Aug 29
Reskinning is an amazingly easy way to get extra mileage out of the Monster Manual and/or throw more experienced players for a loop when you describe a creature as one thing (goblin), but use the mechanics of another creature (Hydra!) I’ve been reskinning monsters for years but recently decided I wanted to take things a …
Aug 29
Skill Challenges, as far as I’m aware, first made their appearance in D&D 4e. The idea was to present a challenge to the players that had to be defeated or overcome through use of Skill or Ability Checks checks – almost like a combat encounter, but with less stabbing. So, for example – navigating through …
Oct 26
The dice matter. There are times when I wish they didn’t, but they do. As a player, I go into most games with the goal of rolling dice the least amount of times possible. If never is an option, that’s what I’m going for. I really enjoy the social aspect of role playing and …
Sep 28
Hello students, Crunch here with an article from Faculty Member Ryan Porta. In this article, he introduces us to the city of Sillen Vale, describes what makes it unique, and provides some plot hooks to use. The intention of this article is not only to demonstrate how to generate home-brew content, but also to give …
Aug 17
Using the PC’s backstory: In my last article, I wrote about creating effective backgrounds for player characters. This included advice on how to write background that are not bogged down with too many details as well as a discussion about how to allow GMs to effectively use this background information in the story. Today …
Aug 10
Hello students, Crunch here with an article from Faculty Member Ryan Porta. In this article, he introduces us to the city of StoneFall, describes what makes it unique, and provides some plot hooks to use. The intention of this article is not only to demonstrate how to generate home-brew content, but also to give you …
Aug 02
Backstory: It’s quite common for a DM to ask their players to come up with the background or backstory of their new character before the start of a new game. I see questions on forums quite often where players are asking for advice on how to do this, or what to include. I am …
Jul 26
Hello students, Crunch here with an article from Faculty Member Ryan Porta. In this article, he introduces us to the city of Redfern, describes what makes it unique, and provides some plot hooks to use. The intention of this article is not only to demonstrate how to generate home-brew content, but also to give you …
Jul 19
Hello students, Crunch here with an article from Faculty Member Jared Smith (@TheOtherJared1) SERIES INTRO Did you ever think of a great campaign concept that you knew would make for an epic story, but never saw it come to fruition because of the fear it wouldn’t play out the way you pictured it in …
Jul 13
Hello students, Crunch here with an article from Faculty Member Ryan Porta. Fun Suggestions for Introducing the New Party Member Your gaming group has been together for over a decade. The party was cleaning out caves of kobolds and goblins while you were in grade school. In high school, saving towns and villages from …
