Blast from the Past: Star Frontiers
[caption id="attachment_11744" align="aligncenter" width="776"] My original Star Frontiers: Alpha Dawn books and maps.[/caption] A little history [caption id="attachment_11746" align="alignright" width="320"] The original Star Frontiers Referee's Screen.[/caption] In the early 1980s, the world seemed suddenly crazed for everything science fiction, especially space opera. Star Wars had been around for...
The (Historical) Problem with Fantasy Coinage in Dungeons and Dragons
Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) and the dozens of other games that draw inspiration from it are obviously fantasy. This fact does not stop at the elves, dragons, and magic either. While DnD picks and chooses elements of history to incorporate into its mechanics and lore, it outright rejects other parts.
For example, many pieces of the armor that various editions of DnD present are accurate enough for a game but others, such as studded armor, both never existed and would not have been beneficial had they existed (that, however, is the subject for a different article).
Another one of these less than historically accurate examples is the various coinage these games have presented over the years. Before I begin, I ask that the reader understand that the phrase "historically accurate" refers to the historical parallels DnD draws with real earthly history.
Although the game is obviously fantasy, it is set in a world bound by many of the same societal values and ideas we humans have had regarding such topics as the value of goods, services, and most importantly for this article, metals.
Firstly, DnD would have been greatly weakened by a historically accurate monetary system. Historically, money was not built on the modern system Americans use today (10 pennies equals 1 dime, 10 dimes equals 1 dollar etc.) Additionally, while American currency does not always transfer directly to other nations currency, theirs also tend to be based on a metric like system.
The TOP 10 most common Mistakes made in D&D 5e
Hello, fellow Nerdarchests…
I recently found this blog talking about mistakes made in D&D 5e. You can find the original article on the Dungeon Master’s.com or by clicking- here. I wanted to share some of the 
highlights as well as give some people insight on good things to know to make their games run smoother. Hope its helpful.
If you’re like me you’ve been playing D&D a long time and 5e is not your introduction to this wonderful game. And if you’re like me you haven’t read every single page of the PHB and DMG. You’re an experienced player, you know what’s what. You rely on your experience and looks stuff up when you need to (good luck finding it in the PHB index).
However, as I play with more and more new players I find that many of the rules I thought were the same in 5e as they were in previous editions are not exactly the same. Many are quite similar but because I hadn’t taken the time to look them up I was doing things incorrectly. That’s not to say these errors broke the game, but if I’m doing things in a way that is contrary to the actual Rules As Written (RAW) that may cause confusions and lead to arguments in real life. Better to get it right and share that knowledge with others who didn’t know.
So to help all those experienced players like me who haven’t read the rule books cover to cover, I’ve compiled a helpful list of common mistakes I’ve seen or done when running or playing 5e D&D. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it covers the most gross violations and misconceptions. And to assure you that everything I say in the article below is correct, I’m even going to site page references from the PHB as applicable.
1) Surprise!
Repeat after me “There is no such thing as a surprise round in 5e.” Don’t believe me, look it up. The first round of combat can function differently than normal if some creatures (friendly or hostile) are surprised. This is usually based on who’s hidden and who’s not, but there are other factors. Don’t even get me started on the Ambuscade action Rangers get in the Unearthed Arcana article. That’ll just make your head hurt.
(PHB pg. #189)
2) Initiative
Two players and a monster all roll the same number on initiative. Who goes first? In previous editions ties were settled by the Dex modifier or Dex score. In 5e that’s not the case. When players get the same result on their initiative check, it’s up to them to decide amongst themselves who goes first. The Dex score, the Dex modifier, and even the number on the d20 are all irrelevant. They just talk it out and decide. Of course if they can’t decide then they can roll off or find some other way to settle the dispute. Likewise if a bunch of monsters get the same result the DM can decide what order they go in.
Now I remember reading somewhere that when the DM and players tie the players ALWAYS go ahead of monsters. I’ve scoured through the PHB and AL Players Guide and I can’t find that written anywhere. Maybe it was something that was in the D&D Next play test? In any case, I’ve been applying this rule since 5e was launched and it’s worked very well. If anyone knows where this “rule” came from, please let me know in the comments below.
(PHB pg. #189)
3) Movement
Movement has changed (for the better) in 5e D&D. You can now move throughout your turn. You can move, attack, move some more, attack some more, move again, attack again using your bonus action, and move even more. You’re no longer forced to do all your moving at the beginning or end of your turn. Break it up into 5 ft increments and use them when you need to. Just be sure you understand how opportunity attacks work (more on that below).
One other thing about movement is the Dash action. This replaced the double-move common in previous editions. Think of movement in 5e as a pool of steps. When you take the Dash action you get more steps added to your pool. So a Rogue can use their cunning action to Dash as a Bonus action (adding to their pool) and then use their action to Dash (adding to their pool again).
(PHB pg. #190)
4) Bonus Actions
Many players who came from 4e liken bonus actions to minor actions. Although they are similar, they are not the same.
◾You cannot downgrade your action or your move to take a second Bonus Action. You get one bonus action per round; that’s it.
◾Many bonus actions can only be taken when you do something specific with your action. For example, if you make a melee weapon attack with your action, you can then make one off-hand attack as a bonus action. You cannot make the off-hand attack if you do something else with your action, like Dodge or drink a potion. (PHB pg. #189)
5) Opportunity Attacks
The 5 ft step or shift is no longer a thing in 5e. If you back away from an enemy, moving out of their threatened area then that enemy can take a free swing at you (what we like to call an opportunity attack). Once inside a monster’s threatened area (usually all squares adjacent to that enemy) you can move freely wherever you want as long as you remain within their reach. So if you’ve got the speed you can literally run circles around an enemy and they will not get an opportunity attack. Remember that in 5e each creature only gets one reaction so if they take an opportunity attack against you they won’t get one against your ally when he runs away. Unless the enemy goes between you and your ally, then you’ve got a problem.
In 5e fewer things provoke opportunity attacks than in previous editions. For example, if you stand up from prone, an adjacent enemy does not get an opportunity attack. And if you make a ranged attack, an adjacent enemy does not get an opportunity attack – however, you do have disadvantage on the attack roll.
To Game or Not to Game?
Hello fellow Nerdarchests, I hope to find you all having a great time. I wanted to address an issue some [caption id="" align="alignright" width="350" class="zemanta-img"] The Werewolf of Fever Swamp (TV special) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption] of us might have and that is trying to run multiple games...
Review: Challenger, a free role-playing game
The cover of the Challenger RPG.
In the early days of tabletop role-playing games, mainly meaning the early days of Dungeons & Dragons, there was a certain amateur charm and excitement to the products. The artwork was decent, but not quite up to professional levels. The writing was personal, not full of corporate speak, with the occasional error. Even the rules were somewhat questionable, fairly simple but not always making sense.
The Challenger free role-playing game reminds of those days.
Obviously an amateur work, though a work of love, the Challenger game is written as if one of your gaming buddies was sitting across a table from you while excitedly telling you about his or her latest creation. The rules are simple, especially by modern standards, but they still seem to get the job done. The focus is upon rolling fewer dice so the role-playing aspects of the game can shine through, all while working hard to present a
In Role Play, Description isn’t Always a Good Thing
These are dice. They decide things in RPG combat, but they don’t describe the combat. Maybe we could learn from this.
The most dreaded words I can hear from a game master are, “Describe your attack.”
I’m not talking about describing complex character actions. That I understand. If the game master needs explanation on how one of my characters is trying to perform a certain act, especially an unusual one, that makes perfect sense.
No, I’m talking about the rather mundane, usually involving combat.
My character steps into a fight, swings his or her weapon. I roll dice. The weapon hits. I go to roll damage and …
A boy needs a home… (How to find people to game with in a new town or city)
“At fourteen, in 1985 a boy woke up in a new town, in a new apartment. That day he met another boy living in the next-door building who had the same interests. The new boy introduced him to Dungeons and Dragons 2nd edition and that’s all she wrote. Sense then I’ve moved quite a few times and each time I found myself looking for new friends and people to game with.”
The times have changed and over the years finding like-minded people to game with became both easier and harder to find in some aspects. I’m writing this article to hopefully make things a little easier rather than harder for us nerds.
Recently I just moved from Houston Texas back to a different side of town in Phoenix Arizona. After the move I got things in order and sat down to looks for a place to go be nerdy. Fortunately in this day and age we have FaceBook and Google so things are just at our fingertips and we don’t have to listen in on people’s conversations at school or join clubs to find places to express our hobby.
The first thing I want to let everyone in on is the FaceBook search engine, and how it helped me. For starters Wizards of the Coast has been kind enough to help people put together FaceBook pages for most major cities for the Dungeons & Dragons 5e Adventure’s League. This format of D&D 5e lets players play pre-constructed campaigns and sends their results in to WotC to be posted for all to see. On the WotC website is also a “Store Finder” that shows stores how have WotC recognition and host those events on a regular basis. This is a good way to find gamers or at least to find people who play RPGs in general.
WotC Store Finder: http://locator.wizards.com/
FaceBook: D&D Adventure’s League (Phoenix)
Conan RPG on Kickstarter – Role Playing Game with d20 version
Nerdarchist Ted here and I am taking a small break with my Adding more class to your class series to bring you some last minute information. If you missed last weeks article about the monk you can check it out here.
Today I want you to look at the kickstarter for an amazing RPG that is coming to life. Conan. It is a household name, everyone, even those not into fantasy know this name brought to use by Robert E. Howard. Now you to can play the table top RPG and there is an amazing deal over on Kickstarter ending very soon.
Conan RPG as brought to us by Robert E. Howard
Star Wars Force and Destiny – Beginner Game Review – More in the Box than You think
Hello Nerdarchist Ted here, May the Force be with you, and today we are going to delve into the Force and Destiny, The Star Wars Role Playing game, beginner box. Last week we did the Age of Rebellion you can read it here.
I did a review of the Force and Destiny corebook here.but today I wanted to go through the beginner game in detail and talk about the value. Nerdarchist Dave, myself and fairly regular guest and DM on our channel, Scott Garibay sat down and did an unboxing video on this.
Contained in the box are a number of very cool and useful things. You get a complete set of 14 dice, very useful for playing the game. You get the read this first insert with a great example play. You get the Long arm of the hit insert. There is a double sided fold out map. You get a wonderful adventure book. You get a mini or modified rule-book. I say mini or modified because it is condensed from the core rule-book. Last you get 4 awesome character portfolios detailing the information needed to play these characters.
Star Wars Age of Rebellion – Beginner Game Review – More in the Box than You think
Hello Nerdarchist Ted here and today we are going to delve into the Age of Rebellion, The Star Wars Role Playing game, begginer box. Last week we did the Edge of Empire you can read it here.
I did a review of the Age of Rebellion corebook here.but today I wanted to go through the beginner game in detail and talk about the value. Nerdarchist Dave, myself and fairly regular guest and DM on our channel, Scott Garibay sat down and did an unboxing video on this.
Contained in the box are a number of very cool and useful things. You get a complete set of 14 dice, very useful for playing the game. You get the read this first insert with a great example play. You get the Long arm of the hit insert. There is a double sided fold out map. You get a wonderful adventure book. You get a mini or modified rule-book. I say mini or modified because it is condensed from the core rule-book. Last you get 4 awesome character portfolios detailing the information needed to play these characters.
Star Wars Edge of the Empire – Beginner Game Review – More in the Box than You think
Hello Nerdarchist Ted here and it looks like we are going to take a break for a while from board games. If you are a board game lover and like my articles please send us an email at nerdarchy @ gmail dot com. It looks...
Player Tips – Ways to get More Immersed in Your RPG – Part 3
Many of you are looking to get more immersed in your table top RPG and you are not sure what is the best way. Today I continue my series of player tips. Last week I talked about using a character voice. You can read about that here
What do You do to get more Immersed in your RPG?
Multiclass Character builds in Dungeons & Dragons 5e (The Ranger)
Hello fellow Nerdarchests, Art here. I’m back with the next installment of my series Multi-Class Character Builds in Dungeons & Dragons 5e. If you missed my previous article on the Warlock just click HERE.
I’m going to take up some space and talk a bit about the Ranger in general (Yes, I know I made a booboo and missed the class entirely before). However, there was a reason I missed the anger from before as I have had quite an issue finding good builds that work well thematically with the class. As most people know the basic Ranger as listed in the Player’s Guide is quite laughable and weak, when compared to other classes. The reason for this is the lack of any real meaning behind their main class feature the “Favored Enemy”. By this I mean it does nothing to enhance the Ranger’s combat potential against said enemies like it used to in previous editions of D&D. I have found uses for multi classing with the Ranger but only as a secondary class (listed in my previous articles), but the Ranger as a primary class has been quite difficult to say the least. So, let’s get started…
How do you Class up Your Ranger?
Player Tips – Ways to get More Immersed in Your RPG – Part 1
Ok tabletop lovers. We all know that there are all types of players. Some of you care more about just killing monsters and getting the treasure, but others care about exploration not only of the world in which you are playing but within the character themselves.
There are many ways as a player or a Game Master to get fully immersed in the game you are playing. As a Game Master being descriptive, but not overly so, helps paint the picture of what is around. This can be very different for each group make sure you are not over or under doing it. Have talks with your players to make sure you are giving them what level they desire.
Tips to get You Even More Immersed in Your RPG
Dungeon Crate brings RPG loot to your front door every month
There seems to be a subscription box service for just about everything nowadays, from crafts to wines to all kinds of foods and more. There are even a number of different subscription boxes for the nerd or geek in all of us. But what about tabletop role playing gamers?
Before January 18, the pickings seemed pretty slim, but that was the launch date for Dungeon Crate, a monthly subscription box service with a focus on role players and the games we love.
