Behind the Scenes of Untraditionally Arcane — an All Wizard Campaign for 5E D&D
It is time for a new campaign on the Nerdarchy Live YouTube channel with the Chaos Crew. One of the players tossed out the idea of doing an all class party and we were off and running. Untraditionally Arcane is a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign featuring a party of wizards. The campaign premiere on Jan. 29, 2021 at 8 p.m. eastern streamed at Nerdarchy Live with future episodes streaming the last Friday of each month for viewers to watch live.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Boom Boom Wizard
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted put their faith in an Awakened Spellbook to suss out a special kind of spellcaster for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. The Order of Scribes Arcane Tradition in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything charges up this wizard’s spells with lightning and thunder damage to pay homage to the meteorological forces they devote themselves to. This Boom Boom Wizard mixes and matches 5E D&D class features to assault enemies with the raw power of the tempest. So let’s get into it.
Behind the Scenes of Dungeons & Delving — the World’s Greatest Game Show!
Over at Nerdarchy Live on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. a group of nerdy gamers muster to play tabletop roleplaying games. Players in the group rotate Game Master duties after each campaign wraps up following a preset number of sessions. On Jan. 19, 2021 a new campaign began. Dungeons & Delving is a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Gameplay sessions tend to jump right into the action so whether you follow along live each week or catch up with VOD here’s some background information and guides to the players, characters and campaign scenario for the world’s most popular dungeon delving game show.
Make Flanking More Dynamic in Your 5E D&D Game
Flanking is an optional rule from fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons I’ve heard much debate on. The usefulness and overpoweredness of flanking and lacks thereof emerge in many 5E D&D discussions. Flanking is certainly a strange rule and much as I stated in the D&D Tag about the rules I just don’t get advantage is both generic and complicated — a bizarre duo to say the least. Nerdarchists Dave and Ted address this concern and others in a recent video. After watching I got to thinking about ideas to make 5E D&D combat more dynamic and homebrew rules to make combat faster paced and, well, engaging.
Does the Power of 5E D&D Characters Eclipse the Game’s Original Intent?
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted take a look at a social media thread about the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons experience from a “self-parody account” that tagged Nerdarchy. The thread presents a fun topic for consideration and discussion. Do the onramps to great power for 5E D&D characters reflect a community and rule set much different than the creators of the game’s original vision? It’s a deeply abstract notion to explore. So let’s get into it (a little bit anyway — I’m not writing a master’s thesis here).
Unearthed Arcana 2021 — Gothic Lineages Presents New Direction for 5E D&D Characters
The first Unearthed Arcana playtest document of 2021 arrived today. Gothic Lineages presents three fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons character options, which build on the optional material found in last year’s Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. Dhampir, Hexblood and Reborn illustrate three new special race options to playtest taking a different approach. Players can choose one of these options at character creation or during an ongoing campaign to transform their character at an appropriate time. So let’s get into it.
Taking Inspiration from the Language of Flowers for Your RPG Campaign World
Salutations, nerds! Today I’m writing about flowers in tabletop roleplaying games. Specifically I’m thinking about how back in the Victorian era people were way extra and liked to make codes out of everything. How ladies held their fans was a language in and of itself to the point the hand they carried it in could indicate whether or not they were available for someone else to pursue. In a culture that really didn’t like saying things outright there was a lot of reading between the lines — a lot of implication. Floriography, or the language of flowers, says this poignantly. If you’ve ever wanted to passive aggressively flip someone the bird this was a really excellent way to do so.
Adventurer as a Culture in Tabletop Roleplaying Games
Salutations, nerds! Today we’re gonna rhapsodize a little bit about adventurers as a culture in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop roleplaying games. A little definition delve first off. Any time more than one person participates in and shares something they are participating in a culture. It could be a super small one. Your local comic book store where you go to play Magic: the Gathering has a culture made up of the references and inside jokes that have come up there and that is a culture you participate in.
D&D Ideas — Tag
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is tag, 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 tag in Shell Game adventurers learn to share the burden and work in tandem — especially when they’re marked by weird energies! An oddball moment occurs when adventurers face a series of puzzling circumstances along with 54 other dynamic scenarios in Out of the Box. Find out more about it here. 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.
Giving Characters Status in the RPG World
Salutations, nerds! Today we’re going to talk about fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons characters in positions of leadership and I’m going to do my best to make a case for letting them have status in your gaming world. And yes, I am talking about allowing for a rogue to become the leader of the thieves guild, or have a mage take a place in a circle of high sorcery. I know a lot of Dungeon Masters who won’t allow for these sorts of circumstances so first I’m going to address some of the reasons why not and then we’re going to move right along to the reasons why I think it’s at least worth trying in one of your campaigns. Ready? Okay.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Mind Killer
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted focus their mental energies to a razor’s edge and dissect the concept of a mind killer for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. The Soulknife Roguish Archetype in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything put a splinter in their mind and they take mix and match some 5E D&D class features to come up with a mind killer character build guide focused on stabbing enemies in the brain with Psychic Blades. So let’s get into it.
Avoid Boring 5E D&D with Bureaucracy
You’ve made it! The domain is saved, you and your party are renowned for your successes and the big baddie behind the first big bad has been soundly beaten. You’ve mastered rare and powerful magics. New upstarts look to you and yours as an example of what could be. Mechanically, you’ve just reached 10th level as a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons adventurer. Now what?
Shining a Light on Darklands Rising Miniatures from WizKids
A new set of prepainted miniatures from our lovely friends over at WizKids is set for Feb. 3 release. Pathfinder Battles: Darklands Rising has some amazing miniatures I am excited to add to my roleplaying miniatures collection as well as for use in my personal Dungeons & Dragons games. Darklands Rising fantasy miniatures are designed for the Pathfinder roleplaying game and features creatures from the deepest depths of Golarion but certainly make a terrific addition to your minis and battle grids for any fantasy tabletop RPG.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Way of the Unseen Fist Monk
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted channel their inner energy to create a new Monastic Tradition for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. They set out to develop an idea for a 5E D&D monk utilizing the ki of their mind to affect the physical world. The concept begins with the mage hand spell and by using ki a Way of the Unseen Fist monk can strike at enemies by channeling their energy through an invisible fist. So let’s get into it.
Wringing Out 5E D&D’s Eldritch Adept Feat for More Eldritch Invocations
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted contemplate the potential of the Eldritch Adept feat for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons characters. The new Eldritch Adept feat found in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything is available for 5E D&D characters with the Spellcasting or Pact Magic features and allows them to learn one Eldritch Invocation option of their choice from the warlock class. Let’s get into it.
