D&D Ideas — Patrons
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week's topic is patrons, which we discussed in our exclusive Patreon live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST with Patreon supporters and talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes...
D&D Party Composition — Playing an All Wizard Party
Over on the Nerdarchy YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted explore the idea of an all wizard party for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. We get a kick out of making this video series people seem to dig it, and I’m having a blast with the concept here on the website. Playing an all wizard party in 5E D&D more than anything raises concerns about squishiness, something many of the video comments touch upon. Dave and Ted can share their insights into 5E D&D party composition and over here we’re continuing to build the scenario we started way back when with the all bard party — a campaign setting of academia for each particular character class. So let’s get into it and put on our pointy hats for an all wizard party composition in a 5E D&D academic setting.
Creating Undead Hordes in 5E D&D is Fun!
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted discuss what happens when a necromancer's undead army stops being a few minions and starts being a real pain to conceal from the rest of the world. Around the Nerdarchy HQ we joke about how...
Explore Myriad Topics, Themes and Styles in the D&D YouTube Community
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted give a shout out to a bunch of YouTube channels dedicated to fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop roleplaying games. In the video they reminisce about Nerdarchy history since earning a Silver Play Button YouTube Creator Award. The D&D YouTube community grew a lot since then with content creators sharing a wide variety of video topics, themes and styles. There’s no ranking of these great D&D YouTubers. Instead the video covers a few broad categories. Here on the website I thought it would be fun to select a few gems from each of the creators I’ve found particularly compelling.
D&D Ideas — Other RPGs
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is other RPGs, which we discussed in our exclusive Patreon live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST with Patreon supporters and talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Our new cover relaunch in Nerdarchy the Store continues with gorgeous new art by Adrian Prado, along with a couple of promo codes for miniatures, game products and RPG accessories. And yes, 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.
The Art of Playing an Archer Without a Bow for 5E D&D
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted let loose on playing an archer in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. In the video they discuss various class features and abilities to make deadly archers for 5E D&D. Playing an archer or ranged combatant of any sort in an RPG is something I hold near and dear to my heart. Way back in my earliest days of playing D&D both the tabletop version and through video games like the classic Gold Box series I took a shine to this kind of character. Two distinct experiences stand out to me why playing an archer is one of the best options for an RPG character, at least in terms of combat. So let’s get into it.
What Do Your Unearthed Arcana Subclasses Say About Your 5E D&D Character?
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted discussed the latest Unearthed Arcana 2020, Subclasses Part 1. The playtest document contains material for barbarians, monks, paladins and warlocks in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. Fun fact: we were in the middle of our weekly video planning meeting last week when this new Unearthed Arcana came out. No brainer, right? We’re all big fans of 5E D&D so of course we eagerly want to read over and geek out about new character options. In the video Dave and Ted break down the crunchy stuff for the Path of the Beast, Way of Mercy, Oath of the Watchers and Noble Genie. But what sort of characters represent these exciting new subclass options? Let’s get into it.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
How to Play D&D for the Rest of Your Life for Free
Approximately every single day someone, somewhere asks the D&D community how to get started, the resources they need and what books and accessories to buy. Content creators love this question! It’s like candy and they might as well ask for links to everyone’s third party products. I kid (but not really). The most common response points people towards the core rulebooks: Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual and Dungeon Master’s Guide. For tighter budgets, the PHB makes a solid standalone start. Those looking to invest more money into getting started could do worse than Volo’s Guide to Monsters, or Xanathar’s Guide to Everything for more player options. Then of course there’s widely beloved products like Tome of Beasts from Kobold Press. You could add The Lazy Dungeon Master and Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master to your shelf for deeper insights into running the game. And adventures! Holy moley there’s a lot of them. Gotta have adventures to run for the burgeoning game group, right?
You don’t need any of these things. And you could play D&D on the regular for the rest of your life without spending a single copper piece.
D&D Party Composition — Playing an All Barbarian Party
Over on the Nerdarchy YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted explore the idea of an all barbarian party for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. People really enjoy the video series and I’m having a blast with the concept here on the website. Playing an all barbarian party in 5E D&D looks to split in the video comments between people who think it sounds great or who are already playing such a campaign, and those who feel like there are too many drawbacks. Dave and Ted can give you the insights into 5E D&D party composition and over here we’re continuing to build the scenario we started with the all bard party — a campaign setting of academia for each particular character class. So let’s get into it and consider what an all barbarian party composition in a 5E D&D academic setting could look like.
D&D Ideas — Alliances
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is alliances, and we’ve got a promo code to go along with this week’s Product Spotlight from Nerdarchy the Store, plus an update on our end of the year mega giveaway and changes coming to our 2020 schedule. 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 alliances the image below is from our wildly successful Out of the Box: Encounters for 5th Edition Kickstarter. In Dinner Party, alliances between adventurers themselves get put to the test. The Out of the Box Pledge Manager reamins 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.
