For as long as Dungeons and Dragons has existed, combat has been one of it’s core pillars. This makes quite a bit of sense when you remember that the D&D originates from wargaming. In the early days of D&D you basically had exploration and combat. The roleplaying and narrative side of the game was secondary.… Continue reading Dungeons and Dragons and Combat
In Dungeons and Dragons, the concept of rolling critical hits or critical failures in relation to skill checks is fairly debated. For some reference, in the fifth edition rulebooks, these are concepts only applied to attacks. That is, rolling a 20 on a 20-sided die is a “critical hit” automatically hitting, regardless of the enemy’s… Continue reading Critical Hits and Skill Checks
Hello! Even though you haven’t asked, I thought I would share with you the House Rules for Dungeons and Dragons that I use at my table. These are rules that caught my fancy from podcasts, source books or random internet searches. Before each campaign I share a document with my players that details each of… Continue reading AyOhBe’s House Rules
Liches are an iconic monster. Commanding the voice of a lich in Dungeons and Dragons is to command a wealth of power, knowledge and experience. It’s easy to pass off a lich as simply another obstacle for the players to overcome, but that undersells the creature itself. Liches are dangerous. They are old, they’ve dedicated… Continue reading Monster Spotlight – Larak, the Lich
I really enjoy running holiday themed quests. They can be a nice way to inject a side quest into your adventure, or take a short break to run a short seasonal campaign. With Easter is just around the corner, I thought this would be a great time to share some ideas for an Easter themed… Continue reading Easter Themed Adventure Ideas (and a one shot)!
One of my favourite things about roleplaying games is the freedom they provide. Whether it is a video game or a tabletop roleplaying game, I love when players have the opportunity to do what they want within the game world. The reason for that love, is consequences. I enjoy seeing how the world/story is impacted… Continue reading Player Choice and Consequences
Creating characters is the backbone of D&D. You can’t play without them and making a character you don’t jive with can ruin a game. OR having a character that doesn’t mesh into the world can make a player struggle with motivations and character development. This can decrease your feeling of belonging in the adventure party.… Continue reading Anchoring Characters
Recently my browsing led me to a Dungeons and Dragons article by CRB.com titled “How to Use Dungeons & Dragons’ Most Controversial Skill“. The “controversial skill” in question is insight. Click-bait title aside, author Dashiell King, raises some really good points about how insight is typically used and skirts along the edge of some additional… Continue reading Dungeons and Dragons Skill Spotlight: Insight
What are players up to between missions? The adventurers in tabletop roleplaying games are often extremely busy. There are always dungeons to delve, citizens to save, monsters to slay, and devils to make deals with. In amongst all the heroics – or villainy – that characters get up to in games like Dungeons and Dragons,… Continue reading Roleplaying Downtime Outside the Game
So…an experiment A few weeks ago I had become curious about “play-by-post” RPGs. For those of you that don’t know, play-by-post is a way of playing an RPG where everything: narration, resolutions, descriptions, player actions, etc. is conveyed via written messages. I decided that rather than looking up how they typically work and what kinds… Continue reading Playing D&D Via Text
