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RPG Mechanics you need to Add to make your D&D Game Better!
Dungeons and Dragons is known as the world’s greatest roleplaying game. But turns out, there are many other fantastic and amazing games out there. Some of these Tabletop RPG games have come up with some pretty fantastic concepts that can really improve any RPG with a little tweaking. Below is a collection of RPG system mechanics that you can use to enhance your gaming experience. Use one, use none, use all. Whatever fits your table, toss it in. I promise these will add to the gameplay and fun of the experience.
Aspect system (from Spirit of the Century, Fate Core):
D&D Advice: 10 Best Worldbuilding Tips for Dungeon Masters
So you want to design a fantastic and memorable world for your players? Well, you’ve come to the right place. The best part of any roleplaying game is building a world and stories with friends. This can seem like a daunting task. But with this simple list of tips, you will create fantastic worlds and memories with friends to last a lifetime.
Dungeons and Dragons Clarifies Support for Third-Party Content for One D&D
Dungeons and Dragons Clarifies Support for Third-Party Content for One D&D
As a Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Party content creator, we’ve certainly been paying close attention to growing rumors that the next edition of the world’s greatest roleplaying game wouldn’t have an Open Gaming License (OGL). Currently, much of the content that is published for 5th Edition can be found on sites such as DMsguild or DrivethruRPG. This allows writers, graphic designers, artists, and more to lend their skills to the game in a monetary way. The rumor appears to have reportedly originated from a reliable source of Indestructoboy, a popular D&D Youtuber. Of course, there was no clear documentation, this set the internet ablaze with rumors.
Roleplaying on Stage! The Twenty-Sided Tavern
The newest interactive theatrical adventure experience is THE TWENTY-SIDED TAVERN!
The Chicago Tribune says it’s “A new family-friendly franchise that celebrates fantasy gaming. The audience has a total blast. Clearly authentic and fun.”
As a huge roleplaying fan, it’s not surprising that I enjoy a bit of good theater. This is perfect, as my wife is a fan too. So what if, someone combined both roleplaying games and live theater entertainment? You get an unbelievable show called Twenty-Sided Tavern. What is Twenty-Sided Tavern? I’m so glad you asked!
What is Victory?
What is victory in Dungeons and Dragons? For some, it’s when the last monster or villain is felled. For others, it’s the rescue and release of a village captured by slavers. There are even a few who never seem to experience victory. But, what does it mean to a group of adventurers seeking to delve into damp dark dungeons risking life and limb?
How to Create Cute and Lovable NPCs in Dungeons & Dragons
Do your characters look forward to seeing some of your NPCs again? Well, strap in! Today we discuss how to fill your world with Cute and Lovable NPCs that the players will love.
Build through connections in a natural way
A great example starts in a tavern. We all know that Innkeepers have an interesting past, we just don’t delve into it. What if each time the characters came to the inn, the innkeeper offered them a free meal to listen to a story of hers? If they don’t take the hook, then no biggie. But if they listen to the story she shares about some grand adventure or heartbreaking romance it will draw them in. Then repeat this every time they visit the Inn. Free meal for a short story. Great opportunity to expand on the lore of the world in a natural way too. Then, one day they come in, and the innkeeper doesn’t offer them the meal for a story. If the players have shown interest, they may ask what is wrong, and boom instantly lovable quest giver…
Adventure Cookbook 2: An Adventure Outline for Any Fantasy RPG
Part two in our Adventure Cookbook Series!
Creating an entire, well-designed, and well-thought-out adventure for your favorite Roleplaying game is a lot of fun. With that fun, comes hours of dedicated writing, cramped hands, and blank stares at the paper or screen. Well, with this powerful outline, an “Adventure Cookbook” will give you all the ingredients of a unique adventure or campaign. All you have to do is fill it in with NPC and location names of your unique world. Then top it off with a few monsters and you’re ready to roll.
Better D&D 5e Backgrounds
Better Backgrounds is a 5e book full of backgrounds that give you fun new things to spend your hit dice on. You could take the ordinary boring Soldier background from the PHB, which gives you two skill proficiencies and a bunch of other junk you'll never use, or you could take the Soldier background from this book, which gives you the same two skills but also lets you spend hit dice on Battlemaster tactics or extra attacks. The noble background can spend hit dice as a reaction to mimic the Leadership ability that you see in NPC stat blocks sometimes, and a folk hero can permanently reduce their hit dice - but not their HP - for additional save proficiencies.
Religious Quests for Divine RPG Characters
Many divine classes such as clerics, paladins, druids or anyone with the acolyte background are often required to undertake tasks to prove their devotion to their deity. As GM, work with your players so that you can tailor the quest to their unique character. The focus should be a test of spiritual strength and commitment to whatever beliefs the character holds.
We’ve put together a list of quests with a variety of approaches you can use to fill out the character’s spiritual needs.
Adventure Cookbook: An Adventure Outline for ANY Fantasy RPG
Creating an entire, well-designed, and well-thought-out adventure for your favorite Roleplaying game is a lot of fun. With that fun, comes hours of dedicated writing, cramped hands, and blank stares at the paper or screen. Well, with this powerful outline, an “Adventure Cookbook” will give you all the ingredients of a unique adventure or campaign.
Stair and Ladder Alternatives in D&D
Are you tired of using boring stairs, ropes and ladders for your D&D adventurers to traverse the multiple levels of dungeons? Well then, stick around as we delve into Chutes, Ladders and Stair Alternatives for your Dungeons and Dragons Game
D&D: Lore and Legends: The Far Realm
The mortal realm of Dungeons & Dragons is vast and full of adventure. Dangerous beasts stalk the lands, powerful necromancers seeking to conjure an undead army, and hordes of goblins and orcs raiding villages are just a few of the common experiences many adventurers face throughout their journey.
Despite its size, the mortal realm is just a small piece of a much larger cosmos. With the introduction of Spelljammer, the scope of adventures has grown to include worlds from every part of the multiverse. However, we can’t forget the myriad of realities that are the foundation of existence in the D&D world. All of these realities that exist beyond the mortal realm are known as planes.
Money Master's Guide: Game Mastering For Fun And Profit
Money Master's Guide: Game Mastering For Fun And Profit
We all hope to someday turn our hobby into a full-time job. Most of us don’t hope to get rich, but enough to pay the bills by doing what we love is a great start. Arjade Productions presents Raymond Hick’s Money Master’s Guide - Game Mastering for Fun and Profit gives you all the tools and details you need to help get you started if you’re in the tabletop gaming industry.
Since we are a D&D 5e show, the most obvious focus for our topic today would be the chapters that cover closely related topics. Of the 12 total, they ALL apply. So, instead, we are going to focus on a few that really stand out, and those, that we believe to be the best starting point.
D&D PVP: 5e Team Deathmatch
5e Team Deathmatch is a team-based, PvP competitive tabletop arena for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition.
This game is an action RPG about strengthening the bonds you already have with the friends in your gaming group, or forming new bonds of friendship, in the face of shared adversity and the greatest challenge. Nothing beats the thrill of coming together to defeat a seemingly insurmountable foe. 5TDM doesn't throw any punches. It puts you through the wringer and lets your group emerge closer to each other than ever. It is competitive, but not toxic.
Small groups of player characters are pitted against each other in a no-holds-barred frenzy of carnage in a team-based, player-vs-player competition. 5th Edition Team Deathmatch is a contest of skill, wits, and luck. 5TDM is about winning the world's most popular roleplaying game.
Great Adventure Structure for your Roleplaying Games
Arguably one of the best parts of any Dungeon Master’s prep in Dungeons and Dragons is the design, creation, and fleshing out of a great and thrilling adventure. This can be a struggle for some DMs, while for others it’s as natural as breathing. Well, I’m not gifted in this respect, so I rely on guides and tools to ensure I put together fun and engaging stories for my players. For this, I scour the books I’ve collected over my 20+ years of D&D. During this search I uncovered a solid bit of advice from one of the most hated versions of the game, Fourth Edition. Join us live as we go into detail on each of these points further on our Youtube Channel.
D&D 5e Toolkits, what are they good for?
In D&D tools help you to do something you couldn’t otherwise do, such as craft or repair an item, forge a document, or pick a lock. Your character features give you proficiency with certain tools. Proficiency with a tool allows you to add your proficiency bonus to any ability check you make using that tool. Tool use is not tied to a single ability, since proficiency with a tool represents broader knowledge of its use. For example, a GM might ask a player to make a Dexterity check to carve a fine detail with their woodcarver’s tools, or a Strength check to make something out of a particularly hard wood.
Resources and Resolution. In addition to the appropriate tools for the item to be crafted, a character needs raw materials worth half of the item's selling cost. To determine how many workweeks it takes to create an item, divide its gold piece cost by 50. A character can complete multiple items in a workweek if the items' combined cost is 50 gp or lower. Items that cost more than 50 gp can be completed over longer periods of time, as long as the work in progress is stored in a safe location.
-Xanathar’s Guide-
Below is a short list of just some of the things you can do with the different tools. Some of which, aren’t as obvious. Xanthar’s Guide gives us a great start. Join us, as we discuss these options and add our own ideas into the mix.
How to Dungeon Master
Can you be a Dungeon Master as a Beginner?
Yes, absolutely you can. There is often mystery surrounding the great and powerful role of being a Dungeon Master, and honestly, it’s not really a big deal. So long as you know that there is a bit more work when it comes to your role in the game, you can do it with no problem. The job of the DM is to herd the players through a fun and enjoyable night of gaming. So long as you do that, you will do fine. As a new Dungeon Master, I want to give you a few things to remember. Just remember that there are a few key things to note.
You don’t need to know all the rules to get started. Does it help? Sure. Is it necessary? Not really. There are a lot of rules, and not everyone can spend hours upon hours reading a book before getting started. The starting adventures that Wizards of the Coast releases are designed for the DM to have ZERO experience. So just go for it.
The NPC Handbook: How to build Quality NPCs for your Dungeons and Dragons Stories
D&D: How to Create an NPC
No NPC needs the depth of background, personality, and statistics that a well-crafted player character has. Many NPCs just need a name, a couple of skills, and a word or two about their place in the world and how it relates to the characters. For example, the town priest Volund worships Mielikki and has a number of magic scrolls that he can use: scroll of spike growth, scroll of conjure animals, scroll of lesser restoration, and scroll of cure wounds (6th level).
We discuss a simple seven-step guide to summarize an NPC’s essential elements so that they can interact with the player characters in a meaningful and memorable way.
5 Tips For Being A Better Dungeon Master
5 Tips For Being A Better Dungeon Master
So you want to be a Dungeon Master, eh? It's not an easy job, but it can be incredibly rewarding. Here are a few tips to help you get started on the path to becoming a great Dungeon Master.
1. Be Prepared
This one seems like a no-brainer, but it's surprisingly easy to let your preparation fall by the wayside. When you're running a game, there are a lot of moving parts and it's easy to get overwhelmed. Make sure you take the time to plan out each session in advance. Write down what you want to accomplish and what challenges your players will face. This will save you a lot of headaches in the long run. Your plans don’t have to be dozens of pages, just simple bullet points are more than enough. For example, if you use miniatures for encounters, make sure to prep a map in advance so that you aren’t wasting precious table time drawing out complex maps.