This is how I D&D
The old school D&D category contains many articles about playing and GMing old school D&D. That is, D&D that highlights the styles of playing from the 70s and 80s. It also includes OSR material.
Back in 2021 I released Issue 1 of my d12 Monthly zine (you can also grab a printed copy) which had a table that let you roll what a monster was doing when the PCs showed up.
This was mainly for random encounters, but could be used for any encounter really.
Later that year I wrote an article about it to showcase how it could be used and the importance of it when trying to simulate a fantasy world and to keep verisimilitude.
Continue reading “Revisiting What The Monsters Are Doing Chart”
Here’s the hard truth: if your wolves, orcs, and liches all fight like fearless sacks of hit points until they fall over, you’re not running monsters, you’re running target dummies.
Intelligence is the deciding factor in how a monster acts, reacts, and tries not to die.
Ignore it, and every encounter feels the same. Use it, and suddenly the dungeon feels alive and hostile – in the best possible way.
This is a guide to running monsters by Intelligence.
No theory. No fluff. Just behaviour you can apply at the table.
Continue reading “D&D Monster Intelligence: Stop Playing Them Like Idiots (Unless They Are)”
Magical weapons in Dungeons & Dragons are mostly meh.
Sure, there is the occasional flaming brand, or luck blade, but for the most part they are +1, +2, or +3 weapons and not much else.
And that’s kind of boring.
Continue reading “D66 Table: Magical Weapons That Are More Than Just +1”
One thing I want to do more of on the site is to include links to stuff I find really interesting that isn’t really known by most in the TTRPG community (although, your mileage may vary).
One cool item I came across recently is the city of Irilian.
Continue reading “Irilian – A D&D City You Have Never Heard Of”
Over the last few weeks I have been running a 2-player Dungeons & Dragons campaign using Old School Essentials (OSE) as the rule set.
I wasn’t sure if so few players would have an impact on the campaign – I mean, most D&D campaigns have 4-6 players.
But it’s been a blast!
Attacks of Opportunity (or Opportunity Attacks in the more modern parlance) is a rule that was introduced in D&D 3.0, and has been part of Dungeons & Dragons ever since.
Older versions of the game – like Old School Essentials (OSE) and B/X – never had a rule that covered this as it was left completely up to the GM, never even considered, or handled in a different way (long weapons going first in melee combat, is an example in AD&D).
Something I’ve added to my D&D solo 3.0 campaign, but something that would work for any D&D campaign, no matter what edition, is to not allow clerics to use magical healing between adventures.
I’ve been thinking about Dungeons & Dragons classes lately. And I think fewer classes is better for the game.
Instead, I’ve reinvented Kits (from D&D 2nd edition but without the bloat) to give various classes flavour and the character some backstory.
In 2025 I promised myself to spend more time on D&D forums and less on social media.
We all know the issues with social media, so I won’t go into them here. Instead, I want to highlight the benefits of forums for roleplaying games in general, and Dungeons & Dragons in particular.
Continue reading “Why Forums Are Better For DnD Than Social Media & Discord”
Adventures in Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) are the bread and butter of the game. Adventurers delve into dungeons, explore the wilderness, and navigate cities – all in an effort to become heroes.
Running one adventure after another however, can be overwhelming – for both GM and players.
Characters level up in a matter of days or weeks, and the excitement for the next adventure can dwindle without a space to breathe and reflect on what has already been accomplished.
This is where downtime comes in.