Put Your Gaming Set Proficiency to Work with Games within Games in D&D
The Nerdarchists brought up some interesting set pieces in their games within games in D&D video. I’ve had players really gravitate towards gambling at the tavern in between adventures, but just merely rolling skill checks can get a little dull. There are a many options out there for bringing gambling games into your sessions, but I thought I’d share one method I used to take a simple gaming set proficiency and gambling downtime activity of my local rogue and turned it into a recurring scene with an enjoyable NPC and a great way to give weird magic items to the party.
Feats of Inspiration – D&D character building from a single feat
It may come as a surprise to you, but I’m not a huge fan of feats in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. I think these variant D&D rules work, albeit better with specific D&D character building guidelines, but ultimately I greatly disliked feats in D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder and these aren’t enough of a step up for me to enjoy them. However, in an effort to enjoy every aspect of the game and maybe even give some character inspiration to others, I’m going to go through some of the feats in D&D and develop some characterization around them.
Enjoying Origins Game Fair with My Nerd Adjacent Wife
This year it looked like I’d be attending Origins Game Fair 2018 solo. My fellow Nerdarchist and colleagues in Nerdarchy couldn’t get away from their muggle lives and jobs. It so happens my wife had been recently been laid off from work after being diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disease and wouldn’t have any obligations holding her at the home front. I invited her to come along rather than worry about things we have no control over. I was hoping she’d be able to take her mind off some of our troubles for a bit and treat it like a mini vacation. The only problem is the Origins Game Fair is a bit of a Nerd Mecca for tabletop gamers. It’s a whopping five days of tabletop card, board, and RPG games.
Kickstarter Korner for July 2018, Week 3
Each week during the Quests & Adventures live chat, Saturday at 2 p.m. eastern, Nerdarchists Dave and Ted and Nate the Nerdarch hang out live with fans from the Nerdarchy YouTube channel. It’s a chance to share announcements and news, answer questions from the live chat and generally just hang out and talk nerdy with the Nerdarchy community.
In the description of each weekly video, Nerdarchist Ted compiles a list and links to all the videos and website content from the week. But he also shares a selection of cool Kickstarter campaigns. As an avid Kickstarter supporter, he’s happy to share his favorite RPG and gaming-related Kickstarters with you, the Nerdarchy community. Enjoy!
D&D Adventure in Real Life with True Dungeon
At Origins Game Fair 2018 I had the pleasure of running through True Dungeon alongside my wife Stephanie and Dan Dillon. My wife is more nerd adjacent than actually being a gamer herself. 
Dan on the other hand has written a ton of published material through Kobold Press as well as being on the latest Wizard of the Coast product D&D Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage.
Board Games in Review: Professor Evil and the Citadel of Time from Fun Forge
Professor Evil and the Citadel of Time is a game published by Fun Forge. They contacted me and asked if I wanted a review copy and since I am a sucker for board games I said why not. This is a cooperative game and that works out really well for our family. The major concept of the game is that Professor Evil has traveled throughout time and stolen major artifacts and it is the players’ job to sneak into his castle, or citadel, and steal them before they are locked in his super secret vault.
Out of the Box D&D Encounter, Series 2, #49 – “Sting of Life”
Out of the Box introduction
I have been remiss in one aspect. I have failed to reveal a villain that has played a role in some of the homebrewed creatures featured in the Out of the Box series. This villain has been mentioned in The Broker, and will be featured in re-writes of The Passenger, Smells Fishy and others. The reasoning for this is clear, and it’s something that happens at more than my table.
Monocle Society’s Kyle Kinkade talks Weave — Goblins Are Jerks and More
I’m hooked on Monocle Society’s Weave. A few weeks ago I started really looking into this innovative “half tarot, half roleplay, all story” game, reading up and watching/listening to some streamed games. And if you want to know why I’m so stoked about Weave, I’ve got you covered. I’ve since played several games and yowza! I also spoke with Kyle Kinkade about the amazing game he and his team put together. Let’s get into that and share what I learned about Weave from the man himself, including some details on the new Weave playset Goblins Are Jerks.
Add Beauty to your D&D World with a Custom Character Option
D&D Franchise Creative Director Mike Mearls has got creative fever! The co-creator of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons already streams his creative process during the Mike Mearls Happy Fun Hour on Twitch, pulling back the curtain to show how subclass options for D&D character classes are created and developed. And recently, on Twitter he shared a creation particular to his own home campaign — the Beauty Domain for clerics. Adding a custom character option like this can enrich your own D&D world too.
Roleplaying an Eladrin Like a Fey Trickster in D&D
Of all the new elf subraces in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, eladrin are the most mystical and mysterious. As a subrace of elves that make their home in the Feywild, the eladrin are the closest a player character can get to playing a fairy in D&D. They are described as being capricious and changeable, and their ability to change seasons reflects this. This can make roleplaying an eladrin a challenge. However, if one looks to the original lore that inspired the Feywild in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, then roleplaying an eladrin as a fey trickster can be both fun and rewarding.
