Cracking Open the Warlock Grimoire from Kobold Press
It’s hard to believe over two years passed since Kobold Press launched Warlock, a Patreon-fueled project in the form of a booklet containing new maps, monsters, character options and more for Fifth Edition. Like it says on the tin, the most ambitious goal for Warlock is a yearly publication of the Warlock Grimoire, a hardcover collection of the entire year’s booklets plus more monsters, dark lore, secret encounters and Deep Magic. And now Warlock Grimoire exists! I received my copy in the mail and while a wealth of cool content waits within the nearly 300-page pocket-sized edition, my favorite part is the introduction. Why? Because before I interviewed Kobold Press head honcho Wolfgang Baur, someone advised me not to call Warlock a zine, but here in the intro to Warlock Grimoire, Wolfgang himself dubs the monthly booklets zines. Vindication!
Changeling and Kalashtar for a New Eberron Campaign
There’s Eberron in the air tonight. Over on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted discuss what class you should play as a kalashtar or changeling, Eberron: Rising from the Last War releases in a few days and I just watched a terrific video about playing a juggernaut warforged as a T-800 Terminator character for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. I’m on the same page with Dave and Ted as regards ideal classes for changelings and kalashtar, so we’ll go in an unexpected direction here instead. A fresh cohort of Unearthed Arcana subclasses recently wrapped with lots of fantastic playtest options. How might some of them interact with kalashtar and changelings for a new Eberron campaign? Let’s get into it.
5E D&D Worldbuilding for a Revolution Plot: Part 1
Salutations, nerds! I hope you’re ready to do some 5E D&D worldbuilding because today we’re going to be talking about revolutions and empires, and what you need if the tabletop roleplaying game storyline you’re planning on running has to do with unseating someone currently in power. Please note, this is going to be a quick run down, not a comprehensive list. I’ve got the span of a quick article to do this — nope, two. Two quick articles. I’ve done the thing again where I had more to say than I thought I did. Ahem. But. I’m going to try to give you enough to springboard off of and hopefully enough to get the gears turning in your head for what you want to do with your plot. Got your notebooks out? Ready? Let’s dive in.
More Minis! Pathfinder Battles: Legendary Adventures
Nerdarchist Ted here and it is time to look at some more D&D and Pathfinder minis. Today we have Pathfinder Battles: Legendary Adventures. This is another set with a great selection of minis. There are 44 figures to collect and they have some on the bigger side — this set features huge sized monsters. The larger box means you have the chance of getting some of these huge sized minis.
Two D&D Community Titles for My 5E D&D Short List
Creating content for tabletop roleplaying games like fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, or creating an entire RPG itself, brings enormous joy. You might homebrew stuff for your home game, make products for an online marketplace like the Dungeon Masters Guild or your own website, or launch crowdfunding campaigns to produce books, accessories and boutique items. Creating content aims to enhance enjoyment for players at the gaming table. But even after your material is complete, the job doesn’t end there. Dungeon Masters and entrepreneurial content creators always gotta be hustling. At the table we aim to engage players and hook them on what you’re bringing. When it comes to commerce, raising awareness is the name of the game. In either case, you’re selling what you’ve got to the audience. For this week’s D&D community spotlight, two products came across my desk by way of creators out there hustling, something I admire.
Help out the D&D Community through DMs Guild
Part of my worldview is there’s always good things going on in the world, and there’s always bad things going on in the world, and I do my best to focus on the good. I saw this morning on Twitter a creator in our D&D community is experiencing a rough patch. Creator Cat Evans had some home repair troubles and they reached out for a helping hand through the content they’ve created at the DMs Guild. Cat’s books include material for both players and Dungeon Masters of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, so there’s something for everyone. Take a look and help Cat out by discovering cool new content for your 5E D&D games at the same time. See? Something bad happens and you focus on the good. You can find all 19 of their DMs Guild titles here.
Disrupting the Status Quo in Established Campaign Settings
Salutations, nerds. Today I want to talk to you about playing in tabletop roleplaying games like fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons in established campaign settings and disrupting the status quo. Not clinging by wrist and ankle to the cannon so you don’t get fired across the playmat — it’s canon? Hmm. Okay, well, that metaphor’s over, now, moving on.
Real World Adventure Hooks for D&D — Kingly Presence
Real world history and mythology intersect in Tintagel, a village in the United Kingdom. Sculptor Rubin Eynon’s Gallos overlooks the Atlantic Ocean on the cliffs of the village in Cornwall, England. The 8-foot-high bronze statue is inspired by the legend of King Arthur and also the rich Cornish history of the region. And to a fan of fantasy tabletop roleplaying games like fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, it gets me thinking about adventure hooks.
Get Badges for Nerdarchy the Convention at Presale Pricing
So, we’re doing Nerdarchy the Convention. That’s a thing, that’s happening. Nerdarchy the Convention rolls into the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center for Halloween weekend 2020 and we are beyond excited for this inaugural event. We’re celebrating our core philosophy of for nerds, by nerds with everything we love about the culture and community surrounding tabletop roleplaying games at one of the largest suburban exposition centers on the East Coast of the United States.
The One Thing You Want to Know About NPCs in RPGs
Salutations, nerds! Today we’re going to be talking about character motivations, particularly of the NPC variety, in tabletop roleplaying games like fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. We Game Masters know we’re not supposed to get too invested in these characters because they are not spotlight characters. Not really. The game should focus on the player characters. But there’s an art to NPCs, and not being the focus doesn’t mean they don’t have to be complete characters. No, I’m not saying you need a dozen notes for the backstory of Bob the Baker. What I’m saying is, you should know what his goals are, what he wants, and how to leverage him.
Something for Everyone at Dungeon Masters Guild
There’s a little something for everyone at the Dungeon Masters Guild. A couple of creators got in touch with us to share their work; the Dungeon Masters Guild newsletter shared new stuff for characters, DMs and content designers; and we’re getting back to making stuff for the DM’s Guild ourselves with the Adventurers League Witch Doctor Character Build Guide adding to the marketplace this Friday, Oct. 18. A steady flow of new stuff continues to stock the digital bookshelves at the DM’s Guild, and this week we’re dipping a toe into DriveThruRPG too. The community content coming across my desk this week all had a common thread. Whether it was player-centric in the form of new character options or DM-centric like adventures there are strong worldbuilding opportunities in these products. I appreciate any D&D content that makes me start thinking about how it fits into and enhances a campaign setting.
5 Ideas for Your Halloween Adventure
Halloween is fast approaching! Finally! The one time of year when grown-up nerds can cosplay without fear of judgment! It’s also a prime opportunity for some festive tabletop roleplaying game Halloween adventures. With loads of nightmare fuel in our favorite books by Wizards of the Coast, Kobold Press and more, we’re just about set. All we need is to build a framework to unleash these delightfully dreadful monsters. In this week’s RPGtube video, I’ve shared 5 session prompts to keep your players on the edges of their seats! While good monsters and a good plot can make a fantastically frightful session, I’ve thought of 5 ways to immerse your players just that little bit more!
Portraying History as Cultural Point of View in Collaborative Storytelling
Salutations, nerds. Today we’re going to be talking about cultural point of view and the way history is recorded. Particularly, we’re going to be talking about how that applies to your gaming setting and the things you present to your players in games like fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons or whatever your favorite game happens to be. One of my absolute things in games is the effect you get where you know “x” happened, but everyone who was around to talk about it after believes it happened differently.
(Re)Discover Monsters with Meaning Inside Tome of Beasts Pocket Edition
Everything old is new again! Kobold Press is set to release Tome of Beasts Pocket Edition on Oct. 29 according to Amazon (where you can preorder here) and I recently received an advance copy. I’ve long considered Tome of Beasts to be an integral part of my fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons experience. It’s been a minute since flipping through the pages, and getting the pocket edition was a great opportunity to remind myself why I dig the book so much. If I’m honest I’d never read the introduction so starting there was in order.
Art of the Encounter in Tabletop Roleplaying Games
One of the things we enjoy the most about tabletop roleplaying games is the collaboration taking place between Game Masters and players during a game. The emergent stories spun from game sessions, interaction between player characters with campaign settings and the way player agency impacts GM guidance and adventure direction is the juice! The art of the encounter in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons or whatever game you’re playing has as much to do with how players connect with content as it does the content GMs create. A good GM presents engaging scenarios. A great GM works with players, guiding the group through creating the story of their characters. There’s a shared responsibility to making encounters better.
