The battle of the sewers! Please, take a few moments and pick whether you think the 24 individual rats will win or the swarm of rats with 24 hit points will win. You got it! Good! Read on! Sometimes the most exciting battles in Dungeons and Dragons 5E (D&D) aren’t among the giants and dragons of our game. Much smaller but no less critical actions play out for our player characters (PCs), particularly at low levels. While we strive for our characters to battle spell-slinging evil wizards and fiery red dragons, we often have survived minor conflicts on the long, deadly road of adventure in D ..read more

Vampire Lord Strahd von Zarovich welcomes new adventurers to his realm in Ravenloft. Artwork by Wizards of the Coast. Dungeons and Dragons is releasing a new hardcovered book centered on the campaign setting of Ravenloft! If your not familiar with Ravenloft, it is a Domain of Dread located in the far corner of the Shadowfell of horror created around the powerful vampire Strahd von Zarovich. Now here’s the kicker. If you thought there was only one Domain of Dread you’d be completely wrong! Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft introduces 30 Domains of Dread to have your adventurers explore! It pulls ..read more

Gandalf offers great inspiration for new D&D players on how to be a wizard. Now that I’m a professional DM (Dungeon Master) for Dungeons and Dragons 5e (D&D) on Start Playing Games I’m pleased to introduce even more players to the game. In D&D, wielding magic is powerful AND really cool! Bending the rules of time, space, and physics (sometimes all at once!) is very appealing. Hence new players are drawn to the masters of magic; wizards. A common question I hear from new players during player character creation is what spells to take for their wizard. If they are new to role playing ..read more

This character plans to use their +1 shield to attack foes. Do the magical bonuses apply? I’ve been Dungeon Mastering (DMing) Dungeons and Dragons for a few decades now. In that time I’m always astonished how players can find a way around the rules. I saw a recent development last year by a player who found the ultimate hack for a magical shield. His character, a steely paladin who used shield bash on the enemy with a bonus action. Totally legit. The shield was a ‘normal’ +1 that grants a +1 Armor Class (AC) improvement. However the player was ALSO adding the shield’s +1 to the hit and damage ..read more

Ghosts of Saltmarsh. Artwork by Wizards of the Coast. Do you want to play D&D 5e tonight? Join me tonight on StartPlaying.Games! Create an account, if you don’t have one yet, and send a request to play in my game. Here’s the direct link to tonight’s D&D session: The Sinister Secret of Salt Marsh – The Haunted House Tonight will be the beginning of a new Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign. We’ll be starting with the adventure Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. Explore a haunted house at the edge of a cliff on the Sea of Swords. Spots are filling up fast now. Bring a ready to play 1st level charact ..read more

Mist looking forward to dining in with self delivered adventurers. Artwork by Wizards of the Coast. “You must forgive me for not knowing anything about you, but I’ve been so out of touch. I am Mistinarperadnacles Hai Draco. You may call me Mist. And I’ll call you… supper? Yes, it’s about time for a light, early supper. So nice of you to deliver yourself.” — Mistinarperadnacles Hai Draco or ‘Mist’ – Ancient Red Dragon with blindsight Dungeons and Dragons 5e has some of the most feared creatures ever dreamt up. Top of mind are dragons of course. They’re in the name of the game. How else to ..read more

Fire Giant King Snurre confronts an unwelcome guest. Artwork by Tyler Jacobson. It’s kind of a dark joke in Dungeons and Dragons 5e. Your character is adventuring because both parents are dead and that’s their background 5e. Killed by either by the bad guy in the campaign (lord wizard, crime boss) or by some stroke of bad luck (fire, war, pestilence). Movies often feature dead parents like Batman, Spiderman, Finding Nemo, Lion King, and Bambi. Dead parents free the protagonist to act without fear of reprisal on their family. It’s an easy out for a PC who doesn’t want family connections. But wh ..read more

Candlekeep Mysteries a tome packed full with 17 mystery based adventures for Dungeons and Dragons 5e.What is Candlekeep Mysteries What adventuring group doesn’t want to solve a great mystery? Dungeons and Dragons 5e (D&D) is releasing Candlekeep Mysteries. Its a new adventure anthology packed with mysteries to be discovered by your D&D players. It follows Wizards of the Coast’s tradition of spring releases established by Tales from the Yawning Portal and Ghosts of Salt Marsh. There are 17 adventures packed into the tome for levels 1 to 16 play. Its set in the Forgotten Realms campaign ..read more

Expertise in Acrobatics would be handy right now for this monk. Artwork by Wizards of the Coast. Dungeons and Dragons 5e (D&D) has lots of skills that are available to Player Characters (PCs). In fact, if you count up all the skills a PC could know you’d have 18 in total. There are a few builds that can grant you all of them. You could even do it in seven or eight levels from 1st, but that’s not the expertise I’m talking about. I’m talking about a home-brew rule for a defining skill of your class. Expertise 5e for what your chosen class should really know. Expertise in Animal Handling can ..read more

A chance encounter with The Heroes of Starsong Tower inspires the next generation of adventurers. Playing Kids in Dungeons and Dragons 5e The sun was high and the heat of the month of Flamerule baked the Sword Coast in the Dungeons and Dragons Forgotten Realms setting. The Heroes of Starsong Tower stopped to water their horses at a small unnamed creek on the road to Neverwinter... “Are you guys REAL adventurers?!?” Weezy exclaimed. She was a bold human child of 14 winters who stepped out from the underbrush to ask the question. Her gang of four friends behind her wide eyed, but too frightened ..read more