D&D Stream of Many Eyes Part 2 — Waterdeep: Dragon Heist AND Dungeon of the Mad Mage
The Stream of Many Eyes has ended, and what a weekend of Dungeons & Dragons spectacle! The big news from the live stream event was the announcement of TWO new adventures coming later in 2018. Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage have already got everyone talking. Both set in (and beneath) the City of Splendors, Dragon Heist is meant to take characters from levels 1-5, with a delve into the largest dungeon in the Forgotten Realms carrying adventurers the rest of the way from levels 5-20.
Kickstarter Korner for June 2018, Week 1
Each week during the Quests & Adventures live chat, Saturday at 2 p.m. eastern, Nerdarchists Dave and Ted and Nate the Nerdarch hang out live with fans from the Nerdarchy YouTube channel. It’s a chance to share announcements and news, answer questions from the live chat...
Using Fantasy Tropes and Player Expectations in D&D
Everyone knows the standard fantasy tropes, the cliches and traditional storytelling elements that make up our favorite stories. The knight fighting the dragon, wizards studying dusty tomes, the kingdom-saving enchanted sword — they’re all pretty standard, but when you take fantasy tropes and turn them on their head against player expectations in Dungeons & Dragons you’ve got something recognizable, but new.
D&D Stream of Many Eyes Part 1
The Stream of Many Eyes has begun! Wizard of the Coast’s 3 days live stream spectacular kicked off with host Anna Prosser-Robinson and D&D Senior Director Nathan Stewart taking a tour of the street of Waterdeep before Anna hosted a roundtable discussion of the new adventure. Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is revealed!
Cults of the Demons and Devils of the D&D Blood War in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes
The Nerdarchists continue their excavation into the world of demons and devils with part two of the D&D Blood War in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes. This time we’re talking about demons. I have long found demons and devils themselves to be a bit boring as villains themselves, but the idea of a mortal cult that worships a demon, now that is something that ignites my interest. When you really think, it can be a complicated concept. A group of mortals that are so devout in their beliefs, they are willing to sacrifice themselves, or at the very least risk themselves, in service to an extraplanar being. Getting into the psychology and trying to parse it all out is a lot of fun and with the great tables in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, the creativity flows so easily. Using these tables, let’s start a cult together… for you next adventure arc, that is.
Out of the Box D&D Encounters, series 2, #45 “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
Out of the Box introduction
Different players have different playstyles. this can be a challenge for a Dungeon Master who might be attempting to engage conflicting styles of play at the same time. Failure to do so can lead to player disengagement and boredom. It’s always a risk and tends to be on the mind of many DMs. Therefore this encounter will combine two aspects of the roleplaying game experience. The intention behind this is to get all of the players cooperating in some degree.
Paizo delivers with all new adventures, cards, pawns and maps
With PaizoCon just ending it seem there is no rest for the wicked. Paizo is going strong towards the end of spring with 8 new releases. We have pawns and a new flip map for our universe-exploring Starfinder friends and more pawns, adventure, cards and flipmats for our Pathfinders still delving the jungles. These are all already out in stores so if you haven’t gotten any of these treasures feel free to drop in on the links below to pick them up. For those still trying to catch up on the events at PaizoCon, follow the giggling goblin over to the Paizo Twitch.tv channel for all the live streams. For those of you scrambling for more Pathfinder Second Edition info you can check out the Paizo Blog, which has new content every Monday and Friday.
Using the Corpse Rook- Fifth Edition Foes from Frog God Games| Dungeons and Dragons Monsters
What has brilliant feathers as dark as night, a massive wingspan and heads that’d make a Doduo jealous? Why, the corpse rook. Frog God Games was nice enough to include this beauty in their Fifth Edition Foes compendium and just like every other entry in the book, I love this monstrosity. Let’s jump into what I think is a great way to use this fantastic creature.
D&D Character Delve – Great Old One Triton Warlock for RPG Crate Adventures on the Open Road
It is time for another fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons character build. This time we will look at P’Saden, the Great Old One triton warlock character I played in the RPG Crate sponsored game, Adventures on the Open Road: Anchor Head Cave. As we were playing a seafaring adventure I wanted to use a triton. Ever since they came out in Volo’s Guide To Monsters I wanted an excuse to use these not-quite-mermaid people. I had no particular interest in the mechanics of the race, just the concept. I can honestly say I have never played a character like this before. Not that I haven’t played a wily swashbuckler, but not one with the superiority complex inherent in triton. It was kind of like playing an elf rogue. I had to figure out how he got from uptight xenophobe to smarmy spell slinger.
MisCon 32 – A Convention to Celebrate Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror
MisCon is my local convention here in Missoula, Montana. All of the common trappings of the small convention are present and, in some cases, exceptional. This is really the thing that not only differentiates MisCon from other small cons but makes it absolutely special among conventions. All of the advantages of a small convention (small crowds) with standout special guests and incredible panels, art shows, and much more.
Top 3 Most Overlooked Cantrips for D&D
Greetings and well met fellow dorks, welcome to the Forge, courtesy of Nerdarchy’s hospitality. Today we have for you just a quick post about those fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons overlooked cantrips that tend not to get picked. Be it they seem underwhelming or, to some players, they’re not combat relevant so why bother?
New 5E Player Race – Goatfolk, Getting Down with these Baaaa-ad boys
Goatfolk. The Beastmen. The Faun. They come by many names across many mediums. The Nerdarchy crew was inspired to create a stubborn, bearded race that wasn’t dwarves. This lead them to write us up a goatfolk 5E player race for your Fifth Edition games and I think we can christen these cloven-hoofed creatures with a proper encounter idea.
Tackle D&D Exploration in Style with a Fantastical Mount — Abizders
Deep in the Beneath, duergar clans of Ulthe-Ganya toil endlessly. Greed never satisfied, hatred never abated and resolve as strong and tempered as the metal of the forge, the grim folk work relentlessly. These dark mirrors of dwarves assert their superiority over all other races through the sheer volume of anything they set their strong minds to. In their endless search for wealth and material, one noble duergar house discovered a nest of bizarre creatures.
Bring on Sixth Edition D&D — Modularity, Dynamics and Live Stream Play
The immense popularity of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons is undeniable. The streamlined 5E ruleset coupled with Wizards of the Coast’s dedication to engagement with the RPG community and embrace of social media and streaming culture has propelled D&D both up and out. Longtime gamers who’ve been with the hobby since the first days or any edition along the way, as well as incredible numbers of new players, have cottoned to today’s D&D experience. The upcoming Stream of Many Eyes, June 1-3, highlights how all these elements come together in a three day spectacle of live stream D&D games, cosplay, elaborate sets and celebrity guests. With the amazing success of the fifth edition of the world’s greatest roleplaying game, will we ever see a sixth edition D&D?
Worldbuilding: Different Styles of Monarchy in D&D Political Campaigns
Salutations, nerds! I’ve been giving a lot of thought to fantasy governments and how they tend to be portrayed in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. Most of the time you’ve got a pretty standard monarchy in D&D set up and that’s all right if you’re playing a kick-in-the-door style game, but sometimes you want more out of a D&D political campaign than that. Today, we’re going to talk about monarchies (by which I mean ‘one ruler’ more so than the specifics given in the Dungeon Master’s Guide) and a bit about feudalism for worldbuilding.
