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Game Master Tips

Nerdarchy > Game Master Tips (Page 5)

Explore the Darkest Shadows of D&D at Your Peril

The other day I was lying in bed before falling asleep and an idea jumped into my brain. It is a weird concept but nothing groundbreaking — a dark elf riding a displacer beast. If you know me you know displacer beasts are my favorite D&D monster, so much so I think it will be my next tattoo. My imagination cascaded from there. I I jumped from a dark elf on a displacer beast to what can I do with shadows? Focusing on the “dark” in dark elf lead me to think about shadow powers, which lead to the shadow monster and the terror they can elicit.

Zombies Ate My Brains And I Like It

For the past couple of months I’ve been on a major zombie binge. It started with rewatching The Walking Dead before catching up on the most recent season. In the midst of binge watching I wondered about any cool zombie videos games out there and of course tabletop roleplaying games. I found both. I’ve been thinking a lot about the zombie survival genre lately, making my brains a tasty treat for the shambling undead. Let’s get into it.

D&D Ideas — Games Within Games

Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is games within games, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of the games within games our own Taking Chances module is a collection of games of skill and chance for Fifth Edition with new and different games for both characters and players to engage with, using their in-game skills and proficiencies for some and relying on the luck of the dice for others. You can get Nerdarchy the 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 — Sight

Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is sight, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of the sight point your peepers over to the Mage Forge where you’ll see quite a few of the 250 magic items provide unusual ways to affect an adventurers’ vision. You can get Nerdarchy the 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 — Sound

Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is the D&D movie Honor Among Thieves, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of the D&D movie Honor Among Thieves a mob of zoo animals looking to get made may put this old adage to the test. You can discover if there’s honor among you mob of animal gangsters as one of the first people to get FREE Quick Start Rules for Zoo Mafia RPG. You can get Nerdarchy the 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 Movie Honor Among Thieves 2023 banner

D&D Ideas — D&D Movie

Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is the D&D movie Honor Among Thieves, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of the D&D movie Honor Among Thieves a mob of zoo animals looking to get made may put this old adage to the test. You can discover if there’s honor among you mob of animal gangsters as one of the first people to get FREE Quick Start Rules for Zoo Mafia RPG. You can get Nerdarchy the 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.

Animon Story RPG Zak Barouh

Spice Up Your Animon Story Battles with Combat Strategy and Tactics

Digimon Survive is officially out and it’s everything I wanted in a Digimon game since I was a child. The game is about 70% visual novel and 30% strategy combat in the vein of Final Fantasy Tactics, which makes for a nearly perfect simulation of a Digimon-themed RPG. Your choices influence your karma, shifting your alignment among three different paths affecting everything from the way your companions see you to the way your Digimon evolves. Needless to say I’ve had monster taming RPGs on the brain lately.

D&D Ideas — Adventuring Company

Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is Adventuring Company, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of Adventuring Company our monthly fan games take place under the auspices of the Company of the NAG where your characters plunge into adventure straight from our library. Discerning newsletter subscribers can use their store credit and discover the next unforgettable adventure for your adventuring company’s next get together right here. You can get Nerdarchy the 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.

Creatures and Characters in Your 5E D&D Games Need More Limbs!

I love when something really stands out in a fantasy world. When you watch the Avatar movie your eyes can go wild seeing all the glorious plants and animals distinct to the world of Pandora. I feel such details and features makes a setting more real. In a typical Dungeons & Dragons plenty of creatures possessed of loads of limbs or extra limbs might make you question why this came to be. The behir seems to be lizard like but has legs like a centipede for example. This distinction makes a creature a little more unique in a world of strange and interesting creatures.

Play Animon Story in Your Favorite Worlds

The world of monster taming video games is exploding with news at the moment. Coromon just released for Nintendo Switch, Digimon Survive releases worldwide on July 29 and Pokemon Scarlet & Violet leaks have been coming in waves. There’s even more news for even more properties but the property I’m most excited for is Animon Story RPG by Zak Barouh.

Add Sci-Fi Elements to Your 5E D&D Games

The more I see artificers in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons the more I feel it is possible to add a lot of extra elements to my games. For years Eberron has shown us mixing fantasy and science fiction can be a lot of fun. Magic trains and fantasy sentient robots easily mix into our 5E D&D games and offer us some new options for games and stories. I have lots of new thoughts and ideas not typically explored as fantasy quests. I want to share some of those with you.

D&D Ideas — Spelljammer Academy: Orientation

Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is Spelljammer Academy: Orientation, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of Spelljammer one of the most dangerous threats in the Nerdarchyverse are the Vargarians, interdimensional arcanocybernetic conquerers who’d fit right in as ongoing antagonists for fantasy spacefaring adventurers. You can get Nerdarchy the 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 — Maps

Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is maps, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of maps each of our 55 Out of the Box encounters includes AT LEAST one map illustrating the surroundings for where the action takes place. You can get Nerdarchy the 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 — Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel

Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of radiant we’re positively beaming after a huge surge forward on preproduction for Mage Forge. We’re incredibly excited to deliver these deluxe collections of 250 magic item Tarot cards. You can get Nerdarchy the 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.

Take a Break from the Routine with a 5E D&D Vacation Adventure

Summer is upon us and this means beaches, cookouts and of course vacations! This got me thinking about vacations in our D&D parties. Downtime in any RPG often evokes things like the notorious beach episodes of anime to me. With the turbulence of the times it feels weirdly analogous to me with how our D&D characters perpetually fight for their own causes. Even fictional characters need a getaway now and again and hopefully this post offers a reprieve for you as well as some inspiration for your own relaxing hobbies. Let’s talk about vacation ideas for your D&D party.