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.
All tagged d&d 5e
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
It’s a good idea to determine the overall atmosphere of your world. Every story you’ve ever read or watched on TV or played through in a video game has a setting that sets a tone for how much of a struggle it is to live and breathe in that world.
If you’ve been on a community forum or facebook group focused on D&D, there’s a good chance you’ve seen questions regarding how to build a homebrew world. It’s an overwhelming task to some, not often because they’re completely lost on ideas, but because they have no idea how to narrow down the process of taking those ideas and making them a reality. I’m here to help.