Recent Comments
- Scott Nagle on Can a DM Have Monsters Kill Fallen Characters Without Bringing Hurt Feelings?
- Peter on In D&D, Letting Everyone Roll Certain Checks Guarantees Success, So Why Bother Rolling?
- Beoric on Can a DM Have Monsters Kill Fallen Characters Without Bringing Hurt Feelings?
- Justin Machado on 8 Fast Facts About D&D’s Magic Missile Spell
- Ben Butler-Cole on Can a DM Have Monsters Kill Fallen Characters Without Bringing Hurt Feelings?
Related on Amazon
Archives
DM David
Categories
Meta
Subscribe to Blog via Email
Author Archives: David Hartlage
Steal This Rule: Flashbacks and Heists in Dungeons & Dragons
In a heist film, a group of experts team to overcome elaborate security measures using a carefully planned series of steps. Much of the fun comes from seeing the ingenuity of the heroes as they crack seemingly impenetrable obstacles as … Continue reading
Posted in Advice
Tagged Blades in the Dark, flashbacks, heist, Leverage, steal this rule
10 Comments
How Much Talk at Your Game Table Reaches Into the Game World?
Suppose your players aim to stop raiders somehow able to slip past the town’s defenses. They meet the woman who leads the city guard. Mid conversation, the rogue’s player says, “I’m sure she’s behind the raids. We should just kill … Continue reading
D&D’s Animal Companions and Familiars—Choosing the Right Pet For Your Character
Many Dungeons & Dragons players love animal companions for their characters, but the game’s fifth edition suffers uneven support for the archetype. Only specific character builds gain access to pets, and creating a character with an effective companion often requires … Continue reading
Posted in Character builds
Tagged animal companions, Dan Dillon, familiar, Jeremy Crawford, Mike Mearls, paladin, ranger, wizard
12 Comments
10 Things in Pathfinder Second Edition I Like (and 1 I Don’t)
In 2008, Paizo sent designer Jason Buhlman to the Winter Fantasy convention to sample the upcoming fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons and report on the game. Paizo founder Lisa Stevens recalls the outcome. “From the moment that 4th Edition … Continue reading
Secret D&D Games, Sharpshooters, Baby Orcs, and More From the DM David’s Comment Section
Time for another visit to the comment section. At the end, one reader tells a true story of how the Satanic panic drove a group’s Dungeons & Dragons games into secret, and what happened when concerned citizens learned of the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Adventurers League, assassin, Bruce Cordell, Dave Arneson, Dead Gods, Deities & Demigods, Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, ecology, Far Realm, Fez, Freedom, Gary Gygax, Gates of Firestorm Keep, greatest adventures, hit points, moral dilemmas, Planescape, Queen of the Demonweb Pits, realism, Ruins of Castle Greyhawk, Satanic panic, Sharpshooter, Steve Townshend, Teos Abadia, THAC0, thief, Thomas Christy, Throne of Bloodstone, Tomb of Annihilation, Vecna Lives!
7 Comments
How to Reveal a Dungeon Map on an iPad as Characters Explore
Mapping rates as one of the chores in the original Dungeons & Dragons game that players learned to skip. In early D&D, one player assumed the role of mapper and transcribed a description of walls and distances onto graph paper. … Continue reading
The Two D&D Feats Everyone Loves (For Someone Else’s Character)
In February, the folks at D&D Beyond shared the most popular feats among their users. The favorites included entries I would expect. The top three all appeal to risk-averse players building a wide range of characters. Hate losing spells to … Continue reading
Posted in Character builds
Tagged feats, Healer, Inspiring Leader, Lucky, Polearm Master, Sentinel, Sharpshooter, Tough, War Caster
9 Comments
How to Build a Sharpshooter Who Wins D&D (If the Rest of Your Group Doesn’t Mind)
The massive damage inflicted by characters built on the Sharpshooter feat can overshadow other characters and make potentially interesting encounters resemble an execution by firing squad. See Sharpshooters Are the Worst Thing in D&D, but That Speaks Well of Fifth … Continue reading
Posted in Character builds
Tagged Archery, character classes, Crossbow Expert, fighter, Gloom Stalker, Hunter, ranger, rogue, Samurai, Sharpshooter
10 Comments
