A Simic Hybrid and A Vedalken Walk into Ravnica…
Over on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel, Nerdarchists Dave and Ted took a look at the Simic hybrid and vedalken races from Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica. In their discussion they talk what character class to play for both of these fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons races. Like the rest of the videos in this series they consider which 5E D&D character class makes a good fit for the race’s ability scores and features, along with some ideas for unexpected character classes. The world of Ravnica presents a very different place than a traditional D&D setting, and not just because a vast, sprawling city covers the whole of the known world. Powerful guilds rule the Ravnica planar city, and both the Simic hybrid and vedalken share common ground with one in particular. The Simic Combine happens to be my favorite of the ten guilds. And since Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica contains so many juicy random tables let’s take a look at them from a Dungeon Master’s point of view and see what sorts of adventures might await Simic hybrid and vedalken adventurers in a 5E D&D campaign.
Lord of Blades is the Ultimate Artificer — But He Needs Your Help!
Over on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel, Nerdarchists Dave and Ted took a thorough look at the new character class for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, the artificer. 5E D&D players have been champing at the bit for some time to see an official version of this longtime favorite class first seen in D&D 3.5. Artificers are a integral part of the Eberron campaign setting, so it’s only natural the 5E D&D version comes in Eberron: Rising from the Last War. Since Dave and Ted covered the artificer class in great detail in the video below, I’m going to take a look at the class from a Dungeon Master’s point of view.
Hero Forge’s Adventure Calendar Reveals New Miniature Options Every Day
Every day throughout the month of December Hero Forge is adding a new item to their already extensive catalog. You really want to be on the watch as I assure you when Hero Forge did this last year they had some really awesome stuff. Over on the Hero Forge Minis Facebook page you can keep up to date on all the exciting announcements about new items and options to create your own customized miniatures to use for tabletop roleplaying games.
Do You Feel Lucky Like the Mandalorian in 5E D&D?
Over on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel, Nerdarchists Dave and Ted discussed the hottest new Unearthed Arcana — Fighter, Rogue, Wizard. In the playtest document, Wizards of the Coast presents a new take on a classic mechanic in Dungeons & Dragons history: psionics. Wielding the power of their minds, practitioners of psionics present a prickly scenario in various edition of D&D. Often a later add-on to an edition of the game, only in first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons were psionics included in the Player’s Handbook. In the book, all characters have a chance to gain a psionic ability based on a lucky percentile dice roll. Meanwhile in the Star Wars universe, Force sensitive creatures can tap into the energy field created by all living things to achieve mind over matter effects. Whether in 5E D&D or a galaxy far, far away, what’s a creature without psionics supposed to do in the face of creatures with incredible mental powers? When you’re playing in a bounty hunter campaign inspired by the complicated profession of The Mandalorian, you’ve got to ask yourself: did that 5E D&D psionic creature use all 6 of their power points or only five? I hope you feel lucky. (No spoilers.)
How to Have a Session Zero for Your Tabletop Roleplaying Game
Hail, and well met! In continuing one of my favorite pieces I’ve written for the site here. I’ll be elaborating more on the concept of starting a tabletop roleplaying game campaign once you’ve solidified your premise, which is a fun exercise in and of itself. Nerdarchy has mentioned this in several of their videos concerning Game Master advice, and I’ll be giving you guys my thoughts on the matter. That’s right! We’re talking session zero.
Why You Should Gift Adventure Modules This Holiday
It’s that time of year
For gifts, merriment, and cheer!
Suppose you have a nerd in your life?
What should you get them? Maybe a knife?
An Invitation to the Winter Court
Salutations, nerds! They’re having a fancy party in Fairy and you the patrons have been cordially invited. Today I want to talk about the December Patreon content going out on the Dec. 5. Surprise! It’s a Christmas Party in the Winter Courts. Within you will find some cool party favors like masks of glamour to wear to the festive party and a dueling cane, a few fierce pixies and constructs, some fun denizens of the Winter Court and 7 new Winter Spells, as well as a map and small adventure at this Winter Court Soiree.
The Gingerbread Gang Joins the War in Christmas Village
Are you looking for holiday themed adventure? Would you love to send the Mouse King, Krampus or evil snowmen at your players but having a hard time finding just the right miniatures to use? Please allow me to introduce to you The Gingerbread Gang, part of an amazing assortment of awesome miniatures to add to your tabletop roleplaying games through the War in Christmas Village line.
Khorvaire Schmorvaire — This is the Coolest Thing About Eberron: Rising from the Last War
Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel, Nerdarchists Dave and Ted discussed an overview of Eberron: Rising from the Last War for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. The Eberron campaign setting remains hugely popular, since it was first introduced for third edition D&D. Everybody loves warforged, and artificers, and dragonmarks and elemental airships. But my favorite thing about Eberron only shows up in a few paragraphs at the end of Chapter 2: Khorvaire Gazetteer. Y’all can have Sharn, Breland, Droaam and the Mournlands. I’ll take Xen’drik.
Specialized Gear Like The Mandalorian in 5E D&D
Over on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel, Nerdarchists Dave and Ted shared their insights on the best tier 1 spells for the brand new official artificer class for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. The artificer in 5E D&D has undergone a lot of playtesting, with several versions presented through Unearthed Arcana. With the release of Eberron: Rising from the Last War the artificer firmly found a place as the first official new character class for 5E D&D outside of those found in the Basic Rules and Player’s Handbook. But it’s not only players who get to have all the fun with the new artificer class. One of the new creatures in the book gives me a great idea for an ongoing bounty hunter campaign inspired by The Mandalorian and there’s a Challenge 0 entry with a lot of potential. I’m looking at you, magewright.
Making a Low Magic Campaign for 5E D&D Work
Hail, and well met! Today I’ll be exploring something I’ve recently been asked about an awful lot lately through Discord — the concept of a low magic campaign in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. The idea of a low magic campaign has been around for a while. It’s talked about enough in the D&D community for the creators of 5E D&D to discuss it from time to time. It’s mentioned in the 5E Dungeon Master’s Guide and was even mentioned as a possibility for 5E, back when it was still D&D Next, and the creators could only speculate on what 5E D&D was going to look and feel like even with the tremendous amount of playtesting for the new edition.
Dreams and Nightmares for the Lord of Dead Dreams in 5E D&D
When we revamped the Nerdarchy Patreon in early 2018, one of the biggest changes we implemented was our Patreon rewards structure. Previously there were individual support levels giving access to more of our monthly rewards. We had Mage Forge, Monster Menagerie, Friend or Foe, Terrible Terrain and Lost Lore rewards. These digital packages included new magic items, monsters, NPCs, encounters and player options like spells, backgrounds, races and subclass options respectively. We took a big step and combined everything into a single product, giving supporters at the $2 level and above early access to our new Fifth Edition products before they get added to Nerdarchy the Store. We launched this new initiative with Empusia, Curator of Souls. And in celebration of International Tabletop Day we put it in the store for free. (It’s still there!) We’ve continued to create full color digital products every month since. And while our design skills have improved since then — both in terms of game design and layout — one of my favorites remains the Lord of Dead Dreams. This was our followup to the free launch title. Since it’s been about a year and a half since creating it I thought it would be fun to look back and see what new ideas come to mind.
Playing an Anti-Hero Like The Mandalorian in 5E D&D
With The Mandalorian Chapter 4: Sanctuary streaming now on Disney+ we are halfway through the first season of this amazing series. Thankfully season 2 is already ordered. Between chapters of the show here on the website we’ve been exploring and developing ideas for a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons bounty hunter campaign. For each installment we’re taking inspiration from various books created by Nord Games. In my home game group I’ve been putting these ideas into practice along with players in our 5E D&D bounty hunter campaign and so far we’re all loving it and having a fantastic time. After watching Chapter 4: Sanctuary I knew immediately which Nord Games product would help next. Ultimate Bestiary: Revenge of the Horde feels like the perfect fit. So let’s get into it and see how the book will help ramp up the action, tension and drama of our bounty hunter campaign for 5E D&D. (Still no spoilers.)
Conquistadors Take to the Field from Hero Forge!
You know me as the guy who loves miniatures. If you have been here before then you know having options with your minis is the best way to go. Hero Forge is a custom miniature creation company where you can design a mini to your own specifications. You can then have your custom miniature printed in the material of your choice or purchase the STL file and print as much as you like on your own 3D printer. And with the holidays in full swing, Hero Forge offers the perfect way to share the joy of creating custom miniatures with all the adventurers in your life.
Orcs Invade Hero Forge!
Hero Forge offer loads of options for use in creating miniatures for your favorite tabletop roleplaying games like fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder. Whether you use it to make your player characters, your special NPCs or your mighty villains, no other miniature service out there is able to give you the variety or flexibility as Hero Forge. With their newest release we are seeing a direction offeing players some cool options and giving Game Masters out there supreme customization with humanoids. They now have orcs available on the site. So if you want a killer Orc Headhunter as a player character or a mighty chieftain for the adventurers to fight or take down, we now have the capability to craft and print this amazing staple in tabletop gaming.
