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.
Random encounter tables are a great way to bring diversity to your campaign.
The biggest error most GMs make with random encounter tables is they use stock standard ones from official books, which are filled primarily with monsters. Continue reading “Random Encounter Tables – A GMs Best Friend”
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.
One of the great things about the Dungeons And Dragons 3rd edition Monster Manual is the additional information they give you regarding monsters.
This includes the climate and terrain the monsters are found in, and their organisation (numbers appearing).
This blog post will focus on the latter.
Continue reading “Encounter Numbers – Using D&D 3e Monster Manual”
Reaction rolls are an old school mechanic in D&D that allows you to determine how an NPC or monster will react to the PCs.
This mostly forgotten mechanic (at least in the modern game) was a core rule in earlier versions of the game (OSR).
When the party came upon a random encounter with intelligent monsters, and the party decided to parley with them instead of attacking them, the GM would then roll a reaction check for the monsters.
What’s going to happen?
Let the simple D6 Mechanic decide for you.
This simple mechanic will allow you to add in some randomness to your Dungeons and Dragons sessions.
Instead of making decisions all the time, let the die decide for you.
All you have to do is decide on the odds.
A simple mechanic like the D6 Mechanic can be used at the table within seconds.
Let’s look at an example.
If you are not familiar with D20 Modern, it is a system that came out at the height of the D20 boom in the 2000s, which was powered by D&D 3rd edition.
Cashing in on the D20 craze, Wizard of the Coast released the D20 Modern around the same time as they released the D20 Star Wars RPG.
I never got into D20 Modern at the time, although I did have a copy which I skimmed through, but I managed to grab one off on eBay recently, and found some gems in there.
Here are my 8 take-aways from D20 Modern to use in my Dungeons & Dragons campaign.
Continue reading “8 Takeaways From D20 Modern To Use In Your Dungeons & Dragons Campaign”
This (very short) post is my attempt to explain what fantasy I like the most: Grounded Fantasy.
Grounded Fantasy is fantasy that has one foot firmly planted on solid ground, and one firmly planted in fantasy.
There is magic, but it’s not over-powered. There is the fantastic, but it meshes with harsh reality.
But what do I mean by “grounded”?
How I give out experience points and how PCs level up in my Dungeons & Dragons campaigns.
I have combined XP and levelling as they tend to go hand-in-hand.
First off, I am not a huge fan of experience points (XP) as they are written – in any edition of the game – for two main reasons:
Continue reading “How I Do Experience Points And Leveling In D&D”
Show. Don’t Tell.
This is an old adage in creative arts live movie-making and writing.
It generally means that a movie, for example, is better when you show the audience what has happened, rather than telling them – via character dialogue (or the dreaded voiceover).
Continue reading “My Issues With Pre-Written Adventures In D&D”
Abilities scores define your character.
Of all the various editions of Dungeons and Dragons, nothing is as standardized (well, except using a D20) as the six abilities.
No matter how you generate them (or in which order you list them), Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma are synonymous with the game.
Continue reading “Using Ability Scores In D&D To Define Your Character”