Worldbuilding: Fantasy Currency
Hey nerds! I’ve been thinking a lot lately about coinage and currency and how they relate to worldbuilding. In Dungeons & Dragons, we pretty much accept that ten copper pieces are a silver piece, ten silvers are a gold, ten golds in a platinum and we leave it at that. It doesn’t matter, most of the time, where you are, the same coins still apply. [EDITOR’S NOTE: But what about poor, forgotten electrum, the US half dollar coin of D&D? Read on…]
Anyone who’s ever traveled abroad in real life, though, and had to go through the awkward song and dance of having their money exchanged for local tender knows that isn’t true at all. Of course, we don’t bother tinkering with that in D&D most of the time because it’s not really the focus of what we’re doing and for most campaigns – it’s going to be way too distracting to be worth it. But for things like fantasy fiction and the rare campaign that gets down to a lot of roleplay and the brass tacks of the world you’re in, this can be a really nice touch.
Geek and Sundry GM Tips with Satine Phoenix…and Nerdarchy!
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztH7NtxVl2M[/embed] Thanks to so many awesome Nerdarchy fans and supporters, Nerdarchists Dave and Ted were able to make it out to Los Angeles earlier this year to appear on GM Tips with Satine Phoenix. The Geek and Sundry program features different Game Masters each week tackling...
Out of the Box D&D Encounters, Series 2, #18 – “Pull!”
Out of the Box introduction
A pair of hill giants can make a very bad day for a village in a D&D game. [Art by Wayne Reynolds]
Dark Sun Ever Mindful of D&D Psionics
Like Nerdarchists Dave and Ted and Nate the Nerdarch mention in the video above, psionics has been a part of Dungeons & Dragons since 1st edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. In the interest of utmost accuracy, the supernatural power of psionics were first introduced to D&D in Eldritch Wizardry, a 1976 supplemental rulebook for the original edition. Also of note are the other now-iconic facets of D&D included in that 60-page digest: the druid class, demons and demon lords like Orcus and Demogorgon, mind flayers, and artifacts like the Rod of Seven Parts and Axe of the Dwarvish Lords.
With those bits of long forgotten secrets behind us now, let’s turn our clairsentience to the future. Based on hints and bits of information shared through social media and in interviews, a fifth edition D&D iteration of Dark Sun is almost certain.
We’ve already got the mystic class available through the Dungeon Master’s Guild, giving D&D players the opportunity to utilize the awesome power of psionics in D&D 5E.
Now we only await the introduction of the sun-scorched setting of Dark Sun.
Ten Things DMs Should Know About the PCs in Their Game
Hey nerds!
As the Dungeon Master it can be a chore sometimes to keep the action moving, and many of us want to give each PC a shot in the spotlight by picking on them individually.
That can be difficult though, if you don’t know much about them. I’m not talking AC or hit point totals, though, I’m talking about backgrounds, preferences – generally the fluffy bits.
So today, we’re going to talk about ten things you can ask your players about their characters that make for good points to pick at when it comes to tailoring sessions specifically for them.
I’m going into this assuming you already know to keep it even and get around to everybody, and that playing favorites is bad.
If we’re all on the same page, then here come the questions.
D&D Dragonborn Illustrate Why the Reason Why Matters
The inclusion of breasts on dragonborn in Dungeons & Dragons is a subject that I’ve noticed come up on occasion. I’m aware that it’s a thing that was included in fourth edition D&D dragonborn, but they’ve since been removed from fifth edition D&D. This is official canon, coming straight from the mouth of the developers themselves:
I get asked this question a lot. Female dragonborn don't have boobs in 5th edition. #wotcstaff https://t.co/GJ5jlV3FGl
— Christopher Pumpkins 🎃 (@ChrisPerkinsDnD) August 22, 2017
Matt Mercer & Friends Prove Every Roll Matters in Gen Con GM Improv Showdown
Gen Con 50 was a records-shattering celebration of gaming culture with countless seminars, panels, events and of course games! Nerdarchy made the pilgrimage to Indianapolis, where Nerdarchist Dave and Web editor Doug met fans and colleagues, met awesome industry influencers and forged new friendships with gamers of every stripe.
Nerdarchy also had the honor of livestreaming a very special event, immediately following the live Maze Arcana game that Nerdarchist Dave played in with DM Ruty Rutenberg and players Satine Phoenix, Amy Vorpahl, Amy Dallen and Andrew Armstrong.
D&D adventure within adventure at Gen Con 50
A couple of days have passed since returning home from Gen Con 50 adventure. Decompression and recovery efforts were successful – getting back to the gym and catching up on sleep work wonders!
All the physical stuff is unpacked, flipped through wistfully, played again, read, and admired now on the shelf. So I thought I’d unpack the intangibles to share. The memories, experiences and lessons for fellow nerds and gamers.
I love me some tabletop games, and this trip to gamers mecca did not disappoint. But of all the games in all the world, that sweet, sweet D&D is my favorite.
Theatrical Roleplaying in Modern RPGs
Beowulf graphic novel, translated by Santiago Garcia and art by David Rubin
In the past, I’ve talked a lot from my perspective as a writer, and from what I’ve learned from my college education in literary theory and rhetorical criticism as an English major. There are other aspects of my life, though, that I haven’t really touched on much.
In my article about utilizing critical success and failures, I mentioned some tenants of improv, which I’m tangentially familiar with from my 15 years of acting on stage. While it was mostly school and community theater work, and I haven’t been on stage in 15 years (although, lately I’ve been thinking of trying to break back in), it’s not a thing that ever leaves you.
However, I didn’t come here to talk about my past exploits.
I started out laying out an overview of my credentials because I want it to be clear what I have to say comes from a place of experience, even if those experiences were a lifetime ago. That’s because today I wanted to talk about approaching roleplaying your characters, whether you’re a Game Master or a player, from the perspective of an actor.
Ten D&D Character Flaws that Won’t Bog Down Your Game
What’s up, nerds? You know how sometimes D&D characters come off as too perfect? There’s hardly anything as annoying as a character who can do absolutely no wrong, the one the player steps in the way and has to backpedal and retcon endlessly because, “Oh, that was a mistake and my precious character wouldn’t have made one.” That character. Well, except for badly played character flaws. You know what I mean. The character flaws they have to interrupt the game for every five minutes to act out. The one that gets in the way. The cleric who didn’t take prestidigitation and hates getting dirty to the point they melt down every time it happens. The ill-tempered guy who sees an insult in everything and has to start a fight even when you’re just trying to buy road rations and suddenly you’re fighting a shopkeeper and have to hide yet another body. The character with a split personality who you’re pretty sure your friend didn’t do any research about but who you don’t want to call them out on because it would just start a fight at the table even though every time they launch into their stuff you side eye them so hard.
D&D Fluff and Mechanics Make the RPG Go ‘Round
Debates swirl around the various forums and subreddits in the Dungeons & Dragons community; they’re chief among the interactions we have with each other. These debates often vary in their complexity, but a lot of the disagreement with how to even proceed with the debate itself is based on a misunderstanding some have about what the debate is even about. Is this a ‘flavour’ issue or a ‘rules’ issue? What’s the difference? Does it matter?
In this article, we’ll be delving into what ‘mechanics’ are, what ‘fluff’ is and how changing either can change your D&D game, for good or ill. The hope is that after reading, you should feel a bit more confident in your ability to discuss things, possibly even change things, in your games.
D&D Spelljammer Warlock: Into the Void
In a past article I mentioned customized warlock pacts in my fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Spelljammer campaign.
It came up again during a live chat with Nate the Nerdarch.
With my feet now held to the eldritch fire by publicly mentioning it twice, I’d better put money where my pact-making mouth is and get into it.
This material is an evolving work in progress stemming from my home game.
Although it’s inspired by the Spelljammer setting, it can be adapted for any D&D campaign.
Campaign Rebirth: How to Keep Your Campaign Fresh
Campaign Rebirth
How to Keep Your Campaign Fresh
All campaigns experience highs and lows, even if you’re the party on the cover of the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide. [Art by Tyler Jacobson]
This is something many groups fail to do in various roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons, World of Darkness, and Pathfinder. Changing the focus, the goals, or the theme to spice things up. The problem is that not every group can do this, and some cannot even recognize when it is happening.
I hope that this little article will help you in both these regards and assist you in steering the proverbial horse away from the cliff. Let’s delve into campaign rebirth
Slavery in RPG Campaigns: Making a Case for Inclusion
Slavery.
A master leading his slave. [“Iron Ring Slaves” art by Jason Engle]
Slavery is a thing that’s been a problem throughout human history as much as it is exists in modern a fantasy tabletop RPG campaign like D&D.
It’s not necessarily everywhere, but it’s in there. Slavery is a subject included in these entries in the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual: on page 5 (under towns and cities), and described in the aboleth, azer (the efreeti attempted to enslave them), beholders, bugbears, devils, red dragons, driders, duergar, drow, fomorian, genies, fire giants, gith, grimlock, hags, hobgoblins, jackalweres, kuo-toa, lamia, mind flayers, mummies, salamanders, yuan-ti, and even the commoner.
It’s in there.
Out of the Box D&D Encounters, Series 2, #11 – “Building Bridges”
[caption id="attachment_22980" align="aligncenter" width="640"] This D&D party looks like they could use a team-building retreat. Say no more! This Out of the Box encounter is better than a trust fall for the party.[/caption] Introduction Have you ever needed an icebreaker encounter for either a new group, or...
