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Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying

In defense of Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons and its streamlined approach

Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons Role-playing Game

Several Dungeons & Dragons miniature figures. The grid mat underneath uses one-inch squares. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Considering for decades Dungeons & Dragons has been the most recognizable name of all tabletop role-playing games, and considering the popularity of Fifth Edition D&D, it might seem the game itself needs no defending. However, from time to time I have noticed online forums with various concerns or complaints raised against the game.

The most common complaint I’ve read is that in Fifth Edition a player cannot make the type of character he or she wants, that more rules are needed in order for there to be more character diversity, that currently only similar, cookie-cutter characters can be created because of the limited number of classes and rules.

I understand. I disagree, but I understand.

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by Ty Johnston
November 9, 2016
0
Out of the Box D&D Encounters Roleplaying

“Jailbreak” – Out of the Box #27 D&D Encounters

Introduction: out of the box D&D encounters   
  While researching something else entirely in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, I  glanced at the passage on the “Mirror of Life Trapping” purely by mistake (pages 181, 182, DMG). Because of the fluid nature of this mirror’s possible past, it may contain up to twelve random creatures already. How they got there and why they ended up in the vicinity of the Mirror could be any number of reasons.
  That means this encounter, if you set it up right, could be infinitely adjustable to your group’s level and abilities. It could be a campaign starter. It could be a campaign ender – even if only by accident. Since the contents set the challenge level, take care in making sure you stock the mirror wisely.
  For the purposes of this encounter, only one of the twelve cells is free, so as to not trap the entire party, and to deliver enough random oddities to truly challenge your group. This encounter should only trap one character, leaving the rest to solve the problem. It may well set up one of those moments where the entire party say “What have we done?”
Environment: Dungeon
Suggested level: 4-5 (although it’s infinitely scalable)
  The characters will enter a room or cavern roughly 50’x50’, with a ceiling 30’ high. The room is covered in patches of bio-luminescent fungi, giving the entire room an ambient glow.
  The most unusual feature in this room appears to be a very thin rectangular object floating flat and horizontal over the floor at a height of 15’. It has an elaborately carved 1” thick wooden frame around it’s outer rim. It shows no obvious signs of suspension and hovers silently in the air. It is roughly 4’x2’.
  A steel ball is suspended 5’ above this object by a rope. That rope continues straight up to the ceiling, where a pulley redirects the remainder on an angle downward to a metal ring attached to the far wall. The rope is attached by a thick knot to this ring.
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by Mike Gould
November 4, 2016
1
Adventure Hooks Dungeons & Dragons

The Formaggio di Fernando Caper- D&D 5e, SRD Compatible Adventure

The Formaggio di Fernando CaperA Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Modern

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)
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by John Wells
November 3, 2016
0
Blast from the Past Dungeons & Dragons

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...

by Ty Johnston
November 2, 2016
0
Out of the Box D&D Encounters

“Ribbet, Ribbet, WHOOSH” – Out of the Box #26 D&D Encounters

Introduction: unnamed
  The Monster Manual is loaded with a lot of gems that seem to go unnoticed. The Templates are but one of them. Templates are a great way to take what the players are familiar with and shaking them up. What this does is two-fold. First, it generates an encounter that the players are not ready for. That is it’s own reward, as it freshens up what would be a very ordinary, and possibly predictable, encounter. Secondly, it takes that omni-present “metagame” aspect and turns it on it’s head. Ask a DM what value they would place on making that one experienced meta-gaming rules lawyer at their table give the “WTF?” expression, and I’ll bet that they’d rate it pretty high.
  The following encounter is intended to do both. It applies the “Half-Dragon” template to something that we would normally not consider. As per the “Half-Dragon” template, we can apply it to a beast, humanoid or giant. That’s a lot of choice. This is but one example of such an application, and might open up a series of encounters where one rather amorous dragon has seeded a campaign with it’s brethren, creating a whole list of choice encounters. One would have to finally convince the dragon of the concept of “planned parenthood” to end this series of events – a discussion I’ll leave to your players.
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by Mike Gould
October 28, 2016
1
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons Player tips

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.

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by Ty Johnston
October 26, 2016
1
Out of the Box D&D Encounters

“Procession” – Out of the Box #25 D&D Encounters

Introduction:
  A fact that goes unnoticed in many environments or campaigns is the importance of rivers. Rivers were out of the box encounters wights  the first highways of the ancient world, and are still major thoroughfares to this day. The same should be true in a fantasy setting. Rivers should be a constant resource for encounters of all kinds, be it lizardmen, pirates, goblins in rickety steamships, or orcs in war canoes. In this instance, however, I will draw from ancient history and base this encounter around a funeral procession.
  To build on that concept, this funeral procession is not just a funeral barge, but an elaborately carved vessel with a large single sail and a single cabin. Imagine, then, that this vessel is not of this world, but the next. The vessel itself is an expression of the Shadowfell. Now you have a river encounter that you could have at night, with all the haunting dread of what happens when the dead meet the living…
  The intent behind this encounter is simple – sometimes it is best to leave well enough alone. Curiosity killed the cat for a reason. In this case, that cat might end up worse than dead.
Environment: Wilderness/Waterway.
Suggested level: 8 (could be significantly higher – see below)
  Either while traveling a waterway at night, or while berthed at the river’s edge, the characters will see a vessel moving quietly in their direction. It will be difficult to see at first, even with Darkvision, as the ship is almost completely made of a black wood. As it closes, lanterns hanging from the bow and stern become visible, much like in a dream when one accepts that things “were always there, even when you did not see them before.” Their green glow barely illuminates the deck of the ship. Gold inlaid engravings and other scroll-work decorate the upper edge of the hull along it’ length. A single mast upon which flutters a single almost ephemeral sail stands at the center of the deck of this nearly 100’ long vessel. Long and narrow, it’s 13’ wide hull cuts the water almost silently. A single steersman in ritual hooded regalia mans the till at the stern, while a single similarly-dressed watchman stands silently at the prow. A small and elaborately decorated cabin, only 5’ tall, but at least 10’ wide and 10’ long sits just behind the mast. It is covered in further elaborate and gold-inlaid carvings in some ancient language.
  The whole craft moves unerringly upstream, as if moved by unseen oars, yet without disturbing the water at all.
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by Mike Gould
October 21, 2016
0
Out of the Box D&D Encounters

“The Balance” – Out of the Box # 24 D&D Encounters

Introduction:

 

  A good use of an encounter is to force the players to make a choice based on what they value.   out of the box encounters spriteFurthermore, different characters will always have different motivations, so those choices can be rooted in the very basis of the character. The right encounter might flush those motivations to the surface. This can often lead to heated discussions, but can also serve to really clear the air on where characters stand with each other. That can only lead to character development.

 

  Additionally, it has been said before that any treasure or magic items in the possession of a villain should be used by that villain. Previous “Out of The Box” Encounters have followed that mantra, and this will follow that trend.
  “The Balance” is intended as an extension of both concepts, as well as an opportunity to reward players with a form of treasure that cannot be bought – a rare companion or familiar. To date, if we follow the official rules, only Chain Pact Warlocks can earn such companions. However, when we research the Monster Manual, there are several chances to win such an ally – if only the opportunity arises and the players act correctly.

 

  Inspiration for this encounter came from, of all places, the “Trinket” table in the Player’s Handbook (p.160), #46 – “Dead Sprite in a Jar.” I asked myself, “how did it get there?”. I remembered the “Iron Flask” entry in the DMG (p. 178) where another creature could be held in a container, and combined the two. Adding a dramatic element, it becomes a balance – between saving a potential ally and acquiring a magic item. Which will the players choose…?

 

 “The Balance” – Out of the Box # 24 D&D Encounters

Environment: Dungeon or any appropriate lair.
Suggested level: 4 (but really, by changing the contents of the Iron Flask, you can scale the level of this encounter upwards)

 

  Entering a large circular chamber, the players are immediately greeted by two things. The string acrid bite of the odor of strong acid, and the appearance of the strangest scale they have likely seen.
  A wide pool, perhaps 20’ in diameter sits in the center of the room. Balanced upon a hemispherical stone is a stone platform perhaps 10’ in diameter. A central vertical pole rises from the center of the platform to a height of 8’. The top of the pole has a cross-member of wood as well, giving the structure the appearance of a letter “T” upon the platform. Suspended from the each end of the cross-member is a container on the end of a thin chain.
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by Mike Gould
October 14, 2016
2
Out of the Box D&D Encounters Roleplaying

“Watchdog” – Out of The Box #23 D&D Encounters

Out of the Box Encounters Using Daern’s Instant Fortress Introduction:

out of the box encounters daern's instant fortress 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?

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by Mike Gould
October 7, 2016
0
Out of the Box D&D Encounters

“The Passenger” – Out of the Box #22 D&D Encounters

Introduction:
There’s an old cliche that states “not everything is as it seems.” Of all the genres in gaming, books, or out of the box encounters intellect devourer  movies, Horror follows this the most. Good horror has a bait and switch, or a surprise hook, that takes the viewer by surprise. There are many foes within the Monster Manual capable of this with the right delivery. What should follow is the generation of tension, and perhaps a little player paranoia, to add depth to the next few encounters. The right moment or delivery of this “bait and switch” can set the tone and give your players pause.
  The following encounter, “The Passenger”, is but one example. The foe that is presented here can not only be utilized with every single NPC and beast in the back of the Monster Manual, but with almost every living monster in the Monster Manual – so long as it has a brain.
  In fact , the methodology for this foe has been seen in horror many times, from the Alien franchise, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Thing, the Half-Life computer game, and basically every possession movie.
  It can be anywhere. It can be anyone. It could be the person standing right next to you…or the duke’s loyal hunting dog at his feet. Anyone.
Environment: Anywhere….
Suggested level: 2+ (see below)
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by Mike Gould
September 30, 2016
0
Blast from the Past Dungeons & Dragons Film, TV and Video

Blast from the Past: Dungeons & Dragons Animated Series

blast from the past dungeons & dragons animated

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.

blast from the past dungeons & dragons animated

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.

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by Ty Johnston
September 28, 2016
0
Out of the Box D&D Encounters

“The Menagerie”- Out of The D&D Encounters Box #20

Introduction:out of the box encounters polymorph
  It’s always important to read the flavor text. For monsters, magic items, and spells, the flavor text can turn a blase encounter into something more. This very encounter is based upon the little details of one spell – Polymorph. (Page 266 of the Player’s Handbook) However, instead of just using that spell as written, what if you created a special region affected by the spell, and tweaked it in such a way as to give the players more agency within the confines of this encounter? What if that special region was a Wild Magic zone? Mayhem!
Environment: Wilderness.
Suggested level: any, but it should be high enough to justify the possible treasure.
  The party might be travelling along a lonely road or twisting path through dense woods, and the foliage seems to abruptly open into a single but large glade. The glade is enormous, and appears for all intents and purposes to be roughly circular. At the centre of this glade is a thick and tangled copse of trees, vines, and brambles. The central tree is an ancient oak, twisted and enormous. It’s branches both reach to the sky and bend to the ground like an umbrella. Woven within these branches, innumerable vines twist and turn like a green tangle of webs, dotted by large white lily-like flowers. Shooting from the ground and entangled among the vines and trees are an equally abundant number of thorny brambles.
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by Mike Gould
September 16, 2016
0
Dungeons & Dragons

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.

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by Ty Johnston
September 14, 2016
6
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