Worldbuilding: Where to Begin with a Homebrew Campaign Setting
You’ve been playing roleplaying games for a bit now. It might be Pathfinder, Dungeons & Dragons, Savage Worlds, or untold countless possibilities. The problem is you don’t like the setting. It almost fits the image in your mind but not quite. You’ve looked around, found some old campaign setting material at secondhand stores or eBay but no luck. So, what do you do? How do you make the world you want too? Don’t worry — Nerdarchy is here to help. Over the past month or so you’ll have seen some changes in the Nerdarchy landscape. We have Nate the Nerdarch and Kienata running the Nerdarchy After Dark late-night build sessions. We’ve posted some articles for items like World Anvil and Realm Works to help you organize things. However, none of these really give a starting point. Why not fix that now? Let’s look at how to start.
The Mike Mearls Happy Fun Hour and What it Means for D&D
If you’re a part of the Dungeons & Dragons community and actively keep up with the content Wizards of the Coast is putting out on YouTube or Twitch, you’re probably aware of the incredibly named Mike Mearls Happy Fun Hour. But if not, you really should be. On a weekly basis over on D&D’s Twitch channel, co-creator of fifth edition D&D and Franchise Creative Director Mike Mearls gets on for an hour or so and just designs stuff for the game.
D&D Martial Artist Fighter Subclass Bare-Knuckle Brawls its Way from Our Community to You
Hello! Nerditor Doug here to introduce this special post based on content straight from the Nerdarchy community, from creator Chris Chupp who sent us his homebrew creation for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons – the Martial Artist fighter martial archetype. Chris put this subclass together specially for one of the players in his D&D game who loves the flavor of unarmed combat monks provide and wants to punch some dragons but isn’t too keen on the ki system.
Chris shared his work with Nerdarchy to show appreciation for what he’s learned and taken from our videos and website to his own gaming table, and wanted to give back to the community.
D&D Heads to Space with Spelljammer Live!
You’ve heard us talk about it. You’ve read posts here on the website about it. You’ve seen recorded gameplays of it. On Friday, March 16 at 1:30 p.m. eastern you can see us play it live! The premiere of our newest live stream game will take a party of adventurers into fantasy space with Ingest Quest, a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Spelljammer campaign.
Worldbuilding: World Anvil is a Haven for Writers and Homebrew Content
Last month I looked at three realm worldbuilding and homebrew programs and websites and among those was World Anvil. In the article I had looked briefly on the site and looked at it impressed with what was there but said it need a few other options. After the article was posted Dimitris from World Anvil reached out to me and said that those features where there and I had missed them. The reality of it is, that from the time I had sent the article Nerditor Doug to when it was posted the site had doubled in content and functionality. Doubled in less than 2 weeks. I have dealt with campaign software and programs and sites for at least 5 years now in creating homebrew adventures and world settings and never has one expanded this rapidly. Having spoken with Janet and Dimitris from World Anvil and given that they are celebrating World Anvil’s four month anniversary, I thought it more than fitting we revisit this fantastic site and give the proper attention it deserves. So, sit back, relax, and let’s look at the gasworks that is World Anvil.
D&D Unicorn: Expanding the Legendary Creature Through Variety
Unicorns in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons are celestial creatures known for their healing and purity, yet aside from a corrupted fiend known as the Nightmare they are very limited in selection. Considering how well known these creatures are in fantasy and how many varieties of dragons we have, it is almost a crime we have only two choices. [NERDITOR’S NOTE: Yeah, yeah, yeah, nightmares are created from pegasi but who’s to say a corrupted unicorn can’t become a hell horse too?]
Worldbuilding: The Nerdarchy United Live Chat Evolution
An inside look at worldbuilding and Ulthe-Gana
Over the years geeks and nerds have flocked to the Heralds of Nerdarchy for answers and clarity. New to the call of the people are Nate the Nerdarch and co-host Kienata as they take the Nerdarchists into the realm of worldbuilding. Nerdarchy built and conceived a campaign called Chimes of Discordia based in their world of Ulthe-Gana which many of their characters have journeyed in over the years. Now with fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons gaining further momentum Nate the Nerdarch and Kienata have taken the masses with them as the world evolves and develops. The new Nerdarchy Duo hope to inspire people and let them explore what Nerdarchy has built through three new streaming shows with live chat participation.
Era of Digital D&D Homebrew and Worldbuilding
Over the last few years Dungeons & Dragons has started to evolve into the digital landscape. It started briefly with fourth edition D&D with the hope people could game over farther distances but the project was never completed. Games can now be played online with people across the globe thanks to programs like Fantasy Grounds and websites like Roll20. Today I want to look some of the tools that have come to us for worldbuilding and designing homebrew games. Since Critical Role has become a flagship for geekdom, homebrew games have become more and more popular. Here are a few sites and programs that can really help ease most burdens in the world building process.
All Aboard Izzy’s Slightly Used Airships for 5E D&D
Izzy’s Slightly Used Airships got put on my pile by a very eager creator, BrightShield on the Dungeon Master’s Guild. This may not seem like an important detail but it is. BrightShield has shown a propensity toward being his own biggest critic time and time again. Before I even got the product, he had been through several rewrites and several more occurred after I got it. BrightShield has accepted and even eagerly welcomed all criticism with grace.
This observation is not normally part of my review but this becomes a factor when it means the product is only getting better as time goes on. I was given version 1.3 to review. So be aware the product you can get is even better. In fact, while writing this I had found a typo, pointed it out to BrightShield, and was told it had already been seen to in 1.4. Izzy’s Slightly Used Airships for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons is available at the Dungeon Master’s Guild.
Old Spice Gentleman Class Revised for Pathfinder
In case you didn’t know, Old Spice released a class for the Pathfinder RPG called Old Spice Gentleman, and while I wasn’t going to cry Hail Corporate!, because I do really appreciate Old Spice attempting to actually construct a proper class as part of their relatively-pro-consumer marketing campaign instead of phoning in a pandering appeal to tabletop gamers with a GIF of a d20 being rolled next to their fast food (you know who you are, Arby’s), I did find some problems with Old Spice Gentleman class.
Examining Xanathar’s Lost Notes To Everything Else for 5E D&D
After a week of exceedingly bad health followed by a week of recovery I have returned, undeterred from my task of bringing to you honest reviews of the homebrew content so popular among gamers of all generations. Today we will be reviewing the little gem known as Xanathar’s Lost Notes To Everything Else for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, available on the DM’s Guild. I’ve had this little badboy in my hands since December, and what is significant is this one I sought out on my own. This D&D content comes from the minds of Ruty Rutenberg, Lysa Chen, Will Doyle, James Haeck, James Introcaso, Rich Lescouflair, Shawn Merwin, Cindy Moore, and the one-of-a-kind Satine Phoenix. And Nerdarchy has an exclusive coupon code for when this book finds it’s way into your shopping cart too.
The D&D Chimera – Randomized!
Chimera – the spawn of powerful beast of legend, a creation of a mad wizard or poor fool’s curse by a demonic prince. However a chimera comes into existence we can all agree the three-headed Dungeons & Dragons creature with the tenacity of a dragon, stubbornness of a ram and ferocity of a lion is pretty freaking cool. What could be better right? What about the petrifying gaze of a basilisk, the strong back of a mule and the rust monsters ability to corrode the tools of the enemy?
This article brings you another randomized fifth edition D&D monster.
Lord Soth Isn’t a D&D Death Knight, He’s THE Death Knight
Hello nerds! Nerditor Doug here with a bit of content to share from the Nerdarchy community. Viewers of our Nerdarchy live chats, RPG Crate-sponsored Adventures on the Open Road, Marvel Superheroes Roleplaying Game live plays and more are familiar with Fraginator. This fan and friend of Nerdarchy games with us and remains a great part of our community. Always on the lookout for cool content, when Frags mentioned a homebrew version of the death knight Lord Soth from his home game I asked him to send it in so we can share it with you.
A D&D Puppet Master Bard from this College has the World on a String
Hello! Nerditor Doug to introduce a second guest post from Kyle Ellis. Kyle hit me up with another fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons character option and the concept brings to mind one of my favorite MMO games – Final Fantasy XI. If this College of Strings bard is what I think it is, it would make a fine companion for a Path of the Azure barbarian. Just saying. I’m just as excited as you to learn more about this puppeteer.
Invoking Emirikol’s Guide To Devils for 5E D&D
Here we are again, doing another Homebrew Review. This time we are tackling Emirikol’s Guide To Devils from Sean McGovern. Like the last review, we aim to be honest for good or ill, and this one really took a good long time to review. Why you may ask? Because Emirikol’s Guide To Devils is a mighty big book of baddies for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons (240 pages!), available through the Dungeon Masters Guild. Anywho, we will be using the same scale as last time, and will be measuring it with the same school grading system. Let’s delve in and see how this one rolls out.