The Art and Science of D&D Encounter Building
The question recently came up at Nerdarchy whether the fifth edition D&D encounter building system is art or science with regard to the experience point guidelines set out in the Creating Encounters section of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. I am in the camp that says it is both art and science.
WotC Products and New D&D Stuff on the Way in 2018
New products for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons have rolled out relatively slowly. Compared to previous editions of the World’s Greatest Roleplaying Game, it’s been at a flail snail’s pace. (Speed 10 ft. for a large creature? That’s pretty slow.) The pace certainly picked up now in 2018, starting at the Stream of Many Eyes when Wizards of the Coast announced two new story adventures set for release later in the year, followed by Nathan Stewart’s cryptic tease of new campaign settings. And then we got two of those! Of course, there’s always new third party content rolling out, but we’ll get our hands and bookshelves full from all the new stuff on the way from WotC itself. A handy post over on the D&D subreddit compiled the list, so let’s check it out.
Monster Combinations in D&D — The Witch of Flame Skull Peak
I was sitting with the Nerdarchists talking about effective monster combinations for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons and we came up with a lot of really cool ideas. Some of those ideas were displayed in the recent Monster BFF video, but my thoughts kept racing, creating all manner of scenes I really need to share with all of you to calm my turbulent mind. So, together we will go through a few more ideas for monster combinations in D&D that were brought up during the discussion and put them together into a scene I hope you’ll use in your campaign, or at least just find some inspiration and enjoyment.
Dungeon Master Tips — Running D&D for Large Groups
What follows is an article I originally posted at Medium, but Medium just isn’t the best, err, medium for discussing Dungeons & Dragons. I think what follows are good Dungeon Master tips, especially for newer DMs, for running D&D for large groups. I hope the Nerdarchy community finds it useful. A lot of new players have their first experience playing D&D in game shops, or in games they tracked down online via Meetup or other sites. This also goes for players who have recently gotten back into the game after a hiatus. Those games can sometimes be overcrowded, and it’s especially important that DMs are ready to deal with the challenges presented by crowded games so these new and recently-returning players are able to come away having had a fun experience.
RPG Crate Uboxing — July 2018
Hello gamer, it is time to dive into another RPG Crate unboxing and see what treasures or loot we get to walk away with. If you are interested in signing up for this subscription box service and getting awesome fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons related material you can sign up at RPGcrate.com. Just make sure you use the promo code NERDARCHYRPGCRATE for 10 percent off your first month’s RPG Crate. Without further ado, lets dive into the crate unboxing and see what’s there.
Dungeon Crate Unboxing – July 2018
I have been getting Dungeon Crate subscription boxes since box No. 1 and I am, as always, generally pleased with every unboxing to discover what’s inside. The rumors according to the Dungeon Crate newsletter are there’s some changes on the horizon.
Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes — Halflings and Gnomes in D&D
For a long, long time, I didn’t like gnomes in Dungeons & Dragons and I wasn’t too keen on halflings either. Like Nerdarchists Dave and Ted point on in the video where they discuss the Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes chapter on halflings and gnomes in D&D, gnomes in past editions were billed as sort of dwarf-adjacent but more lighthearted and magical. Their prankster and kooky inventor archetypes didn’t appeal to me or find their way into my own campaigns and settings. Halflings for their part fared better in my imagination. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings certainly played a role there, but despite those wonderful stories halflings were never very compelling for me. I’ve since changed my tune and had a lot of fun playing characters of both races. After reading through Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes my appreciation for these cultures in D&D deepened.
Hands Off! When Mage Hand Thwarts All the D&D Puzzles
As a cantrip in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, the mage hand spell is easily one of the most used and useful spells in the game. Combined with the Arcane Trickster rogue’s increased control over it and a dash of player cleverness your dungeon may very well end up stripped of its loot — and its tension. But wait! Before you start slapping antimagic fields all over the dungeon like a buzzkill Banksy let’s think of a couple ways we can challenge the mage hand caster and make things a little more interesting for the whole party like D&D puzzles. And we’ll consider some creative uses for cantrips along the way.
Comics and D&D Q&A with Artist Kate Sheridan
Hello! Today I’m happy to share a Q&A with Dungeons & Dragons nerd, illustrator and comic creator Kate Sheridan. Kate appeared on the Nerdarchy live chat with Nerdarchist Dave, which you can find below, and had a great conversation about art, comics and D&D. After watching the chat, I checked out Kate’s work and picked up her comic Fallow Time, a terrific story that really captured my imagination. She has a wonderful art and storytelling style and I highly recommend checking out her work. I’m looking forward to adding a print of one of her pieces to my office. Kate was kind enough to share her time answering some more questions, so let’s get into it.
Nestling into Slow Burn Pacing in a D&D Campaign
They are innumerable ways to start a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign and none of them a the right answer. My absolute favorite method of starting a campaign is the low level, very grounded slow burn. It does take a group who shares a deep level of trust and players who are really willing to experience a slow narrative, especially in the beginning where they may not be deeply involved. Let’s go into the nature of slow burn pacing in a D&D campaign, talk about what makes it something I love, and some pitfalls that can come with it.
Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes Stone Cursed Finds a Rock Solid Friend
Nerdarchists Dave and Ted are at it again, and they’ve jumped back into Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes. This time we’re looking at a curious fifth edition D&D monster entry, the stone cursed. The Nerdarchists threw out some great ideas that got me thinking how I would use this entry. I’m a sucker for using under appreciated monster entries and I intend on throwing a creature of two that you might not have seen or used yet. Let’s get into the Stone Cursed and their presence in this encounter line.
D&D Planes, Cosmology, and Welcome to the Realm of Chaos
Delving back into Nerdarchy’s homebrew campaign setting Chimes of Discordia for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, I want to talk to about some of our D&D cosmology and our Realm of Chaos or the Chaos Realm. We have this Stranger or Traveler god that either was spawned from the Realm of Chaos or created the Chaos Realm with their birth. Like many creation myths the multiverse started out as chaos. Powerful beings that would come to be known as gods came forth from somewhere else, looked upon the chaos and brought order to it. They gathered up all of the chaos and cast it out and far away. That mass of chaos condensed and built up over the ages.
Mind Flayer Meets the Nerdarchy Homebrew Campaign Setting
I started talking about using the mind flayer and beholder in our homebrew campaign setting in a previous article. Mainly I covered the beholder re-imagined as dread spheres. In the previous article I talked about the idea of a Chaos Realm and powerful beings known as Travelers. One of these creatures took control of an elven city named Karsha Luceen.
Metagaming as a Tool for Creating Tension in D&D
There’s always a conversation going on about metagaming in Dungeons & Dragons somewhere. Many argue over what it is but few people argue for its merits. I’m here to put forth that metagaming, like many aspects of D&D or any tabletop roleplaying game, is a tool to be applied with skill and nuance. There is good and bad with every tool, but I believe I’ve built a case for helping you find where those lines are at your table and it all revolves around creating tension in D&D.
The Iconic Dungeons & Dragons Monster – A Love Letter to Them
The beholder was introduced with the first Dungeons & Dragons supplement, Greyhawk in 1975. The mind flayer first appeared in the official newsletter of TSR Games, The Strategic Review No. 1 in spring 1975. These are two of the most iconic Dungeons & Dragons monsters in the game. I’d love to know how many players have met their end to one of these two baddies. Of course D&D is rife with monsters what makes the beholder and mind flayer so special. I think it’s because they are so alien and bizarre that they really capture the imagination of players and Dungeon Masters alike in a way that very few other Dungeons and Dragons Monsters do.
