Area 1. Entrance Chamber (30 ft. square) Stone steps lead down from the ruins above to this chamber. An iron door, scratched and dented, stands in the middle of the opposite wall. The floor is likewise scratched and scored, and dried blood covers a lot of it. In the corners of the room, broken crossbow bolts and bits of metal rust away. The gnomes and … Continue reading Dungeon 23: Area 1 – Entrance Chamber
I rarely run Dungeons & Dragons campaigns where I know in advance who the Big Bad of the campaign is. Well, that’s not true – I do know when I run published adventures. However, for my homebrew campaigns, it is something that I work out as the game progresses. This is not the only way to do it. I know many of my friends know … Continue reading Uncovering the Campaign’s Big Bad
For our play of the Castle Greyhawk campaign, I’ve been developing my own Wandering Monster tables. For the most part, these are aimed at providing danger – thus foes – for the players. Especially when – on the Labyrinth level – this was the main thing that would challenge the party. Let me say: Using only wandering monsters? Not good. You want areas of interest … Continue reading Two Wandering Monster tables
Dungeons & Dragons is a resource-based game. For most of its editions, you have a limited amount of resources, with hit points and spells being the main two resources you deplete. However, if you look at its original presentation and then compare it to the current version, there are a few rather significant changes to how things are handled. Particularly concerning access to healing – … Continue reading The Game of Attrition
One of the bits of advice I give new DMs is this: Have more than one foe in a fight. The trouble with solo monsters is that they’re often underwhelming or, alternatively, far too powerful. This can derive from their ability to focus fire on one hero. In a fight against four goblins, it is very difficult for those goblins to all attack the same … Continue reading How many Monsters in an Encounter?
As I write this, it is the 19th of August, 2022, and I’ve just become aware of the new Playtest for Dungeons & Dragons. While Wizards are code-naming it “D&D One”, let’s call it what it is – Dungeons & Dragons 6th edition. While they say it will be backwards compatible with the current edition (5th edition), I’m betting that it’ll be about as compatible … Continue reading The New Dungeons & Dragons Playtest
I have a few problems with the humanoid monsters often suggested for first-level Dungeons & Dragons adventures. Quite frankly, a lot of them are just too scary for first-level adventurers to face. Over the years, I’ve developed a few points about what sorts of monsters I want first-level characters to face. They possess these traits: The monster is easy to hit, The monster has trouble … Continue reading Monster Choice in First Level Adventures
How deadly is your Dungeons & Dragons game? Do players go into each combat wondering if their character will survive? Do they avoid combat? Or do they rush in, knowing their chance of losing their character is very low? People enjoy different things. And, even in the early days of the game, there were varying desires for how deadly it should be. Consider that hit … Continue reading Deadliness, Options, and Risk
More play of Elden Ring has led to more thinking about how it handles quests. Elden Ring is not filled with quests in the same way that games like Skyrim,The Witcher 3 or Baldur’s Gate are filled with quests. You can explore lots of locations, but mostly, you don’t have a reason to go into them except “because they’re there”. But Elden Ring does have … Continue reading A Sense of Direction
I am quite fond of the downtime activities in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, and I have used them extensively in my Monday night campaign (the Weekend Adventurers game). However, there are a few points where I have found them lacking. In particular, the way that you purchase magic items. I never allow the players to select an item and just buy it. It’s always a … Continue reading Buying Magic Items – Revisiting Xanathar’s
