“Mirrors of The Soul”- Out of The Box D&D Encounters #16
this, it can sometimes be hard to get players to try certain paths, enter portals, or take risks that are new. More experienced players tend to be guilty of this whereas brand new players are not.
5th Edition Tome of Beasts – Dragons
Every Dungeon Master loves access to new monsters. And what Dungeon Master does not like using Dragons. With the Open Gaming License we are starting to see 3rd party publishers getting hardbound products out as options to, well give us more options.
Kobold Press has released a new product out for Pre-order. You can preorder your copy here. We did a review on Daves copy that he got early because he backed the kickstarter.
I was sad when I found out that missed getting my own early copy. When we looked at the pdf we were not disappointed. There are so many awesome monsters in this book as well as some new beasts and NPCs to easily add into your game.
Today I am just going to talk about the Dragons that are in this book. Next week I will touch on some 
other monster groups. I will keep this series going until the book is released.
In this book you get 6 new Dragon types for your 5th edition game. Kobold Press does not give you any carbon copy of dragons that exist in your 5th edition monster manual but 6 new whole cloth creations that stand out as unique.
Almost all of the dragons have 4 separate stat blocks for the 4 age categories of Dragons: ancient, adult, young and wyrmling. I make my notes below
The cave dragon is a fierce beast that constantly needs to eat. It lives underground where its sensitivity to sunlight keeps it safe. But sadly living underground is not a place abundant with food. It is not mindless and is a true dragon. I compare this one with a white dragon with lower stats and its desire for food out weighs its desire for any coin. Sorry adventurers if you are looking to slay a dragon
“The Eyes Have It”- Out of The Box D&D Encounters #15
without “homebrew” input from a DM. Using these relationships can be used to justify other interactions that can create a chain of encounters that are not only logical, but generate a build in excitement. Intellect Devourers and Illithids, Orcs and Ettins, Goblins, and Worgs…all are existing relationships where you can hint at what comes next and then scale up the danger. Even seeing one may not necessarily lead to another, but even the hint that it might could lead to some great tension or scene building.“The Argument”- Out of The Box D&D Encounters #14
in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, one that seems to be missing is the Helm of Alignment Change. This was a cursed magical item that, once worn, converted the wearer’s alignment to whatever was diametrically opposed. The only alignment that was unaffected was Neutral, as it had no opposite. Some old school players and DMs will remember this awful item, either as a victim or as the DM who seeded a treasure trove with this bad boy to see if a greedy player would take it.OUT OF THE BOX ENCOUNTERS –
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)
“Coin Flip”- Out of The Box D&D Encounters #13
cannot nor desire to use tactics or think through solutions. This has often been raised as an issue, and DMs can find it frustrating to build an encounter involving complex layers only to have their players charge through and then blame the DM for any failures. I’ve seen this myself several times. The key is to embrace your party’s chaotic nature from time to time. Engaging the players whom have this “random” outlook at least periodically can only improve rapport at the table. A DM might even find this can lighten the mood at the table, and satisfy the needs of the “chaotic” player so that they might be open to more involved or thought-provoking encounters later on.Somewhere within a dungeon, the party will enter what looks like an empty room. Once everybody is inside, the floor will appear to fall away, with the exception of a ledge on their side and a similar one on the far side. into clouds below. A “new floor” will appear occupying this empty space between the two ledges. What will appear will be an interlocking pattern of giant coins laid flat floating like an interlocking floor, square in shape, with a solid ledge on the far side. Each giant coin is large enough for one player to stand upon, and since they touch each other like circular floor tile, it appears that the floating floor can be crossed. Each “coin” piece is a 10’ diameter tile.
Heroforge – Custom Miniatures for your Tabletop RPG
There is a wide variety of miniature lines out there. D&D and Pathfinder both have their fully painted 
ready to go miniatures and for many hero choices they work just fine of you can find a reasonable facsimile. And then you have several other lines that make miniatures including Reaper Miniatures and their Bones line. They are great but they come unpainted and in some cases un-assembled.
For those of you that are unaware Heroforge offers fully customized minis that are 3D printed made to your exact specifications. And they are not limited to designs just for your D&D game. Heroforge offer Custom Miniatures for your tabletop RPGs for fantasy, western, sci-fi, modern and East-Asian themes.
Not only that but you can fully customize it in a way that blends these elements together should your specific character need that. When you go to their site: www.heroforge.com you are presented with a body that you can change the race, make it male or female and dress/equip it with all manner of gear and accessories.
The detail on your choices is amazing. you have the ability to alter on a sliding scale the facial expressions, the muscle tone and every body dimension you might want, height, weight, curves, booty, bust, waist and build. These choices alone make your model more custom than anything else that I have seen.
“Island In The Storm”- Out of The Box D&D Encounter #12
5, pages 108 and 109 have two great ones. Each item on these tables can generate a good encounter. Mixing them can generate a great one.“Rube’s Cube”- Out of the box D&D Encounters #11
Out of the box D&D Encounters Introduction:
Sometimes an encounter occurs because fo a single “what if”. It can lead in all sorts of unexpected directions. Imagine an illusionist’s castle, dungeon, or other lair. Imagine an environment filed with puzzles, tricks, and other dangers. Within such a confine, “Rube’s Cube” can exist.
For this encounter, I wanted to use an under-apprecited monster (ooze) in a way other than a hit point sponge or ambush predator. What followed was a series of “what if” questions.
What if a normally non-spellcasting creature had access to a spell or spell-like effect? In this case, I thought of Mirror Image.
No item to my knowledge creates such an effect outside of a ring of spell storing with the correct spell, so a little extra creativity was called for. What if you made such an item? In the end, you take what would normally be an ambush predator who may not survive more than three rounds, and you’ve created a mystical shell game with one ooze and one item. What if you take that creature, and that magic item, and place them in a room that is custom made for both in a fun way? Hmmm…
And so “Rube’s Cube” was born.
Environment: Dungeon
Suggested level: 2-3
“A Standing Warning”- Out of the Box D&D Encounters #10
description and setting can establish the right mood and put the players on edge. This can allow the DM to set up other encounters or drop hints from their campaign setting. Such encounters may just be red herrings intended to throw characters of the trail or to make them think.Running a D&D game off the cuff – it can be easy
[caption id="attachment_10844" align="alignright" width="511"] Does this Dungeon Master/wizard look panicked?[/caption] So you’re the Dungeon Master. There’s a game of Dungeons & Dragons in an hour or two. Unfortunately you’ve been busy all week and have not had time to prepare. Don’t panic. You can still run your game...
Matt Mercer Adding the Gunslinger to 5E D&D
First off a thank you to Matt Mercer of Critical Role fame for giving us this fighter archetype 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons. A little while back he put together the gunslinger and put it up on the DMs Guild where you can buy it for pay what you want- Here.
Nerdarchy did a review of the gunslinger on YouTube.
“Mirror Mirror” Out of the Box D&D Encounter # 9
Introduction:
This encounter brings up two points that are commonly overlooked.
When anyone makes a campsite, there’s always some kind of preparation. No one simply makes a fire. There’s wood collection, digging or preparing a fire pit, and the like. These activities provide an opportunity for a DM to drop clues or create an encounter. Taking such common activities and making them uncommon can change how players behave during these moments. It might even make them look for things in new ways in other settings, making clues easier to pass on.
Secondly, players, especially experienced ones, are jaded when it comes to monster motivations. Goblins are thieves. Orcs are savages. Undead are mindless. Sometimes it pays to make a player question what they know. It makes them think in new ways and consider new directions. Overall, it may help them grow as a player. Many assumptions are correct for good reasons. Taking these assumptions as a solid rule all of the time can lead players into traps.
The following encounter can turn what would normally be a cut-and-dried combat encounter into a social one. It questions judgement, honesty, motivations and greed.
For your consideration, I present…
Out of The Box D&D Encounter #9 – “Mirror Mirror”
Environment: Wilderness -Forest/Swamp
Suggested Level: 4
One night as the party settles to camp for the night, the normal activities with making camp are interrupted with a strange discovery. As the party makes their fire pit, they uncover a small hand mirror that was buried in a shallow home of leaves, dead grass, or whatever surface in which they are digging. The mirror is covered in dirt and such, but once it’s cleaned up, anyone who peers into it’s reflective surface will see their reflection looking back at them – but as if they were a child version of themselves. The mirror will detect as magic, but possesses no other unusual properties. Later that night, conversations and such that occur around a campfire are added to with the distant sound of sobbing.
“Aces High”- Out of the Box D&D Encounters
Introduction
Aerial encounters are a rare and special circumstance that require a bit more imagination than a 
standard land-based encounter. Whether by traveling on an airship of some kind, or wandering the lands of a Cloud Giant, creating encounters in the sky generally come with the assumption of a higher level foe. Dragons, griffons, wyverns, and the like always seem to come to mind. This doesn’t have to be the case. Further, attacks from above can also be applied to any environment where space is available. Consider urban rooftops, open plains, mountainous regions, and on open seas as other viable locations for an aerial attack. Massive caves and canyons could also be an unusual but perfectly allowable location for such encounters. Additionally, combining lower level foes in an interesting way can create memorable encounters.
For this encounter’s description, I will be mentioning an airship, but feel free to change the location as you need it.
For your consideration, please enjoy “Out of The Box #8 – Aces High”
Environment: Aerial/Anywhere under an open sky/where space is available
Level: 2+
A cool wind blows across the deck of the airship as it glides through broken cloud cover. The sun sets a glow upon the ship though the passing mists. Moisture glistens on the surfaces, and mists dance through the rigging.
You look up past the envelope (balloon) of the ship to examine the clouds, and strange irregular shadows appear from above. Before you can shout a warning, riders on monstrous winged creatures pass by in a flash. Crossbow bolts pepper the deck like rain, and two ceramic balls crash upon the deck, exploding into flames.
“Auntie Knows Best”- Out of The Box D&D Encounters #7
Introduction: This entire encounter is all about any and all complications. It is intended as a set-up for other encounters or adventures, or as a way to advise a villain of the actions of the party. It is, in effect, a valid reason for a villain...
