The development of safety tools has been one of the more useful advancements in Tabletop Roleplaying Games in the modern era. At their heart, these tools help groups normalize expectations, level set, and understand the range of issues a particular gaming group might experience. Firstly, these tools help people understand if a game is the right one for them. Secondly, it helps shape the conversation and understanding of how to deal with different topics in a way that honors the experiences and context of everyone at the table.
How to manage anxiety as a Dungeon Master (DM) in Dungeons and Dragons has got to be the most common question I see right after, “first time DM, any advice”. Naturally this makes sense, as being a DM sits at an intersection of a number of high anxiety pursuits. That is, it combines the difficulties of managing social groups, event planning, writing, as well as improvisation and performance. Additionally, you represent every enemy, obstacle, and challenge to a group of people who themselves may be feeling similar anxiety. Given this, it’s no wonder DMs ask for advice and find anxiety to be one of the major roadblocks to running a game.
These rules are a summary of the 5e Dungeons and Dragons Alchemy and potion creation rules. These revised rules for Crafting Magic Items are presented in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, modified as per the creation of expendable items. Note that those rules replace the Item Creation Rules presented in the Dungeon Masters Guide. Additionally, this summary includes modifications made for the Alchemist specialty under the Artificer class.
If the OptionalRule Twitter account reaches eight hundred (800) followers by Noon EST March 15th 2021, I will give away a gift code for an electronic copy of D&D Candlekeep Mysteries on DnDBeyond! See details below for how to enter.
People are stuck in a lot of bad thinking when it comes to how to use traps in 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons. Traditionally, people see traps as a way to use resources by dispensing some damage along the way. Largely, this falls flat in a 5th edition game where resting lets you recover quickly. Worse, randomly placed traps can come off as spiteful or thrown in just to annoy the players. So, if you want to make traps a more exciting part of an encounter, create traps that drive things forward rather than simple binary events.
Learning different RPG systems is the most useful thing a DM or player can do to up their game. Doing so teaches you all sorts of ways to approach narration, mood, play, resolutions, and any number of other skills that could be useful in a game.
Here are my thoughts on how I can use content from Arcadia in my 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons game. Arcadia is a new magazine style digital publication for 5e in the tradition of the old Dragon Magazine. In particular, the content is a useful buffet of DM resources, adventures, and lore that enhances existing games.
This is my remix of the Foaming Mugs quest from the 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons module, Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden. You can use this to spice up your encounter with a bit more intrigue, potential negotiation and roleplay. It also ties back to The Chardalyn Syndicate, a faction that is part of the Far North & Ten-Towns remix posted here previously. Check out the RotF and Remix tags on this site for more remixes.
This is an NPC I’ve used in my Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign as a foil in Bryn Shander and to introduce a political ingrique plot for the players early on in the game.
I will write a whole post someday on the importance of friendship in Tabletop Roleplaying groups. Today though I want to capture two tweets I made because I don’t think you can ever say this enough.