WizKids Icons of the Realms: Descent into Avernus Brings the Blood War to You
Nerdarchist Ted is back to talk about some miniatures again and I have to tell you, I dig the stuff WizKids keeps coming up with. They have another 44 miniature set with alternative sculpts and those super cool promo items that are always amazing standouts for your Dungeons & Dragons game. Check it out and grab some of the awesomeness here.
Ultra Interactive Dynamic Maps for Tabletop Roleplaying Games
As technology increases people are always looking for new things they can use that technology for. It is not only relegated to improving quality of life and betterment of oneself, but can be used to improve any number of hobbies. For quite a while I have heard tales of tables built for D&D with TVs or screen built into them so a simple map could easily be loaded with a push of a button. Well, that aforementioned technology has taken a big step forward with Ultra Interactive Dynamic Maps. The video on the kickstarter has just blown me away. Please check them out here!
Kickstarter Korner — May 2019
If you are looking for RPG related Kickstarters you can invest in, look no further than the sampling of recommendations below. You might find the idea of “investing in” a Kickstarter amusing but that is what Kickstarter is really about. You invest in the company and the product so it can become a thing. There are many companies out there that know if a product kicks, then it is a viable product. I also know there are many people who are hesitant to back Kickstarters with too many “What if?” questions.
Kobold Press Embroils D&D 5E Adventurers in Otherworldly Intrigue with Courts of the Shadow Fey
If you’re a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master, and your campaign goals are a Venn diagram where courtly intrigue and the politics of fey intersect, you’ll find Courts of the Shadow Fey from Kobold Press in the space where those circles overlap. The campaign for 7th-10th level characters begins with an assassination attempt and leads adventurers from the mortal world to the realm of fey. They’ll learn how fickle and capricious the Courts of the Shadow Fey can be, while earning Status and discovering opportunities both alluring and treacherous.
5E D&D Traps — Nord Games is Making Them Treacherous
Our friends over at Nord Games asked us to help get out the word about their latest D&D Kickstarter — Treacherous Traps for 5th Edition! This is a sponsored article by Nord Games if you care about such things. For me the Holy Trinity of third party publishers is Kobold Press, Nord Games, and Frog God games. I feel you can generally drop any of the D&D content these folks are making right in your fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons game with no problem.
Hag’s Apprentice — a 5E D&D Halloween Encounter
Halloween came and went, and with it lots of awesome ideas out there for running Halloween adventures for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. The Nerdarchy crew weighed in on the festivities too, with a spooky, kooky 5E D&D Halloween encounter. While we were planning a different video, the Roper Wrangler encounter, the idea for our Hag’s Apprentice encounter developed. In the Roper Wrangler the concept was a creature who hit creatures with another creature. In that case, a fomorian used a roper as a weapon to capture adventurers and use them for food on its roper farm, where a dastardly trio of duergar siblings built a spectator sports around captives’ desperate attempts to escape. Taking the idea a step further, in the Hag’s Apprentice we’ve got creatures wearing other creatures as adornment. And with Halloween coming up, we revisited the idea to create a dynamic, creepy encounter ready to deploy in your 5E D&D games.
5E D&D Monsters Become BFFs and Adventurers Pay the Price
One of my favorite things about Dungeons & Dragons is the monsters. There’s so many incredible creatures throughout the history of D&D! My go-to method for creating adventures in my own games is starting with a monster and developing ideas from there. It’s no surprise the Monster BFF series from Nerdarchy the YouTube channel ranks high on my list of likes. In this series the crew takes two or three 5E D&D monsters, puts them together and discovers what sort of encounter emerges. I’ve had the privilege of sitting in on two planning sessions for these videos and contributing ideas. The first one got me hooked enough to work on an adventure based around the monster pairing. And the second one, in the video below, I helped turn into Nerdarchy’s first Monster BFF product over on the Dungeon Master’s Guild. The Roper Wrangler’s got ropers (duh), it’s got fomorians, it’s got faerzress, it’s got an Underdark location — basically it’s got deadly peril for adventurers who stumble across this encounter. Because sometimes a creature’s gotta hit a creature with another creature.
Legendary Dragons Kickstarter from Jetpack 7 Takes Flight
Coming on the heels of their most recent Kickstarter Masters and Minions, the Jetpack 7 team is right back at it with a brand new project. Legendary Dragons: A 5th Edition Supplement puts all the focus squarely on the most iconic creature in all of fantasy — dragons! All the majesty, terror and epic peril of a dragon confrontation will claim its rightful place as the most extraordinary encounter a D&D adventurer can face. Legendary Dragons: A 5th Edition Supplement for the world’s greatest roleplaying game is live right now, so go check it out and help dragons become the feared, world-shaking menaces they are meant to be.
Casting D&D Spells with Extra Flair
Maybe you aren’t familiar with Deck of Many and their fine products. Here is a primer. The Deck of Many is a series of 5E reference cards. It is a tool used to assist Game Masters in their roleplaying campaigns, freeing them from traditional reference books and allowing them to only bring the references they need. Each card features original artwork and easy to reference information. Guest artists include: Peter Mohrbacher, Jason Engle, Steve Argyle, Thomas Baxa, Tom Babbey, Aaron Miller, Jeff Miracola, and Leesha Hanigan
Secrets of the Secrets of the Vault: Mage Forge
Part of my self-appointed tasks as nerditor-in-chief for Nerdarchy is organizing content. Cleaning up all the categories and tags here on the website, creating and maintaining the publication budget and schedule for posts, and putting together our products like Fantastical Mounts and From Hit Dice to Heroics all share something in common — exposure to the vast library of archived content produced by Nerdarchy over the last few years. When we decided to try our hand at product creation in 2018, I thought about all the comments I’ve read from Nerdarchy fans curious about the homebrew campaign setting of Ulthe-Ganya. That’s how Secrets of the Vault: Mage Forge Vol. 1 developed. I realized a lot of what people ask for is already out there. Let’s open up the Vault, see what’s inside, how it came to be, and ultimately went full circle by becoming an incredible new D&D artifact itself.
WotC Products and New D&D Stuff on the Way in 2018
New products for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons have rolled out relatively slowly. Compared to previous editions of the World’s Greatest Roleplaying Game, it’s been at a flail snail’s pace. (Speed 10 ft. for a large creature? That’s pretty slow.) The pace certainly picked up now in 2018, starting at the Stream of Many Eyes when Wizards of the Coast announced two new story adventures set for release later in the year, followed by Nathan Stewart’s cryptic tease of new campaign settings. And then we got two of those! Of course, there’s always new third party content rolling out, but we’ll get our hands and bookshelves full from all the new stuff on the way from WotC itself. A handy post over on the D&D subreddit compiled the list, so let’s check it out.
Nerdarchy Patreon Evolved! Original 5E Content — Bigger, Better, Bolder
Since 2014, Nerdarchy has been hard at work creating content all over the place. What began with a video featuring Nerdarchist Dave geeking out has grown to a library of well over 2000 videos on the Nerdarchy YouTube channel. Here on the website, you’ll find over 1500 posts sharing news, views, and homebrews as well as the Nerdarchy Store with even more original content. But there’s another place we create even more content still! Through the Nerdarchy Patreon, we’ve been rewarding supporters with original 5E content since 2016. And now it’s evolved!
Icons of the Realms – Waterdeep – Dragon Heist Minis Revealed
Hello miniature collector or mini lover. I did a tease article about the WizKids Icons of the Realms: Waterdeep Dragon Heist set being released but there was not a lot of information at the time. Well, the great people over at WizKids sent me a few boxes so I could share what is coming out with this set later this year.
Monocle Society’s Kyle Kinkade talks Weave — Goblins Are Jerks and More
I’m hooked on Monocle Society’s Weave. A few weeks ago I started really looking into this innovative “half tarot, half roleplay, all story” game, reading up and watching/listening to some streamed games. And if you want to know why I’m so stoked about Weave, I’ve got you covered. I’ve since played several games and yowza! I also spoke with Kyle Kinkade about the amazing game he and his team put together. Let’s get into that and share what I learned about Weave from the man himself, including some details on the new Weave playset Goblins Are Jerks.
Frog God Games and Friends Humble RPG Bundle Up Dungeons, Hordes & Horrors
I’m not one to use published adventures. Often preferring to write my own content, infrequently making minor exceptions. A new Humble RPG Bundle has been launched by the very generous Frog God Games and their creative friends at Kobold Press and Troll Lord Games. This one is all about 5E adventure modules and has a slight lean towards spooky going-ons and monsters. I’ve read through most of these modules in the bundle and they are up to the incredible quality standard Frog God Games has always shown. While I’ll probably never run one of these modules start to end, I will have so much content to comb through, pick out and repurpose that these products will likely give me hundreds of hours in enjoyment. Let’s hop into these Frog God Games adventures and I’ll pull out some of my favorites I think everyone will find useful.
