Incorporating Lore into 5E D&D Experiences Invites Engagement with Worlds Both Real and Imaginary
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted go to the well to discuss lore in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. In general lore is a body of traditions and knowledge on a subject or held by a particular group and typically passed from person to person by word of mouth. This definition applies in our 5E D&D games too and encompasses both the lore presented in the game materials produced by Wizards of the Coast as well as the details specific to your world whether it’s your version of existing settings like Forgotten Realms or something you’ve created wholecloth. So let’s get into it.
Become a Great Game Master with Epic Battlemaps
I can’t even guess how many times I relied almost exclusively on a great map to help run a fun tabletop roleplaying game session. Vibrant maps catch your eye, inspire your imagination and evoke a sense of realism and being there. Details provide touchstones for description and dynamic scenarios, scenery hints at fantastic locales and the space on a map simply provides context for the adventure space. So a book of ready to play, immersive and indispensable fold-out maps that fit in your backpack and make a Game Master’s life easier makes the best kind of resources for your RPG collection.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as an Unkillable Adventurer
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted dig deep to come up with a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons character who refuses to stay down. There’s a lot of different features 5E D&D characters can take advantage of to keep death at bay and the video incorporates several into a character build guide for players who never say die. The Unkillable Character Build Guide finds a narrative thread and follows through from 1st to 20th level making it useful for any tier of play. And as always we put together an NPC creature version for Dungeon Masters too. So let’s get into it.
80 5E D&D Monsters Reimagined with Fun and Fantastic Flavor from My Dad’s Monster Manual
My Dad’s Monster Manual may have started as a silly idea proposed by game designer James Introcaso but here we are months later looking at a fully produced product for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons currently No. 1 Most Popular from Wizards & Guild Adepts at Dungeon Master’s Guild and a silver bestseller in less than two days. What is this unusual 5E D&D book? Let’s get into it.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Circle of Wildfire Druid from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Lights are everywhere for the holidays! With Hanukkah coming to a close, Yule approaching, Christmas on the way and Kwanzaa candles igniting soon, twinkling candles and blazing hearths warm our hearts in the sparkling winter. There’s no better time to make the holidays merry and bright and talk about the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Circle of Wildfire druid from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.
Give the Gift of 5E D&D Holiday Magic Items with Hero Forge
Hello friends and fellow gamers. As the holiday season rolls upon us no matter what holiday you celebrate this time of year encourages us to think of others and give gifts to our friends and family. With this in mind I have made some fun new magic items inspired by our friends over at Hero Forge, the premiere customized tabletop miniatures and statuettes creation tool I love and probably spend way too much time with.
Navigating Natural Hazards from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Since the release of Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons I’ve been captivated by the Dungeon Master’s Tools in chapter 4 of the book. Taking time to let new content and concepts roll around in my mind and really consider the value for all 5E D&D players gave me a deep appreciation for the material. Like the other sections — Session Zero, Sidekicks, Parleying With Monsters, Supernatural Regions, Magical Phenomena and Puzzles — this last bit of content to cover isn’t very long but Natural Hazards comes packed with great ideas and inspiration. So let’s get into it.
5 Sources of Motivation for 5E D&D Adventurers
Salutations, nerds! Today I’m sharing five reasons a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons character might be out adventuring. So often at the table a Dungeon Master asks what the party is doing at the beginning of a session and players pause before admitting they don’t know. This is fine! Sometimes you figure out a 5E D&D character’s motivations as you’re playing. Today I want to go down a list of reasons your character can run with and what kinds of adventurers fall under these umbrellas.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Lizardfolk with Racial Feats
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted get continue reimagining various creatures from fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons in exciting new ways and this time they’re looking at another classic from D&D lore — lizardfolk. These reptilian humanoids offer a ton of potential in 5E D&D when you look deeper than the primitive scaly creatures found in the Monster Manual. While they share fresh ideas for incorporating lizardfolk into your 5E D&D games I’m interested in expanding the possibilities for lizardfolk adventurers by creating some racial feats. So let’s get into it.
In RPG Play Everyone’s Responsibility is To Each Other
Salutations, nerds! Today we’re going to talk about sharing responsibility when it comes to tabletop roleplaying games and the ultimate responsibility — to the other people at the table. The important part of a good tabletop RPG is making sure everyone has fun. That’s you and everyone else whether you’re the Game Master or a player. On paper this sounds like a big part of what the GM is there for and in a sense this is correct but the GM has a lot of things they’re already responsible for keeping track of and as a player it’s a good idea to keep tabs on each other’s mental weather.
D&D Ideas — Name Days
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is name days, 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 name days if you thought your last holiday get together was awkward you ain’t seen nothing yet because things could get messy in Dinner Party. The truth about your character’s painful, embarrassing or otherwise personal information comes to light for fellow adventurers to learn 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.
What’s Your Type as an RPG Player?
Every Tuesday evening at Nerdarchy Live the team gathers for a weekly tabletop roleplaying game session at 8 p.m. eastern. While preparing for our next one with Nerdarchist Ted running a dungeon delving reality game show with fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons I realized something about myself — I like playing tank characters. This led to an intriguing discussion tying in nicely to a recent video over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel where Nerdarchists Dave and Ted zoom through a conversation about the fastest 5E D&D character. So let’s get into it.
Getting More from 5E D&D Monsters — Mage’s Echo
When a spellcaster dies, sometimes a part of their soul lingers behind with the body rather than moving on to its final resting place. These imprints are called mage’s echoes. These undead monsters appear in Wizard’s Wake, one of the digital fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons products we create for Patreon supporters and later for Nerdarchy the Store. Here you’ll find expanded 5E D&D content inspired by these haunting spirits along with the stat block as it appears in the book ready to drop into your games.
Enjoy 5E D&D Quality of Life with Optional Class Features from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted ponder the implications of a quantum leap forward in character options for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons ushered in through Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. Chapter 1 of the latest official sourcebook for 5E D&D introduces optional class features for all 12 character classes from the Player’s Handbook. (Artificer appears in the book as well making a debut outside Eberron: Rising From the Last War as a 13th class option.)
Power Your Next 5E D&D Game with Friendship as a Peace Domain Cleric from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything is kind of notorious for adding several aspects to fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons that feel like they always should have always been present in the game. One of these aspects embraces a classic fantasy trope — the power of friendship. The Peace Domain cleric is all about the power of friendship in all the best ways. The Unity Domain from Unearthed Arcana leveled up and evolved into this new Domain. The way mechanics support this subclass give such vital flavor and represent really the best restructuring of Unearthed Arcana content we’ve seen. What’s more this subclass really inspired me with its tone and flavor to the point I feel the best place for this particular subclass is a dark fantasy campaign in the vein of things like The Witcher and Dragon Age.
