Metroid is a staple of classic 2d dungeon crawlers. The original game, as well as many of its squeals, were groundbreaking in how to explore 2d dungeon space. These early video games have a lot to teach us about dungeon design mechanics that easily translate into the world of DnD. Dungeons and Dragons games today …
Players can often be the source of their own problems. Using this idea combined with some simple principles to trap players can be an interesting mix of fun and frustrating. For today’s Trap Tuesday, we’re going to look at three traps and talk about the concept of unreliable information and player trust. Example Number 1: …
Patrons and Warlocks, Warlocks and Patrons. The two are intrinsically tied together in 5e DnD. But patrons themselves are a mysterious part of the game. While the rules do paint in the general brush strokes of what patrons are and how they provide warlocks with power, they leave a lot of gaps for you to …
Whether it’s designing an NPC or making a new player character, it can be hard to create characters with personality. Despite being a core part of the Dungeons and Dragons experience, many players and DMs create and run boring, one-dimensional characters. No one wants to do this, they often just don’t know how to build …
We’re coming out of the dungeons for this week’s Trap Tuesday and are going to look at some classic DnD Hunting Trap usage. In the 5th edition of Dungeons and Dragons bear traps are referred to as a hunting trap. Hunting trap rules are designed for the trap to be used by players, but traps …
Spells are a core part of most DnD games. They fill the world with magic. They enhance combat. They even lend large parts to your story. With DnD 5e you have over 450 spells to choose from in the game. This doesn’t even include all of the Unearthed Arcana, companion material, or official third party …
When you start a new campaign in a custom-built setting, there’s always an adjustment period. Initially your players don’t know anything about the setting and they need to learn a lot just to interact with it. You’ll want to find the best way of introducing players to your world without overwhelming them. Building Background Information …
The party pushes open the door slowly, making their way into the next room in the dungeon. As their torchlight pours into the open doorway it glints off gold and jewels in an open sack. Beside the sack is a goblin picking over a corpse for valuables. It sees the party, and in a quick …
Strongholds and Followers is a brand new TTRPG companion book written and developed by Matthew Colville. If you’re not familiar with his work, we highly recommend you check it out as he has great advice for Game Masters and story tellers. While Strongholds and Followers is not official DnD material, the book is a fantastic …
A certain amount of meta gaming is expected as a dungeon master. Your role is to not only know the plot, but players, villains, and everything in between. By default you have to do some meta gaming to maintain the game state and keep players on track. Even if you let your players go off …
