Skillfully Designing New Skills for 5E D&D
Fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons has taken the world by storm and I contend this is a big factor in the surge of popularity enjoyed by all tabletop roleplaying games of late. As the list of TTRPG options expands seemingly by the day new games offer their own spins on various mechanics and sometimes this leads people to find a new TTRPG option they like even better than the D&D that once held their hearts and minds. In an effort to bring new life to the world’s greatest roleplaying game I’ve devised a series of new homebrew options meant to streamline gameplay and offer some crunch to previously nebulous ideas. In this post I’m adding some crunch to 5E D&D skills.
Your 5E D&D Game is But a Dream with Fey Wanderer from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
My approach to Dungeons & Dragons always centers on the story more than mechanics. This remains true for fifth edition D&D same as it did way, way back in the day when I started playing the game with the classic Red Box and applies whether I’m the Dungeon Master or not. My perspective often surprises people, these days mostly because of the sort of work I do. So whenever I check out new 5E D&D material from Wizards of the Coast, our own content or any other creators I’m most interested in how these characters, objects and places inspire the gaming experience. Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything introduced lots of exciting new subclasses to the game and I’m positively enchanted by the Fey Wanderer Ranger Archetype and what it brings to the table. So let’s get into it.
Discovering RPG Conflict in Unexpected Places
Salutations, nerds! I’ve written about tabletop roleplaying games and what it means to be a Game Master in terms of scenes and what goes into making one. I’d like to touch on a brief recap regarding conflict in RPGs. The only metric that matters in terms of what makes a great RPG scene is if everyone involved in it enjoyed themselves. Some players are perfectly content to roleplay shopping scenes with no conflict. They’ll enjoy the conversations when the time to do so affords. These players are blessings and should not be taken for granted because they make a GM’s job easy. But there are those who won’t be satisfied with these circumstances and don’t mistake me — this doesn’t make them bad players! Conflict is the life blood of the RPG experience. Often the difference between a good story and a boring one is the good story understands a scene really begins when there is a conflict and ends when this conflict is resolved.
D&D Dark Alliance Explodes with Fantasy Action
Dungeons & Dragons fans who just can’t get enough fantasy action at the tabletop can satisfy their craving for thrilling combat on June 22 when Wizards of the Coast launches Dark Alliance. This explosive action roleplaying game builds on the deep lore of the Forgotten Realms for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One Consoles and Xbox Series X|S. Dark Alliance features real-time combat and dynamic co-op gameplay against iconic D&D monsters. The game is developed by Tuque Games, which WotC acquired in 2019.
Candlekeep Mysteries for 5E D&D Players and Dungeon Masters Alike
The newest fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons book, which releases on March 16, is Candlekeep Mysteries. In this anthology of 17 adventures all of the adventure hooks for your 5E D&D characters come from books found in the Candlekeep library in the Forgotten Realms. We previewed what Candlekeep Mysteries contains here. Today I want to explore some ways for 5E D&D players to use these Candlekeep Mysteries adventures beyond the obvious ones the Dungeon Master has at their disposal. One of my favorite things Candlekeep Mysteries offers is the section on Candlekeep itself.
D&D Ideas — Possession
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is possession, 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 possession in Island in the Storm adventurers can ease a restless spirit’s forlorn imprisonment but only if this ghost can take over one of them body and soul. An imprisoned ghost pleads with the heroes to possess one of them in a bid to escape her island exile 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 an Ever Living One
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted call on ancient spirits to transform a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons character into Ever Living Ones. This 5E D&D character build focuses on one particular Eldritch Invocation and squeezes in a whole bunch of class features to keep themselves topped off in the hit points department. Dive into danger whatever way appeals most with a mastery of manipulating the most precious of resources. So let’s get into it.
Is Your TTRPG a Film or a Series?
At the same time all of us tabletop roleplaying game nerds enjoy the renaissance of gaming we’re currently in there’s an equally exciting renewal in the entertainment world when it comes to storytelling. Ongoing and limited series on TV and the growing number of streaming services give audiences — and creators — opportunities to develop rich worlds and deeply complex characters. The best recent example is WandaVision, the Disney+ miniseries continuing the story of Wanda Maximoff and Vision established in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This incredible series crystalized some ideas I’ve been exploring about how and when character development during a TTRPG campaign. So let’s get into it.
Attack of the 5E D&D Swarmkeeper Ranger from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
The ranger class really catches a lot of flak in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons over the vastness of internet discourse. Every Ranger Archetype since the 5E D&D Player’s Handbook like the ones in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything and Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything have attempted to fix these shortcomings. Essentially every Ranger Archetype since the PHB has done two things to greatly help the class. First they gain one additional known spell of 1st through 5th levels. The second thing is a way to deal more damage — typically an additional die per round. The Swarmkeeper is one of two new 5E D&D Ranger Archetypes introduced in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.
Newest 5E D&D Unearthed Arcana Conjures Up Folk of the Feywild
Full transparency as I’m getting started with this at least a tiny part of my motivation is seeing if I can publish a post before there’s two or more Nerd Immersion videos on the latest fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons playtest document Unearthed Arcana 2021 — Folk of the Feywild. Like Unearthed Arcana 2021 — Gothic Lineages this one presents new race options for 5E D&D. There’s a lot to unpack including a big detail from the last sentence I wrote. So let’s get into it.
Streamline Your 5E D&D Game with Alternate Saving Throws
Many staple mechanics of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons shape the greater genre of tabletop roleplaying game options. While 5E D&D is my favorite edition I have found myself wondering recently if perhaps this game couldn’t be even better. Is there a way to hack 5E D&D to make it more streamlined? Being the plucky adventurer I fancy myself to be I’m determined to try. In the previous post I wrote about an alternate ability scores and an option to streamline things regarding those. Today I’m taking the next logical option to explore with saving throws. For those of you who don’t know I have a YouTube channel and as part of #DungeonMarch I’m posting exclusively RPG content all month long.
How to Evoke Fear in a TTRPG Character
Salutations, nerds! Today I’m writing about striking fear in the hearts of tabletop roleplaying game players. And no I don’t mean just in the sense of a player making an obscenely high attack roll and telling them they miss. I mean truly unsettling the players. This may just be a me thing but nothing turns me off of an adventure faster than someone telling me my character feels terrified. This is acutely true in a situation where my character wouldn’t even be unsettled. Some TTRPG characters may be really freaked out walking into a room strewn with viscera for example but a character with a history of murdering people and using their internal organs as a sacrifice to a dark deity probably isn’t going to be too bothered by these circumstances. And honestly forcing a character into having a fear response to a scenario that wouldn’t scare them is cheating.
Sit for a Spell at the Gobble Inn with Muk for 5E D&D
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted devise a business plan for the Gobble Inn as a memorable location for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. In the video they come up with several fun concepts and ways to incorporate this location into a 5E D&D game. I couldn’t help but think of the adorable goblin Muk who’s two Dungeon Masters Guild titles introduce and present a bunch of awesome activities, adventure hooks and light hearted fun in and around his home in Dankwood (while also generating money for Extra Life, a charity uniting gamers around the world to play games in support of their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital). So let’s get into it.
TTRPG Stock Sessions — Nightmare and Phobia
Salutations, nerds! At the time of writing this post I am getting ready to run a session going along with the subject matter. Hopefully by now the players involved have already done it and there won’t be any chance of spoilers. Today I’m focusing on character phobias in tabletop roleplaying games and the nightmare stock sessions where they’re brought manifest for the characters to deal with during the TTRPG experience.
D&D Ideas — Cults
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is cults, 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 cults in Enemy at the Gate a manipulative guard acts as the agent of some greater villain in your world, perhaps with their own cult of agents and followers… A deceptive oni makes life difficult for the heroes by stopping them at a town gate and disrupting their lives 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.
