Stealing MMO Mechanics for Your Tabletop — Blackfathom Deeps
Salutations, nerds! Today I’m sharing ideas for stealing mechanics from MMORPGs, how to make them work and an example my players enjoyed. Suffice it to say your mileage may vary. I’m going to be dissecting Blackfathom Deeps from World of Warcraft. On top of being an extremely long dungeon there some really good concepts to steal from this dungeon and a couple of things that just wouldn’t translate well.
D&D Ideas — Transformation
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is transformation, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of transformation we’re changing lovable animals into ruthless mobsters in Zoo Mafia RPG. You can get Nerdarchy the Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here.
RPGs Helped My Mental Health
There’s a such a broad swath of tabletop roleplaying games out there and I’ve only discovered more since working with Nerdarchy. One of the best parts of delving into this hobby is the connections I’ve made with others who share my interests and this sense of community has vastly improved my mental healthscape. With May being mental health awareness month I wanted to share a more personal story, talking about how TTRPGs have helped me with my own mental health journey.
Nerdarchy on Powered by the Apocalypse Hack for Zoo Mafia RPG Design Diary #4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJB1Gh3jo4A&ab_channel=Nerdarchy In this 17-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted continue their exploration of creating their own roleplaying game -- Zoo Mafia RPG. They are now looking at the merits of Powered by the Apocalypse. The conversation begins with a quick overview of Zoo...
Nerdarchy on D&D Warlock: 5 Best Combat Invocations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWfv4oNUZ6k In this 9-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted look at Eldritch Invocations for the 5E D&D warlock and give their top five picks for combat. In the video they discuss Eldritch Invocations broadly and establish how out of the 54 current...
Nerdarchy on Dragonlance 5e: Heroes of Krynn Revisited Unearthed Arcana Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3kk5-Bdejo&ab_channel=Nerdarchy In this 26-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted delve into one of the all-time most beloved D&D campaign settings of Dragonlance. Wizards of the Coast created a revised Unearthed Arcana for Heroes of Krynn as a follow up to a...
D&D Ideas — Crystals
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is crystals, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of crystals our Mage Forge collection includes a variety of crystals with all sorts of amazing magical properties. You can get Nerdarchy the Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here.
Nerdarchy on Hacking Quest RPG for Zoo Mafia RPG Design Diary #3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dgqg0rFu_w&ab_channel=Nerdarchy In this 13-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted explore roleplaying games to hack for Zoo Mafia RPG. This time we look at the Quest RPG. The conversation begins with a quick overview of Zoo Mafia and continues with a closer look...
Pocket Full of NPCs for 5E D&D — The Reclusive Researcher
Salutations, nerds! Did your fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons party forget to take identify? Got no wizard? Need a nerd who they can go to for the cleansing of cursed items or simply require a plot hook to motivate the party delve into the ruins of an exploded wizard lab? I’ve got a character for you.
Nerdarchy on Hacking Mork Borg Zoo Mafia RPG Design Diary #2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfrHLMbALwg&ab_channel=Nerdarchy In this 17-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted finally decide to create their first roleplaying game — Zoo Mafia RPG. The video goes into their ideas for creating an OSR hack using Mork Borg, which has an open gaming license. The...
Nerdarchy on Play Better D&D with Randomness, Maps, and Play Aids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzdp-JxDz1A In this 16-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted look at adding randomness to your D&D and other roleplaying games with play aids both at your gaming table and online. The conversation begins with a question on the value of randomly generated...
D&D Ideas — Temples
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is temples, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST on Nerdarchy Live to talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of temples our Shadow of Your Former Self encounter can be placed anywhere you imagine it, like an art gallery, wizard’s inner sanctum or (of course) a temple. You can get Nerdarchy the Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here.
Recognizing How 5E D&D Characters are Not Regular People
Salutations, nerds! I’m having a debate right now with one of my friend groups about why everyone in a Dungeons & Dragons world isn’t a wizard if wizards are so powerful. If people in your world can blow up a quarter of a city all at once with giant balls of fire and wipe out whole armies ten why does everyone not do this? Because the barrier of entry for being a high level spellcaster is prohibitively high for most people. Then why are so many D&D player characters spellcasters? Because D&D player characters are not regular people.
Nerdarchy on Zoo Mafia RPG Design Diary #1 (Overview)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBuvBNib00g In this 17-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted finally decide to create their first roleplaying game -- Zoo Mafia RPG. The video goes into their ideas and overview of an RPG they want to create. The conversation begins by explaining the...
Capture the Classic Spelljammer Feel in Your 5E D&D Games
Spelljammer is coming to fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons! For years 5ED&D has expanded into Magic: The Gathering worlds, Critical Role’s Exandria and even universes like Rick & Morty and Stranger Things. However, some classic settings like Dark Sun and Planescape have yet to make an appearance. It occurs to me there might be those who aren’t familiar with Spelljammer so let’s talk about how to get the feel for the setting and how it might be used in my own campaigns.
