RPG Elements Abound in Disney’s Frozen 2
Nerdarchy talks about always seeking inspiration from everything but I was not expecting so much fuel for my imagination in Disney’s Frozen 2. I have always loved Disney’s animated movies and I might be behind the times on this one but as a father I can enjoy watching these movies with my kids. We just finished watching Frozen 2 and even for a movie about an ice enchantress set in a fantasy world there are loads of things I am ready to incorporate right into my own tabletop roleplaying games and my own personal magical RPG setting.
Running an Undead Campaign for 5E D&D
Undead in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons come in all manner of sizes and shapes and all levels of threat. From a Tiny will-o’-wisp to a Huge dracolich plotting the destruction of all living things undead can be the center of a 5E D&D campaign quite easily.
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.
Making the Most of Wild Shape Forms for 5E D&D Druids
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted get animalistic and take a look at the best beasts in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons for a druid to Wild Shape into during tier one of game play. While they point out the highlights of various beasts I’m of a mind to expand on this and see all the possibilities from official 5E D&D sources along with the environments in which they’re typically found. So let’s get into it.
Cawood Publishing Challenges Adventurers with Monsters of the Wilderness
Our friends at Cawood Publishing unveiled a new excursion into the World of Myrr unfolding through their series of monster books. Monsters of the Wilderness for 5th Edition is the fourth book in the series and the Kickstarter campaign bringing it to life for gaming groups all over the world launched today and runs through March 4.
Big RPG Plans for WizKids Unpainted Miniatures Wave 13
WizKids has been putting out quality miniatures for quite some time. I can recall their releases during the third edition Dungeons & Dragons era and how they changed what we were doing at the gaming table. For many years I’ve purchased their prepainted miniatures line and loved them. They are great for any who have no desire or inclination to paint miniatures for their tabletop roleplaying game experiences.
Top 5 D&D Beyond Homebrew Monsters for 5E D&D
Every now and again I like to browse through homebrew content at D&D Beyond to see what creative players come up with for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. The homebrew tools at DDB allow players to create their own spells, monsters, magic items, backgrounds, feats, races and subclasses. When it comes to creating 5E D&D homebrew monsters the tools allow users to use an existing monsters as a template or create something new from scratch. At this time there’s about 72,000 homebrew monsters in the DDB database. So let’s get into it.
Quantum Leap into Your Next 5E D&D Campaign
While talking with a friend recently I mentioned the idea of a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign based on the totally awesome science fiction television series Quantum Leap. This is a friend who’s played in my campaigns many times over the years yet never stepped into the role of Dungeon Master. Our conversation was aimed at encouraging him to run a game sometime and after playing a session I showed him my notes to illustrate how it’s nowhere near as complicated as he suspected. I could tell he was still unconvinced but when I mentioned creating a campaign inspired by Quantum Leap his whole demeanor changed. If he’ll ever run such a campaign (or any campaign!) remains to be seen but it seemed like a cool idea so I’ll share it here too. Let’s get into it.
Minions of San-Tac-Laus to Help Deliver 5E D&D Holiday Cheer
About this time last year I made a holiday beholder for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons based on the chubby bearded man who is a symbol of the holiday season. But I knew the story would not end there. After all if the jolly man in the red has his staff of elves who really look and act like really short gnomes then San-Tac-Laus should have his own set of 5E D&D minions to work with as well.
80 5E D&D Monsters Reimagined with Fun and Fantastic Flavor from My Dad’s Monster Manual
My Dad’s Monster Manual may have started as a silly idea proposed by game designer James Introcaso but here we are months later looking at a fully produced product for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons currently No. 1 Most Popular from Wizards & Guild Adepts at Dungeon Master’s Guild and a silver bestseller in less than two days. What is this unusual 5E D&D book? 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.
Expanding Frost King’s Arctic Hobgoblin Frost Raiders for 5E D&D
Salutations, nerds! We’re taking a powder to revisit Frost King’s arctic environment for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. I’ve been thinking a lot about colder places lately and if you remember our vikinglike hobgoblin frost raiders I have new features and traits for you to slot onto these creatures to make your 5E D&D adventurers’ excursion to the frozen tundra more memorable and challenging. Along with these new components you’ll find a couple of other goodies to pair nicely with the myth and magic waiting to be discovered on the frozen tundra. So let’s get cracking.
Parleying with Monsters in 5E D&D Reveals the Power of Social Interaction
Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything is officially released! Like countless others around the world I poured through the new fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons book oohing and ahhing over the fun new character options, my imagination awhirl with possibilities. (We’re already talking about twists and turns for our characters when we revisit Those Bastards!) In the coming weeks we’ll surely create plenty of videos and posts right here exploring what’s inside but there’s one section of the book I absolutely love above all others and I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into Parleying with Monsters. So let’s get into it.
