D&D Ideas — Bad Guys
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is bad guys, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST on Nerdarchy Live to talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of bad guys in Standing Warning evil entities leave behind a mysterious relic to alter the fate of the dangerously curious. A pair of obelisks invite heroes to solve a name puzzle then best a spirit for gifts of fate along with 54 other dynamic scenarios in Out of the Box. Find out more about it here. You can get the Nerdarchy Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Witch Doctor
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted conjure the magic words to create a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Witch Doctor character. It might have been a comment from another Character Build Guide video, a Patreon request or a suggestion from our Facebook page but wherever the source they told us it would be cool if we created a 5E D&D witch doctor character. They were right. Let’s get into it.
Top 10 5E D&D Homebrew Bard Colleges by a Factor of Three
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted explore the most popular homebrew spells for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragon from D&D Beyond. Here on the website I zero in even more when it comes to spells like these Top 10 force spells for 5E D&D. It’s a lot of fun to see what folks come up with and share their creations in posts like this. (There’s lots of these posts whether for homebrew subclasses, magic items, spells, feats and more floating around for the curious.) This time around I’m looking at perhaps the most versatile class in 5E D&D — the bard — and checking out the Top 10 homebrew Bard Colleges. There’s currently over 1,525 homebrew of them so let’s get into it.
Weave This Beardomancy Wizard and Her Magnificent Magic Items into Your 5E D&D Game
Did you know Nerdarchy created an entirely new school of magic for the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons? It’s called the School of Beardomancy and it’s absolutely fabulous. The supple spells of the beardomancy school are sure to harry any foe you encounter. Okay, okay, I’ll try to pull the puns back (but just a hair). If you want to see the School of Beardomancy in full swing check out Untraditionally Arcane where Ordo Wonderbeard entangles himself with some HAIRrowing encounters courtesy of Jake from Mini Terrain Domain.
Stars are Right with Circle of Stars from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted navigate the stars to map out a discussion of the Circle of Stars for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. Way back when we cracked the case on Mythic Odysseys of Theros before the book was announced this particular druid option provided the crucial clue. Despite the obvious connection to the Theros setting it wouldn’t arrive as official 5E D&D content until Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. Let’s get into it.
Go Wild with Beasts in Your 5E D&D Games
Animals, or beasts as they are referred to in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, play an important role in the game and to be fair in the story too. As early as 1st level wizards, variant humans or characters created using the Custom Lineage guidelines who take the right feat can get a familiar. Familiars can be very useful at scouting without being noticed as out of place, but more on that later. Druids gain the Wild Shape feature at 2nd level and at 3rd level Beast Master rangers gain a beast companion. By 5th level druids (and rangers at 9th level) get access to the conjure animals spell. Lastly many spellcasters gain access to the polymorph spell at 7th level. Why am I wild about animals in 5E D&D? It could be because in the game I run for my kids for a while it was more like them collecting interesting creatures, like a Pokemon game or it could be how useful they are in the game — if used correctly.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as an MCDM Illrigger
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted call on hellish powers to discuss the Illrigger, a custom homebrew class for Fifth Edition created by Matt Colville and his team at MCDM Productions. Now it’s my turn so let’s get into it.
Plane Shift Your 5E D&D Game Into Magic: The Gathering — Ixalan
Are you looking for more fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons content to add to your game? Do you like free stuff? Are you a fan of Magic: The Gathering? Chances are you answered yes to at least one of these questions. Nerdarchy the Website readers know on July 16, 2021 Wizards of the Coast releases Adventures in the Forgotten Realms — the first D&D themed expansion for MTG. This expansion represents a true collaboration between these two Hasbro teams. But MTG crossed over into 5E D&D six times even before Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica and Mythic Odysseys of Theros. Amonkhet, Dominaria, Innistrad, Kaladesh, Zendikar and Ixalan all Plane Shift-ed over to 5E D&D through titles available free from Dungeon Master’s Guild. I am here to share with you Plane Shift: Ixalan.
Take Cover! Taking a closer look behind defensive obstacles in 5E D&D
Recently I heard someone mention cover in the context of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons and it got me thinking how this mechanic harbors some pretty potent defenses. There’s not a lot of material regarding cover in 5E D&D and yet what is there presents a wealth of opportunities for Dungeon Masters and the rest of the players in the game. Let’s get into it.
D&D Ideas — Initiative
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is initiative, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST on Nerdarchy Live to talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of initiative in Backstabber an unusual trap buzzes around a chamber and it can really sting when it lands on an adventurer’s turn. A cloud of flying knives combine with a magical moving pit trap to assail unwary delvers along with 54 other dynamic scenarios in Out of the Box. Find out more about it here. You can get the Nerdarchy Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here.
