Running Aberrations and Their Followers in Dungeons & Dragons
“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of the infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.” The Call of Cthulhu
When considering aberrations in your fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons games it is important to remember the nature of these horrors. Minds and bodies made of stuff from beyond your campaign world, aberrations are truly alien things without connection to the physical laws and regular psychology of even the most foreign minds. Mastering the presentation of aberrations can be tricky, and to keep them from presenting as nothing more than just another monster require subtlety and often restraint.
D&D Ideas — Aberrations
D&D Quest Starters by Character Class — Rangers and Rogues
Looks like people are enjoying this D&D Quest Starters series so far and we are now more than half way through. The thought behind these ideas is to give simple little scenes for roleplaying, skill challenges or both, for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons characters based on their character class. These could take five minutes and can be great to give a player whose character does not normally step a chance to shine, or at least encourage them to roleplay their character. The advice here is designed to be generic but these ideas can hopefully inspire you to encourage your players. If a player latches onto the NPC you provide, then feel free to build on that scene over time to have it mean more and the character might keep coming back to the NPC or vice versa. That is why it is a quest starter — it can easily lead to some fun long term quests over time. Use the navigation bar at the top under the title to check out quest starters for other classes like barbarian and bard, and cleric and druid, and fighter and monk.
Should You Include Queer Characters in Your RPG?
It’s Pride Month, and I love it! For those who maybe aren’t as familiar, Pride Month is a time when Queer people (or people part of the ever-growing LGBT+ community) the world around celebrate love, life, and happiness. It’s a time of rainbows and good vibes and all that other stuff.
A couple of notes before delving into this article:
- I’m coming at this topic from my own perspective as a Queer person who loves tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs, for short).
- I’ll be using the term “Queer” (with the capital “Q”) to reference the LGBT+ community in its many contexts.
With the increasing visibility of Queer people in our society, the question for many Game Masters inevitably comes up, “Should I include Queer characters in my worldbuilding?” Rather than tell you you’re a jerk if you don’t or try to convince you why you should, let’s have a frank discussion about the reasons you might or might not want to take Queer people into consideration when it comes to your RPG worldbuilding.
D&D Ideas — Seasons
Bonding in Your Roleplaying Games
Expanding your horizons is a tried and true method to spark inspiration, fight burnout, and generally become a better-rounded creator. There are some game mechanics you’ll encounter whether you’re playing or running a roleplaying game that, with a little tweaking, can become useful tools in many different roleplaying scenarios. I like to call them pocket mechanics. Little game mechanics to keep in your pocket for any occasion. One example of these are bonds from Dungeon World by Sage LaTorra and Adam Koebel. Bonds are a useful roleplaying tool and a mechanical way to reward players for engaging in character interaction.
Roleplaying Spell Effects 2.0 — Cheaper and Pre-Cut on Kickstarter
Dealing with combat in roleplaying games offers a number of challenges. Once you pull out the battle grid and miniatures some of the issues go away, but whether you are playing theater of the mind or using a grid there will always be arguments about how spells effect the area. When you do so playing theater of the mind, that will have to be between you and your Game Master. But if you are using a battle grid I have the perfect solution — the Roleplaying Spell Effects 2.0 Kickstarter from Arcknight.
D&D Quest Starters by Character Class — Fighter and Monk
Welcome back. Or welcome, if this is your first foray into D&D Quest Starters. The thought behind these ideas is to give simple little scenes that offer roleplaying, a skill challenge or both, for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons characters based on their character class. These things can take five minutes and can be great to give a player whose character does not normally step into the limelight and allow them to shine, or at least encourage them to roleplay their character. Only you know what each of the players in your game are capable of as well as what is going to interest their characters. The advice here is designed to be generic but these ideas can hopefully inspire you to encourage your players.
D&D Ideas — Aquatic Adventures
Campfires Aren’t Just for Character Intros Anymore!
Campfire Writing Software is a tool for writers. It’s phenomenal for tracking everything from characters, to major plot lines, to world building, and more! I was provided a free copy to review, and boy, do I have thoughts. Spoiler alert (in case the article’s title didn’t give it away), I loved it! If you want to watch me go through it initially and get my raw thoughts, you can watch this week’s RPGtube video on my channel!
