D&D Ideas — Rings
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is rings, 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. A Ring of Stoneshielding protects adventurers from the dangerous effect of creatures like basilisks and keeps a hero’s body flexible and limber whenever effects seek to restrain them in place. Originally created for our Garden of Statuary book this ring more recently became one of our monthly Magic Item Cards. Find out more about it 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.
Creating Domains of Dread for 5E D&D with Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Wizards of the Coast really hit their stride when it comes to campaign setting guides for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft is the latest in line to provide resources along a wide spectrum for players to engage with the material as it best matches their play style. I like to think the arrangement of content in these sorts of books holds as much meaning as the information itself and when it comes to creating domains of dread the book cleverly places the material just a page flip away from the juicy new 5E D&D character options. Let’s get into it.
Fear and Horror Emanate from Haunted Traps in 5E D&D with Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Salutations, nerds! Today I’m going to be taking a closer look at the Haunted Traps section of Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. Long story short, normal traps were put in place on purpose by a person for a reason. Haunted traps by contrast aren’t set with purpose and instead manifest like a stain. This is a recurrent theme in a lot of horror works, it turns out, and now it’s represented in 5E D&D too.
D&D Ideas — Rods, Staves and Wands
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is rods, staves and wands, 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. Rods, staves and wands are all powerful arcane implements but there’s plenty of variety and opportunities for those who don’t use magic to make use of them too. 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.
Experience the Horror Firsthand with Survivors in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft offers a menagerie of tools to help Dungeon Masters and players of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons sink their teeth into genres of horror. We’ve already written about preparing horror games, running horror games with atmosphere and pacing to enhance the experience of your 5E D&D group. However, if you really want to sell the horror flavor and show players how grim and unforgiving the world can be then Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft suggests the use of survivors.
Manage Fear and Stress in 5E D&D with Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft brings the trappings of horror to your fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons games. To aid Dungeon Masters with running horror with their own groups the book offers a step-by-step walkthrough of how to run a 5E D&D horror game. Thus far, we’ve talked about preparing for a horror game and running a horror game with atmosphere and skillful pacing using the steps in Van Ricthen’s Guide to Ravenloft as a framework. But what about after the horror is over? Fear and stress are staples of the horror genre. They’re the proverbial nuts and bolts of how it works. Experiencing fear and stress can leave players… well, stressed and fearful. Thankfully, Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft offers some advice for this as well.
D&D Ideas — Potions
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is potions, 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. Potions offer a potentially unlimited variety effects and creative Game Masters can get a lot of adventuresome mileage from these consumable magic items. Tonic of Hair Growth is a potion that puts a bit of beardomantic power in anyone’s hands. Bad haircuts are a thing of the past with a bit of this arcane tonic and practitioners of the beardomantic arts can find the added length and volume useful foci for weaving their magic. Originally created for our Beardomancy book this potion more recently became one of our monthly Magic Item Cards. Find out more about it 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.
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft Reveals Other Domains of Dread from The Land of Mists
I enjoy the way each fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons book leans into the modular nature of the game in different ways. Aside from satisfying fans of the classic D&D horror fantasy setting Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft terrifically illustrates how a core chunk of material can fuel innumerable content for games. The other Domains of Dread presented in the book focus a dark lens on the core of 5E D&D for all the tools a Dungeon Master needs to unleash the horrors of Ravenloft. Let’s get into it.
D&D Ideas — Weapons
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is weapons, 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. Magical weapons can be transformative treasures for any character and become a core part of their adventuring identity. Glaive of Wizardry is a magic weapon designed for squishy spellcasters to give them a cool melee option. Nerdarchist Ted created our very first Monthly Magic Item Card as the signature weapon of a powerful hobgoblin antagonist in a monthly game he ran on Nerdarchy Live and decided to share it with the D&D community. Beware the wizard wielding this legendary weapon! Find out more about it 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.
Talk Your Way Into 5E D&D Adventure with Social Interaction
Not a day goes by when I don’t come across a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master seeking help dealing with a character’s unusual features. One of these reached meme level long ago and doesn’t show any signs of going away any time soon — the Persuasion Expert. Many are the threads of lament and lengthy discussions on how Persuasion isn’t hypnotism, it’s too powerful, it’s abused by players and so forth. By the end of this post I suspect readers will tire of reminders about how it’s the DM — not the player — who determines when skill checks are made. Believe me when I tell you following the proper paradigm enhances the whole 5E D&D experience. But if you don’t I’ll employ a College of Eloquence bard’s Silver Tongue to show how. Let’s get into it.
Running Horror with Atmosphere and Accessibility in 5E D&D with Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft is Wizards of the Coast’s newest setting book for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons and it’s arguably the best release we’ve had so far. Much how Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything officially sanctioned many flavor customizations Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft contains several sections empowering Dungeon Masters and players to make 5E D&D their own. Among these options chapter 4’s Running Horror Games section provides guidance for preparation, during the session and afterward. This horror guide was phenomenal and easily makes the book worth picking up. I loved this section so much I made a whole video about how Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft completely changed how I run D&D forever.
Explore Weird Wastelands and Play Great 5E Games in Places Adversely Affected by Magical Forces
Worlds of Web DM: Weird Wastelands launched this morning on Kickstarter and 16 minutes later our YouTube colleagues’ supplement for 5e D&D that gives you everything you need to play great games in places adversely affected by magical forces became funded. Of course the first exclamation to make is congratulations! We know exactly how excited the Web DM team feels after bringing their vision to the crowdfunding world and receiving the support to make it a reality. The heart of the project is Web DM’s passion for exploration, a pillar of 5E play we strongly support ourselves. Let’s get into it.
Horror Pacing in 5E D&D with Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons is probably my favorite setting book to date from Wizards of the Coast. It has so many great resources for 5E D&D players and Dungeon Masters alike. Among my favorites is the section walking the DM through a step-by-step guide to running a horror game.
D&D Ideas — Armor
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is armor, 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. Magical armor is one of the best treasures an adventurer can discover during their perilous quests. Armor equals protection at the very least and mythical abilities at the pinnacle of armor power. Armor of Fallen Leaves harkens back to earlier days of D&D and turned a shade of Nerdarchy in more recent times from one of our earliest modules. Now it’s the May Magic Item Card. While wearing this mystical armor you can transform into a swirling cloud of leaves! Find out more about it here.
Domains of Ravenloft Cover All the Horror for 5E D&D with Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Way back in 1983 I6: Ravenloft was but one of over 200 modules published by TSR for first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. The plot of the now legendary module introduced one of the most iconic villains in D&D history with the vampire Strahd von Zarovich. The module proved so popular it spawned a sequel and later an entire campaign setting for second edition AD&D encompassing an entire pocket dimension called the Demiplane of Dread and the collection of domains ruled by mystical Darklords bound together by the Dark Powers. Fast forward to today where Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft re-introduces the Domains of Dread for the fifth edition D&D community. Let’s get into it.
