First off, an apology. I was due to write about Foundry VTT this week, but we didn’t manage a full session, so I want to give it another week or so before I write a review. (First thoughts, though: it’s pretty great.) Today, instead, I am looking at a completely different topic: alignment. For some, … Continue reading Alignment: love it or hate it?
5e was launched in 2014. Since then, in addition to the three core rulebooks, we’ve had 17 hardback adventures, seven campaign settings, and at least seven other supplements – and as with any product line, quality varies. So which books are ‘must buys’ and which should you avoid? As with my holiday gift guide, it’s … Continue reading The Best (and Worst) Products of 5e So Far
Stuck in a rut? Bored of playing the same thing all the time? Here are some ideas for D&D New Year resolutions! Get started with D&D Maybe you’ve been a long-time lurker, and you’ve been meaning for ages to find a D&D group of your own. Well, no time like the present! https://www.scrollforinitiative.com/2021/11/13/how-to-get-started-with-dungeons-dragons/ Play a … Continue reading New Year, New You! 15 D&D New Year Resolutions
When I started DMing D&D games 20 years ago, my approach was often very inflexible. Now, in general, I wouldn’t say I am much of a control freak in other aspects of my life. But when it came to writing adventures, I wanted a bit of security. My dungeons were linear. My notes were thorough. … Continue reading Tools for better improv
D&D is a very reactive game. As a DM, there’s only so much you can do to prepare ahead of time. You have to learn to improvise – unless you railroad, of course, and if you’re railroading, are you really playing an RPG? The one part of the game that you can prepare with some … Continue reading How to introduce a new character
I have just published my first DMs Guild adventure, Tomb of the Grimlocks. I hope you like it! Check it out here: www.dmsguild.com/m/product/376140 Intended for 4th-level characters, this adventure takes the party beneath the earth to an ancient tomb. Enjoy!
I thought I’d take a break from world-building this week to share a little post about hex mapping. Hexes are useful in roleplaying games because they allow you to travel equidistantly in more than four directions. This is not true of a traditional square grid, where diagonal movement is considerably farther than orthogonal movement. The … Continue reading How big are your hexes, anyway?
There are some D&D characters that are absolute classics. Elven rangers. Dwarven fighters. Halfling rogues. They’re classic for a reason. Iconic, even. And hey, as I’ve said on this blog before, there’s nothing wrong with a human fighter. But when you’ve been playing D&D for a few years, these character choices can start to feel … Continue reading Inspiration: new race-class combos to liven up your game
After 20 years of DMing, I’m still coming across things I’ve never done before. Two weeks ago, it was time travel. My friends’ 18th-level characters were pulled back 10,000 years into the past. They not only had a chance to learn some of the world’s lore: they got to change the past. It was fun … Continue reading How to run time travel in D&D
We are now seven years into 5th edition, and, on average, Wizards of the Coast have put out two hardback adventures a year. It’s great to have these on your bookshelf, and there’s a lot to be gained from pilfering them for maps and story ideas. For this post, I’ve gone back through my ten … Continue reading The best 5e adventures: ranked!