D&D Party Composition — Playing an All Rogue Party
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel the Single Class D&D Party series got away from Nerdarchists Dave and Ted before completion. But this won’t stop me from pursuing a degree in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons through attendance at all the institutions of higher education in D&D academia. Here at Nerdarchy the Website we take a different approach to this popular video series through my take on the concept of single party composition. The all rogue party relies on skill, stealth and exploiting vulnerabilities to get the upper hand. When a 5E D&D character enrolls at Roguish Archetypes they develop a knack for finding solutions to whatever problems come their way by demonstrating resourcefulness and versatility. So let’s get into it.
Expanding 5E D&D Background Characteristics — Entertainer
Salutations, nerds! Following the unassailable law of alphabetical order I’m writing about more suggested characteristics for the entertainer background in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. From small time pickpockets to hired muscle hopefully you find something here that works for you. When you look at the background options in the 5E D&D Player’s Handbook there are a number of background characteristics suggested for you to help define a character and spark your imagination for roleplaying and in this series I’m creating some additional personality traits, ideals, bonds and flaws for you to play with on the off chance you’ve burned through all of those and are interested in some new ones.
RPG Character Backstory — Family
Salutations, nerds! Today I’m taking a closer look at RPG character backstory, specifically what your character’s family looks like. Raise your hand if you’ve played an orphan or a character whose entire village has been burned to the ground. If you don’t have your hand up I very nearly don’t believe you. And you know what? Me too. Avenging loved ones is a totally compelling reason for a character to get out and adventure! But…what if we didn’t do this? Let’s take a look at different kinds of families and the sorts of people who shaped your character’s life. Even if you are playing one for whom everyone is dead these people matter in terms of who your character is now and they would at least remember them, right?
D&D Ideas — Bad Guys
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is bad guys, 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. Speaking of bad guys in Standing Warning evil entities leave behind a mysterious relic to alter the fate of the dangerously curious. A pair of obelisks invite heroes to solve a name puzzle then best a spirit for gifts of fate along with 54 other dynamic scenarios in Out of the Box. 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.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Witch Doctor
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted conjure the magic words to create a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Witch Doctor character. It might have been a comment from another Character Build Guide video, a Patreon request or a suggestion from our Facebook page but wherever the source they told us it would be cool if we created a 5E D&D witch doctor character. They were right. Let’s get into it.
Top 10 5E D&D Homebrew Bard Colleges by a Factor of Three
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted explore the most popular homebrew spells for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragon from D&D Beyond. Here on the website I zero in even more when it comes to spells like these Top 10 force spells for 5E D&D. It’s a lot of fun to see what folks come up with and share their creations in posts like this. (There’s lots of these posts whether for homebrew subclasses, magic items, spells, feats and more floating around for the curious.) This time around I’m looking at perhaps the most versatile class in 5E D&D — the bard — and checking out the Top 10 homebrew Bard Colleges. There’s currently over 1,525 homebrew of them so let’s get into it.
Go Wild with Beasts in Your 5E D&D Games
Animals, or beasts as they are referred to in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, play an important role in the game and to be fair in the story too. As early as 1st level wizards, variant humans or characters created using the Custom Lineage guidelines who take the right feat can get a familiar. Familiars can be very useful at scouting without being noticed as out of place, but more on that later. Druids gain the Wild Shape feature at 2nd level and at 3rd level Beast Master rangers gain a beast companion. By 5th level druids (and rangers at 9th level) get access to the conjure animals spell. Lastly many spellcasters gain access to the polymorph spell at 7th level. Why am I wild about animals in 5E D&D? It could be because in the game I run for my kids for a while it was more like them collecting interesting creatures, like a Pokemon game or it could be how useful they are in the game — if used correctly.
Take Cover! Taking a closer look behind defensive obstacles in 5E D&D
Recently I heard someone mention cover in the context of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons and it got me thinking how this mechanic harbors some pretty potent defenses. There’s not a lot of material regarding cover in 5E D&D and yet what is there presents a wealth of opportunities for Dungeon Masters and the rest of the players in the game. Let’s get into it.
D&D Ideas — Initiative
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is initiative, 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. Speaking of initiative in Backstabber an unusual trap buzzes around a chamber and it can really sting when it lands on an adventurer’s turn. A cloud of flying knives combine with a magical moving pit trap to assail unwary delvers along with 54 other dynamic scenarios in Out of the Box. 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.
Top 10 5E D&D Homebrew Primal Paths by a Factor of Three
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted take a page from my playbook here on the website to look at fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons homebrew content contributed to D&D Beyond. In the video below they explore homebrew Sacred Oaths for paladins on the DDB website while here I’m taking a look at another 5E D&D class and the homebrew subclasses folks created there. (There’s lots of these posts whether for homebrew subclasses, magic items, spells, feats and more floating around for the curious.) This time around I’m looking at one of my favorite classes both to play and design subclasses for — the barbarian — and checking out the Top 10 homebrew Primal Paths. There’s currently over 2,300 homebrew of them! Let’s get into it.
Play Your Next 5E D&D Game as a Mischief Maker
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted don a Mantle of Majesty to enchant a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Mischief Maker character. This 5E D&D character build takes advantage of every opportunity to embrace their fey nature. Let’s travel through the Fey Crossing and get into this most fey character for 5E D&D.
D&D Ideas — Poison
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is poison, 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. Speaking of poison if negotiations between a rescue party and the adventuring party turn hostile the woodland forces deploy special poison to diffuse the situation in Albatross. The imperiled infant heir to an elven nation lands in the adventurers’ hands and the chase is on from insectoid pursuers along with 54 other dynamic scenarios in Out of the Box. 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.
Top 10 5E D&D Homebrew Artificer Specialists by a Factor of Three
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted enjoy looking at fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons homebrew content contributed to D&D Beyond. While they explore homebrew magic items on the DDB website — including one from Matt Mercer — I’m taking a look at another 5E D&D class and the homebrew subclasses folks created there. (There’s lots of these posts whether for homebrew subclasses, magic items, spells, feats and more floating around for the curious.) This time I’m looking at a D&D class beyond the core classes found in the Player’s Handbook. Artificer made its official 5E D&D debut in Eberron: Rising from the Last War. An artificer creates inventions and magic items of peace and war and the gears are turning as to what I might expect to see from the Top 10 homebrew Artificer Specialists. There’s currently over 350 homebrew of them so let’s get into it.
Expanding 5E D&D Background Characteristics — Criminal
Salutations, nerds! As per the continuing rules of alphabetical order today I’m writing about more suggested characteristics for the criminal background in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. From small time pickpockets to hired muscle hopefully you find something here that works for you. When you look at the background options in the 5E D&D Player’s Handbook there are a number of background characteristics suggested for you to help define a character and spark your imagination for roleplaying and in this series I’m creating some additional personality traits, ideals, bonds and flaws for you to play with on the off chance you’ve burned through all of those and are interested in some new ones.
Deepen Your Experiences By Using Languages Effectively in 5E D&D
Languages are staples of human experience. Dungeons & Dragons captures this through the mechanic of languages yet for all of the significance language plays in real life I don’t see languages come up very often in 5E D&D. Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted talk about special languages in 5E D&D as well from editions past. Secret languages are really languages relegated to specific classes or custom lineages and while the latter can have some elements that entwine in recent hot button debates the former adds some fantastic flavor to your world.
