D&D Beyond Goes Beyond ‘And Beyond’
Whether you use the digital toolset’s robust free resources, went all-in with a Legendary Bundle and Master Tier subscription, or remain skeptical of the whole affair, D&D Beyond is without a doubt part of the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons culture and conversation. Here at Nerdarchy, we are big fans and advocates of DDB. We use it for our games in-person and live streamed, for research and reference with its fantastic search features and filters, for tinkering with homebrew creatures, items and spells, and basically everything. Don’t get us wrong – we still cherish our physical books, dutifully adding them to our bookshelves and flipping through them in equal measure. But as DDB continues to evolve, the already indispensable resource establishes a firmer foothold with the upcoming mobile app, the fantastic video content from Todd Kenreck and, most recently, the announcement of a writing team to create even more D&D content.
Kickstarter Korner for Feb. 2018, Week 4
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 and generally just hang out and talk nerdy with the Nerdarchy community.
In the description of each weekly video, Nerdarchist Ted compiles a list and links to all the videos and website content from the week. But he also shares a selection of cool Kickstarter campaigns. As an avid Kickstarter supporter, he’s happy to share his favorite RPG and gaming-related Kickstarters with you, the Nerdarchy community. Enjoy!
Eye of the Beholder: The Art of Dungeons & Dragons Kickstarter is Live
The art of Dungeons & Dragons has been inspiring us for decades. Whether it’s the iconic image of a Viking warrior battling a dragon from the classic beginner box or the more modern depiction of heroes facing off with powerful giants or even just a favorite image from the Monster Manual, these images have shaped the way that all of us approach and play the game. Every picture tells a story, but every picture also has a story behind it, an artist’s vision that we rarely get to see or hear about. Eye of the Beholder: The Art of Dungeons & Dragons is an upcoming documentary that will let us see that vision and hear those stories, and it’s being funded on Kickstarter as I write.
Out of the Box D&D Encounters, Series 2, #34 – “Hourglass”
Out of the Box introduction
Eldritch Lairs: Adventures for 5th Edition
New from the design minds of James J. Haeck, Jerry Leneave, Mike Shea and Bill Slavicsek, is Eldritch Lairs! This is a 5E supplement from Kobold Press designed with eight short adventures for characters level 4-8. The adventures are built as standalone arcs but can always be worked into existing homebrew campaigns. Eldritch Lairs contains Pit of the Dust Goblins, Crypt of Green Shadows, Under the Devil’s Thumb, Blood Vaults of Sister Alkava, Carrion Shrine of Qorgeth, The Leystone of the Indigo Star, Palace of the Wind Lords, and the Undying Tournament. Creatures featured in the adventures can be found in the fifth edition SRD, except where noted as referenced to the Tome of Beast from Kobold Press.
D&D Unicorn: Expanding the Legendary Creature Through Variety
Unicorns in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons are celestial creatures known for their healing and purity, yet aside from a corrupted fiend known as the Nightmare they are very limited in selection. Considering how well known these creatures are in fantasy and how many varieties of dragons we have, it is almost a crime we have only two choices. [NERDITOR’S NOTE: Yeah, yeah, yeah, nightmares are created from pegasi but who’s to say a corrupted unicorn can’t become a hell horse too?]
Critter Corner: Discussing Critical Role Episode 5
Hello! Nerditor Doug here to welcome you to the next installment of Gin’s musings and thoughts on the new campaign of Critical Role, Geek and Sundry’s mega-popular live stream gameplay starring Matt Mercer as Dungeon Master with a bunch of nerdy-ass voice actors playing D&D. New episodes stream every Thursday at 10 p.m. eastern. Viewers can watch through Alpha Project, Twitch and YouTube live as well.
Worldbuilding: The Nerdarchy United Live Chat Evolution
An inside look at worldbuilding and Ulthe-Gana
Over the years geeks and nerds have flocked to the Heralds of Nerdarchy for answers and clarity. New to the call of the people are Nate the Nerdarch and co-host Kienata as they take the Nerdarchists into the realm of worldbuilding. Nerdarchy built and conceived a campaign called Chimes of Discordia based in their world of Ulthe-Gana which many of their characters have journeyed in over the years. Now with fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons gaining further momentum Nate the Nerdarch and Kienata have taken the masses with them as the world evolves and develops. The new Nerdarchy Duo hope to inspire people and let them explore what Nerdarchy has built through three new streaming shows with live chat participation.
RPG Perspective and Scene Framing: How to Tell Your Narrative Story
Whether you’re a budding Game Master or you’ve been playing roleplaying games on a regular schedule with a group of people for years, there’s one common thread underpinning the entire tabletop RPG hobby: narrative. Even if your game is centered around murder-hacking your way through dungeons and grabbing loot, there’s still a story in some form or another being told.
Fantasy Grounds College – Get to Know the Staff No. 3
Greetings all! Welcome to my third installment of Fantasy Grounds College, get to know our staff. My third interview is with a veteran member of the FGC, Dragon. A Game Master and professor, he can be found speaking third person (as all venerable dragons do) in our Discord server teaching classes and passing on his infinite wisdom to all those who will listen. In addition to his relentless dedication to the students at Fantasy Grounds College, Dragon also has an affiliation with Nerdarchy as our representative on their Discord server. He serves as our onsite expert for Fantasy Grounds College in their #Fantasy-Grounds channel under Virtual Tabletop.
Kickstarter Korner for Feb. 2018, Week 3
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 and generally just hang out and talk nerdy with the Nerdarchy community.
In the description of each weekly video, Nerdarchist Ted compiles a list and links to all the videos and website content from the week. But he also shares a selection of cool Kickstarter campaigns. As an avid Kickstarter supporter, he’s happy to share his favorite RPG and gaming-related Kickstarters with you, the Nerdarchy community. Enjoy!
Era of Digital D&D Homebrew and Worldbuilding
Over the last few years Dungeons & Dragons has started to evolve into the digital landscape. It started briefly with fourth edition D&D with the hope people could game over farther distances but the project was never completed. Games can now be played online with people across the globe thanks to programs like Fantasy Grounds and websites like Roll20. Today I want to look some of the tools that have come to us for worldbuilding and designing homebrew games. Since Critical Role has become a flagship for geekdom, homebrew games have become more and more popular. Here are a few sites and programs that can really help ease most burdens in the world building process.
Alternatives to Identify for D&D Magic Items
If a fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons spell could be considered a public enemy, identify would probably be No. 2 on the list for anybody trying to tell captivating stories. It’s no secret there are some spells in D&D that kill storytelling opportunities without really providing necessary and interesting mechanical solutions. More often than not, these are divinations. These spells reveal information, usually in a simple, straightforward fashion. This kind of convenience is great for some (if not most) D&D games, but sometimes a Dungeon Master wants a little more flavor in revelation. When this kind of sentiment arises, identify is one of the main problem spells making a DM get frustrated. If you’re that kind of DM and are looking for a way out, this is the piece for you. If you haven’t really thought about identify that much (like most normal people), here’s the gist.
Out of the Box D&D Encounters, Series 2, #33 – “Shatterfell”
Out of the Box introduction
This series has used items as the centerpiece to encounters previously, but the vast majority have been utilized in an external and obvious way – as things to be held and used. Only one such item (Series 1, Jailbreak) featured an item that could be used as an internal or pocket-dimensional manner.
What I would like to explore is the concept of an item one could both wield, as well as have a para-dimensional experience within. As if one could enter into a weapon with the life stealing property without having to die in the process, so to speak. This weapon may, itself, come with its own tale, or even be sentient. In the latter case, one would have to enter into the item somehow to converse with the intelligence within – a dangerous proposition given any extenuating circumstances.
Critter Corner: Discussing Critical Role Episode 4
Hello! Nerditor Doug here to welcome you to the second installment of Gin’s musings and thoughts on the new campaign of Critical Role, Geek and Sundry’s mega-popular live stream gameplay starring Matt Mercer as Dungeon Master with a bunch of nerdy-ass voice actors playing D&D. New episodes stream every Thursday at 10 p.m. eastern. Viewers can watch through Alpha Project, Twitch and recently YouTube live as well.
