Matt Mercer Adding the Gunslinger to 5E D&D
First off a thank you to Matt Mercer of Critical Role fame for giving us this fighter archetype 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons. A little while back he put together the gunslinger and put it up on the DMs Guild where you can buy it for pay what you want- Here.
Nerdarchy did a review of the gunslinger on YouTube.
“Mirror Mirror” Out of the Box D&D Encounter # 9
Introduction:
This encounter brings up two points that are commonly overlooked.
When anyone makes a campsite, there’s always some kind of preparation. No one simply makes a fire. There’s wood collection, digging or preparing a fire pit, and the like. These activities provide an opportunity for a DM to drop clues or create an encounter. Taking such common activities and making them uncommon can change how players behave during these moments. It might even make them look for things in new ways in other settings, making clues easier to pass on.
Secondly, players, especially experienced ones, are jaded when it comes to monster motivations. Goblins are thieves. Orcs are savages. Undead are mindless. Sometimes it pays to make a player question what they know. It makes them think in new ways and consider new directions. Overall, it may help them grow as a player. Many assumptions are correct for good reasons. Taking these assumptions as a solid rule all of the time can lead players into traps.
The following encounter can turn what would normally be a cut-and-dried combat encounter into a social one. It questions judgement, honesty, motivations and greed.
For your consideration, I present…
Out of The Box D&D Encounter #9 – “Mirror Mirror”
Environment: Wilderness -Forest/Swamp
Suggested Level: 4
One night as the party settles to camp for the night, the normal activities with making camp are interrupted with a strange discovery. As the party makes their fire pit, they uncover a small hand mirror that was buried in a shallow home of leaves, dead grass, or whatever surface in which they are digging. The mirror is covered in dirt and such, but once it’s cleaned up, anyone who peers into it’s reflective surface will see their reflection looking back at them – but as if they were a child version of themselves. The mirror will detect as magic, but possesses no other unusual properties. Later that night, conversations and such that occur around a campfire are added to with the distant sound of sobbing.
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.
Blast from the Past — Transformers: The Movie
With the live action Transformers movies of the last decade it can be easy for some fans to forget the franchise was originally a cartoon series back in the 1980s, a series based upon a line of toys produced by Hasbro. Also, some fans might be too young to know about the old cartoons, and they might have missed the spectacle that was Transformers: The Movie from 1986.
“Aces High”- Out of the Box D&D Encounters
Introduction
Aerial encounters are a rare and special circumstance that require a bit more imagination than a 
standard land-based encounter. Whether by traveling on an airship of some kind, or wandering the lands of a Cloud Giant, creating encounters in the sky generally come with the assumption of a higher level foe. Dragons, griffons, wyverns, and the like always seem to come to mind. This doesn’t have to be the case. Further, attacks from above can also be applied to any environment where space is available. Consider urban rooftops, open plains, mountainous regions, and on open seas as other viable locations for an aerial attack. Massive caves and canyons could also be an unusual but perfectly allowable location for such encounters. Additionally, combining lower level foes in an interesting way can create memorable encounters.
For this encounter’s description, I will be mentioning an airship, but feel free to change the location as you need it.
For your consideration, please enjoy “Out of The Box #8 – Aces High”
Environment: Aerial/Anywhere under an open sky/where space is available
Level: 2+
A cool wind blows across the deck of the airship as it glides through broken cloud cover. The sun sets a glow upon the ship though the passing mists. Moisture glistens on the surfaces, and mists dance through the rigging.
You look up past the envelope (balloon) of the ship to examine the clouds, and strange irregular shadows appear from above. Before you can shout a warning, riders on monstrous winged creatures pass by in a flash. Crossbow bolts pepper the deck like rain, and two ceramic balls crash upon the deck, exploding into flames.
Painting Miniatures and Modding Miniatures – The Basics.
Many of you out there might be like myself and have an addiction to plastic. You collect Dice and 
Minifigures. It can be a consuming hobby that lands in FB groups and Forums looking for the one mini to complete your collection. You might spend loads of time on Ebay looking for deals and steals just to boost up the extras bin or that one exclusive piece you just found out about.
Well if you are like that, then you are like me, Nerdarchist Ted. I cannot fathom a guess as to how many hours I have spent searching for deals on Amazon or Ebay because of my habit/addiction. I have it under control based off of the argument my wallet had with me some years ago. Enough was enough.
As I sat and looked at the hundreds if not thousands of little pre-painted plastic miniatures It begged to question what was I going to do with it all. My friends and I spent years playing Mage Knight. I have loads of them. I spent years playing Heroscape and I had loads of them. I bought loads and loads of D&D minis as well as they were perfectly sized for our Table Top role playing game.
Mage knight there was variety and you had lots of uses for them. With Heroscape unless you were planning to play a 10 player game, not recommended by the way, and everyone wanted the same pieces there was no need to have that many copies of the miniatures.
When is it okay to Voice Disagreement with the Game Master?
Arrows are flying. Swords are swinging. Blasters are blasting. And suddenly your character goes down in a fight because of what you perceive to be a stupid ruling from the game master.
Your blood boils and your temperature begins to rise. What you want to do is curse and yell at the game master, informing him or her just how much of an idiot they really are. Or maybe you want to break into the middle of the game and argue about how the game master’s ruling was bad or unfair.
“Auntie Knows Best”- Out of The Box D&D Encounters #7
Introduction: This entire encounter is all about any and all complications. It is intended as a set-up for other encounters or adventures, or as a way to advise a villain of the actions of the party. It is, in effect, a valid reason for a villain...
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.
Can’t find a local D&D game? Check your library
If you’re struggling to find a game of Dungeons & Dragons in your area, you might try your local library. For some time a number of libraries have been offering room and time for D&D, sometimes even providing Dungeon Masters for those who want to...
“Down on the Farm” Out of the Box D&D Encounters #6
Introduction:
favorite spider is “Beatrice”, a giant spider and very protective companion. On the way to Beatrice, he has bred a species of dog-sized Large Spiders, as well as fostering an entire swarm of tiny spiders who have recently hatched.The Mystery Your Missing in D&D 5e…
Hello fellow Nerdarchists, Hope to see you all having awesome game sessions! In this article I wanted to address the common problem that a lot of game masters have trying to keep their players engaged by using the elements that are at the core of the RPG and that is… Mystery!
I have been recently tasked with running a large group of new gamers and teaching them the game of the newer Dungeons & Dragons 5e. So, with more players added I found it hard to keep each player involved on a personal level as well as how to keep the game sessions intriguing. I wanted to share with you a few tricks I learned about how to use Mystery as a tool to keep everyone happy and having a good time. On a side note, I usually don’t feel comfortable running a game for more than five players so with seven players it has become a bit of a challenge. So let’s get started…
First, I in general character backgrounds are normally a great way to engage players, but when you have seven people at the table it can become a bit overwhelming. Luckily for me my custom game world “Dark Myth” had a built-in way for me to deal with this being a Time Line. The time line in a game setting can be an easy way for players and DMs alike to quickly and easily come up with back stories to link things together. Also it can leave quite a bit of room for mystery such as “Why, did the war start in the first place?” or “Who is the spy” and many more. Questions like these can lead to a whole plethora of time-line related mysteries to keep gamers on the edge of their seats!
Blast from the Past: Marvel Comics Pocket Books
[caption id="attachment_11297" align="aligncenter" width="563"] They're looking a little rough around the edges, but I've had these Marvel Comics Pocket Books nearly 40 years.[/caption] Long before Civil Wars, Spider-Man clones, Infinity Gauntlets, Secret Wars and movie franchises, Marvel Comics drew in readers with what today would be...
The Dance Macabre- Out of the Box D&D Encounters #5
Introduction:
do later in a campaign, or even later in a dungeon crawl, but struggle with a starting point. I’ll often see a campaign in reverse. I see where I want it to end, or what a final encounter will look like, then write encounters like movie scenes to guide players in the direction of that end scene.
endlessly to the eerie lack of music – like an eternal waltz in silence.
attacked will pursue as long as they are being damaged.
Game Master Tip- Engaging Individual Characters in a Roleplaying Group
As a player, one of the most rewarding experiences you can have in roleplaying is exploring a story which your character has a personal stake in, and which is tailored specifically to your character. It’s one thing to raid a tomb full of undead with your pals, but it’s entirely another to explore the tomb of your ancestors, fighting the spectres of long dead family
members and searching for a priceless heirloom.
Engaging individual characters within the party can be a fantastic way to develop characters
and make players feel badass, and these personal storylines can often develop into entire
plot arcs and adventures. However, the logistics of keeping the whole group entertained
while your game focuses on one character can be difficult. It’s often difficult for people to
find time to game together, and the last thing you want is for people to show up and then
spend the whole session watching somebody else play the game.
