Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Centaur of Disease Control
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted lean into a meme to create a truly groan worthy fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Centaur of Disease Control character. With their hooves planted firmly on the ground they charge forward to create a 5E D&D character who infects a campaign with a deviation from the normal structural or functional state. As one commenter put it this centaur character’s mastery of disease — both spreading it and curing it — turned out to be “very well thought out for just a pun.” So let’s get into it.
Plane Shift Your 5E D&D Game Into Magic: The Gathering — Kaladesh
In summer 2021 Wizards of the Coast releases Adventures in the Forgotten Realms — the first Dungeons & Dragons themed expansion for Magic: The Gathering. The set lands in place of what would typically be a Core Set and this D&D expansion for MTG represents a true collaboration between the two Hasbro teams. But did you know MTG crossed over into fifth edition D&D six times even before Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica and Mythic Odysseys of Theros? Amonkhet, Dominaria, Innistrad, Kaladesh, Zendikar and Ixalan all Plane Shift-ed over to 5E D&D through terrific titles available free from Dungeon Master’s Guild. Let’s get into it.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as an Ultimate Gladiator
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted create a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Ultimate Gladiator character in video that echoes in eternity. They set out to create a 5E D&D character who makes great use of the net in combat. There were several dead ends but they kept digging and come up with a fun character. Are you not entertained? Let’s get into it.
D&D Party Composition — Playing an All Rogue Party
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel the Single Class D&D Party series got away from Nerdarchists Dave and Ted before completion. But this won’t stop me from pursuing a degree in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons through attendance at all the institutions of higher education in D&D academia. Here at Nerdarchy the Website we take a different approach to this popular video series through my take on the concept of single party composition. The all rogue party relies on skill, stealth and exploiting vulnerabilities to get the upper hand. When a 5E D&D character enrolls at Roguish Archetypes they develop a knack for finding solutions to whatever problems come their way by demonstrating resourcefulness and versatility. So let’s get into it.
Expanding 5E D&D Background Characteristics — Entertainer
Salutations, nerds! Following the unassailable law of alphabetical order I’m writing about more suggested characteristics for the entertainer background in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. From small time pickpockets to hired muscle hopefully you find something here that works for you. When you look at the background options in the 5E D&D Player’s Handbook there are a number of background characteristics suggested for you to help define a character and spark your imagination for roleplaying and in this series I’m creating some additional personality traits, ideals, bonds and flaws for you to play with on the off chance you’ve burned through all of those and are interested in some new ones.
RPG Character Backstory — Family
Salutations, nerds! Today I’m taking a closer look at RPG character backstory, specifically what your character’s family looks like. Raise your hand if you’ve played an orphan or a character whose entire village has been burned to the ground. If you don’t have your hand up I very nearly don’t believe you. And you know what? Me too. Avenging loved ones is a totally compelling reason for a character to get out and adventure! But…what if we didn’t do this? Let’s take a look at different kinds of families and the sorts of people who shaped your character’s life. Even if you are playing one for whom everyone is dead these people matter in terms of who your character is now and they would at least remember them, right?
D&D Ideas — Bad Guys
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is bad guys, 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 bad guys in Standing Warning evil entities leave behind a mysterious relic to alter the fate of the dangerously curious. A pair of obelisks invite heroes to solve a name puzzle then best a spirit for gifts of fate 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.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Witch Doctor
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted conjure the magic words to create a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Witch Doctor character. It might have been a comment from another Character Build Guide video, a Patreon request or a suggestion from our Facebook page but wherever the source they told us it would be cool if we created a 5E D&D witch doctor character. They were right. Let’s get into it.
Top 10 5E D&D Homebrew Bard Colleges by a Factor of Three
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted explore the most popular homebrew spells for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragon from D&D Beyond. Here on the website I zero in even more when it comes to spells like these Top 10 force spells for 5E D&D. It’s a lot of fun to see what folks come up with and share their creations in posts like this. (There’s lots of these posts whether for homebrew subclasses, magic items, spells, feats and more floating around for the curious.) This time around I’m looking at perhaps the most versatile class in 5E D&D — the bard — and checking out the Top 10 homebrew Bard Colleges. There’s currently over 1,525 homebrew of them so let’s get into it.
Weave This Beardomancy Wizard and Her Magnificent Magic Items into Your 5E D&D Game
Did you know Nerdarchy created an entirely new school of magic for the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons? It’s called the School of Beardomancy and it’s absolutely fabulous. The supple spells of the beardomancy school are sure to harry any foe you encounter. Okay, okay, I’ll try to pull the puns back (but just a hair). If you want to see the School of Beardomancy in full swing check out Untraditionally Arcane where Ordo Wonderbeard entangles himself with some HAIRrowing encounters courtesy of Jake from Mini Terrain Domain.
Stars are Right with Circle of Stars from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted navigate the stars to map out a discussion of the Circle of Stars for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. Way back when we cracked the case on Mythic Odysseys of Theros before the book was announced this particular druid option provided the crucial clue. Despite the obvious connection to the Theros setting it wouldn’t arrive as official 5E D&D content until Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. Let’s get into it.
Go Wild with Beasts in Your 5E D&D Games
Animals, or beasts as they are referred to in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, play an important role in the game and to be fair in the story too. As early as 1st level wizards, variant humans or characters created using the Custom Lineage guidelines who take the right feat can get a familiar. Familiars can be very useful at scouting without being noticed as out of place, but more on that later. Druids gain the Wild Shape feature at 2nd level and at 3rd level Beast Master rangers gain a beast companion. By 5th level druids (and rangers at 9th level) get access to the conjure animals spell. Lastly many spellcasters gain access to the polymorph spell at 7th level. Why am I wild about animals in 5E D&D? It could be because in the game I run for my kids for a while it was more like them collecting interesting creatures, like a Pokemon game or it could be how useful they are in the game — if used correctly.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as an MCDM Illrigger
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted call on hellish powers to discuss the Illrigger, a custom homebrew class for Fifth Edition created by Matt Colville and his team at MCDM Productions. Now it’s my turn so let’s get into it.
Plane Shift Your 5E D&D Game Into Magic: The Gathering — Ixalan
Are you looking for more fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons content to add to your game? Do you like free stuff? Are you a fan of Magic: The Gathering? Chances are you answered yes to at least one of these questions. Nerdarchy the Website readers know on July 16, 2021 Wizards of the Coast releases Adventures in the Forgotten Realms — the first D&D themed expansion for MTG. This expansion represents a true collaboration between these two Hasbro teams. But MTG crossed over into 5E D&D six times even before Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica and Mythic Odysseys of Theros. Amonkhet, Dominaria, Innistrad, Kaladesh, Zendikar and Ixalan all Plane Shift-ed over to 5E D&D through titles available free from Dungeon Master’s Guild. I am here to share with you Plane Shift: Ixalan.
Take Cover! Taking a closer look behind defensive obstacles in 5E D&D
Recently I heard someone mention cover in the context of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons and it got me thinking how this mechanic harbors some pretty potent defenses. There’s not a lot of material regarding cover in 5E D&D and yet what is there presents a wealth of opportunities for Dungeon Masters and the rest of the players in the game. Let’s get into it.
