D&D 5E, Descent into Avernus, Play Advice

Running Descent into Avernus, part 5: Candlekeep

I’m going to keep this relatively short. I’ve had problems running Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus that began when the characters reached Candlekeep. Some of these are easily overcome. But others require more reworking. Candlekeep’s chief function is to move the characters down into Avernus, the first layer of hell. They have in their possession the infernal puzzle box, and they have a contact: a … Continue reading Running Descent into Avernus, part 5: Candlekeep

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D&D, D&D 3E, Review

3E Supplement Review: Races of Stone

Going back through my past reviews, I discovered this one on a defunct website, so I’m reposting it on my main blog. Wizards released Races of Stone in August 2004 for Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition. This review originally appeared on 3rdedition.org, but sadly that site has been defunct for many years. Races of Stone represents a departure by Wizards of the Coast from the … Continue reading 3E Supplement Review: Races of Stone

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D&D, D&D 5E, Greyhawk

Adventures in Greyhawk: Shrine to the Wind Dukes

The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Masters Guide has many fascinating sections in it. While it often fails to elucidate the rules in a clear manner, it’s nothing if not full of inspirational material for DMs. From glimpses of the sort of campaign that is proposed for Dungeons & Dragons, to manifold tables to help stock dungeons, towns and the wilderness with interesting monsters and … Continue reading Adventures in Greyhawk: Shrine to the Wind Dukes

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D&D, D&D Adventurers League, Eberron, Review

5E Adventure Review: The Night Land

The first adventure in the new Oracle of War campaign set in the Eberron campaign setting is The Night Land by Shawn Merwin. Designed for a party of level 1-4 characters, it introduces the party to the town of Salvation. There, they and others work as salvagers, taking trips into the shattered lands of the Mournland to recover valuable artefacts. A Town Named Salvation The … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: The Night Land

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AD&D, D&D, Design

Dungeons & Dragons Lore: Ability Scores

In the earliest days of Dungeons & Dragons, players rolled to determine their ability scores. On 3d6. In order. Creating a character involved rolling your ability scores and then choosing the race and class you wanted to play based on those scores. There was one element that alleviated the “3d6 in order” rule: You could reduce your scores in other abilities to increase that of … Continue reading Dungeons & Dragons Lore: Ability Scores

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D&D 5E, D&D Adventurers League, Descent into Avernus, Review

5E Adventure Review: Losing Fai

Losing Fai is a four-to-six-hour adventure for level 5-10 characters set in Avernus. It is the eleventh of the Season 9 D&D Adventurers League adventures. The characters must investigate the disappearance of Fai Chen, the wandering merchant, and all of his duplicates. After a trilogy of adventures in which the characters sought to free allies from various places in hell, Losing Fai finally brings the … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: Losing Fai

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D&D 5E, Greyhawk, Session Report

Adventures in Greyhawk: The Elemental Plane of Air

My home campaign has returned to the war between Veluna and Ket. A prophecy given by the High Priestess of St Cuthbert has revealed that the key to stopping the conflict is somewhere on the Elemental Plane of Air, so that’s where the adventures have headed. The adventurers are about 9th level and don’t have the spells required to get there and back. So, they’ve … Continue reading Adventures in Greyhawk: The Elemental Plane of Air

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D&D, D&D 5E, D&D Adventurers League, Descent into Avernus, Play Advice, Session Report

Running Descent into Avernus, part 4

In the fourth session of our play of Descent into Avernus, the characters continued their investigation into the underground sewer hideout of the devil cultists – as opposed to the Dead Three cultists found in their previous expedition. They were investigating the sewer complex below the manor of Duke Valthampur, as detailed in the previous instalment. In addition to the player characters, Reya Mantlemorn, a … Continue reading Running Descent into Avernus, part 4

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D&D 5E, Review

5E Adventure Review: Trap-Trap!

Trap-Trap! is a one-shot adventure for level 3 or 4 characters set in a kobold lair. The adventure begins with the characters captured and forced into a kobold competition against their will – although a variant hook has them there willingly – and they need to escape the traps of the best kobold trap-makers, who are competing against each other for who can kill the … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: Trap-Trap!

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AD&D, D&D, D&D 5E, Design

Dungeons & Dragons Lore: Old-School Golems

It occurs to me that I very much miss the original golems from AD&D. These monsters were absolutely terrifying. Let’s take the clay golem, and recast it in 5E terms… Clay Golem Large construct, unaligned Armor Class 14 (natural armor)Hit Points 133 (14d10+56)Speed 20 ft. STR +5 (20) DEX -1 (9) CON +4 (18) INT -4 (3) WIS -1 (8) CHA -5 (1) Damage Immunities … Continue reading Dungeons & Dragons Lore: Old-School Golems

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