Welcome to the Arena: How to Run PvP D&D

If you’re a fan of RealmSmith, you might be following Champions of the Realm, a charity tournament of PvP (player versus player) combat. It’s good fun. They even got Bruce Buffer to do the announcements. If you want to run a PvP tournament in D&D, how do you make it work? Players and scheduling Realistically, … Continue reading Welcome to the Arena: How to Run PvP D&D

My Golden Rule For Making Combat More Interesting

Generally speaking, I don’t believe in telling people how D&D ‘should’ be played. There are different DM styles and different game styles, and that’s OK. Even now, I’m really offering a tip, not an instruction. But if there’s one easy way to improve combat, it’s this: Stop describing every hit and miss. Sacrilige! I hear … Continue reading My Golden Rule For Making Combat More Interesting

How deadly is the Monster Manual?

How much of the Monster Manual can – and should – a DM make use of?

How to get started with Dungeons & Dragons

So, you’ve heard about this amazing game called Dungeons & Dragons. Perhaps you found out about it from watching Critical Role or Stranger Things. Maybe you were given the D&D Starter Set or Essentials Kit. Maybe you played years ago and want to get back into it. This article is a guide to getting started with D&D.

Building a New World: Part 1

This week, I downloaded the World Builder’s Guidebook from DriveThruRPG, and my goodness, what a find. Many thanks to Twitter user @Archarzel for putting me onto this. The World Builder’s Guidebook is a 96-page supplement by Richard Baker, published in 1996 for the 2nd edition of AD&D. This was about a year before TSR was … Continue reading Building a New World: Part 1

The best way to level up: milestones or XP?

cle, I look at the pros and cons of both milestone levelling and traditional XP in the hope to guide you as to which is right for your campaign. Tl;dr: they both have their place.cle, I look at the pros and cons of both milestone levelling and traditional XP in the hope to guide you as to which is right for your campaign. (Tl;dr: they both have their place.)

Spellcasting rules you never knew

Part One Part Two Part Three Over the last month, I have written three posts examining some of the most easily overlooked rules of the Player’s Handbook. Today I am looking at Chapter 10: Spellcasting. I am not doing Chapter 11: Spells because there are more than 300 spells in the PH alone! However, I might … Continue reading Spellcasting rules you never knew

Combat rules you never knew

Part One Part Two Over the last three weeks, I have written a couple of posts examining some of the most easily overlooked rules of the Player’s Handbook. Today I am looking at Chapter 9: Combat. Spellcasting will need an article on its own. Again, if I’ve made any howlers, let me know in the comments. … Continue reading Combat rules you never knew