How’d we get here? Dungeons & Dragons originated from war games, which are adversarial by nature. When you combine that history with two creators who had a rocky relationship, it’s easy to see why conflict’s baked into the DNA of the hobby. Over the last couple of years, the community has felt more fractured than…
Generating unique settings for your tabletop sessions doesn’t have to be a chore. If you’ve been looking for the fastest and easiest way to create random dungeon maps for D&D or your favorite TTRPG, I’ve found a fantastic hack in the ShadowDark rulebook. It’s a clever method that turns a handful of dice into a fully fleshed-out…
Ever heard of rule zero? In the world of tabletop roleplaying games, this concept states that the rules are not in charge of your game. The GM is. While some players might get frustrated and claim their cheating DM is ignoring the book, the reality is that nearly every RPG is designed with this authority in mind. Most…
Since the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide is now an established part of the hobby, it is a great time to look back at the most enduring new Dungeon Master tips it introduced. Whether you are just starting your first campaign or you are a veteran looking to refine your style, the core advice in this edition remains a vital…
Inspiration, unpredictability, and complexity – every Game Master wants these elements in their campaign. Whether you are running D&D, Pathfinder, Shadowdark, or any other TTRPG, there is one classic tool that provides them all: random tables. Watch the Video | Buy TTRPG Books and Accessories | More Game Content While some players and GMs might shy away from them, fearing…
As Game Masters (GMs), we often get bogged down in the mechanics of balancing encounters. We pour over CR calculations, worry about XP budgets, and stress over whether the last fight was too recent. You might spend two weeks of beautiful-minding the calculus trying to design the most perfectly balanced encounters in history, only for the actual fight…
Adventurers, I’m excited to share something special with you – Scorched Basin, a new, system agnostic tabletop RPG setting created by my friends at Homie and The Dude. I had the privilege of collaborating on this project, and it’s been such a rewarding experience to see it come together. You can check it out on Kickstarter…
Creating a compelling D&D character backstory can be one of the most rewarding parts of tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs). However, as many game masters (GMs) know, sometimes character backstories don’t quite fit the world or the narrative you’re trying to build. This can lead to frustration, where even the most enthusiastic GM feels like their carefully crafted…
Dungeons & Dragons campaigns often start with epic heroes, but what if you began with humble peasants facing terrifying odds? That’s the essence of the zero level D&D funnel, a thrilling and unpredictable way to kick off your 5th Edition adventures. This unique approach, inspired by Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC), turns character creation into an exhilarating gauntlet…
When you’re exploring the vast and mysterious oceans of Dungeons & Dragons, you’re bound to encounter some truly monstrous inhabitants. From the slithering to the colossal, these underwater D&D monsters can turn a simple voyage into a desperate fight for survival. We’re diving deep to count down the ten most terrifying creatures that lurk beneath the waves….