Top 10 5E D&D Homebrew Ray Spells by a Factor of Three
A recent Reddit thread inspired this week’s look at homebrew content for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. I came across a wonderful web comic called Socks and Puppets shared over there and the particular strip titled Summoning Ray. Creator David Birch illustrated a variety of manta rays each themed after a type of 5E D&D ray spell. I reached out to the creator to ask about including his comic in this post but didn’t get a reply. (I’ll include links below so you can check it out.) Regardless I’m checking out the 480+ homebrew ray spells at D&D Beyond and since ray isn’t a codified keyword I suspect the results are going to be quite unusual. We get a kick out of checking out the 5E D&D content folks come up with and sharing their homebrew creations. (There’s lots of these posts whether for homebrew subclasses, magic items, spells, feats and more floating around for the curious.) Let’s get into it.
See All Things as They Truly Are with MTG Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Book of Vile Darkness
I wrote a while back about my excitement for the Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms expansion for Magic: The Gathering and since the set released I’ve been enjoying it immensely. Spending mana to invoke all manner of awesome D&D creatures, magic items and spells brings an extra layer of nerdy satisfaction. Creating content related to tabletop roleplaying games and fifth edition D&D in particular is Nerdarchy’s bread and butter but we all enjoy plenty of other games too and it’s fun to share those other game experiences from time to time. Let’s get into it.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Pack Master
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted sink their teeth into a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Pack Master character build. The inspiration for this character comes by way of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. More specifically a passage from the book that reads, “For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.” This 5E D&D character is all about establishing a powerful connection with wolves whether through communication, summoning or straight up becoming a wolf themselves! Let’s get into it.
Advancing Your 5E D&D Franchise with Acquisitions Incorporated
Fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons’ campaign setting books do a masterful job providing all the tools and resources players need to create unique experiences within each particular environment including inspiration, encouragement and guidance for developing your own ideas. My favorite book of the bunch — Acquisitions Incorporated — expands tremendously on the concept of running a business included in the 5E D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide. Let’s get into it.
Balancing Monster Descriptions with World Knowledge in 5E D&D
There is a strange tradition in Dungeons & Dragons of withholding monster identities from players and their characters. This often takes the form of a somewhat tedious cat and mouse game of selective description that seems to serve no other purpose than to gaslight the players. While I recognize this is generally intended to instill a sense of in-world wonder and mystery I also have to wonder if it is really all that necessary or even realistic.
Travel Through the Veil to Discover Treasures of the Feywild for 5E D&D
Salutations, nerds! I’ve been given the opportunity to look over another fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons product from the Dungeon Masters Guild — Through the Veil: Treasures of the Feywild! One of the most common complaints I hear from people is there aren’t enough magic items in 5E D&D and if you are looking for a good fey flavored compilation you cannot go wrong with this one. Through the Veil: Treasures of the Feywild is 175 pages packed full of magic items high level and low, as well as full sets of magic items. I’ve got a few of these fingered for future use in games, myself, in fact.
D&D Ideas — Cold
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is cold, 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 cold in Gang of One a highly intelligent chimera uses the cold environment, deception and flight to assail heroes with all its cunning along with 54 other dynamic scenarios in Out of the Box. You can get the Nerdarchy 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.
Top 10 5E D&D Homebrew Evocation Spells by a Factor of Three
Manipulating magical energy takes center stage for this week’s look at homebrew spells for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. There’s currently over a whopping 20,320 homebrew evocation spells at D&D Beyond so while Nerdarchists Dave and Ted examine the bloodlines of homebrew Sorcerous Origins for 5E D&D at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel I’m channeling magic in this post to blast through the most blasty magic around. We get a kick out of checking out the 5E D&D content folks come up with and sharing their homebrew creations. (There’s lots of these posts whether for homebrew subclasses, magic items, spells, feats and more floating around for the curious.) Let’s get into it.
Enduring the Elements of Weather Adds to Immersion in Your RPG Experiences
Get your ponchos and snow boots ready because we are about to get wet as we brace for all sorts of inclement weather. The one aspect of roleplaying games that always keeps me coming back for more is the opportunity for creativity. The opportunity to create worlds, characters and entire universes is really awesome. With these opportunities the weather is a factor I personally do not see frequently in games. Attention Game Masters — this is the perfect way to lead to a TPK. Just kidding about that, but adding weather elements is a way to spice up your game. Match the weather to the environment and see what happens. Descriptive weather can add to the story and immersion of your game without any additional mechanics added.
Multiclassing Should Always be Allowed in a 5E D&D
Multiclassing in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons always seems to polarize a Dungeon Master when it comes up. I’ll admit I’m no exception to this rule. In fact I’m so much in favor of multiclassing in 5E D&D I sometimes ask my players why they aren’t multiclassing. They say the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence but for my part, my grass is looking pretty darn green. Regardless of what side of the multiclassing fence you find yourself on I’m going to try to convince you my grass is clearly the greenest.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Haunted Rogue
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted skulk through the shadows to create a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Haunted Rogue character build. This character emerged through a request from one of our Patreon supporters. The request was simple: “How would you build a rogue with Shadow Magic Sorcerous Origin multiclass?” This leaves a lot of room for flexibility. Leaning hard into an
affinity for gloom this shadowy sneaker emerged with a compelling narrative and this 5E D&D character became a Silver Best Seller very quickly. Let’s get into it.
Show, Don’t Tell, Your Tabletop Roleplaying Game Character’s Fear
Salutations, nerds! I’ve got ideas about roleplaying to share once again and this time I’m touching base on fear rather than anger. These two in particular popped out at me because they’re the ones I’ve noticed people hesitate most to get in there and play out. Of course it’s easy to say “I’m afraid” but roleplaying fear without being a ham about it is a whole other matter. How subtly you can get away with roleplaying fear depends on the length of your campaign and a party’s awareness of one another. Without farther ado let’s get into some basic tips and tricks for roleplaying fear.
Expanding 5E D&D Background Characteristics — Sailor
Salutations, nerds! And hello, sailor. That’s right, I’m offering expanded personal characteristics for the Sailor background for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons as suggested by the unassailable pattern of alphabetical order. Let’s pull anchor and set sail for traits to suit your next 5E D&D character!
Worldbuilding and Character Development for 5E D&D Inspired by Game of Thrones — Studded Leather Armor
I recently finished rewatching Game of Thrones all the way through for a second time and the series engaged me in different ways this time around. It’s fun knowing the fate of characters and seeing how each step of their journey influences their outcomes for one thing and I simply missed a lot of the nuance the first time around for another. Like for so many fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons nerds the show appeals to me as a source of gaming inspiration too. One particular standout from the show is the armor worn by warriors across Westeros and Essos. A wealth of worldbuilding and character development potential for 5E D&D awaits through armor and I’m excited to explore them. Let’s get into it.
D&D Ideas — Fire
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is fire, 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 fire in Fire for Effect two monsters, tactically minded and ruthless in combat, work together to create a dangerous fighting force made even more perilous in a confined setting where collateral damage is a very real concern. You can get the Nerdarchy 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.
