Recently, DMDavid posed a fascinating question on Twitter about the origins of the Astral and Ethereal Planes in the early editions of Dungeons and Dragons (DnD). As a devoted Tabletop Roleplaying Game enthusiast, I’d like to delve into this intriguing query and shed some light on the cultural and historical influences that shaped these iconic facets of the game.
Yesterday, I posted some initial lore for Etherea (Ah-Ther-ee-ah), a homebrew world am interested in developing for a setting I’m creating for a new Shadowdark game. This is a personal endeavor, not intended for publication (other than on my blog here). I’m captivated by the idea of things manifesting in the world based on emotions, beliefs, etc., and the resulting chaos of magic surrounding it. The concept is akin to the Umbra from Werewolf: The Forsaken, Spren in the Stormlight Archives, or entities like the creature in the Babadook that manifests from fear or unfulfilled wishes.
Etherea is the initial idea for a setting I’ve crafted for the Shadowdark Tabletop Roleplaying game, designed to foster a sense of intrigue and danger inherent in the exploration of magic and the supernatural. The core concept of the world, the Umbraweave, is meant to evoke a persistent sense of mystery and unease, underlining the idea that behind the veil of reality, potent emotions and intense events birth spirits that drift in the shadows. The aim is to instill a constant sense of tension and wonder in the players, offering them a world where magic is as unpredictable and dangerous as it is powerful.
Introducing a lasting injury system in Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition can greatly enhance the depth and realism of your adventures. Combat, a cornerstone of the game, gains significant weight as each encounter carries potential long-term consequences. This system not only makes every decision in battle consequential but also turns health into a crucial resource that demands thoughtful management, adding a layer of strategic complexity.
As fans of Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition, we’re always excited to see what new playtest material the developers come up with. Recently, there’s been a proposed change to how wizards scribe spells into their spellbooks that has stirred up some debate in the D&D community. The change involves introducing a spell called “Scribe Spell” to handle the scribing process, a concept that harkens back to an earlier spell called “Write” from the first edition of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. In this blog post, we’ll dive into the history of these spells, their potential purpose in the 5th edition, and whether they add value or just unnecessary complexity to the game.
Injuries in Dungeons & Dragons are important for two reasons: they add realism to the game and they can be used to add humor. By making injuries last longer, it gives the players a sense of realism and danger that they may not feel if they simply healed back up to full hit points after every battle. It also allows for some interesting role-playing opportunities, such as a character with a permanent limp trying to negotiate a difficult terrain. Finally, it can be fun to see how creative the players can be in dealing with their injuries and add depth to a game.
Greetings, adventurers! It’s always exciting when the landscape of our beloved game, Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), shifts and morphs, opening up new pathways for our collective imagination. The latest errata issued for D&D 5E has brought such a change, one that holds significant implications for how we understand and play our favorite tabletop RPG. Among a host of clarifications, there is one change that stands out: the removal of alignment references for races in the Player’s Handbook.
Mini-games can be fun distraction for your players in any TTRPG campaign. Downtime or social sessions can create a lot of opportunities for this in your game. With the release of The Wild Beyond the Witchlight adventure, players have asking about mini-games to use. So I thought I’d share the rules for my simple mini-game for Darts.
Using randomly generated ability scores is a recurring topic on many 5e forums. Although, standard array and point buy are the most common method by far, rolled ability scores is the default method for 5e. Indeed, random ability scores were the standard for most of the history of Dungeons & Dragons,. Point buy was introduced with 3rd edition, and the Standard Array didn’t come out until Xanathar’s for 5th edition. While I consider standard array better for ensuring parity between players, the appeal of random ability rolls is still there for many.
Exciting journeys in 5th edition engage the party and give them meaningful actions as part of the adventure. Last week I posted Perilous Journey’s Part 1, which turns travel into a series of encounters like any other dungeon. This week, I’ll look at defining some ways that party members can take meaningful actions during journeys. These Journey Actions provide gameplay for the travel experience, as well as create dependencies between members of the party.