Run Your D&D Encounters with a Battle Pack
There are all sorts of ways to run encounters in D&D. Whether you are using hazards, lair actions, legendary actions or just monsters there is a lot to keep track of during an encounter. Today I’m exploring going one for one with the party. Typically a good group of adventurers comprises a warrior, a sneaky character, a healer and some kind of damage dealing spellcaster. In the years I have been playing very rarely do I see combats being pitted against such an encounter unless we are in direct opposition of another adventuring party.
D&D Ideas — Roleplaying
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is roleplaying, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of roleplaying in Dinner Party after accidentally ingesting a Truth Serum Poison characters are embroiled in a long night of deception and revelation — a terrific scenario for exploring the roles each character plays in your game. You can get Nerdarchy the 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.
Plant the Seeds of Adventure with More Treants for your 5E D&D Games
Whether you are talking about Dungeons & Dragons or Lord of the Rings, treants have the ability to make a big impact. Not only are treants very large creatures — Huge in fact — but they are quite long lived and quite powerful.
Adding Magic Schools into Your Fantasy World
There has been a recent rush of ideas talking about schools teaching magic in relation to fantasy gaming. As a gamer who has been playing for decades this does seem like an alien concept to me. Before you get all up in arms about it I am not opposed to the concept. It just seems rather odd to collect a group, possibly a large number, of untrained magical practitioners and keep them all in a confined space.
Stealing MMO Mechanics for Your Tabletop — Blackfathom Deeps
Salutations, nerds! Today I’m sharing ideas for stealing mechanics from MMORPGs, how to make them work and an example my players enjoyed. Suffice it to say your mileage may vary. I’m going to be dissecting Blackfathom Deeps from World of Warcraft. On top of being an extremely long dungeon there some really good concepts to steal from this dungeon and a couple of things that just wouldn’t translate well.
D&D Ideas — Transformation
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is transformation, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of transformation we’re changing lovable animals into ruthless mobsters in Zoo Mafia RPG. You can get Nerdarchy the 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.
RPGs Helped My Mental Health
There’s a such a broad swath of tabletop roleplaying games out there and I’ve only discovered more since working with Nerdarchy. One of the best parts of delving into this hobby is the connections I’ve made with others who share my interests and this sense of community has vastly improved my mental healthscape. With May being mental health awareness month I wanted to share a more personal story, talking about how TTRPGs have helped me with my own mental health journey.
D&D Ideas — Crystals
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is crystals, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of crystals our Mage Forge collection includes a variety of crystals with all sorts of amazing magical properties. You can get Nerdarchy the 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.
Pocket Full of NPCs for 5E D&D — The Reclusive Researcher
Salutations, nerds! Did your fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons party forget to take identify? Got no wizard? Need a nerd who they can go to for the cleansing of cursed items or simply require a plot hook to motivate the party delve into the ruins of an exploded wizard lab? I’ve got a character for you.
D&D Ideas — Temples
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is temples, 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 temples our Shadow of Your Former Self encounter can be placed anywhere you imagine it, like an art gallery, wizard’s inner sanctum or (of course) a temple. You can get Nerdarchy the 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.
Recognizing How 5E D&D Characters are Not Regular People
Salutations, nerds! I’m having a debate right now with one of my friend groups about why everyone in a Dungeons & Dragons world isn’t a wizard if wizards are so powerful. If people in your world can blow up a quarter of a city all at once with giant balls of fire and wipe out whole armies ten why does everyone not do this? Because the barrier of entry for being a high level spellcaster is prohibitively high for most people. Then why are so many D&D player characters spellcasters? Because D&D player characters are not regular people.
Capture the Classic Spelljammer Feel in Your 5E D&D Games
Spelljammer is coming to fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons! For years 5ED&D has expanded into Magic: The Gathering worlds, Critical Role’s Exandria and even universes like Rick & Morty and Stranger Things. However, some classic settings like Dark Sun and Planescape have yet to make an appearance. It occurs to me there might be those who aren’t familiar with Spelljammer so let’s talk about how to get the feel for the setting and how it might be used in my own campaigns.
Find Your Inspiration for Amazing RPG Experiences within DungeonMorphs
The scope of tabletop roleplaying games has never been more broad than it is right now. The system options for players are staggering and even considering the dominance of Dungeons & Dragons within this particular RPG the range of playstyles and approaches to the game are are varied as the people playing them. One aspect shared by nearly all Game Masters is preparation and even the staunchest advocate for improvisation relies on some starting point. The folks at Inkwell Ideas consistently deliver solid resources for GMs and their latest project DungeonMorphs IV aims to continue this fine tradition.
Top 10 5E D&D Homebrew Backgrounds by a Factor of Three
I know, it’s crazy. Nerditor Doug wrote so many of these but now I’ve taken over, at least for this one. Backgrounds in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons have so many criteria so we get to see how they all stack up. But like usual we are going to look at the backgrounds and evaluate them three different ways and see which of these fan created backgrounds you want to add to your 5E D&D game.
D&D Ideas — Law Enforcement
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is law enforcement, 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 crime it’s the other half of the equation in our very own Zoo Mafia RPG. We’re developing this game where you play zoo animals who secretly run criminal organizations under the noses of caretakers and tourists. You can get Nerdarchy the 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.
