A while back, I spent a lot of time looking at how to run D&D Fifth Edition in an "old school" manner. Others have made the case for a long time that 5e already does this quite well with few to no changes. I feel like some of the options the game already presents can … Continue reading Old School Fifth Edition Ruleset
How do you handle "failure" in Dungeons and Dragons? What about when a player doesn't succeed on knowledge checks of various sorts? I wrote before about avoiding boring failures by using techniques like "success at a cost" and "degrees". But let's talk a bit about what happens specifically when players roll to find out information. … Continue reading Give the players what they asked for
After the holidays, most of the group got back together for another session. (Sadly, the Paladin's player had the flu and could not be present.) The players told me really enjoyed having the freedom to roleplay with each other without the GM interrupting - which made me a bit sad, as it told me they've … Continue reading Krevborna – Session 5 review
When I ran that Plane Shift Ixalan adventure this weekend, one of my players commented how he'd never played a Wild Magic Sorcerer before: https://twitter.com/KageAcuma/status/1079139187348201473 Do The Thing Some of that is the way I treat the Wild Magic Surge and Tides of Chaos features when I run games, which boils down to All The … Continue reading Wild Magic Surges are good and fun
I finally got the chance to run "X Marks the Spot," a one-shot D&D adventure from Wizards of the Coast set in the plane of Ixalan (a setting in Magic the Gathering). My review follows, but you can watch the session I played (with folks I met via Variant Roles) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88RKrrgggGg NB: A … Continue reading Review: X Marks the Spot (Ixalan)
I love maps. Ever since I was young, I always loved "antique maps", whether of the entire world or a region or to illustrate an event. The maps in our family Bible fascinated me and I'd trace my fingers along the paths of Paul's missionary trips as much as those of ancient Judea. These days, … Continue reading 5 Mappers to support on Patreon
As the Variant Roles Dragon Heist "mega campaign" has ended, I've started to think about what I want to do next. While we're still planning for Dungeon of the Mad Mage, that doesn't stop me from thinking about a homebrew dungeon-focused campaign. Principles In the meantime, planning has begun! I don't know yet if this will consist … Continue reading Principles and ideas for a dungeon campaign
