5E D&D Worldbuilding for a Revolution Plot: Part 1
Salutations, nerds! I hope you’re ready to do some 5E D&D worldbuilding because today we’re going to be talking about revolutions and empires, and what you need if the tabletop roleplaying game storyline you’re planning on running has to do with unseating someone currently in power. Please note, this is going to be a quick run down, not a comprehensive list. I’ve got the span of a quick article to do this — nope, two. Two quick articles. I’ve done the thing again where I had more to say than I thought I did. Ahem. But. I’m going to try to give you enough to springboard off of and hopefully enough to get the gears turning in your head for what you want to do with your plot. Got your notebooks out? Ready? Let’s dive in.
A Mouthful of 5E D&D Villain Actions Inspired by Matt Colville
When Nerdarchist Ted pitched the idea for a video response to Matt Colville’s Action Oriented Monsters video I was all in. I’d just watched the video myself and fallen in love with the idea of Villain Actions for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. We’re no strangers to creating new 5E D&D monsters. And like Matt mentions, making creatures in the style of player characters feels kludgy and needlessly complicated and time consuming. But while we’ve generally kept to the existing monster resources like legendary and lair actions, and striving to include action economy options like bonus actions and reactions, Matt took things to the next level by developing a new kind of action — the Villain Action. Like any good Dungeon Master, when I spot a cool idea I steal it for my game. So while Nerdarchists Dave and Ted discuss the ins and outs of Villain Actions on the Nerdarchy YouTube channel, I’m gonna try my hand at creating some of my own.
Madness in 5E D&D
One of our Patreon supporters had a question for us recently. We discussed it during the Patreon exclusive live chat we do every Monday evening, but since it’s a topic I find really interesting and useful I felt it’s worth exploring a bit further. The question also came from a soon to be first time Dungeon Master for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. There’s a good chance they aren’t the only 5E D&D DM curious about it and since any player taking a turn behind the screen is cause for celebration, let’s take a look at their question and come up with some answers for both new and experienced DMs.
“Have you guys ran madness mechanics in your campaigns? About to try my hand at being our DM and was curious how difficult it would be to add that to the campaign.”
Bring Your Customized Character to Life with a Hero Forge Mini
If you are like me, then you enjoy using minis in your tabletop roleplaying games like fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. Minis add an enjoyable tactical side to the challenge of combat. But at times it can be so difficult to find the right mini, the perfect one with the right gear, right pose and even the perfect expression on their face. If you are not aware of Hero Forge than please let me introduce you to their wonderful products. I have purchased dozens of Hero Forge minis I proudly display in my collection. Their method of allowing the customer to perfectly design the exact mini they want makes them an ideal choice for selecting the mini for use at the gaming table.
D&D Party Composition — Playing an All Warlock Party
Over on the Nerdarchy YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted explore the idea of an all warlock party for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. We had a lot of fun thinking about an all bard party and a bunch of people asked to see more like this so here we are. In 5E D&D warlocks are a very customizable class. Combinations of patrons and pacts, spells and invocations create a lot of options for players to put together. Warlocks choose their subclass at 1st level, represented by the Otherworldly Patron providing their power through a supernatural pact. Once characters reach 3rd level, they choose their Pact Boon — Blade, Chain or Tome. In the video they discuss D&D party composition and the different roles warlocks can play in a party. But I’m sticking with the scenario I imagined in the All Bard Party post here on the site. So let’s get into it and see what an all warlock party composition for 5E D&D could look like.
Right Tool, Right Job — Tool Proficiencies and Minigames in D&D
Tools in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons featured pretty prominently lately among the Nerdarchy crew. We focused a live chat on the topic, a newsletter, video, website post and our October Patreon rewards zeroed in specifically on gaming sets. For November we’re following up the Rolling Bones rewards with a broader spotlight on all the other D&D tools. Union Salon is a location you can drop right into your campaign setting. Characters can explore their tool proficiencies through practice with experts, engage with colorful NPC masters of their craft, discover brand new tool sets and put their tool skills to use uncovering a mystery surrounding an auction of oddities and playing minigames in D&D. So let’s get into it.
Where Conflict and Tension Comes From in 5E D&D
Salutations, nerds! Today we’re going to be talking about conflict in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. I’m not talking about the big bad evil creature and the general conflict of the campaign, of course. I mean the scene-to-scene conflict. Have you ever found yourself sitting at the gaming table in a scene where everyone was hanging out and nothing was going wrong? It can be pretty good once in a while just to hang out in character and let your party chill together, but if it goes on too long it starts to drag. If you have a conflict in every scene, however, even the minutiae of shopping for supplies can be made tense and interesting.
D&D Artifacts That Will Damn Your Soul
Full disclosure the temptation to title this post “How to be an utter bad ass evil son of a bitch in D&D” was hard to resist. We had a lot of fun planning for the video over on the Nerdarchy YouTube channel and looking over all the artifacts in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. In another video Nerdarchists Dave and Ted talked about D&D magic items that will damn your soul. While there wasn’t much explicit indication of any soul damning, a character using those magic items definitely wasn’t winning any points in the good department. D&D artifacts raise the bar orders of magnitude. There is no question with these evil artifacts — a creature who uses them puts their soul in peril in a multitude of ways. But for a creature placing power above all else, employing the Book of Vile Darkness, Hand and Eye of Vecna or Wand of Orcus most certainly qualifies for the title of utter bad ass evil SOB.
Real World Adventure Hooks for D&D — Ghost Girl
For a Game Master descriptions are vitally important when running a tabletop roleplaying game like fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. Fantastic artwork can be a tremendous visual aid, and there’s countless miniatures and accessories to enhance your gaming table whether you play on a virtual tabletop or a physical one. So I’m always on the lookout for visual data to draw from and help paint a picture for players. I recently came across a remarkable sculpture by Kevin Francis Gray that struck me immediately and went directly into the GM toolbox in my imagination. Even better, Ghost Girl opened a window into this artists other works, a collection of incredible sculptures dripping with evocative imagery. Taking inspiration from fantasy art gets a lot of mileage for me as a GM, and the best works give ideas for adventure hooks.
Unearthed Arcana — Rune Knight Fighters, Swarmkeeper Rangers, and Revived Rogues
I know what you’re thinking: “Did Nerdarchy cover five Unearthed Arcana or only four?” Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I’ve kinda lost track myself. But Nerdarchists Dave and Ted discuss Unearthed Arcana — Fighter, Ranger, Rogue in today’s video, and we all speculated about what it could have been last week, so it’s only fair to share the space here on the website to take a look at Rune Knight fighters, Swarmkeeper rangers and Revived rogues.
Unearthed Arcana — Heroism Paladins and Eloquence Bards
The round of Unearthed Arcana playtest content with new subclasses for each class in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons has come and gone. D&D players had opportunities to read through them, discuss them and playtest these new D&D subclasses, and provide feedback to the D&D design team through surveys. On the Nerdarchy YouTube channel we’ve got videos about each of the Unearthed Arcana playtest packets for these new D&D subclasses too. I always like to imagine how new content adds to a D&D campaign, and also speculate on what sort of product playtest material could be part of down the road. So let’s get into it with the Oath of Heroism paladin and College of Eloquence bard.
D&D Party Composition — Playing an All Bard Party
Over on the Nerdarchy YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted explore the idea of an all bard party for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. In 5E D&D bards are arguably the most versatile class. The core class features offer a remarkable mix of magic, martial prowess and skills. Once characters reach 3rd level and choose their Bard College the options continue to flourish. Bards can focus on one of those three areas or diversify their features even further. In the video they discuss D&D party composition and the different roles bards can play in a party. But when I think of an all bard party for 5E D&D my thoughts go a different way. So let’s get into it and see what an all bard party composition for 5E D&D could look like.
Disrupting the Status Quo in Established Campaign Settings
Salutations, nerds. Today I want to talk to you about playing in tabletop roleplaying games like fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons in established campaign settings and disrupting the status quo. Not clinging by wrist and ankle to the cannon so you don’t get fired across the playmat — it’s canon? Hmm. Okay, well, that metaphor’s over, now, moving on.
Real World Adventure Hooks for D&D — Kingly Presence
Real world history and mythology intersect in Tintagel, a village in the United Kingdom. Sculptor Rubin Eynon’s Gallos overlooks the Atlantic Ocean on the cliffs of the village in Cornwall, England. The 8-foot-high bronze statue is inspired by the legend of King Arthur and also the rich Cornish history of the region. And to a fan of fantasy tabletop roleplaying games like fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, it gets me thinking about adventure hooks.
Are Tool Proficiencies Worthless in 5E D&D?
Whenever I see tool proficiencies in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons come up in online conversations, I make a point to participate. Tool proficiencies, along with backgrounds, are one of my favorite things about 5E D&D. To me they represent a character’s hobby or vocation and add a significant lens for a character to view the world through. When we choose tools for our live chat and newsletter topic recently, it was a real joy to engage with the audience in the live chat and later share my own thoughts. We incorporated tools into our October Patreon rewards, and in a few days our November rewards build on those concepts. And today we took a closer look on the YouTube channel with a follow-up here to discuss if 5E D&D tools are worthless.
