Getting More from 5E D&D Monsters — Kangoram
Kangorams make spirited mounts. These bipedal creatures reach heights over 10 feet tall and their powerful legs mimic the bounding gait of part of their namesake while thick skulls and curling horns belie the other half. A ridge of bony plates runs down their back to the tip of their tail, which they balance on to deliver powerful kicks. Druids who understand these unusual beasts know the way to train them as a powerful mount lies in steering them away from their forward focus to exert control. These beast monsters appear in Chimes of Discordia: Fantastical Mounts, one of the digital fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons products we create for Patreon supporters and later for Nerdarchy the Store. Here you’ll find expanded 5E D&D content inspired by these exotic beast creatures along with the stat block as it appears in the book ready to drop into your games.
Sit for a Spell at the Gobble Inn with Muk for 5E D&D
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted devise a business plan for the Gobble Inn as a memorable location for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. In the video they come up with several fun concepts and ways to incorporate this location into a 5E D&D game. I couldn’t help but think of the adorable goblin Muk who’s two Dungeon Masters Guild titles introduce and present a bunch of awesome activities, adventure hooks and light hearted fun in and around his home in Dankwood (while also generating money for Extra Life, a charity uniting gamers around the world to play games in support of their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital). So let’s get into it.
WizKids Warlock Tiles Inspire TTRPG Encounters in the Marketplace
Tabletop roleplaying game adventures in town can emerge from many places. How much fun can you have in the marketplace? Given all the possibilities of events to unfold in an outdoor marketplace it is the perfect set up for fun and imaginative game play. Outdoor stalls make for ideal places for hit and run tactics by assassins or basic street thugs. Many marketplace features distract the eyes and block line of sight. A marketplace also incorporates elements for characters and creatures to interact with. Look at all the remarkable segments of chase scenes in movies and TV shows. It can all happen in a marketplace.
5E D&D Monster Spotlight — Chimera
The chimera is such a classic Dungeons & Dragons monster from mythology and has made an appearance in all of the editions of the game. In fifth edition D&D a chimera can be encountered in a few different environments — grasslands, hills, mountains and the Underdark. These are all straight out of the 5E D&D Monster Manual and I’d add the aerial environment as well. This gives us quite a few places we can drop an encounter in with a chimera. They enter gameplay during tier two with challenge rating 6. Chimera are quite formidable with a decent amount of hit points, a fly speed of 60 feet and three attacks per round, one of which can be replaced with its Breath Weapon. Let us not forget villains like to employ chimera as mounts. A single chimera would be a medium challenge for four 5th level characters. These nasty beasts average 53 points of damage on a single round when they use their Breath Weapon or 32 when they can’t. If this D&D monster is played up to its full hunter archetype this is significant damage potential.
Getting More from 5E D&D Monsters — Stonesnapper
The semi-sapient stonesnapper plant tends to grow where creatures that petrify like to make their lairs. The stonesnapper is a common fixture in many basilisk caves and there have been stories of medusae cultivating them and keeping them as pets in bygone eras. The flowers grow in vibrant colors, capable of motion and closing their petals around small objects. Their vines are also ambulatory. The stonesnapper doesn’t require much sunlight and in fact gets most of its nutrients by scooping up the leavings of creatures that have been petrified and then devoured — the crumbs left behind by things like gorgons, basilisks and medusae. The acidic fluid built up inside the stonesnapper in order to digest these leavings is a natural remedy for petrification. These plant monsters appear in Garden of Statuary, one of the digital fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons products we create for Patreon supporters and later for Nerdarchy the Store. Here you’ll find expanded 5E D&D content inspired by these opportunistic plant creatures along with the stat block as it appears in the book ready to drop into your games.
Use This Circle of the Moon Druid for Your Next 5E D&D Game
When it comes to fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons the druid is probably my favorite class. Reasons for this abound. The 5E D&D druid is super versatile and comfortably fills the role of healer, defender, controller or damage dealer. Even when players focus on one particular aspect through one of the Druid Circles and other choices druid characters can still fill the other roles in a pinch. Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted cover one such aspect in a discussion about different Wild Shape forms a druid (specifically a Circle of the Moon druid) might use.
The Five Room Backstory for 5E D&D Characters
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted look at ways for a Dungeon Master to use a character backstory as a resource to create dungeons for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. Building on their ideas I’m curious about approaching from the opposite end and exploring how players can set their DMs up for success by constructing their character backstory like a dungeon for 5E D&D. So let’s get into it.
5E D&D Players Gel through Group Patrons from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
All of the Dungeon Master’s Tools wrapped up with a deeper look at Natural Hazards but chapter four in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything holds many more terrific modules of content for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. The book’s second chapter revisits a concept introduced with Eberron: Rising from the Last War and explores Group Patrons for 5E D&D. So let’s get into it.
Getting More from 5E D&D Monsters — Mage’s Echo
When a spellcaster dies, sometimes a part of their soul lingers behind with the body rather than moving on to its final resting place. These imprints are called mage’s echoes. These undead monsters appear in Wizard’s Wake, one of the digital fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons products we create for Patreon supporters and later for Nerdarchy the Store. Here you’ll find expanded 5E D&D content inspired by these haunting spirits along with the stat block as it appears in the book ready to drop into your games.
Enjoy 5E D&D Quality of Life with Optional Class Features from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted ponder the implications of a quantum leap forward in character options for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons ushered in through Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. Chapter 1 of the latest official sourcebook for 5E D&D introduces optional class features for all 12 character classes from the Player’s Handbook. (Artificer appears in the book as well making a debut outside Eberron: Rising From the Last War as a 13th class option.)
Magical Phenomena Materialize from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons players received an adrenaline shot with Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything injecting a huge number of new subclasses and character options. Like its predecessor Xanathar’s Guide to Everything the latest sourcebook includes a wealth of material for Dungeon Masters too. The back half of the book segues into a resources blending concrete rules with guidance for incorporating fun and engaging content into 5E D&D games. Layering adventures and encounters with these elements brings new dynamics to campaigns and this time around I’m taking a closer look at Magical Phenomena. So let’s get into it.
Push Your 5E D&D Skills to the Limit with Puzzles from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted ruminate on all the myriad ways for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons players to increase their characters’ chances to succeed on one of the three main kinds of d20 rolls forming the core of the rules of the game. In addition to attack rolls and saving throws the other kind of roll players make are ability checks and sometimes these are further modified with a proficiency bonus to reflect a character’s particular skill. There’s a lot wrapped up in these circumstances. Not long ago I looked at when, how and what particular skills get checked during a 5E D&D game. Today I’m excited about all the ways to challenge these skills through a variety of puzzles found in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. So let’s get into it.
Supernatural Regions Bubble Forth from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Dungeon Master’s Tools found in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything certainly delivers a wonderful variety of resources to help Dungeon Masters and players alike build fantastic fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. All the new subclasses and character options get creative juices flowing no doubt about it but the real juice is the juicy tools in chapter 4 of the new 5E D&D book. Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything brands one of my absolute favorite components of a memorable moment inspiring circumstances with the term Supernatural Regions. So let’s get into it.
‘Twas the Nightmare Before Father Winters’ Day for 5E D&D
It’s that time of year, when things go bump in the night and everyone gives cosplayers the pass they deserve. Halloween is one of my absolute favorite times of year and I really wanted to write something inspired by the season. I have several favorites when it comes to Halloween movies. Among my top tier are one most have likely heard of and one most have likely never known to exist.
Two Critical Qualities to Make Your 5E D&D NPCs Memorable
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted dance to the beat of a different drum and use a group of NPC musicians from a recent game of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons as a jumping off point for discussing this dwarven band in greater detail. Several key points emerge, ones I took note of as salient points to keep in mind for any individual or group of NPCs for 5E D&D or any other RPG. This 5E D&D dwarven jug band wonderfully illustrates what makes NPCs so compelling. So let’s break it all down and get into it.
