Xonthal’s Tower, Mount Hlim. 1489 DR. Beneath the tower, the adventurers were soon attacked by a number of elementals – earth and fire elementals – which attacked as soon as they came into the chamber. Music and Mordechai, both tieflings, scorned the scorching touch of the fire elementals, with the doughty eldritch knight engaging all three of the elementals and swinging about lustily. When naught … Continue reading The Rise of Tiamat – Session 10
Storywise, this chapter is all about giving information to the players: letting them know about the cloud giant’s castle, giving them the pass phrase to sneak aboard, and giving them background on what the cult is up to. Continue reading Running Hoard of the Dragon Queen – episode 7
Xonthal’s Tower, Mount Hlim. The adventurers could see the tower, but they were getting no closer to it, having been returning to the glade where a sundial with three shadows stood again and again and again. They headed off once more, taking a path they’d taken before, no closer to finding the solution. This time they ended up in an area of giant mushrooms and … Continue reading The Rise of Tiamat, session 9
I’ve seen a bit of confusion about exactly how many attacks a character can make on his or her turn, as well as how some spells or abilities interact with the attack action. This article will attempt to clarify those matters. The most important thing to know is this: The Attack action allows you to make an attack, but not all attacks require the Attack … Continue reading Attacks, the Attack Action and Extra Attacks
Castle Naerytar is a good example of an adventure locale that will challenge DMs and their players. It’s at this point that Hoard moves into the territory where a DM can make or break the adventure. Better be prepared! What’s going on here from a story perspective? The adventurers are continuing their investigations into where the treasure looted from the Sword Coast is being taken. … Continue reading Running Hoard of the Dragon Queen – Episode 6
There are a number of special rules attached to D&D 5E spell-casting that may not immediately be apparent when reading through the Player’s Handbook. This article looks at a few of those things. Somatic Components Most spells have a somatic component, which is to say, they require hand movements. The rules in 5E state that you need one hand free to cast these spells. If … Continue reading D&D 5E Spellcasting in Combat – Clarifications and Restrictions
And the adventurers killed the Green Wyrmspeaker, his great blue dragon having fled and abandoned him. Unfortunately, the Green Dragonmask was not present. His journal revealed that it had been taken to the Well of Dragons… to join the Draakhorn. And that was the 7th session of The Rise of Tiamat. Session 7 was very unusual – I didn’t run it! Due to cancellations on … Continue reading The Rise of Tiamat, sessions 7 & 8
A recent question was asked on Facebook about why AD&D dragons had so few hit points. In fact, the original D&D dragons had even fewer hit points but, compared to PCs, they were god-like creatures. The history of dragon statistics in D&D displays the changing balance between players and monsters. The game began in 1974 with all characters rolling d6 for hit dice. Although we … Continue reading The Original Dragons of Dungeons & Dragons
Although Kickstarter has been the major method of finding funding for D&D-compatible adventures so far, a couple of publishers are now trying Patreon. Patreon offers an ongoing, magazine-like subscription, which is good for a series of adventures. Endless Vistas Publishing have just launched a Patreon campaign around their quarterly adventure magazine, The Spire. The first issue (in addition to an “issue #0”) is available for … Continue reading 5E Adventure Review – The Spire #1: Beyond the Battlements
One of the more interesting Kickstarters currently running is that for an adventure: The Lost Dungeons of Xon: The Crucible. Burning Yeti Studios plan to release three versions of their adventure – for 1E, 5E and Pathfinder – but its most intriguing feature is its presentation: as an interactive pdf, optimised for use on tablets. I’ve been provided with a review copy of the Pathfinder … Continue reading Adventure Review – The Lost Dungeons of Xon: The Crucible
