Boss battles are usually the culmination of something, whether it be the end of a dungeon or the end of a campaign. They cap things off, and test the party on everything they’ve learned so far. It’s no wonder DMs want to get it right.
Dealing with Problem Players in D&D
I’m going to go over some common problem player archetypes. We’ll examine the problem, why it’s a problem, and how to best tackle it in constructive ways (note: the answer isn’t always the nuclear option.) Keep in mind that, when it comes to humans, there’s no one-size-fits-all response, and you are going to know what works for you better than anyone else. Identifying the problem, too, may help you see if your player falls into common traps.
Special Traits for Monsters
Every monster in Dungeons and Dragons has unique traits that make it what it is. These traits include spellcasting, attacks, Legendary Actions, senses, languages, saves, and skill proficiencies. However, what about those sort of – listed traits that don’t fall into those categories? Well, that’s called a ‘Special Trait’, and they’re on most stat blocks for monsters. Special Traits normally encompass passive abilities, such as auras, particularly special senses, additional damage under certain conditions, certain resistances, and basically any other ability that doesn’t fall under the other categories of the stat block.
More Supernatural Charms for D&D 5e
Supernatural charms are small enchantments granted to players either explicitly (as with the Chwinga creature) or implicitly (an ethereal creature gives a player character a gift in gratitude). They’re temporary, useful, and great when you don’t really want to reward gold or magic items for a job well done. Here’s fifty of them for your game!
One D&D: Player's Handbook Playtest 5
A new Unearthed Arcana came out, and this one is the largest one yet! It combines several feedback changes from previous UA releases, as well as a ton of new content regarding classes, spells, feats, and weapons. As always, I’m going to try and condense the notable changes into something more digestible.
One D&D: Cleric, Druid, and Paladin
While the OGL is, thankfully, remaining intact, the One D&D changes are still being rolled out on a playtesting basis on D&D Beyond. Recently, they released changes to Cleric, Druid, and Paladins, as well as confirming the already simmering changes regarding the use of ‘species’ as opposed to ‘race’ for the playable characters in the game.
Session Zero and How to Run It
A Session Zero is a preemptive meet up with your group to go over important info on the campaign, expectations, comfort, consent, and any other nitty gritty you need to get out of the way before playing. This can also serve as a good vetting process to ensure everyone is getting along.
One D&D: Expert Classes
Wizards of the Coast continues to produce new playtest material for One D&D, and the newest content is twice as long as the previous one! This one touches on a few of the changed rules already referenced in the previous release, but it’s mostly the introduction of new groupings for classes and some major reworks to the classes in one of the particular groupings. This article will summarize the material to a digestible length, with a few opinions sprinkled throughout.
Character Content Changes for One D&D
If you follow D&D news and/or Wizards of the Coast, you likely have heard the buzz around One D&D: the next generation of content for Dungeons and Dragons. This massive shift in content is meant to implement all the micro changes made across the last couple years, plus a whole overhaul of other systems. WotC is releasing this new content in Unearthed Arcana PDFs, and is conducting surveys to see what people are liking and what needs to get kicked from what is unofficially being called ‘5.5 edition.’
Understanding Monster Stat Blocks in 5th Edition
It’s good to understand how creature stat blocks are laid out. Knowing the rules and being able to work off examples is the number one way to get a semblance of balance from the beginning. However, creatures tend to have a lot more going on than magic items, save for the absolute most elaborate ones. This guide will help you understand monster features and how to balance them.
Alternative Resurrection Rituals in D&D 5e
I’ve observed an interesting debate in D&D circles on all corners of the internet about resurrection. One one hand, the existence of spells that can bring a beloved character back from the cold embrace of death can save the emotional heartache of losing that character. It can also be a nice save from a decidedly unheroic death, or one that endangers the party massively by having a whole person down in the middle of a dungeon.
World Weaver's Guide to Combat: Large Scale Battles in 5th Edition
When you have a lot of turns in the initiative order, it can make battles very confusing and sometimes even frustrating. As the master of the game, you have enough on your plate (I know I do.) Juggling so many aspects of the battle can make it lose the entertaining part of the chaos and instead make it a pain. This article dives into the mechanical side of massive battles in 5th edition, and suggests some methods to mimic the power and awe of the destruction without hampering your players or dragging out the combat.
Flight in D&D and How to Manage It
Flight is a hotly contested topic in forums and discussions, not for its existence, but its power level. Yes, early level flying seems to be something a lot of people have a lot of issues with, which is a thought process I’ve never been able to agree with. The following article contains a discussion on the strengths of flying, how to counter them, and how to exploit existing weaknesses without making up new ones.
World Weaver's Guide to Combat Balance: The Basics
Combat balance in D&D is one of the toughest skills to grapple with, especially as a new DM. However, combat makes up the majority of the game’s core rulebook, and most character abilities lean into combat efficacy. Plus, making cool fights is just really, really fun.
A Guide to Homebrewing Magic Items
There’s a lot of things to look forward to when you create your own world for Dungeons and Dragons. You can make landscapes, entire dimensions, societies, religions, divine beings, terrifying enemies - it’s all at your command. To be honest, though, while every creation I make excites me in some way, the unique element of magical items in D&D is some of the best fun I can have.
A Measured Response to DMPCs
A lot of people don’t know what DMPCs actually are, how they differ from NPCs, how they’ve gotten a negative reputation, etc. The two extremes I see are often riddled with generalizations and misrepresentations, and I do think lack of common ground on the topic massively alienates people from a very important aspect of the game: making memorable characters.
Artisan Tools Revisited: Alchemy
It’s very likely you’ve seen some homebrew for Alchemy in particular. For my guide, I aim for something more meaningful and interactive, but also very easy to drop into your game without it becoming so time-consuming that it takes up a full session to make a potion.
DM Advice: Improving Travel
There is absolutely a way to make travel interesting regardless of the situation. You’ll want to play it by ear, and adjust for how your group operates and reacts to things. The following guidelines have worked well for my group and, in this humble Weaver’s opinion, can be applied to nearly every form of long travel.
The Basics of World Building: Realism, Believability & Fantasy
As readers and viewers of fantasy, we have different thresholds for how much we’re willing to believe based on what information we have on the world and how it functions. If the world is set up well, people will rarely question how something is possible, because the world does a good job establishing that it is possible.
Homebrew Ideas: Elven Nonverbals
In Elven culture, it’s preferable to solve conflicts with words over violence, if possible. But if words fail, but violence is unneeded, many Elves utilize a special form of sign language to communicate complex feelings.