news, updates and developments.
New 5E D&D Magic Rings from the Gaze of the Void Eye
Are your fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons adventurers afraid of the dark? After a jaunt into a world perpetual darkness to face the threat of the Void Eye, they will be. I felt inspired to create some new stuff to go along with Gaze of the Void eye over at Nerdarchy the Store. You might find this new NPC shadow assassin and their powerful magic rings useful to add as a precursor to an evening adventure or to take your campaign in an unexpected direction. Lair of the Void’s Eye should challenge 4-6 characters of 10th-14th level, plus there’s new Shadow Spells, magic items, creatures including Bharagru the void eye and tools for traversing a 5E D&D world of darkness.
Get Pumped for the 5E D&D Muscle Wizard
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted get swole with the Muscle Mage, a quirky character concept for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. The concept of a wizard more into physical fitness than academic research sounds like a blast to explore during play and makes me think of two different ways to represent this idea as a 5E D&D character. Things might get weird here but we’re talking about a wizard more inclined to punch monsters in the face than stand in the back casting fireball so we’re starting from an unusual place anyway. Time to flex my imagination and get into it with two versions of a 5E D&D muscle wizard.
Dungeon Tiles Perfected by WizKids WarLock Tiles
Back in December I was at PAX Unplugged and I got to have a conversation with the lovely people over at WizKids. They had a lot of projects on the horizon and I have even shared a bunch of them with all you wonderful people. Just released, hot off the presses if you will, are the amazing WarLock Tiles. These fully painted, durable and double sided tiles are perfect for setting up your dungeon scene or creepy castle hallways. The only limitation is your imagination.
Watch the Latest D&D Storyline Come to Life at D&D Live 2020: Roll with Advantage!
Are you excited to learn about the latest Dungeons & Dragons storyline? The tradition of exciting spectacle events from the D&D team continues this year with D&D Live 2020: Roll w/ Advantage. While people across the globe continue to stay safe by staying home, the adventures roll on through this virtual event welcoming all gamers to celebrate the D&D community and support Red Nose Day with the most star studded D&D event ever assembled.
