Way of the Four Elements Monk Reborn for 5E D&D
Earth, fire, air, water: long ago, the four elements lived together in harmony within the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons beta. Then, everything changed when the Player’s Handbook was officially released. Only the Dungeon Master, master of the world itself can save what the Way of the Four Elements became, but I believe it can be reborn. Okay, okay. I promise I’ll try to keep the Avatar: The Last Airbender references to a minimum (even though it’s my favorite TV show of all time).
When 5E D&D was still in beta I eagerly downloaded each patch of new content, and when it was announced the Way of the Four Elements made the cut into the PHB I was absolutely ecstatic! Finally! I would get to play a character like the avatar! I’d played a four elements-based monk character in a homebrewed version of 2E AD&D in the past and I was so excited to make him into 5E D&D, officially using the rules for what had previously been just a dream for me to see Wizards of the Coast put out.
So, imagine my disappointment when I read how the once-epic Way of the Four Elements had devolved and nerfed into a ki-burning nightmare with fewer options than I’d ever feared they might reduce it to. A lot of the core problems with the Way of the Four Elements as it stands struggles for two primary reasons, in my opinion.
D&D Ideas — Beginnings
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is beginnings, which we discussed in our first live chat of 2020. With the beginning of our new schedule, we combined the topical chat of our long running Quests & Adventures live chat with the exclusive Patreon weekly chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. with Patreon supporters and talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. 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. Speaking of beginnings the image below is from our wildly successful Out of the Box: Encounters for 5th Edition Kickstarter. In Aces High the encounter begins when a gang of goblin sky bandits makes their presence known in dramatic fashion. The Out of the Box Pledge Manager remains open for late pledges. You can get your hands on the book and all the add-ons including presale badges for Nerdarchy the Convention, or upgrade your badge to Legendary or Artifact level. There’s also a FREE encounter Seizing the Means you can download for a sneak peek at the sort of content you’ll find in the book. Check it out here.
DC Comics Getting Their D&D On with The Last God
Third party creators publish new content for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons every single day. Many times each day. Since I’ve written this sentence there’s probably been a dozen titles published online along with crowdfunded projects and the like. But it’s noteworthy to see the Warner Bros.-owned comic book publishers DC Comics announcing a sourcebook based on The Last God comic book series for D&D. The Last God: Tales from the Book of Ages debuts in comic book retailers and participating digital retailers on April 29.
History 101 — 5E D&D Skills and Skill Checks
When it comes to fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons many newcomers will quickly notice the importance of the proficiency bonus and the prevalence of skills. In the system, ability checks determine outcomes at the will of the dice, but ability score modifiers and proficiency bonus modify the numbers rolled, potentially turning failure into success. In this series, we’re diving in to look at the different skill proficiencies that can modify ability checks. Skill checks and ability checks are written like this (as an example): Intelligence (History). The reason is because Intelligence is the ability check being made, and History is the skill proficiency modifying the ability check. Quick disclaimer: a 5E D&D Dungeon Master can require or allow any ability check or skill proficiency, even outside this purview. This article is meant as a guide for new players and DMs on how certain ability checks and skill proficiencies can be applied. Today’s focus is all about knowledge of the past and memory! That’s right; we’re talking about History.
Dungeon Master’s Guide Appendix A Shows 5E D&D isn’t All About Combat
Over on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted shared a great conversation about a topic near and dear to my heart — the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master’s Guide. More often than not whenever I’m looking for an answer, guidance or a little inspiration I find it within the 5E D&D DMG. Like Dave and Ted mention in the video, DMs who’ve been playing for a long time across several editions might feel like they’ve seen one DMG they’ve seen them all. To some extent this may carry some water but only in broad strokes. There’s a great thread on Twitter from Neal Powell going through the DMG page by page to share takeaways DMs might have overlooked. You can follow along #DMGC2C to track his findings. As a big time DMG advocate myself I’m happy to share my perspective on what the DMG tells us about 5E D&D and how useful it is for understanding what the game is all about. So let’s get into it and take a look specifically at Appendix A: Random Dungeons in the 5E D&D DMG.
5E D&D World of Monsters — Aberrations
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted started a new video series called Nerdarchy’s Guide to D&D Monsters. We like creating new video series for the same reason we enjoy starting a new campaign with a set number of sessions. It helps focus your attention more closely because you have a finite amount of time to explore an idea, and you get the satisfaction of completing a tidy, succinct experience. I particularly dig video series here at Nerdarchy the Website because we publish a new post with every video and I do most of the writing. A series with a theme makes a great jumping off point. Since the guide to aberrations in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons video covers what to expect and how to manage things when these creature types show up in your campaign setting and adventures, it was kinda tough coming up with a theme for these accompanying posts. How about this: what if aberrations are the only type of monsters in your 5E D&D world?
A Group of Barbarians is Called a Horde
Salutations, nerds! Today we’re going to be talking about barbarians in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, the true punk rockers of the D&D world. Throw on some hype music, jump a couple of times, rough your mind up and let’s get ready to rage. Once upon a time barbarians of the horde didn’t get to read unless they took it specifically as a skill, and I think that’s very telling of this class in general. Reading is a thing you have to slow down to do, and barbarians typically don’t want to slow down for anything. Save that double speak for your rogues and mages, because barbarians like things straight forward and simple. Why would you pick a lock when you can just bash the door down, after all? But there’s a certain allure to that simplicity. A 5E D&D barbarian doesn’t want your bull.
Deception 101 — 5E D&D Skills and Skill Checks
Fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons is a rich game that codifies cooperative storytelling in a way no other has. One of the primary ways it does this is by representing what characters are good at through the skill proficiency system. In this series, we’re breaking down the different skill proficiencies: what they are, how they work, and understanding when to apply a skill check. As a quick disclaimer, every 5E D&D Dungeon Master has their own right to call for any skill check in any situation; this is just meant as a general reference. Today’s featured skill proficiency has been used in many games I’ve participated in. To quote one of my friends’ characters, “When things go to s***, we will lie, and we will lie, and we will lie.” That’s right! We’re talking about Deception.
Monsters of the City for 5E RPG is Live!
We all love monsters, right? So many gamers cite books like the Monster Manual as their entry into the tabletop roleplaying game hobby. Evocative art, fantastical creatures and the rich lore accompanying them led many nerds to discover Dungeons & Dragons. All of those elements leap out in the work of Cawood Publishing, an RPG publisher with more than 25 bestsellers of Fifth Edition content. Perhaps the most recognizable of these books is the Monsters series that began with Monsters of Feyland, followed up with Monsters of the Underworld. Both of those books are terrific, and show really wonderful growth. Monsters of Feyland is remarkable, and Monsters of the Underworld builds on the solid foundation presenting even richer material in what is essentially a monster book. And now the third book in the series is live on Kickstarter! I cannot wait to see what Monsters of the City adds to my 5E D&D games.
Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount for 5E D&D Revealed
A mysterious new title from Wizard of the Coast showed up on Amazon last week and now we know it’s the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount! The D&D Team at WotC teams up with Critical Role’s Matt Mercer for an official collaboration on a new book detailing the continent of Wildemount where the second campaign of Critical Role takes place. Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount includes player options such as subclasses, magic items and more along with detailed information about the campaign setting, resources for Dungeon Masters and some really cool sounding new material for 5E D&D.
Play a Support Character Like a Healbot for 5E D&D
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube Channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted discussed the idea of a healbot character for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. The term healbot comes from the world of Massively Multiplayer Online video games and refers to a character whose primary goal is monitoring the health of the party and keeping their hit points up. In 5E D&D or other tabletop roleplaying games this role doesn’t exist in quite the same way but essentially a support character who heals and buffs the party could be considered a healbot. Certainly characters and adventures in 5E D&D are much more immersed into the campaign setting and there’s more to adventuring that clicking buttons on cooldown. At the same time being the party healbot or support character can be immensely satisfying and rewarding in several ways. So let’s get into it.
D&D Ideas — Endings
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is endings, to go along with our last live chat of 2019. Speaking of endings the image below is from our wildly successful Out of the Box: Encounters for 5th Edition Kickstarter. In Shadow of Your Former Self, the ending of this encounter brings adventurers face to face with unexpected adversaries. The Out of the Box Pledge Manager remains open for late pledges. You can get your hands on the book and all the add-ons including presale badges for Nerdarchy the Convention, or upgrade your badge to Legendary or Artifact level. There’s also a FREE encounter Seizing the Means you can download for a sneak peek at the sort of content you’ll find in the book. Check it out 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.
Repurposing the 5E D&D Blood Hunter Class Features
Over on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted discussed the best race to play a blood hunter in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. If I’m honest the blood hunter class confuses me. I get the gist of it, and it certainly captures the flavor of both The Last Witch Hunter movie and The Witcher stories that inspired and inform the class features and flavor. Blood hunters got a lot going on with their rites, curses and Orders. This 5E D&D character class designed by Critical Role’s Matt Mercer combines martial prowess with blood magic creating a risk vs. reward scenario for characters who can push the limits of their own safety to increase the power of their class features. But I’m not here to dissect the blood hunter or even puzzle out this noodly character class. Instead I’m looking through the material and imagining all the ways I can swipe from this collection of class features to create new things for my own 5E D&D campaign. So let’s get into it.
Athletics 101 — 5E D&D Skills and Skill Checks
Skill proficiencies in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons can be confusing at times, especially for new Dungeon Masters. However, never fear! We’re here to help guide you on how to apply skill proficiencies and when to know if an ability check is a simple check using a certain Ability Score, or if a skill proficiency can be applied to make a skill check. As a quick disclaimer, every 5E D&D DM has their own right to call for any skill check in any situation; this is just meant as a general reference. Today’s featured skill proficiency is Athletics!
Don’t Let the Dreamtaker Orb Fall into the Hands of the Lord of Dead Dreams!
If you have not already gone over to Nerdarchy the Store and picked up the awesome fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons supplement Lord of Dead Dreams I highly recommend doing so. It is full of cool additions to your 5E D&D game. You get a unique ogre magi villain, some new minions to play with, a short adventure and some new magic items to play with in your games. I also recently shared a new creation to enhance the material in the book right here on the website. You can add the dreamt creatures to your game on their own or to bolster the ranks of Jarease’s underlings and help with the supply side of his illicit trade in dream essence. If you’re still craving more, let me add one more powerful magical item for your 5E D&D game — the Dreamtaker Orb.
