14 Mighty Medium Monsters of 5E D&D
Not too long ago I followed up a beefy post about the chonkiest bois in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons with 7 Small Scaries of 5E D&D. Ever a sucker for a series since there’s more size categories in the game I’m compelled to cover them all. In fact the post where this all began isn’t technically limited to the most mammoth creatures in 5E D&D at least where physical size is concerned. Eventually this series will grow into the gargantuan creatures but for now we’re only at the midpoint with Medium creatures. Let’s get into it.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game with the Break System from Octopath Traveler
Fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons has seen a boom in success like never before. So many people are playing and talking about 5E D&D and a robust community of homebrew and indie content has flooded the community with enough ways to tell and play so many types of stories with the system. Even when 5E D&D can’t accommodate a certain type of game or story there are a wealth of other systems to choose from. Much like the golden age of JRPGs this is the golden age of TTRPGs and as such I’ve had both on the brain lately.
D&D Ideas — Planning vs. Plotting
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is the planning vs. plotting, 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 planning vs. plotting in the module series Dark Paths: Shimmer a villain’s plot is long since underway and the plan is for the adventuring party to embroil themselves in a grand mystery. 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.
Simplifying Distances for Theater of the Mind in 5E D&D
We love some fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons here at Nerdarchy, and we love streaming over on Nerdarchy Live. Part and parcel with streaming comes a need to adjust things and make them more cinematic for an audience. While minis are great they kind of bog down a stream if you’re not really skilled at multitasking or have a huge production team like Critical Role. As such we use theater of the mind, which comes with its own challenges.
D&D Ideas — Culture
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is the culture, 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 culture in the frozen tundra of Kredgefur’s Belt myth and magic greatly inform the lives of clan culture including the power of fate to affect outcomes — like the rise of a new Frost King. 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.
Expand Your Roleplaying Through Heritage and Culture in 5E D&D
If you want to stir the pot with the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons fandom then bring up the topic of race and watch the opinions flow. Race is a core mechanic of 5E D&D and while some prefer the term lineage (see Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything) the two terms are used interchangeably within the community. The way I like to run D&D games, I view any mechanic as having a direct influence on the story and likewise I believe every mechanic’s existence ought to be justified by a story element. Race is just one of these areas so let’s break down character race, what it means, and how to use it more effectively in your 5E D&D games.
D&D Ideas — Creepy
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is the creepy, 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 creepy the beetles, centipedes and other deep living creepy crawlies creep adventurers out during an encounter with an insectoid knight and the horrendous creature tormenting it. 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.
7 Small Scaries of 5E D&D
A while back I wrote a beefy post about the chonkiest bois in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. As a follow up I looked at the deadliest Tiny 5E D&D creatures. For some reason or another the latter began showing up in the top posts over the last week or so and I thought perhaps folks might be curious about creatures who fall between the two extreme ends of the size spectrum in 5E D&D. The title for this post clues you into where I’m starting for a closer look at the monsters of more moderate size. Let’s get into it.
D&D Ideas — Evolution of D&D
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is the evolution of D&D, 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 evolution our own creations are evolving in a new direction too! We’re taking our popular Character Build Guides and mashing them up with our wildly successful Out of the Box encounters. For this exciting evolution we’re taking CBGs to the next step by crafting dynamic encounters around the creatures and NPCs inspired by the player character guide. 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.
Pocket Full of NPCs for 5E D&D — The Lingering Spirit
Salutations, nerds! The last pocket NPC for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons I presented was the Identify Intern and today I’m introducing something a little bit spoopier. Some of my favorite D&D sessions have been ghost stories and that’s exactly where we’re going right now so I present to 5E D&D Dungeon Masters the Lingering Spirit character.
D&D Ideas — Beasts
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is beasts, 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. The Beast of Bellard asks: What if a troll ate something and mutated in a positive way? What if the troll gained some measure of intelligence or understanding of what just happened… and wants more? 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.
Level Up Your 5E D&D Game with Evocative Descriptions
I play Dungeons & Dragons three times a week. On Tuesdays I play with the gang on Nerdarchy Live. On Wednesdays I play in my home game with my chosen family and every other Thursday I play with my author friends on Quill & Sword. Having played so much 5E D&D I’ve learned that descriptions are utterly vital. Dungeons & Dragons is a type of theater of the mind. You and your friends share a story experience much like a play or a movie except the experience is different for each person because there are no screens or stages — only your imagination. As such, Dungeon Masters must take a role similar to an author. They craft stories with descriptions to help their audience (in this case the players at the table) to envision what’s happening.
D&D Ideas — Arachnids
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is arachnids, 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 arachnids in Down on the Farm an enterprising ettercap runs a tidy business breeding and selling exotic spiders and a carefully hidden ledger points to a web of intrigue. 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.
Halloween RPG Adventure Hooks Sure to Get Your Gaming Group Screaming
Nerdarchy is doing a Halloween one shot special with our monstrous friends from the McDonner Manor! Whether you’re running Quest, fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons or another tabletop roleplaying game we’ve got you covered with some ideas for you guys and ghouls! With the most spooktacular time of year in full swing it should come as no surprise many Game Masters are looking for ideas to run a quick and easy one shot for Halloween, Day of the Dead or a number of other holidays to incorporate into their campaign settings. To assist, I thought it would be fun to come up with a few prompts to help springboard your twisted imagination!
D&D Ideas — Monsters are Cool
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is monsters are cool, 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 how monsters are cool there are many mysterious rumors about the dangers of the Wyrd Wood from the Moaning Bat to One Eyed Hagatha to The Hunchback on the Hill perfect to set the mood for a Halloween encounter with the Hag’s Apprentice. 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.
