I see a lot of posts on Twitter lately along the lines of people who are new to D&D, been playing for a little bit, want to try their hand at being a DM (Dungeon Master) but aren’t sure how, or if they’re good enough. Especially in the rise of the TTRPG culture, with celebrity DMs or even just those who have been playing for … Continue reading Spring into DMing – How to Get Into Running a Game
The answer to this question is a complicated one. We have to look at what “playing wrong” means. Unfortunately, the English language doesn’t like being very exact in its use of adjectives, so we have to make do with specifics. There’s a few different directions this question can go, so let’s be specific. You can play a tabletop roleplaying game wrong. How you manage to … Continue reading Can You Play a TTRPG Wrong?
(Waterdeep: Dragon Heist cover, Tyler Jacobson, Wizards of the Coast) Every so often on Twitter, you see the complaint get aired, “My villain got killed in the first act,” or something like, “My BBEG died in the second encounter! They were so cool though!” These grievances are shockingly common. Sadly, plot armor is not something that adds a bonus to AC. In fact, plot armor in … Continue reading Diabolical Plans: Running Villains Like Badasses
Base classes are difficult to design in 5e. In no way does it mean that it is impossible, but there are a few big hurdles to overcome if you decide that you want to design your own base class. If you have spent more than three minutes on DMsGuild, you probably have noticed that there are so many community created base classes out there. Some … Continue reading Base Class Basics: Building Your Own D&D Class
Nearly every adventuring party ends up in a tavern at some point of time or another. Sometimes, they’re a place of great importance for a plotline or a quest, and sometimes the party just wants to celebrate/commiserate over recent events. Either way – there are times when you’ll need to come up with a tavern on the fly, and while a name and NPCs can … Continue reading Menu Magic – Enhancing Your Tavern, One Drink at a Time
Today on the Mage College, we introduce a Sacred Oath designed specifically for followers of one of my favorite Forgotten Realms, Eilistraee. Though, to be more specific this Sacred Oath was created for my favorite follower of Eilistraee, Leoni, or as many know her, the fantastic GlossandGadgets, chairwoman, creator, artist, animator of Goldhart Gaming, who plays Lael’essthrae (or Lael for short) on the Saturday Waterdeep: … Continue reading Sacred Oath: Oath of Nightsong
Wondering what you’re missing out on by not being a patron of the Mage College’s Patreon? March’s benefits included play test material from the upcoming book “Goldeneye’s Guide to Warlocks”, three new subclasses, and a plethora of magical items for you to use. Curious as to what that all might look like? Lucky for you, we’ve summarized it so you get a taste of what … Continue reading Treasures Untold: Patreon Content Preview!
A year ago, I was inspired by fantastic people in the community like my dear wife Kannah, my now friend and hero Ruty Rutenberg, and others like Matt Mercer, Krystina Arielle, Satine Phoenix, and many more who advocate for love and compassion into our D&D community. Love is central to community and the people in it. As the capstone is of this subclass suggests, love … Continue reading Valentine’s Day Special – Revised Divine Domain: Love
Ever have a hard time choosing between playing a druid or a wizard? Look no further. I think I may have solved that problem. I recently had a delightful experience being interviewed by FC3 Monkey Business podcast, and over the course of the show, turns out one of the hosts of the show, Chris had a bit of a conundrum, he had always wanted to … Continue reading Arcane Tradition: Primeval Mystic
When I started playing Dungeons & Dragons, I was obsessed with creating the “perfect character.” To some degree, even years later, I try to get everything with this one character right. Which character you might ask? The handsome blue-clad swashbuckler looking elf you see here: Daerthalion Dawntracker. In the process of creating him, and in some cases, re-creating and refining him, I learned more about … Continue reading Hero in the Making – A Lesson in Character Creation
