Category: D&D

D&D 5E, Review

5E Adventure Review: The Gleaming Cloud Citadel

In The Gleaming Cloud Citadel, the adventurers need to find the Archmage of the eponymous mage academy. He’s ensconced in his tower, and his fellow mages are worried about him; they hire the adventurers to find out what’s wrong. Unfortunately for the adventurers, not all the wizards see eye-to-eye on this, so the adventurers must deal with competing wizards at the same time while also … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: The Gleaming Cloud Citadel

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D&D, D&D 5E, Play Advice

The Art of DMing: Assembling the Pieces (The Non-Creative DM)

This is a wonderful time to be a Dungeon Master. There’s a huge amount of material out there, interest in the game is at an all-time high, and there are all these creative Dungeon Masters out there who are sharing their techniques. Which is just as well, because I’m horrible at coming up with new monsters, spells and magic items. What makes a successful DM? … Continue reading The Art of DMing: Assembling the Pieces (The Non-Creative DM)

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D&D, D&D 5E, D&D Adventurers League, Play Advice, Session Report

Snakes, Druids and “Oh, We’re In It, Now!”

I ran Oh, We’re In It Now on the weekend. It’s a 2-hour DDAL-legal adventure written by Luke Gygax and Thomas Valley. It’s the second time I’ve run it, and so I was much more confident about how to approach it. The adventure doesn’t use a map. The adventurers are in the middle of a lot of mazey corridors trying to find the way out. … Continue reading Snakes, Druids and “Oh, We’re In It, Now!”

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D&D 5E, Design

Adventure Design: A Word on Encounter Triggers

In Out of the Feywild (see review in the last post), there’s an encounter with an invisible pixie. The encounter says it trails the PCs invisibly unless they seem friendly. What then makes the pixie interact with the PCs? It’s a problem I’ve seen many times in adventures. The designer needs to set up a situation where the PCs have something to react to. The … Continue reading Adventure Design: A Word on Encounter Triggers

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D&D 5E, Review

5E Adventure Review: Out of the Feywild

Out of the Feywild is a short, six-page adventure by Andrew James Woodyard for characters level 3-5. It describes itself as a magical forest mystery. It can easily be played in a single sitting, although its length can be adjusted to last between two and four hours without much trouble. The basic plot is that the adventurers are travelling towards a town when they get … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: Out of the Feywild

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D&D, D&D 5E, Session Report, Storm King's Thunder

Storm King’s Thunder – Outrunning the Barbarian

We ran our Session 0 of Storm King’s Thunder last night. Six players all rolling characters at the same time, creating a party of adventurers that would work together and would be fun to play. The result: A Warlock, a Paladin, a Barbarian, a Monk, a Druid and a Wizard. Covers all the bases! “Hang on!” I hear you cry. “What about the Rogue?” The … Continue reading Storm King’s Thunder – Outrunning the Barbarian

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D&D, D&D 5E, Play Advice

Playing a First Level Barbarian

Barbarians are tough. Barbarians are strong. Barbarians are incredibly fun to play. Here are a few notes on how to play them effectively at first level. What is the Barbarian best at? The barbarian does the most damage of any first-level character with two-handed weapons. They need to be raging while doing so, but even the fighter doesn’t deal as much damage. Barbarians are the … Continue reading Playing a First Level Barbarian

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D&D 5E, D&D Adventurers League, Elemental Evil, Review

5E Adventure Review: Bounty in the Bog

Bounty in the Bog is one of the Elemental Evil adventures from the D&D Adventurers League. Written by Ken Hart for a party of level 1-4 characters, it sends the adventurers into the Flooded Forest to deal with a group of bandits. It’s a fascinating adventure. It’s very rich in detail and backstory. However, it’s a little tricky to relay some of that backstory to … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: Bounty in the Bog

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