5E D&D Worldbuilding Insights from New Mythic Odysseys of Theros Subclasses
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted share their thoughts on the two new fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons subclasses inside Mythic Odysseys of Theros. College of Eloquence bards and Oath of Glory paladins bring new options for players tied to the themes and concepts of the new 5E D&D campaign setting. If I’m honest it was surprising there aren’t more new subclasses included with MOoT. Circle of Stars felt like a surefire piece of the Theros puzzle! On the other hand if it shows up in a future product more closely tied to the stars (like Spelljammer?!) or a Feywild campaign adventure you won’t find me grousing about it. In the meantime, since I enjoyed thinking about how curating the playable races for characters can become a resource for campaign creation and worldbuilding why not apply the same principles to subclass options?
5E D&D Worldbuilding Insights from New Mythic Odysseys of Theros Playable Races
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted continue exploring Mythic Odysseys of Theros for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. This time they take a close look at the new races for character options in the campaign setting. Up until now in my own games players have been free to create characters with very little restriction. But with the inclusion of Supernatural Gifts for characters adventuring in Theros there’s been a shift in my thinking. Let’s get into the new races in MOoT and touch on how it changes perspective on what to include and exclude when it comes to creating a setting, worldbuilding and running a campaign in 5E D&D.
D&D Ideas — Evil
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is evil, which we discussed in our live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST and talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of evil, Friend in Need is one of the most evil encounters in Out of the Box! Say what you will about Abyssal demons or ancient curses, a mimic outhouse is downright heinous am I right? This and 54 other dynamic encounters ready to drop right into your game come straight Out of the Box here. You can get the Nerdarchy Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy, by signing up here. Our new channel Nerdarchy Live experienced second strong week. Jacob Budz from XP to Level 3 stopped by along with five other Live Chat Revivified guests and we started a live play D&D campaign! Those Bastards brings our private team game to the internet. Learn more about Nerdarchy Live and how to make sure you don’t miss a thing right here.
Meet the Shadow Sorcerer Big Brother of Those Bastards 5E D&D Live Play
Nerdarchy has a new streamed game for you to watch! Entitled Those Bastards this fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign streams live on Tuesdays 8-10 p.m. eastern on our second channel, Nerdarchy Live. The premise is a gaggle of half siblings, all with the same constellation birthmark, who search for answers regarding their father, themselves and the mystery of disappearing constellations in the sky. As they venture into deep dungeons and face deadly monsters their destinies converge on more questions than answers. Even if they live to find the answers they seek, will they wish they never had?
Playing D&D in the World of Avatar: The Last Airbender
I just blew though the Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix in about four days and really enjoyed this television series. If you are looking for a great TV show to binge I cannot recommend this strongly enough. To me it is clear the creator of this is a fan of Dungeons & Dragons with all the hybrid animals, which has always been a classic D&D staple originating with the owlbear. The challenge in running a D&D game in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender is a heavy on unarmed martial combat. This is easily fixed with characters either taking a level in monk or taking the feat Tavern Brawler. (The name of the feat does not mean you are limited to bar fights.) We should not get attached to how things are named unless it take us down a hole we cannot escape from. So let’s get into it further.
From Spelleater Minotaur to Path of the Spelleater Barbarian for 5E D&D
Mythic Odysseys of Theros is out for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons and Greek myth is the name of the game! My housemate and I have been talking for a while about what sorts of third party supplements might fit nicely into a Theros campaign and we came up with several. In Nerdarchy the Store you can find Horris, the Horned Lord. Horris is a labyrinth keeper and minotaur with the power to turn magic back on those who wield it. As a labyrinth dwelling minotaur, what better place to stick this? Horris the Horned Lord contains a one shot encounter introducing spelleater minotaurs. This adventure takes less than ten minutes to read through and it’s easily adapted into any campaign setting. As I read through the adventure I got thinking, suppose there were individuals who might follow in the hoofsteps of Horris? What would that look like? Thus was born the Path of the Spelleater, a barbarian Primal Path for 5E D&D.
5E D&D and League of Legends Cross Over in D&D Beyond’s Dark Tides of Bilgewater
A new source book for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons presents not only a new setting to explore but an exciting new direction for D&D Beyond, the creators behind this League of Legends crossover with 5E D&D. Legends of Runeterra: Dark Tides of Bilgewater launched fully integrated over at DDB through a partnership with Riot Games. Lead designer and editor James J. Haeck from the DDB team along with designers Makenzie de Armas, Celeste Conowitch Todd Kenreck developed and created this sourcebook for the scoundrel’s paradise of Bilgewater, a place where everything is for sale and fortune favors the bold, for the 5E D&D ruleset. Let’s see what’s inside.
Supernatural Gifts of Theros Spark 5E D&D Storytelling
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted bestow Supernatural Gifts on heroes from Mythic Odysseys of Theros, the latest fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons official release. The new Theros campaign setting reimagines mythological tales from our own world’s Greek tradition and arrives for 5E D&D from Wizard’s of the Coast’s other huge game Magic: The Gathering. Gods of Theros exert tremendous influence over the setting from the cosmology down to the commoners living in the poleis (cities) of the world. Most assuredly the lives of heroes intersect with gods, starting with character creation where they receive Supernatural Gifts to help them achieve their goals.
Knock on Wood! Now, let’s get crackin’ with Carpenter’s Tools! | Tool Time with Carpenter’s Tools in 5E D&D
A staple of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, tool proficiencies seemingly conflict with the prevalence of skills, so where do they fit into the game? That’s exactly what we’re here to discuss in this new series of articles! Please note: tool proficiencies and how to use them are less defined in the 5E D&D rules than skills. As such the options and explanations presented here might differ from how your own Dungeon Master treats tools and tool proficiency. On top of that, any DM can adjust rules to fit their own table at their discretion, so check with your DM if you have specific questions about how they deal with tools in their own games. And with all the necessary caveats out of the way, let’s dive into carpenter’s tools!
Kobold Press Unlocks Underworld Players Guide and Underworld Lairs
The Underworld or Underdark or whatever you call the lightness world beneath the surface in your fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting is a dangerous place. You should not go alone and you should not go unprepared. In order to be better prepared perhaps you can have some extra knowledge. With that allow me to present a couple of books packed with extra fun to add into your 5E D&D game. Let me introduce Underworld Player’s Guide and Underworld Lairs from Kobold Press. These two books share themes and concepts with Empire of the Ghouls, an expansive undead themed campaign we got our hands on recently too.
Dungeon Master Shares Secrets Behind Those Bastards 5E D&D Live Play
Nerdarchy has a new streamed game for you to watch! Entitled Those Bastards this fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign streams live on Tuesdays 8-10 p.m. eastern on our second channel, Nerdarchy Live. The premise is a gaggle of half siblings, all with the same constellation birthmark, who search for answers regarding their father, themselves and the mystery of disappearing constellations in the sky. As they venture into deep dungeons and face deadly monsters their destinies converge on more questions than answers. Even if they live to find the answers they seek, will they wish they never had?
Campaign Against the Undead Empire of Ghouls
Salutations, nerds! Today I’m going to be reviewing Empire of Ghouls, which is a campaign module put out by Kobold Press and let me tell you this one was a real treat to read. For those of you who don’t already know this is a full sized book for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. This campaign goes from 1st to 13th level based around an empire of the undead currently occupying the underground. Like, to the point they’ve overtaken drow settlements. These guys are a serious threat and it’s clear from the very start. A concept like this could have easily gotten very samey and stale but not the case with this one. I want to say maybe half of it actually takes place underground (and I might be overshooting) but even the parts that don’t never lose sight of the tone and flavor of the module. So without further ado let’s get into the meat of Empire of Ghouls, shall we?
Playing a Warlock Like a Creepy Occultist in 5E D&D
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted crack open their eldritch tomes and take a closer look at one of the iconic spells for warlocks in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. Next to eldritch blast a warlock’s most recognizable spell puts a terrible curse on creatures through hex, a 1st level enchantment for warlocks only that scales beautifully with their Pact Magic feature. Hex brings a lot to the gaming table for damage output but if I’m honest it’s the other portion of the spell effects most intriguing to me. With this in mind let’s start with hex and see what creepy directions a warlock can take as a true occultist in 5E D&D.
Mapping the Road to Adventure | Tool Time with Cartographer’s Tools in 5E D&D
In fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons tool proficiencies are kind of the proverbial odd man out, slotting into the game alongside the much more prevalent mechanic of skill proficiencies. That’s what we’re talking about in this series of articles. Please note tool proficiencies and how to use them are less defined in the official rules than skills. As such, the options and explanations presented here might differ from how your own Dungeon Master treats tools and tool proficiency. On top of this any DM can adjust rules to fit their own table at their discretion so check with your DM if you have specific questions about how they deal with tools in their own games. And with all the necessary caveats out of the way, let’s dive into our topic!
RPG Guide to Practical Character Optimization — Part 3
Part 1 of this guide to character optimization for tabletop roleplaying games goes over some general guidelines and touches on a few key points of the practical optimization process. You can check that out here. In Part 2 we covered optimizing your RPG characters for combat, a significant part of many games. You can find that part here. In this last part I’ll share general tips and tricks for approaching optimizing while maintaining a well balanced character for both in the game and your fellow players.
