D&D: Inexpensive Miniatures options

Whether you are new to Dungeons & Dragons or coming back into the hobby after many, many years, you will probably want to add various play aids and accessories for your game. Right at the top of the list are miniatures. Whether you play old school or new school D&D or other similar fantasy TTRPG, maps and miniatures are an integral part of the hobby... but they are so expensive that it takes some quite time to build up a collection and then you have to paint them all. 

Fear not! There are inexpensive alternatives to unpainted plastic.

At the top of the list are Pathfinder Pawns. These are stand-up cardstock miniatures and they are pretty inexpensive for what you get. The Monster Core Pawn Box contains over 450 creature pawns. This is a huge assortment for just about any game. While $75 isn't terribly cheap, the volume of creatures included is worth the price tag. (Currently, on sale at Amazon for about $60!)

There are generally only one copy of a lot of monsters, but common monster groups are represented with multiple copies such as goblins, orcs, skeletons, zombies, etc. A full list of the box contents are on the Pathfinder Wiki.

After the Monster Core box, the NPC Core Pawn Box should also be right at at the top of the list. Coming in at around 350 pawns, this contains a huge allotment of regular townsfolk as well as various adventurer NPCs and humanoids. You'll get Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Gnomes, Goblins, Orcs, Lizardfolk, Kobolds, Ratfolk, Catfolk, anything-you-like-folk. The variety is impressive and the full list is also available at the Pathfinder Wiki.

If you think you want to start out with a smaller collection, Gamemastery Guide NPC Pawn Collection is a a very inexpensive (approx $25) collection of townsfolk, adventurers and ne'er-do-wells. There is a small overlap of pawns with the larger NPC core box, but there are also many different NPCs giving a wide variety, so both NPC boxes give a massive number of humanoids when combined.

There are also several smaller pawn sets for specific Pathfinder adventure paths which can work for most games. The Giantslayer Pawn Collections contains a large variety of giants (obviously), but also some trolls, orcs, a few dragons, and a variety of other large and huge beasts. The smaller collections run about $20, so they are often a good supplement for the larger boxes.

Lest you think I'm just a Pathfinder shill, there are also other cool options. The ArcKnight miniatures company has an awesome line of flat acrylic miniatures as well as maps, and terrain details to accompany.

The ArcKnight DM Starter Set is the place you'll want to start. With over 160 beautiful acrylic standees, this collection is a great starting point for miniatures. The acrylics have front and backside art and the starter set has an awesome variety of icon foes for any D&D campaign. 

If you need more monsters in a specific category, ArcKnight sells "Horde" packs for humanoids, undead, wilderness, and dungeon dwellers. Their products are a great way to expand an existing miniature collection when you need foes that fit a particular theme.

Lastly, if you still crave 3D plastic miniatures, there are ways to expand you collection that are cheaper than others. The Dungeons & Dragons board games as a somewhat inexpensive way to source specific miniatures. Wrath of Ashardalon comes with an awesome dragon, otyoughs, bears, orcs and cultists while Castle Ravenloft has an array of different undead - skeletons, wraiths, zombies as well as kobolds, wolves, and undead dragons. 

Each of the board games comes with a party of adventurers - Fighters, Rogues, Clerics, Wizards, etc.  As board games, they aren't that bad either, but the miniatures are the main attraction. Note that they come unpainted, so you may want to spruce them up yourself.

D&D 5e: Haunted Halloween - the Sequel!

Source: Dungeon Magazine #171

It's that time of year again when spooky one-shots are all the rage! Don't miss this opportunity to run something horrific (or just a little weird) to add variety to your D&D game.  

Ten years ago, I recommended several chilling adventures for your Halloween spectacular. This year I offer a sequel nearly 10 minutes years in the making!

Nothing Unusual Here

The citizens of Mudhole are unusually fond of their miniature pigs, carrying the pigs with them everywhere... everyday... all the time. Is it a pet fad or something more sinister? A side trek for 1st - 3rd level parties where the PCs actions may actually be the worse thing to happen to this town.

Killer Kobolds from Outer Space

Leaning hard into the gonzo science-fantasy side of D&D, we come across out of this world oddities like Killer Kobolds from Outer Space. In this twist on a normal adventure, the players take on roles of hapless kobolds attempting to obey the orders of their mad Kobold Kween. Madcap escapades and brutal violence ensues. This is not your ordinary one-shot and is a excellent way for your group to let loose on the crazier side of RPGs. The art alone is spectacular and worth the cost of admission.

Serving the Squash

Surely nothing could go wrong with an other-worldly pact to precipitate a bountiful harvest, right? Right? In this adventure hapless 1st level characters find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Can they save the night and the village by fighting off gruesome gourds?

Night of the Walking Dead

As noted in my original Halloween article, Night of the Walking Dead is a classic zombie horde adventure written originally for the Ravenloft setting in AD&D 2nd Edition. It now has a 5th Edition conversion. You will need both the original module and the conversion file to run this for 1st to 3rd level PCs.

Dead by Dawn

Requires Dungeon Magazine #176 and the 5th edition conversion guide. This Dawn of the Dead hommage written for D&D 4th edition is set in a ruined temple in which the PCs must hold out until dawn while wave after wave undead attack. Dead By Dawn has a 5th Edition conversion guide balanced for 3rd level adventurers. This adventure runs on a timer, and each tick of the clock gets a bit worse.

Halloween In Phandalin

For DM's running Lost Mines of Phandelver or Dragon of Icespire Peak, this Halloween adventure can slot right into a Phandalin campaign... but fear not. Even if you are not running a Phandalin game, this adventure can be placed in any small town. The adventure add a new dungeon to the town and the threat of rising undead. For 3rd to 5th level PCs.

The House of the Midnight Violet

Long-time DM's Guild contributor Jeff Stevens presents a quest to explore an abandoned house on a haunted isle. In House of the Midnight Violet, what appears to be a simple step-and-fetch quest in complicated by spirits longing to escape. Along the way, PCs will be encounter with feral cats, creepy dolls, and a demonic finale. The adventure is set for parties 4th to 6th level with scaling suggestions for less or more powerful parties.

The Haunt

From the mind of Phil Beckwith comes a trilogy of terror starting with an exploration of a haunted manor house, another creepy doll, and a nasty hag. The Haunt is for a 4th to 5th level party... with caveats.

Source: Halloween Knight 
from Reaper Miniatures

The Haunt 2

In The Haunt 2, the creepy doll is back and as bad as ever. In the ruins of a cursed, a child's illustrations paint a picture of a horrific haunting. The PCs will experience clues in the form of spine-chilling visions. Can they solve the mystery and survive? The Haunt 2 is intended for a party of 6th level... lower level PCs enter at a dire risk. 

The Haunt 3

In the final adventure of the trilogy, the evil doll's trapped soul yearns for release. Can the adventurers travel through time to prevent her hellish imprisonment? The Haunt 3 is intended for adventurers around 8th level or a more extreme challenge at 7th level.

The Haunt Trilogy is also available as a special edition Hardback or PDF bundle that includes extras such as updated maps, item cards, combat trackers, and custom papercraft miniatures!

The Liching Hour

What happens when a goblin wizard gets it into his head that the path to power lies in summoning Vecna? Well, you definitely don't want to be nearby to find out. Fight your way through cultists, undead, beholder-kin, and a newly risen lich to survive the night. For 5th to 8th level PCs.

There are so many amazing Halloween adventures on DM's Guild that it's impossible to find all the best. Please add your own favorites in the comments!

Is D&D 4e the worst edition for role-playing?

TLDR: No... but you know the algorithm rewards click-bait headlines.

As I was re-reading some of my older books, I had a re-revelation about about some of 4e least-fair critiques, one of which being that D&D 4e doesn't support role playing mechanically.

Now, to be fair, no D&D edition support role playing with very robust mechanics. It is assumed you will play out any NPC conversation with the DM and they might call for a skill roll. That's pretty much it.

But D&D 4th Edition actually adds an element of social mechanics through Skill Challenges. There may be a role-playing goal the party needs to achieve such as a negotiation which may consist of a number of successful skills checks to convince the NPC or group to help the party. The PCs may bring different skills to bear such as Diplomacy, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, or even Performance... Basically anything that might win over the NPC in the negotiation.

This could be a diplomatic negotiation, an interrogation, rallying troops to improve morale before a battle, winning a contest of wits... Basically, it could be anything that relies on the social skill of the PC's. 

Skill Challenges can also be used for physical events that require multiple checks such as a chase scene, or finding one's way out of the wilderness, but my observations are more about the role playing aspects of these challenges. I also discuss the character generation process within the Player's Handbook and how that supports the role playing aspects.

I understand 4th edition is nowhere near perfect. It certain has its flaws. But I also believe those flaws are often exaggerated because reasons. Regardless, I hope you enjoy my video observations on role playing in 4e. In future posts, I'll likely explore the absolute gems that are the 4th Edition Dungeon Master's Guides. Please like and subscribe to help me out with the algorithm! 

D&D: A Better Way to Fudge Dice

 As it happens every 6 months or so, the topic of fudging the dice comes up.

I’m probably not going to change your mind on fudging, but I stress that should be a Session 0 topic for your game. Disclose to your players what kind of game you play so everyone is in agreement.

That said, I think there is better way to fudge. Will you take a few minutes to hear me out?

B/X-5 Revisited - Redesigning 5e classes for a low power game

Hey there D&D community,

If you've tuned in to the blog over the last 10 years, you might know I've been working on a redesign of D&D 5th Edition classes to make something a little bit more like old school D&D. 

So, as my ZineQuest Kickstarter (only $3!), I've resumed this effort and am working on Warrior, Priest, Mage, and Rogue classes as well as 3 ancestry specific classes -- the Dwarf Earthshaper, Elf Warden and the Halfling Ferret. 

I thought I may find a happy medium between the very simple design of Basic/Expert D&D and today's 5th Edition bells and whistles. I talk a little bit more about the design goal in the video,, but please check out the Kickstarter here. 

Episode 13: The Finale - Running Storm King's Thunder

Another year gone by and it's finally time to put a fork in the Storm King's Thunder series. It's done. Sorry for the long overdue update. Life sometimes gets in the way. 

In this video I re-summarize the major changes I made for Slarkrethel and Iymrith and mull over the rush up to the final battle. While the battle itself was not terrible, mistakes were made and it didn't end quite as planned. What lessons are to be learned from this?  Timestamps follow.

00:00   Intro
00:40   It's been a year. Yikes.
02:00   Summary of Recent Events
02:58   Trying to wrap up the campaign in 2 sessions.
05:45   Changes I made to the Storm King adventure
07:29   Slarkrethel's Motivation
11:00   Iymrith's Motivation
12:55   Klauth's Motivation
16:00   Slarkethel's Plan
17:00   Hekaton's Rescue
21:30   Maps and Props
24:45   The massive 3D battle map
27:40   Why the battle didn't quite work
29:00   Spreading themselves too thin
32:30   Buffing up Iymrith
33:30   Splitting combat duties between the giants and PCs
35:30   The Dust Storm Lair Action
40:55   Time has run out.
41:40   Taking the "L"
42:35   The Big Disappointment
43:30   What Could Have Gone Different?
47:00   Should I have gone easy?
48:30   How It Should Have Ended
52:25   Final Thoughts
55:30   No Hollow Victories
56:40   Lessons Learned?
58:00   Outtro - Like and Subscribe

Review: Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5e

Back after a long hiatus. This week I take a look at Lord of the Rings Roleplaying (5e) and talk about how it compares with The One Ring and its 5th Edition predecessor Adventures in Middle Earth. There were some strange choices made by the designers of this RPG which I note around 14:00. I discuss Jouneys, Counsels, and other mechanics specific to this game. Chapter timestamps below (sorry about the audio delay in the middle).

TLDR: This is an excellent adaptation of The One Ring to 5th Edition mechanics. However, if you are not adverse to trying a new system, consider picking up The One Ring instead, which in my opinion captures the "feel" of Lord of the Rings slightly better than the 5th Edition mechanics.

Lord of the Rings Roleplaying - https://amzn.to/43swqrm
The One Ring - https://amzn.to/3P26I8O

Side note: I forgot to mention in the video that if you have any Adventures In Middle Earth books, do not fret. Adventures are almost entirely compatible and will likely translate with minor adjustments. Any cultures not in the core book will need some adjustments to fit the new design.

00:00  Intro
00:25  Overview of Lord of the Rings Roleplaying and The One Ring
02:00  Setting of Lord of the Rings Roleplaying and The One Ring
04:10  How Lord of the Rings roleplaying adapts 5e mechanics
04:50  Cultures (similar to Races in D&D)
07:45  Callings (similar to Classes in D&D)
08:30  How Callings maintain the lower magic feel of Lord of the Rings
    09:25  The Captain
    10:38  The Champion
    11:20  The Messenger
    12:32  The Treasure Hunter
    12:54  The Scholar
    I forgot the Warden which is somewhat like a D&D Ranger (or a LotR Ranger, for that matter). 
13:58  Some 5th Edition rules are missing from the book.
19:50  Journeys
24:12  Differences in Healing and Resting
28:20  Patrons
30:10  Counsels
31:50  Shadow Points
34:06  Differences between Lord of the Rings Roleplaying and Adventures in Middle Earth
36:30  Skill Differences
41:30  Is it a buy?
44:55  Maps of the Shire and Eriador
46:50  Outtro

The Weird and Wonderful World of D&D Merchandising

Official Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
Woodburning Set

In the 80's at the height of its popularity, Dungeons & Dragons was somewhat known for its vast and sometimes odd licensed product tie-ins. Back in the day, there were the standard items like puffy stickers, action figures, model kits, and beach towels... but there were also some pretty far out stuff like official cross stitch patterns and even a wood-burning kit!

Well, everything old is new again. With the exploding popularity, new product tie-ins are bound to pop up and many have. Some are obvious and expected, while others are maybe just a little off. And of course, there are also those few that are less-than-officially-licensed.

This week I'm taking a look at a few items that might make good gifts... or at least good gag gifts for your Dungeons & Dragons loving friends.

Last year, there was an unexpected splash when Wizards of the Coast partnered up with Nerds candy. There were even several single-player, single-DM adventures published along with the candy if you turned in your proofs of purchase. You can still find some of the D&D Nerds online, but I don't believe you get those adventures anymore... well, unless you don't know how to Google, that is. 

But did you know there was another over-priced candy tie-in? Apparently, you can get some tiny cherry sours in the shape of healing potions in a Altoid-esque d20 tin. You should probably skip the reviews if you're going to dole out about $7 for what amount to a few rolls of Smarties (and a quite stylish, but also quite small tin).

Some other product reskins aren't too surprising given Hasbro's domination of the board game industry. Dungeons & Dragons CLUE is not even such a terrible idea. Murder mystery games are always fun and CLUE is a classis family game... even if it does involve murder. D&D isn't exactly known for non-violence anyway.

D&D Monopoly, on the other hand, is not quite as good a fit. I mean you buy monsters, I guess? And then rent them for... people to put in their dungeons, I suppose. It seems it's a cottage industry in Faerun, apparently. I am hesitant to recommend Monopoly for any family game night as actual violence may erupt. Perhaps avoid the bloodshed and tears and get the cooperative D&D Adventure Begins game instead.

Back in the day, it wasn't all that uncommon to keep all your D&D related paperwork in something like the classic Trapper Keeper. Unfortunately, there is no D&D branded Trapper Keeper... yet (Are you listening, Wizards?). But that doesn't stop you from decorating you notebooks and binders with D&D stickers galore. 

Of course, I'm not certain all of these are officially licensed properties, so you may want to get your hands on some before Hasbro's lawyers do. In any case, even if we don't have an official Trapper Keeper, you could always pick up something that looks a wee bit like a Binder of Devouring.

I was really hoping to find a beach towel because I missed out on the classic AD&D version. Though there were some pretty cool dragon related beach towels, I didn't find anything specifically branded Dungeons & Dragons until I found this pretty rad dish towel!

And while we on the subject of house wears, along with your dish towel, you can also find some D&D throw pillows and a fuzzy D&D throw blanket for your D&D futon couch.

And as long as we're lounging around the house, you'll want to make sure you have some D&D pajamas. I mean, t-shirts are old news. If you're going to go for the look, you have to have the D&D hat, D&D hoodie, D&D socks, and the D&D underwear. To get that butt, I'm going to need a D&D treadmill.

Lastly though, if you're going out, bring your D&D wallet secured by an enchanted chain giving Protection from Pick Pockets (and most probably Protection from Women). Also, don't forget your D&D umbrella in case of rain... or Acid Splash.

OH MY GOSH... I almost forgot.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS MADLIBS

So you can __________ (verb) your ________ (noun) while writing ________ (adjective) anecdotes about the world's __________ (adjective) game.

Of course no article would be complete without showing how we did it back in the day...

Not gonna lie... the D&D postcard set is pretty cool.

Episode 12: The Rescue - Running Storm King's Thunder

It's been a year (!!!) and it's way past time to update what's going on in SKT. In this video I talk about the ideas I had for the Golden Goose and the Morkoth... and how to spice up those encounters to build tension and fun as the group closes in on the end game. I hope you can use some of these ideas for your own table. Timestamps and some pics from my crafting follow.

00:00  Intro
00:28  One year already?!? What happened?
03:25  Maelstrom re-cap
05:19  Setting up the Golden Goose encounter
07:15  Ideas for the Golden Goose mystery
    09:00  Side bar about the Aboleths, Mind Flayers, and otherworld sea creatures
    10:40  How the Kraken controls its important cultists
12:10  Golden Goose Booze Cruise
15:52  Confronting Drylund
    18:00  Easy crafting for the Golden Goose
    20:00  How 2.5D terrain helped the combat encounter
20:45  The Golden Goose combat
25:05  Here comes the Baby Dragon Turtle!
28:00  I see dead people.
28:25  Finding Hekaton -- we need a boat!
30:35  Search & Rescue Skill Challenge
32:15  Broadsides with the Morkoth
    33:35  Easy crafting for the Morkoth
39:20  Why is the Kraken sinking the Morkoth?
41:20  Hekaton's Rescue and setting up the end game
43:20  Wrapping up and idea summary
44:25  Please like and subscribe!

D&D: Brace yourselves. Dragonlance is coming!

This week's D&D Unearthed Arcana article points convincingly toward a new book for Dragonlance. Given that Wizards has already said they will revisit classic settings this year, there is high chance one will be Dragonlance.

So what do you think they will do with the setting? I have some thoughts and speculations on that. Also, how can you play in the world of Dragonlance *right now* even before a book is released? I'll tell you! (...around minute 21) Timestamps below.

Player's Guide to Dragonlance (2e) - only $4
Drangonlance Campaign Setting (3.x) - about $10

00:00  Intro
00:25  Unearthed Arcana - Heroes of Krynn
02:05  New Dragonlance novels coming
02:52  Wizards' Dragonlance promotion opportunity
03:40  Fans of the original Dragonlance series now have kids playing D&D.
04:58  What will Wizards do with the setting?
05:40  The style of Dragonlance vs. "standard" D&D 5th Edition
07:20  Can superhero fantasy fit with Dragonlance?
09:30  Dragonlance isn't a high power setting.
10:05  How Wizards could tweak 5e to fit the Dragonlance style.
11:30  How Cubicle 7 adapted The One Ring to 5th Edition mechanics.
14:00  How Wizards could adapt Dragonlance to 5th Edition.
14:25  A Dragonlance-specific Player's Handbook / campaign setting book.
17:45  Any Dragonlance book will be a hit, but here's my wishlist.

21:15 Run a Dragonlance campaign!
21:20 What to get if you want to run Dragonlance right now
    22:00  Player's Guide to Dragonlance (2e) - only $4
    24:10  Drangonlance Campaign Setting (3.x) - about $10
26:00  Consider running Dragonlance under an Basic or OSR version
27:45  Rules Cyclopedia - $30 Hardback
29:55  A brief glimpse back at Dragonlance 5th Age
32:00  Outtro -- Please Like and Subscribe!
32:15  What do you think Wizards should do with the Dragonlance setting?

The One Ring Unboxing

Unboxing the The One Ring, which recently released in its second edition by Free League publishing, who also publishes such RPGs as Tales from the Loop, Alien, Twilight: 2000, and Forbidden Lands. I browse the Starter Set contents and Core Rule as well as discuss some of the changes in the game between the first edition and second edition. Timestamps below the video.

00:15  Introduction
01:35  Core Rule Book and Box set covers
02:30  Mini-GM screen in the box lid
04:10  Poster map
06:13  Starter Set (white) and Sauron (black) dice
10:00  Stance / Journey Cards
11:25  Equipment Cards
14:00  Endurance vs. Load encumbrance system
15:20  Timeline and content focus of The One Ring 1st edition vs 2nd edition
18:00  Hobbit pre-gens
19:54  Starter Set booklets
20:40  Twitch viewer comment about BattleTech
21:05  The One Ring core rule book
22:40  Free League publishing art direction
24:20  Second Edition vs First Edition art style
32:30  Comparison of Middle-Earth maps in the editions
34:15 Map of Eriador
37:45  Map of the Shire
39:40  Hobbit characters
41:15  Attributes and Skills
44:25  How Skill rolls work
48:00  Travel and Journeys
52:00  Starter Set rules vs. Core rules content
52:30  PC Cultures in Middle Earth
54:25  Monster Bestiary
56:00  Content left out of the 2nd edition. Possible supplements?
58:50  Adventures In Middle Earth
1:00:20 Outtro

Easy Modular Roads for Car Wars and Gaslands

Here's a supremely easy craft that will allow you to DIY your own road sections for Car Wars and Gaslands. If you don't already have some of the necessary tools and hardboard, it's not as cheap as desired, but I already had some of the materials to create them so I went with it. Whether you go with the not-quite-as-cheap-as-hoped cardboard, or with the fancier neoprene depends largely what you already have available. 

Neoprene Road Tiles - https://amzn.to/3pvLGBb
Road Tape (4 inch) - https://amzn.to/31xZp2o
Road Tape (2 inch) - https://amzn.to/3DtM6Nl
12x12 Hardboard - https://amzn.to/31yRzFo
Glue Dots - https://amzn.to/3dpQMJF

D&D 5e: Short Campaigns and One Shots

About 6 months ago (already?), I suggested that running one of the long hardback adventures from Wizards of the Coast may not be the best idea for a new Dungeon Master. You can watch the video for all the details, but to summarize:

• The Wizards hardbacks are often long intricate plots involving a large number of NPCs.
• You have to read and digest a couple hundred pages (at least) to fully understand everything going on and be able to foreshadow events (which generally is not done well in the adventure itself).
• They span as many as 10 to 15 levels of play, which is a lot of game to bite off for your first campaign.
• It's a lot just to learn to run the game much less keep 200+ pages of heavy plot in your noggin.
• Short episodic adventures give the DM much more freedom to improvise with much less preparation.

Instead, I suggested perhaps a more short-form campaign would be a better choice. Prepping smaller 3 to 5 session modules and one-shots (single session length) adventures might be better for the new DM. A shorter length campaign (5 to 7 levels) is also a better introduction to the challenges of game mastering.

There are a few exception. If you are a new DM and you haven't run the D&D Essentials Kit or the Starter Set adventures, those are both amazing introductory (and relatively short) adventures. The Dragon of Icespire Peak (Essentials Kit) is a little more modular and has more bite-sized chunks for the newer DM, but the Lost Mine of Phandelver (Starter Set) is also a very well done scenario with a plot arc the underlies all the encounters. Together, they can be used to introduce a new group of players to the Sword Coast (Forgotten Realms). Tales from the Yawning Portal, Ghosts of Saltmarsh, and Candlekeep Mysteries also contain shorter length adventures that are self-contained.

But, that's not what I'm here to talk about.

Short Campaigns and One Shots

This topic resurfaced because I was asked on social media, "What are some good one-shot or short multi-session adventures that can span a number of levels?" 

Boy, howdy... there are lots. I do have some recommendations for publishers I've enjoyed. I've come to prefer the more episodic "monster of the week" style campaign because you're not locked into a really long plot arc that the players may lose interest in over time. Smaller adventures are over in 3 to 5 sessions and if one of them just isn't working out, you can scrub that particular mission without feeling like you lost $50 and tons of prep work. Just move on to the next episode.

Horror Shorts

For my first recommendation, I wrote out a list of One-Shot Halloween adventures a few years ago. These are great 1 to 2 session length adventures, but they are largely horror themed, so I wanted to include a broader variety of adventure types for this post.

Tales of the Old Margreve

Tales of the Old Margreve is not a full campaign, but more a collection of short adventures centered on a particular region of Kobold Press' Midgard campaign setting. Three of the adventures are directly linked and can be run as a part of a plot arc, but the rest are are just nice little 1 to 3 session vignettes that can be dropped into almost any campaign. Hollow was a nice starter adventure to set the tone. The introductory adventure leans toward the horror theme as well, but most of the book involves forces of the fey as opposed to forces of darkness.

Prepared #1 and Prepared #2

Sticking with Kobold Press for a moment, the Prepared series is a wonderful collection of short adventures intended to be dropped into a campaign with a very small amount of prep work. They're all just a handful of pages, so one could read them on a Friday afternoon in preparation for a Friday night game, and the adventures span from level 1 to 15, so there is almost always something that you can mine for your campaign.

Quests of Doom

The Quests of Doom series from Frog God Games is written to emulate an "old school" play style found in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. These adventures are not only available for D&D 5th Edition, but Pathfinder and Swords & Wizardry as well. The writers include notables such as Ed Greenwood, Matt Finch, Skip Williams, and Jim Ward. The Darkening of Namjan Forest is one of my favorites and will cause your players to poop their pants when they encounter shadows everywhere!

Fifth Edition Fantasy

Known for their old school Dungeon Crawl Classics line of adventures and DCC RPG, Goodman Games also produced Fifth Edition Fantasy which is another series of relatively short adventures that can be dropped into any 5th Edition campaign. The adventures can run anywhere from roughly 16 to 24 pages and usually completed in just a few sessions. 

Dungeons On Demand

Dan Coleman Productions puts out the Dungeons On Demand series. These short adventures can be bought individually or as bundled collections at a discount. Dan uses maps with friendly iconography that allow the DM to easily see where the most important points of interest, clues, encounters and other details are at a glance. These are also collections where you can reasonably read most of the adventures the day of your game and still run them proficiently that night.

5th Edition Adventures

Last but certainly not least is Troll Lord Games 5th Edition Adventures series. The Troll Lords are know for releasing the Castles & Crusades RPG back in 2004, arguably the first "Old School Revival" RPGs. Their 5th Edition line is largely translations of the C&C adventures over the years, but sometimes with additional content that did not appear in the originals. Two of the absolute best campaign starters are A1 Assault on Blacktooth Ridge and A0 The Rising Knight

In Summary

This list really only scratches the surface of what's out there, and it is likely I will need to create another follow up list highlighting adventures from the DMsGuild.com... but that may have to wait for another day. In the meantime, check out Nothing Unusual Here -- a weird little tale about a village and its unusual fondness for their pet dwarf pigs. I hope this is a good start for those looking for short adventures for their home brew game.

Car Wars 6e Vehicle Card Overview

Car War 6th Edition has largely been the big news in my gaming world lately. In this latest video, I do an overview of the vehicle building cards included in the Double Ace pledge, which includes the Core set, Vehicle Expansion #1 and #3, Armory Pack, Linked Weapons Pack, Dropped Weapons pack and the Crew Pack. The Uncle Albert's expansion is included in the early bird pledges, but hasn't shipped as of this video. Timestamps below.

00:00  Overview of Vehicle build system
05:30  Example pre-generated vehicle
10:25  Driver (Crew) cards
14:50  Gunner (Crew) cards
16:50  Crew Equipment cards
19:40  Vehicle Accessories
21:05  Structure (Armor) upgrades
25:12  Vehicle Upgrades
27:00  Dropped Weapons - Mines, Oil, Smoke, Spikes
28:10  Lasers and Shock Weapons
29:10  Blast (Rocket) Weapons
29:50  Flamethrowers
30:15  "Melee" Weapons
31:05  Machine Guns
33:10  Slug Weapons -- Recoilless Rifles, Tanks Guns, etc.
34:55  Internal Damage Cards
38:40  Summing Up

Car Wars 6th Edition Kickstarter Unboxing

 The Car War Kickstarter has started to fulfill and several of us have gotten our "Double Ace" base pledge (some add-ons may be coming later). This video is basically unboxing the large box... but there was so much to cover, I will need to add separate video to look at all the vehicles included. 

1:20  Discussing the box wrap and cover art
3:30  Opening the box
4:00  Dice bag
4:20  Vehicle Expansions Set #1 and Set #3
4:50  Armory Pack and Linked Weapons Pack
6:00  Dropped Weapons and Crew Packs
8:00  Car Wars 6e Retail Box
10:00  Rule book, counters, dice and new turning key
11:00  Sample vehicle player mats
14:30  Movement and the Turning Key
17:50  Miniature Box A and Player Dashboard
19:30  Each player has their own Vehicle Decks for vehicle creation
24:20  Miniature Box B
28:10  Cardstock puzzle-piece road tiles
33:00  Crew Pack, Dropped Weapons, Linked Weapons and Armory Packs
37:00 Vehicle Expansion Set #1 and Set #3

REACTION: Brach's Turkey Dinner Candy Corn

Don't try this at home.

In the interest of science, I am sometimes driven to take incredible risks so that you, the viewer at home, do not have to. In this video, I am trying the Brach's Turkey Dinner and Apple Pie + Coffee Candy Corn. Brach's decided that they would not just meet, but exceed the dreams of Willy Wonka in presenting you, the consumer, with a whole Thanksgiving Dinner in Candy Corn format.

The results are understandably surprising. Timestamps follow below.

For specific flavors, jump to:

09:00  Green Bean

11:00  Cranberry Sauce

14:25  Stuffing  (dark brown color)

16:00  Apple Pie and Coffee (light brown)

18:40  Turkey (medium yellowish brown)

Some of the flavor differences were a bit subtle... but not all. I don't want to spoil the video, but if you want to jump to the most surprising, 18:40 may sum up my experience with this particular bag.

Is D&D 6th Edition really coming in 2024?

In a word, "No".

In a few more words, "It's complicated... but perhaps not that complicated." The thing is, don't worry. Your investment in D&D 5th Edition won't become obsolete.

D&D "Little Brown Books" from 1974

First, let me take a moment to reflect. In 2024, Dungeons & Dragons will be 50 years old. This is a fairly mind-blowing anniversary. A vast majority of the player base these days is younger than the game itself. The legacy D&D has left on pop culture, video games, and tabletop gaming is practically immeasurable because it has literally influenced so many corners of the entertainment industry as a whole. 

The very first Dungeons & Dragons box set shipped in late January of 1974... and it's been a wild ride since then.

Now, getting back to "6th Edition"... This isn't a thing. 

During D&D Celebration, Wizards of the Coast announced they would be releasing revised core rule books in 2024. The revised books will update the character creation rules slightly to match what been published in Tasha's as well as include content from the books note above. Ancestries will replace Race... but they are still basically the same mechanically. Non-humans get some combination of +2/+1 in ability scores with their other special abilities and humans will use something akin to the Variant Human option. Ability bonuses will likely follow class or background rather than race selections.

Aside from character generation, all errata will be included and likely a number of spells will be altered or clarified. It is probable that some class paths will be tweaked, but I don't expect anything too stunningly different from class paths we've already seen in Xanathar's and Tasha's. We do know for certain that creature stat blocks are changing and we're seeing the first steps of that in Wild Beyond the Witchlight.

Historical Note: The AD&D 2nd Edition Revised covers removed
"2nd Edition" from the title graphic and downplayed "Advanced".

I've seen a lot of people refer to the upcoming updates as "5.5" which is a reference to when Wizards of the Coast revised 3rd Edition and printed the D&D 3.5 Core rule books. It's hard to gauge the accuracy of that take. The 3.5 rules did some fairly significant changes to combat, and moved the game much more toward an on-the-grid tactical combat (To be fair, third edition had started that trend, but 3.5 really cemented grid play as defacto standatd).

I'd hesitate to say we'd see sweeping changes. Calling it "5.25" might be more accurate, or perhaps just "5th Edition Revised" is more than sufficient. We've seem this before with AD&D. Second edition had new black cover revised books come out several years after 2e's introduction. It didn't really change the game much, but did offer some class changes in the form of "kits" and other skill option (which laid some of the foundation for 3rd Edition).

But the point it, Don't Panic. It's still D&D 5th Edition.

Episode 11: "Fixing" Maelstrom - Running Storm King's Thunder

In Episode 11, I reveal how I adapted the "Fixing Maelstrom" Reddit post to my own game. I also talk about how I tie all the loose threads and weak plot points together into a more cohesive (IMO) set of motivations for the major villains. Timestamps follow below the video.

Reddit discussion on Maelstrom:  https://www.reddit.com/r/stormkingsthunder/comments/guo93z/fixing_and_expanding_maelstrom/

00:05  Introduction
01:30  My changes to plug perceived plot holes.
03:42  Why haven't the giants resurrected Queen Neri?
05:00  The Kraken's Motivations
06:30  Why is Hekaton captured and not killed?
08:35  Iymrith's Motivations
10:00  Klauth's Motivations
11:55  Looking for Maelstrom ideas
13:55  My party's link to Serissa
15:20  Getting to Maelstrom (in summary)
18:00  Convincing the Giants
23:15  Persuading the Cloud Giants
27:35  Facing off with the Fire Giants
32:30  Setting up the Ambush
36:40  Audience with Serissa
38:20  Making a major enemy
39:28  Wrapping up

DM 101: 5 Tips the Beginning D&D Dungeon Master

There are a lot of book on how to run the mechanical aspects of the Dungeons & Dragons, but not many of them are great at actually telling new DMs how to be better at running the game in terms of managing the table, players, or being a good servant leader. Here is my list of 5 beginner tips when starting out your journey as a new Dungeon Master.

00:01 - Introduction
00:30 - The 5th Edition Dungeon Master Guide doesn't really teach how to run a game.
01:40 - 4th Edition DMG has some excellent DM advice sections.

03:10 - Tip #1: Session 0
                More on Session 0
                  http://ragingowlbear.blogspot.com/2018/01/dnd-why-is-session-zero-important.html
                  https://ragingowlbear.blogspot.com/2018/05/gm-101-ep-1-importance-of-session-0.html

05:55 - The Social Contract (Tip #1.5)
                  More on the Social Contract
                    https://ragingowlbear.blogspot.com/2018/02/gm-101-what-is-social-contract.html
                    http://ragingowlbear.blogspot.com/2018/08/gm-101-problems-players-and-social-contract.html

09:50 - Tip #2: Start small. Grow gradually.
10:30 - Instead of a long campaign, consider smaller adventures like the Starter Set or Essentials Kit.
12:40 - Short 3rd party publisher adventures
14:22 - Starting small with a homebrew
15:47 - Not every adventure needs to be "Throw the Ring into Mt. Doom"

16:38 - Tip #3: Do not write plots. Set up hooks (scenarios).
17:05 - Pirate campaign example.
                  More one Railroading and Player Agency
                    http://ragingowlbear.blogspot.com/2018/02/gm-101-railroads-sandboxes-player-agency.html
21:10 - Writing adventure hooks (fronts in Dungeon World / Apocalypse world)
23:50 - Write several hook ideas, present them, and find out which one(s) interest your players.
26:20 - Have non-combat resolutions available as alternatives. Write some non-combat scenarios.

28:35 - Tip #5: Don't fudge die rolls.
                  More on fudging the dice
                    https://ragingowlbear.blogspot.com/2018/10/gm-101-why-i-dont-fudge-dice.html
                    https://ragingowlbear.blogspot.com/2017/05/gm-101-just-say-no-to-fudge.html
29:45 - Discuss with your players in Session 0 about PC death

34:00 - Starter Set or Essentials Kit?
36:30 - Outtro

DM 101: Persuasion can't do that!

Can we discuss this like civilized people?

I've read a lot of new DM questions that come up on social media, and one that seems to really confuse a lot of newbies is the use of the Persuasion skill.

Some of this confusion results from the misunderstanding of skill checks in general, but much of it is related to how powerful Persuasion can be when used. To clarify, let's start with skill checks in general. A skill check is just a special kind of ability check that allows the PC to add their proficiency bonus if they are proficient in that skill. Here are the Rules as Written in regards to ability checks.