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Game Master Tips

Nerdarchy > Game Master Tips (Page 10)

Game Masters Aren’t Always the Smartest Person at the Table

One of the benefits of working in the tabletop roleplaying game industry is exposure to lots of different perspectives when it comes to gaming. Whether my takeaway from these is good, bad or indifferent there’s always at least a nugget of insight and ideas upon which to chew. A conversation I frequently encounter deals with the concept of consequences and very often focuses on the notion of dumb decisions from players leading to their characters’ death or otherwise adverse results. Adopting the same parlance I’m coming at this from the perspective the whole debate is dumb. Let’s get into it.

D&D Ideas — Reflections

Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is the reflections, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST on Nerdarchy Live to talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of reflections we’re encouraging your serious thought or consideration for our latest big project. Mage Forge is ideal for GMs who run short on time for game prep by providing magic items with the potential to define your adventures and the characters who uncover them. You can get the Nerdarchy Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here. You can get the Nerdarchy Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here.

Flames of Enchantment Erupt from the Mage Forge!

So many memorable moments from our fantasy roleplaying game experiences originate through the amazing magical items our characters possess. Drawing your sword accompanied by the roar of a dragon to signify the blade as a relic of an ancient order and your wielding it proving your right to carry on the legacy. Plumbing the depths of eldritch knowledge through your ring’s cursed connection to an unfathomable entity plumbing the depths of your soul in trade. Capturing the souls of dying creatures in your lantern to draw on their essence for aid in your darkest moments. These are the kinds of moments we adventure for as fantasy RPG players. And as creators we’re throwing open the doors to our magic item vault in Mage Forge — Magic Items for 5th Edition!

D&D Ideas — We All Live On A Boat

Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is the we all live on a boat, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST on Nerdarchy Live to talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of life on a boat we’re inviting you all aboard for our second Kickstarter! Mage Forge is a Deluxe Box Set of 250 Tarot Sized Magic Item Cards for the world’s greatest roleplaying game! You can get the Nerdarchy Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here. You can get the Nerdarchy Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here.

D&D Ideas — Tournaments

Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is the tournaments, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST on Nerdarchy Live to talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of tournaments we’ve got a contest of the ages to watch for: in one corner it’s your desire for unique, evocative magic items you’ll be as thrilled to present to characters as they’ll be to discover. In the other corner Nerdarchy’s Deluxe Box Set of 250 Tarot Sized Magic Item Cards for the world’s greatest roleplaying game! You can get the Nerdarchy Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here. You can get the Nerdarchy Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here.

11 Huge Threats Posed by Huge Monsters of 5E D&D

I’ve been following up a post about the chonkiest bois in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons with a look at standout monsters from each size category. Huge creatures follow in the footsteps of the smaller 8 Large and in Charge Monsters of 5E D&D. The top of the size category food chain looms but before reaching those heights there’s a lot of amazing Huge size monsters to consider. Let’s get into it.

RPG game master player

Ideas on Running Multiple 5E D&D Campaigns in One World – At the Same Time

Ashes of Ardor is the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign I’ve been running on Nerdarchy Live every Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET. Meanwhile Quill & Sword is a 5E D&D campaign I run every other Thursday night during the same time slot on my Twitch channel. Both campaigns take place in my dark fantasy world of Aulmn. Two campaigns, one world setting — infinite possibilities. As Ashes of Ardor comes to a close I want to share some of what I learned running two campaigns in the same world simultaneously. Whether you’re running a premade setting like Eberron, Wildemount or the iconic Forgotten Realms these tips should help with keeping things smooth and copacetic. Fair warning: there be spoilers ahead for both Ashes of Ardor and Quill & Sword.

D&D Ideas — Class

Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is the classes, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST on Nerdarchy Live to talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of classes we put together a guide for all the Fifth Edition subclasses we’ve created over the years as part of a FREE bundle. The perfect character for your next game may just be revealed inside! You can get the Nerdarchy Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here.

Unleash the Terrors of the Nightmare Realms with Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft Minis

The end of the year approaches and with it the holiday season so it’s completely natural to begin thinking about the Ravenloft’s iconic supernatural specialist and the Domains of Dread, no? Oh well, it seems you are here anyway and I am going to share some ideas inspired by the great monster entries available in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft.

D&D Ideas — Scarcity

Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is the scarcity, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST on Nerdarchy Live to talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of scarcity harsh environments like the tundra present unique challenges for those who live and adventure there. Uncovering the secrets of the frozen tundra gives adventurers the edge they’ll need to survive. You can get the Nerdarchy Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here.

New Dangers Emerge from the Beard Dimension to Swarm Your 5E D&D Games

I recently ran a session of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons over on our Nerdarchy Live channel. Untraditionally Arcane is a fun campaign featuring an all wizard party, one of whom is a School of Beardomancy wizard. You can grab all the content we’ve created like subclasses for every class, a whole bunch of spells, magic items and monsters from the Beard Dimension inside the trio of the original Beardomancy and follow ups Bad Hair Day and Hairable Ideas (we put together the Beardomancy Bundle as well).

D&D villain hero

D&D Ideas — Abundance

Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is the abundance, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST on Nerdarchy Live to talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of abundance we’ve got a plentitude of best selling titles over at the Dungeon Master’s Guild from our Character Build Guide series. Each one includes narrative and mechanical guidance for players from 1st to 20th level plus an NPC creature version inspired by them for Dungeon Masters. You can get the Nerdarchy Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here.

Let Loose the Lamp Louse from Untraditionally Arcane in Your 5E D&D Game

Salutations, nerds! Today I want to share with you one of the creatures that came up in our last session of Untraditionally Arcane, the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign at Nerdarchy Live where the Chaos Crew takes on the role of wizards from various untraditional schools of magic because the traditional ones of 5E D&D are on the fritz and puts us in a unique position to fix them.

5E D&D nightmare shepherd mythic odysseys of theros

8 Large and in Charge Monsters of 5E D&D

I’ve been following up a post about the chonkiest bois in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons with a look at standout monsters from each size category and with 14 Mighty Medium Monsters of 5E D&D out of the way it’s time for Large creatures to make their presence known. From the barely there giant fly all the way to the yelping yeth hound these 5E D&D monsters are Large and sometimes even in charge. Let’s get into it.