What works at your table?
I often draw tabletop RPG inspiration from playing totally unrelated games. In the Pokemon game series, you can breed your Pokemon together for a variety of reasons, including learning new moves. How can we adapt this concept to make more creative monsters?
Traps can be fun. A great myth is that traps need to be carefully curated to be worth anything. While curated traps are wonderful, even simple traps can be great. Here's a simple system for running fun and impactful traps at your table: Download the PDF via DM's Guild Elements of a Good Trap For … Continue reading Simple Trap System
Torching the whole party with a dragon's breath weapon is one of the most fun moments as a Dungeon Master. How can we tweak this rule to have greater control over its power and establish ludonarrative harmony?
We're comparing the Martial Adept feat and the Magic Initiate feat. While the effect of linear fighters vs. quadratic wizards most often manifests in class design (mostly due to spell access), there’s an interesting reflection of this design in the 5e feats, which we expect to be balanced against each other.
A "called shot" in Dungeons & Dragons is an attack that aims for a specific part of a target's body. While this mechanic has been removed from 5th Edition in the interest of greater simplicity, the system is fluid enough to layer on complexity where you want.
We're going to make the adventuring day agnostic as to character class. That way, everyone's going to be on a level playing field, regardless of how many encounters you run. How do we do this with linear fighters and quadratic wizards? It's simple. We kill the short rest.
Cursed item mechanics have been revised in 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons to focus on the narrative element. Beyond hints dropped in the item's lore, a character attuning to a cursed item will have no idea of their impending affliction until it strikes. Let's take a look at the new mechanics and how to best employ them in your campaign.
Contagion is a necromancy spell that requires an attack roll and a "best of 5" save mechanic to inflict a disease. Is this a good spell? Check your odds against the whole gamut of monsters.
Flanking is an optional rule in the D&D Dungeon Master's Guide that grants players advantage when their characters attack opposite sides of an enemy. This optional rule can enhance tactical aspects of your game. Understanding more about how this affects different characters can help you decide when to use flanking in your campaign. If you're a player who knows your DM employs the flanking rule, this may help you avoid some pitfalls.
I grew up hanging out in ballparks. Every once in a while, you'd see some grognard jotting notes in their program as the game progressed. Eventually, I tried keeping score myself and I loved it! Tracking a game on a scorecard gives you a heightened level of engagement and serves as a fun memory of … Continue reading RPG Scorecards: Action Tracker
ThinkDM 