Building an Active and Living D&D Campaign World

Building an Active and Living D&D Campaign World

In regular Dungeons & Dragons adventures, PCs often find themselves on a linear journey, moving from one plot point to the next, with the world around them serving as a backdrop. 

Antagonists are primarily focused on thwarting the PCs’ goals, their actions driven by the ever-looming influence of the Big Bad. 

But what if I told you there’s a more immersive and dynamic way to play? To bring the world front and centre. 

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This Is How I Love To Play Dungeons & Dragons

How I Love To Play Dungeons & Dragons

There are many ways to play Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), and if you ask 10 people they will most likely give you 10 different answers on how they like to play. 

This post is all about how I like to play. 

I wanted to write this as a gateway to learning more about how I play D&D.

And, from there, you can learn and understand the parts that make up what I love about playing D&D this way. So, you too, may incorporate them into your campaign. 

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Sandbox D&D Campaigns – Dealing With The Misconceptions

Sandbox D&D Campaigns - Dealing With The Misconceptions

Recently, I posted a question on X/Twitter asking why sandbox worlds were so popular in the video game space, and quite frequently resisted or derided in the TTRPG space. 

A lot of the comments I received were saying that it was too hard to create a sandbox campaign, it would take years, it would require a GM to dedicate months and years to creating the world, and so on. 

But this is all incorrect. 

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Encounter Table Design For DnD

I have written about how good Dungeons & Dragons random encounter tables are before, both in this blog and in issue 7 of my zine

In this post I want to respond in a way to a video I watched where the host was explaining how bell-curve random tables are not truly random and shouldn’t be used. A single die with a way to roll higher than the max would be better. 

I both agree and disagree with this notion. 

It all comes down to what you want to get out of the table and what area in your campaign world the table is for. 

Let’s dive into it. 

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Monster Stat Blocks – A New Layout

Monster Stat Blocks - A New Layout

Monster stat blocks are an essential part of the Dungeons & Dragons game.

They let the GM know a lot about the monster – at least they should.

What they tend to end up like is a combat block, rather than a monster stat block, focusing on combat-orientated information.

Helpful in combat, but not very complete, given the characters may want to parley or interact with the creature in other ways.

What I have developed is a modular monster stat block that will give GMs the information they need – at a glance – to run the monster in any situation. 

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