D&D, D&D 5E, Design, Review

Xanathar’s Lost Notes to Everything Else – A First Look at the Subclasses

One of the interesting innovations of the DMs Guild and Wizards of the Coast this year has been to elevate the work of a group of skilled designers. Titled the “Guild Adepts”, these designers have had early access to upcoming D&D products, and have crafted supplementary products. The latest of these releases is Xanathar’s Lost Notes to Everything Else, an 87-page pdf that covers a … Continue reading Xanathar’s Lost Notes to Everything Else – A First Look at the Subclasses

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

Terrain of the Mind

Expanding on my recent article on how I run D&D combat without miniatures, here are a few notes on how I run terrain in that mode. It’s a different experience from using miniatures, and certain types of terrain change from being obstacles to the players to being opportunities instead. Choke Points – Doors, Archways, Corridors These are the narrow places where only one or two … Continue reading Terrain of the Mind

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D&D, D&D 5E, D&D Adventurers League, Session Report, Tomb of Annihilation

Tomb of Annihilation (Return of the Lizard King) – Part 3

Did you know that bears have trouble fitting through doors? That was what we learned this session of D&D! The session began with the adventurers on their way to Eelstead, a frontier outpost in the land of Chult, where the adventurers’ guide, the lizardfolk Lungan, feared that something bad had happened. The journey to Eelstead, a 50-mile hike through the tropical jungle of Chult, would … Continue reading Tomb of Annihilation (Return of the Lizard King) – Part 3

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D&D, D&D 5E, D&D Adventurers League, Session Report, Tomb of Annihilation

Tomb of Annihilation (Return of the Lizard King) – Part 2

After the adventurers arrived in Chult through a misfiring teleportation spell that had brought them via the Feywild, they were surprised to find themselves in the middle of a battle between some lizardfolk and some dinosaurs. They were even more surprised when their wizard dropped dead, as the magic that had revived him in the Feywild no longer worked. And surprise was no longer even … Continue reading Tomb of Annihilation (Return of the Lizard King) – Part 2

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

A Quick Word on Theatre of the Mind

I run most of my Dungeons & Dragons games as Theatre of the Mind; that is, I don’t use miniatures. This does not imply that we end up using a lot of description to enliven the combats. In fact, my groups tend to be brutally efficient about most of them, except for the odd combat where we decide to put more effort into it. I … Continue reading A Quick Word on Theatre of the Mind

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D&D, D&D 5E, D&D Adventurers League, Design

The Joy and Frustrations of Investigations

I’m currently writing a Convention-Created-Content adventure for premiere next year. It also happens to be an investigation. Yes, two things I’d never thought I’d do. Investigations are tremendously popular as D&D Adventurers League scenarios, but they’re very different to the D&D scenarios I grew up with. Those scenarios involved some wilderness travel and a lot of fighting monsters in a dungeon, perhaps with some interesting … Continue reading The Joy and Frustrations of Investigations

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

5E Adventure Review: Underworld Speculation

Underworld Speculation is a two-hour adventure for level 1-4 characters, designed by Chris Lindsay of Wizards of the Coast for use in stores as the Introductory Adventure for Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. It is a D&D Adventurers League legal adventure. And it’s fun. Really, really fun. The adventure comes with six pregenerated characters of level 3 that were built using options from Xanathar’s Guide to … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: Underworld Speculation

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Curse of Strahd, D&D, D&D 5E, D&D Adventurers League, Review

5E Adventure Review: The Donjon

The Donjon is the eleventh adventure of the Curse of Strahd season of the D&D Adventurers League. A four-hour adventure for character levels 5-10 written by Ash Law, it has the adventurers rescuing the leader of an orc tribe from a slither of yuan ti serving a dracolich. If you were wondering what this has to do with the ongoing storyline for Curse of Strahd, … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review: The Donjon

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D&D, D&D 5E, D&D Adventurers League

Are the D&D Adventurers League Rules About to Change?

Xanathar’s Guide to Everything is now available at WPN stores around the world, and on dndbeyond.com, and probably Fantasy Grounds. In a week or so, it’ll become available through other outlets. It’s a superb book, well worth purchasing regardless whether you’re a player or a Dungeon Master. There are a lot of new player options, although it’s the Dungeon Master material that makes me very … Continue reading Are the D&D Adventurers League Rules About to Change?

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D&D, D&D Basic, Review

D&D Adventure Review – CM1 Test of the Warlords

The D&D Companion set, released in 1984, was the first set of D&D rules that dealt with a matter mentioned in both the AD&D and original rules and never developed that much: the player characters as leaders of realms. Test of the Warlords was the first adventure released to supplement those rules, and it moves the setting northwards to the newly claimed realm of Norwold, … Continue reading D&D Adventure Review – CM1 Test of the Warlords

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