Blast from the Past: Dungeons & Dragons Tomb of Horrors
[caption id="attachment_13611" align="alignright" width="340"] 1978's Tomb of Horrors[/caption] [caption id="attachment_13613" align="alignright" width="336"] 1981's Tomb of Horrors[/caption] Few words raise the ire of long-time Dungeons & Dragons aficionados more than “Tomb of Horrors.” The words “Fourth edition” come to mind, but that’s fairly recent and probably somewhat unfair...
“Ribbet, Ribbet, WHOOSH” – Out of the Box #26 D&D Encounters

It’s All Right for Your RPG Characters to Change
Recently I’ve run across two situations as a Game Master I believe are worth sharing with a wider audience. First, one of my players came to me concerned he had not played his character’s personality correctly during a recent fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons session. Second, a player in a different campaign (one in which I play and am not GM) came to me worried his character had done something out of character.
“Procession” – Out of the Box #25 D&D Encounters

&#%!@?: D&Dizing Al Swearengen
[caption id="attachment_13352" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) stands dead center among many of the characters from the HBO television show Deadwood.[/caption] If you’re not familiar with the Al Swearengen character, then you must not have watched much, if any, of the HBO western drama Deadwood...
“The Balance” – Out of the Box # 24 D&D Encounters

“The Balance” – Out of the Box # 24 D&D Encounters
“Watchdog” – Out of The Box #23 D&D Encounters
Out of the Box Encounters Using Daern’s Instant Fortress Introduction:
Another popular cliche or trope that seems to endlessly occur in every D&D game is this: Defeat monster, check it’s pockets, take it’s stuff. Here’s a way to rethink that. What if the magic item is part of the encounter. What if that magic item defined the encounter such that it makes it very difficult to acquire without damaging it. What if that self-same magic item was also highly desirable?
Now, let’s add something to that concept. Let’s apply a template to that encounter that takes a common everyday monster (zombie) and applies it to a monster less common…say, one that makes it harder to just take the magic item?
“The Passenger” – Out of the Box #22 D&D Encounters

Blast from the Past: Dungeons & Dragons Animated Series

The first 9 episodes only cost me 99 cents. May you be so lucky, if you choose.
1983 was a big year for me. Over the summer I turned 14, and in the fall I would begin ninth grade, kicking off my high school years as a freshman. But more importantly, it was a big year for my role-playing habits.
TSR’s sci-fi game Star Frontiers had been out for a year and was coming out with new products left and right. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was riding high with a ton of new modules, including the original Ravenloft module (the maps!), and even the D&D Basic Set was getting a slight reworking with a new boxed set. Then towards the end of the year there hints of something major coming from TSR in 1984, and eventually that would be known as Dragonlance.
So, 1983 had a lot happening in the worlds of D&D. But perhaps the most noticeable, at least for the 13-soon-14-year-old me was the Dungeons & Dragons animated TV series.

Our heroes. Yep, that’s Bobby the Barbarian at center.
Saturday morning cartoons were a huge deal then, and TSR big shot Gary Gygax had pulled off the unthinkable when he traveled to Hollywood and got Marvel Productions (yes, of the comic book Marvel company) and Teoi Animation of Japan involved with this new animated show.
“Counting Sheep”- Out of the Box D&D Encounters # 21
Introduction: I can’t speak for every table, but a touch of the ridiculous can often turn a normally staid affair into one that hooks players into memorable encounters. Even darker humor is often better than none. If you can add a description to that...
“The Menagerie”- Out of The D&D Encounters Box #20

Want more 5E D&D potions? Look No Further Than The Emporium of Uncanny Magic
For those who played Dungeons & Dragons prior to fifth edition they might have noticed some old, favorite potions no longer appearing in the 5E D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide. This makes sense as 5E D&D is the most streamlined version of the game so far. What to do, then, if you want to include those potions in your current 5E D&D game? Simple. You turn to The Emporium of Uncanny Magic – Lost Potions from Insane Angel Studios.
“Shell Game”- Out of The Box D&D Encounters #19

5th Edition Tome of Beasts – Aberrations
Hello again I am guess you can tell from the title that Nerdarchist Ted is here to talk more about the awesome monsters found in the Tome of Beasts. Last week I touched on the Devils in the book. You can check out that article here. Today we are going to look at some of the Aberrations that can be found within its pages.
Aberrations are creatures from beyond. They are nor of this world and are the things of nightmares. This time Kobold Press brings you 20, if my count is right, new aberrations for use in your 5th edition game. I can assure you that with this spread you get challenge ratings as low as 1/4 with the map mimic and as high as 19 with the Shoggoth
The Map Mimic is cool because it allows dms to use those nasty surprise creatures at the earliest levels. And who does not want to have them find a map that leads to another mimic? Think of all the fun you can do with such a thing.
Shoggoth, I believe is right out of Cthulian Horrors. With a challenge rating of 19 I would imagine it would be so. This is the type of monster that could have a campaign leading up to it as the major adversary. And since the tome of beasts gives you so many more options you have enough aberrations to make that type of game happen
The Arboreal Grappler is an awesome Ape with limbs that are at least 10 foot long. Encounter this guy on the plains and you are all set, but meet this guy in the jungle with heavy tree cover and they might just pull you up into their world and let you fall to your death.
“The Albatross”- Out of the Box #18
