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.
5E D&D Character Build Guides — From Community to Creation to the Game Table
Over on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted addressed a concern from the video audience community regarding character build guides for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. They share a great discussion on the motivation to create character build guides and character builds in general. These days we imagine and create characters for 5E D&D but building characters is a nerdy tradition throughout all the editions of the game. I certainly created far more 2E AD&D characters than I ever played, and we played a lot. Since we outline and research video discussions together as a team, I thought it would be fun to share how we arrive at our version of character build guides for 5E D&D. So let’s get into it.
A Group of Clerics is called a Priesthood
Salutations, nerds. I know we just got done talking about paladins, but don’t put down your holy hand grenades just yet because this week we are discussing clerics in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons! And yes, I do mean priests and priesthoods administering to the people, and also healers in big metal cans who usually carry a holy symbol or a mace, that is true. I’m also talking about ye olde exorcist types and barrier maidens and everything in between for 5E D&D.
Animal Handling 101 — 5E D&D Skills and Skill Checks
When it comes to fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons many of us take understanding ability checks and skills for granted. However, I’ve found many Dungeon Masters struggle with understanding the nuances of ability checks. 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 Animal Handling!
The Dreamt Join the Ranks of the Lord of Dead Dreams
Jarease, the Lord of Dead Dreams is a powerful ogre magi who has a divine past. I am not here to talk about the villain from our Lord of Dead Dreams book so much, but the ogre magi is important to this monster I’ve created because after all, Jarease created them. This is enhanced content for those who have gone over to our store and purchased the Lord of Dead Dreams, which has just had a new cover art to spruce up a really great product. This 5E D&D villain thrives on dark dreams and nightmares, and I thought it would be fun to add another new creature to the ranks of his minions. Lots of people have enjoyed the content in the book and I set out to expand on the lore and scope of the ogre magi’s plans.
D&D Ideas — Holiday Adventures
Real World Adventure Hooks for D&D — Hiding in Plain Sight
A big part of what appeals to me about fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons lies in taking the world I know and considering how fantasy elements affect the people, places and things of a campaign setting. Our real world operates scientifically, with our knowledge and understanding based on things like mathematics and academic observation. We understand or seek to understand stuff like how plants grow, how to predict natural phenomena, the way our brains operate and so on through testable explanations and predictions about the universe. When I see something amazing or visually engaging from our own real world, my imagination tends to wonder — what would something like this represent in a world where magic is the foremost power in the universe? I’ve got a whole heck of a lot of bookmarks for things that pique my interest to help create real world adventure hooks for D&D, so let’s get into it.
Arcana 101 — 5E D&D Skills and Skill Checks
Skills are a staple of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, and in this series we’ll explore each skill in depth. Hopefully by the end of it all you’ll answer instinctively when asked to differentiate Sleight of Hand from Stealth from Performance. 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 we’re looking at Arcana, the quintessential skill when it comes to magical understanding.
