In Defense of Challenge Ratings
I'm always surprised when I see people online complaining about Challenge Rating in Dungeons & Dragons. A deep roster of interesting...
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Simple Mass Combat Rules For D&D
Wizards of the Coast has some great in-depth rules for mass combat via their quasi-official Unearthed Arcana section. But for a recent...
Creating Combats With Choices
You've seen one group of goblins in a 20x20 room, you've seem 'em all. Combat is as integral to Dungeons & Dragons as its fantasy...
To Roll, Or Not To Roll
If there was a game master personality test— something like Myers-Briggs, Type A/B, or even the Hogwarts sorting hat— one of the core...
Building a Campaign: Goals and Obstacles
How do you run a story-based Dungeons & Dragons campaign without strapping players to the railroad tracks? My technique is to help the...
Simplifying The Start
Fifth edition is probably the easiest iteration of Dungeons & Dragons for beginners. This is not only due to making it an intentional...
Why The Medieval Setting Works
In my review of sci-fi game Stars Without Number last week, I didn’t mention one rule I really like. Most melee weapons in the game have...
Act Structure In Dungeons & Dragons
Recently I've been very interested in learning about formal story structure. I find it fascinating, but do game masters have the luxury...
Experience Points Versus Milestones
A common discussion in the Dungeons & Dragons community concerns the traditional experience point system versus milestone/session-based...
The Challenge of Skill Challenges
June 2008. Wizards of the Coast releases the fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons. They must realize that there will be some backlash to...
How To Play D&D For The First Time
Where to start with Dungeons & Dragons? As I mentioned in a previous post, I love playing Dungeons & Dragons, as well as other tabletop...
Keep Them Moving
As a game master, you’re doing a good job as long as everyone at your table is engaged and interested in the game. I’m probably not the...
Example Session
Here's an actual example of how I utilized the ideas I went over in Monday's post to design an adventure. I'll also go over how it...
How I Design D&D Sessions
The 5th edition Dungeon Master’s Guide dedicates an entire chapter to building an adventure out of encounters, but it has very little in...
Why I Play Tabletop Role-Playing Games
That’s a clunky phrase, isn’t it? “Tabletop role-playing games.” Even abbreviated, TTRPG is just a mess. Many people are familiar with...
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