Ten Cool D&D Things #151-160
Pointless Monument shares some roleplaying improv techniques. I found these helpful, especially "styles not accents".
Paul Russ is a Professional DM, and here are his 10 favourite house rules. What house rule has been most effective at your table?
Brandes Stoddard introduces twenty strange but helpful people to meet in the dungeon. These are very creative!
Goblin's Henchman explains usage dice mechanics. It's a neat idea that is popular with some rules-lite systems.
Oracular Somnambulist offers a d66 list of demonic mutations and their effects. You could also use this as a table of curses.
Monsters and Manuals analyzes resurrection in D&D through the lens of Pincher Martin.
Whose Measure developed an alternate morale system for D&D. It's still pretty simple while capturing the complexities around loyalty.
Phil Vecchione explains how to coach yourself at the table to become a better DM.
D4 Caltrops outlines a d100 table of somewhat sinister settlements. I'm bookmarking this one.
Finally, a bit of heavy theory. Cannibal Halfling explains diegesis and mimesis and how they impact roleplaying games.
"Pushed Rolls" are an essential mechanic in Call of Cthulhu. Goblin's Henchman explains how to include pushed rolls in D&D.
Paul Hughes has crunched the numbers in the Monster Manual 2024 and boiled it all down to a business card. Brilliant!
Qarsi reflects on the foundational truths that shape your lore. I followed this approach when creating Iskandar.
We all know about DM prep, but Tiffany has some guidance on prepping your character for play.
Dark Eagle offers some tips for first-time Dungeon Masters. Solid.
The Alexandrian explores dilemma design in RPG scenarios. It's a thoughtful piece.
The RPG Gazette examines randomization vs narrative control in RPGs. They both have their place!
Prismatic Wasteland thinks control weather should not be a spell in D&D. She creates an entire class to prove her point.
Watabou has updated some of his popular map generators. I suggest you check them out!
Finally, Warren reflects on a DM lesson from Nightwick. It's a lesson I am constantly relearning.
The incomparable Gus shares an introduction to dungeon crawling. It contains some great insights.
The Alexandrian explains how much to reveal as a DM. Managing information flow is crucial to creating tension.
This idea is fascinating and clever! Symbolic City created a method for playing any pre-published adventure solo.
Widdershins Wanderings describes how to place effective obstacles in your dungeon. The distinction between "hard" and "soft" locks is new to me.
Merric is musing on the stealth rules in D&D 2024. This part of the game needs a bit of work.
Inkwell Ideas recently shared a bunch of free hex map tiles for your game. Dyson Logos drew them.
Sly Flourish explains why you need meaningful choices in each scene. He includes a couple of good links, too.
Ms Screwhead suggests some techniques for improving your descriptions. I'd like to see more articles on this aspect of play.
The Novel Game Master explains how to respond to the dreaded Blank Stare. We've all seen it.
Finally, Yochai Gal, creator of Cairn, shows how pointcrawls support emergent play. I think I'd enjoy his game.
Alphastream reviews the best and worst aspects of the new Monster Manual. This constructive critique will help me use the book more effectively.
SFG shares various approaches to creating a new character. These are excellent tips that apply across systems.
Bastionland created a simple table that makes empty rooms more engaging. It's a good corrective to modern dungeons, which tend to overstuff themselves.
Sly Flourish demonstrates how to build effective factions for your campaign. I think factions are vital to game longevity.
The Alexandrian explains three methods for recalling forgotten campaign lore. Simple and practical.
Ward Against Evil suggests handling illusions like any other lie in your game. He makes a good point!
OrkrishBlade has a bunch of strategies for keeping combat short and engaging. I must take a few of these points to heart, especially ending combat early when necessary.
Joseph Krausz introduces two rules to make mysteries easier to run. I think he may be on to something.
Roll to Doubt illustrates how spreadsheets can help organize RPG prep. I use Notion myself, but Google Sheets is also a good option.
Finally, Wax Wings explains why "clocks" are making your game worse.
Kieron has solved the scheduling problem in Dungeons & Dragons. Well, maybe.
Fedmar introduces 3-layered NPCs. I like this table very much--can someone expand it to 20 entries?
ElmCat outlines how to prep, run, and grow an urban sandbox. It is a comprehensive article with lots of fun tables.
On the same topic, Dwiz has collated an urban gameplay bibliography. I need to read through some more of these entries.
The Alexandrian suggests you use recognition as a reward. I've had success doing this in my game, and I commend it.
Brine presents a beautifully executed spark generator. A "spark generator" is a random prompt tool used in RPGs to inspire characters, plots, settings, etc.
Warren demonstrates how to build an encounter on the fly.
Lucas is talking about talking (that is, languages in your game).
Paul explains why 5E vulnerability is terrible and suggests how to fix it.
Finally, here's a nice bit of theory. The Half-Minotaur Farmer defines the types of rolls in a TTRPG.
Alphastream assesses the revised DMG for D&D 5E. What's good, what's not so good, and what does the future hold? Great piece!
Hipsters & Dragons offers some legendary resistance fixes for 5E. He also gives a nice "shout-out" to this newsletter.
Methods & Madness defines the minimum viable setting required to run a sandbox campaign. Worth reading.
Haec Astra Vera suggests several ways to improve D&D combat. There were a couple of ideas I hadn't seen before.
Questing Beast reflects on what all his worst RPG sessions have in common.
Scroll for Initiative shares some fantastic advice from the 3rd edition DMG. I tend to follow this in my home campaign.
All Dead Generations thinks most adventures are poorly designed -and he has some fixes.
Onslaught Six is overloading the treasure die. I'll need to try this in action to see if it's useful.
One Page Dungeons thinks all monsters are puzzles. It is an idea I want to try, but I haven't taken the time.
Finally, So Many Robots has many free 5E player options on his website. He puts a lot of effort into these, so they are worth checking out.
The Alexandrian presents an essential reading list for RPGs. I've at least skimmed all the games on this list, but I still need to "deep dive" on several.
Finishing up this series, Alphastream discusses the revised Player's Handbook for 5e. He has some reservations.
Bankuei introduces the faction demands tool. It looks like a great way to make your campaign more engaging.
Malay Mail examines how RPGs are levelling up English lessons in Malaysia. Simply excellent.
I Cast Light just invented the spark collage for dungeon stocking. It's clever and original!
Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque outlines his adventure design checklist. Nice.
Roleplay Rescue shares his thirteen GM rules. There is some hard-won wisdom in this list.
Tabletop Joab shares a vicious mockery spell guide. I especially liked the list of sample insults at the end.
Monsters and Manuals has thoughts on post-war campaign settings. They offer many great opportunities for game and story, which is one of the reasons that Iskandar is set 20 years after the Fiend War. Reading this post makes me realise I can use this even better.
Finally, Among Cats and Books has many thoughts on downtime. There's much insight in this post.
Johnn Four outlines 16 things every good D&D adventure must have. It's a solid list and worth referencing.
Bommyknocker proposes a journal-based character advancement system to replace XP. It is rather innovative, and a subset of players would love this approach.
Sly Flourish has a two-word cure for overpowered characters. Sound advice.
A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry explains why archers didn't volley fire in real life. It may not have much in-game use, but it is fascinating nonetheless.
Grognardia shares his thoughts on running a long campaign. He has run several multi-year campaigns using various systems and is worth listening to.
Hipsters & Dragons has 16 tips for fixing slow combat in 5E. As always, Duncan writes very thoughtfully on the subject.
Brandes Stoddard shares some dungeon design lessons from Blue Prince, mostly about puzzles. I am still thinking about this one.
Press the Beast shows how to fix dungeon crawls. Do they need fixing?
Widdershins Wanderings proposes a radical re-imagining of D&D religions. I was impressed by her approach.
Behind the Helm outlines his method for building micro-dungeons. It's a tight system that some will find helpful.
I'm starting with a bunch of dungeon design tips. Josh explains the copy-and-paste manifesto. I've used something similar, and it's fabulous. If you think you can't create a dungeon, try it out.
Alphastream shows how he teaches D&D with a 5-room dungeon. I like his take on this well-known pattern.
Mad Cleric explains how he learned to stop worrying and start loving dungeon design. He links to a terrific and free resource.
Explorers Design explains how to roleplay without accents. It is excellent advice - practical and comprehensive.
Each day, Scott F. Gray posts an RPG tip on social media, and they are consistently high quality. Once a month, he bundles them all up into a single blog post.
David Blandy outlines various methods to create NPCs. There is some terrific inspiration here.
Molten Sulfur presents eleven riddles from the Old English Exeter Book. They are challenging but fair.
Domain of Many Things introduces the easiest crafting system you'll ever use (and actually enjoy). What do you think?
Jeff Quick shares 24 things to do with mage hand. Give this to your wizard!
Finally, Justin explains how the boss can make a big entrance.
Skeleton Code Machine shares a list of their best articles. They put out consistently good material, so this is worth browsing.
Bocoloid explains how one brutal session changed his table. It's good advice that I need to heed.
Keith Baker has re-shared an excellent article from his archives on death and resurrection.
Methods & Madness outlines different approaches to random encounters.
Nyorlandhotep describes how RPGs gave him hope.
Rise Up Comus writes in praise of prep.
Colours of Pentagrams introduces naively simple downtime actions.
Deathtrap Games shares a plethora of solo gaming resources.
Grognardia explains how he starts a campaign.
Finally, Sellotape Sausages asks Reddit DMs what change has made the most significant impact on their game and gets many helpful answers.