Celebrate International Tabletop Day with a Free Download of D&D Stuff
In 2017, some folks on the Nerdarchy team put together a free adventure for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons in recognition of International Tabletop Day. And for 2018 we’re at it again, and stepping up our game! To coincide with the revamp and relaunch of our Patreon rewards, we’re giving away a free download package of special rewards to everyone in the RPG community to help celebrate this most special of days on April 28. Empusia, Curator of Souls is a total package of D&D magic items, monsters, allies, enemies, dynamic and lost lore.
Limitless Encounters 2: A helping hand for the time challenged Game Master
Every now and then, as a Game Master you hit a speed bump. Either you hit writer’s block, or you have an off night where players couldn’t make it and you need a quick one shot. What do you do? You haven’t had any coffee in a while and you’re in a slump. No worries, the Limitless Adventures Team has you covered. Off the success of the original Limitless Encounters, the team has come back strong with Limitless Encounters 2.
Kobold Press Prepared 2 Adventure Collection: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
D&D Product Review: Limitless NPCs Vol.1
Limitless Non Player Characters vol. 1 from Limitless Adventures.
NPCs for any D&D occassion
Many a Dungeon Master has encountered a creative wall when it comes to creating interesting, believable nonplayer characters for Dungeons & Dragons. Some only need a brief description and a name, but others can become key points in a campaign setting. They give an identity and culture to the world of the game.
It can be a challenge, though – it’s hard to predict which NPCs your party will take interest in and seek out in future sessions, and sometimes you have to come up with an NPC on the fly when the session takes an unexpected turn. Enter Limitless Adventures’ Non Player Characters vol. 1. The book contains 100 pre-written NPCs with descriptions, stats and loot that can be put into any campaign.
The book organises NPCs into eight categories: ally, charge, contact, foe, hireling, merchant, sage, and quest giver. Some NPCs fit into multiple categories, so the book’s chapters are more broadly sorted into allies, contacts, foes, merchants, and arch enemies. Each character includes a name, a brief description, stats, treasure, and quest hooks that can be found for each under the Further Adventure subtitle.
GM’s Can Create an Adventure in Five Easy Pieces
In the video above from the Nerdarchy YouTube channel Nerdarchist Dave, Nate the Nerdarch and Nerdarchist Ted explore an approach to creating tabletop roleplaying game adventures. Based on the Five Ws – traditional basic information gathering and problem solving steps – this method makes creating adventures for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons or any RPG much easier.
By asking yourself who, what, where, when and why a Game Master turns what could be a daunting task into a quick process. Preparing RPG adventures this way provides a solid foundation for both GM and players. Building on the basic structure you create is absolutely possible. But this simple method alone offers ample material to work with at your gaming table for fun, rewarding experiences.
Elven Tower Maps a Course Through D&D Content Creation
2017 Ennie Award nominee Elven Tower creates maps and original content for D&D and other RPGs
Derek Ruiz – or Derek von Zarovich as he’s widely known to fans on the internet – is an 2017 Ennie Award nominee for best website. A year ago he was an English teacher. With the flip of a coin, he launched Elven Tower and now “maps” his way forward to continued success as a content creator for D&D and other RPGs. In August, Elven Tower celebrates its one year anniversary. Along with his Ennie Award nomination, Ruiz won the One Page Dungeon contest earlier in 2017 with his entry “Where are the Villagers?”
“I had this idea. I’m going to do something with the internet – start a website or something. I had two options, because this is going to be out of love. This is going to be something that I enjoy. Either it was going to be something about D&D, or it was going to be about science. Believe it or not I just flipped a coin, and I said okay, this is going to be about D&D.” – Derek Ruiz
30 Fantasy Gaming Flash Encounter Ideas
Sometimes games don’t flow like we expected them to. You planned to take three hours, and your players get through most of the quest in one. Not everything that happens at the Dungeons & Dragons table has to be part of some epic happenstance, however. Sometimes, small things stand on their own and aren’t at all part of the bigger picture. We as Dungeon Masters need them because it helps us control the pacing of the game.
So here are 30 quick and simple small scenarios you can throw at your players in a flash when things are a little bit slow or you think you’re going to run out of game before you run out of game time.
A TTRPG GM is like a Swiss Army knife
GM tools for adventure – you only need a few
My TTRPG group keeps me on my toes as a GM. Comprised of adults, all of whom have varying degrees of adulting to do, our get-togethers are infrequent. It averages out to about twice a month on Sunday evenings. Within that group, everyone has varying schedules for work, family responsibilities and so forth. This results in a flexible group makeup on top of everything else. That last part usually isn’t a problem, as PCs can fade into the background or remain on their spelljammer ship while the present players form an away team.
But what happens when a particular character is important to the story for that session? Maybe the previous session ended on a cliffhanger or dramatic moment and a character’s absence would be awkward Or you as the GM simply aren’t prepared to continue your usual campaign?
Absolute Tabletop takes the Oath of the Frozen King with Nerdarchy
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPJk2Taia9c&w=560&h=315]
Nerdarchist Dave welcomes Matt Click and Tim Kearney from Absolute Tabletop to live chat #45 to talk about Oath of the Frozen King, their latest Kickstarter project. With a solid history of RPG content creation, AbTab’s latest offering is the Adventure Kit, which they describe as “versatile, flexible frameworks for roleplaying game adventures.” The modular presentation allows for minimal prep time for GMs, enabling you to run adventures for your players at the drop of a hat.
The art of collaborative adventure design
Taking a break from the usual musings on nurturing a tabletop gaming habit amidst the time demands of busy adult lives, this week I’d like to share some insider thoughts on a Nerdarchy project I’m involved with. “Floshar’s Fate” (title subject to change) is a free Dungeons & Dragons 5E one-shot adventure in the works from several Nerdarchy writers in honor of Geek & Sunday’s International Tabletop Day 2017 on April 29. Don’t worry – there’s no spoilers here, so whether you’re a DM looking forward to running this adventure or a player hoping to experience it at your table, there’s no secrets or details here that will sully it for you.
DMing a Killer Romance Arc in D&D
Bringing romance to D&D
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and with all this pink and red plastered everywhere, and all of these teddy bears crowding the shelves at every store, it’s no wonder I’ve got romance on the brain. It’s enough to make a person want to barf. But in honor of the holiday, I’m going to take a moment to talk about romance subplots at the gaming table.
The Formaggio di Fernando Caper- D&D 5e, SRD Compatible Adventure
The Formaggio di Fernando Caper
D&D 5e, SRD compatible adventure.
Written with thanks to Scott Garibay for his Five Page Tabletop RPG Adventure Design
Launch:
Two large towns have been in hot competition with each other for commerce and farmland. Either could overshadow the other in the next couple years and become full cities. Rumors run wild and it is great time to be a merchant or caravan leader with roads in good repair and banditry near nonexistent as the towns outdo each other to attract business. While journeying from one town to another, and they are about one more day from their destination, the adventuring party makes camp. They are awakened in the morning by a cavalry group that outnumbers them two to one. Unfortunately for the adventurers they are in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The cavalry members are all paladins or clerics and are under orders to search the countryside for a spy. They do not have a clear description but do know he is with a group. If any character in the group has a strong background story like a Folk Hero or Noble or a solid alibi, the cavalry members will relax, but insist on following orders and will “escort” them to their superiors for questioning. They will be “guests” until the spy has been determined, which depending on behavior could mean anything from a jail cell to an expensive suite with personal guards. It should be clear the characters are implicated and assumed to be the spy and cohorts.
Locations:
- The Campsite (Where the adventurers bedded down to rest before finishing the last day of their journey)
- The Outpost (Where the cavalry have set up a base camp with a commander’s tent)
- The Commander’s Tent (The Adventurers will be brought here first to be searched and questioned about the spy)
- The High Lord’s Estate (A training grounds and place where the Adventurers will be detained)
- The Club and The Flask (A disreputable tavern and known hangout for less law abiding folk and out of work mercenaries)
- The Red Lance (A fancy brothel where the spy lost his cover)
- Black Stone Pastures (Dairy farm blackmailed into being cover for the spy)
Ducknapping, Nanny Nibbling and the Governor’s Goods- A D&D 5e, SRD compatible adventure
Written with thanks to Scott Garibay for his Five Page Tabletop RPG Adventure Design
Ducknapping, Nanny Nibbling and the Governor’s Goods
D&D 5e, SRD compatible adventure.
A D&D game session in progress (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Launch and Locations
In the aftermath of a raid on the town by strange cultists with giant lizards and kobolds, the characters scouted the raiders camp. After returning from scouting the raiders’ camp, where the characters freed several enslaved townsfolk, their breakfast the following morning is interrupted.
- Green Rest Inn (Where the characters are eating breakfast after a long rest)
- Featherend Farm (Duck Farm of small repute for winning ribbons in the fair)
- Swardheart Farm (Goat Farm run by two halfling females)
- The Governor’s Manor (The Governor has retired here, delegating oversight to proper carpenters)
- Snoutslap Sties (Pastured swine farm, the furthest of the three farms from the Governor’s Manor)
Presenting an Adventure Hook for 5E D&D
Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition Adventure Hook
– Faslemil’s Glade
LOCATIONS
Faslemil’s Glade – A quiet area where Faslemil is buried \ Population 0
Scrilstarg – Village near Faslemil’s Glade \ Population 800
Wilmvoln Tower – Former home and arcane laboratory of Oda of Tangran \ Population 0
Jofleth – Town near Wilmvoln Tower \ Population 3,700
CHARACTERS
Faslemil – Gold Shadow Dragon (Adult)
Jedumtre – Faslemil’s son
Iscalon – Human Paladin (Folk Hero)
Oda of Tangran – Elf Wizard (Sailor)
Quess – Human (Female) Fighter (Mercenary)
