Build a Campaign-Unique Faction List
Build a list – or several lists – of the gods, factions, campaign icons, and historical figures of your campaign world. Roll on this list to flavor items, monuments, NPCs, or locations. Use these...
View ArticleAssign Player Roles
Before we begin, I wanted to let you know that our book for building and running awesome monsters, Forge of Foes, is now available as an audiobook narrated by Colby Elliot! Colby has narrated other...
View ArticleThe 3-2-1 Quest Model
Dragon of Icespire Peak in the 2019 D&D Essentials Kit has a wonderful quest model worth paying special attention to. I'm calling it the "3-2-1 quest model". First, put three quests out in front...
View ArticleShadowdark House Rules
I love Shadowdark. I ran a year-long campaign in Shadowdark and learned a lot about the system. The following is a list of house rules I've used that have made the Shadowdark experience more fun for...
View ArticleGems of A5E's Trials and Treasures
With 5e having expanded beyond just D&D, we find ourselves with several game master guides including: The D&D 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide The D&D 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide Tales of the...
View ArticleBuild Characters Quickly in D&D 2024
The following guidelines help you quickly build a character using the 2024 D&D Player's Handbook. These guidelines modify the steps for character creation outlined in chapter 2. DMs can offer...
View ArticleUse an Oracle Die
Ask questions. Roll a die. See what happens. I first heard the concept of an oracle die from the excellent RPG Ironsworn but I expect it's been around longer than that. The concept is simple. Ask...
View ArticleGems of the Tales of the Valiant Game Master's Guide
Ruins of the Grendleroot, ten fantastic underworld adventures for 5e, is on sale this week for $5! While 5e started off ten years ago as just D&D 2014, now several companies publish several...
View ArticleBreak and Prevent the Boredom Spiral
Ruins of the Grendleroot, ten fantastic underworld adventures for 5e, is on sale this week for $5! I'm not a great RPG player – I'm much better in the GM's seat. When I GM, I'm fully engaged. I have...
View ArticleThe Two-Word Cure to Overpowered Characters
Since the earliest days of D&D, we've seen RPG character builds that operate beyond of their expected effectiveness. Whether they inflict twice the damage of the next highest character build or...
View ArticleYour Criteria for Selecting Great Published Adventures
Before you read further, write down some of your criteria for determining whether a published adventure is right for you. What do you look for? What are warning signs an adventure won't work for you?...
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