One of the most effective ways to design a campaign arc for Dungeons and Dragons is to fully flesh out a place and its inhabitants beforehand.
DM Resources
Identify: Inkarnate
Inkarnate is a web-based cartography toolset designed with users of all ability levels in mind. With Inkarnate, pros and amateurs can quickly and easily create beautiful looking maps of their fantasy worlds.
Ideas for Increasing Your D&D Player’s Engagement
We are huge fans of increasing immersion (and by extension, engagement) at the D&D table. We get pretty serious about it and discuss some of the ways that we have dialed it up during our duet game in our post all about Supporting In-Session Immersion. In many ways, this is a companion piece to that […]
Crystalline Curse Trilogy
Escape from a castle, rescue an ancient warrior, solve small town mysteries, and uncover the cure for the Crystalline Curse! We’ve bundled our first three adventures: First Blush, Second Glance, and Third Time’s the Charm, so you can download all three together on DMsGuild!
Step-by-Step Setup for Multiple Characters in Combat
This post builds on the character-focused approach to combat with some practical steps you can take while setting up that will further streamline running multiple characters at once.
Failure States Beyond TPK in D&D
Next in our string of death and defeat posts, we wanted to work through some ways that DMs can enhance the drama and tension of failure without wiping everyone out. Especially in one-on-one games, where the death of the primary character could result in the end of a game, it’s a good idea to keep non-deadly stakes on the table. What follows are a few ideas on increasing dramatic tension through the threat of non-deadly (at least for the party) failure.
Deadly Stakes (and why you should have them)
The ever-present threat of death lends a satisfying weight to the choices we make in tabletop games. Mortality ultimately lends a sweetness to life.
Incorporating Multiple Eras in Your Homebrew World
Part of creating a vibrant, full world is working with multiple timelines. Just as understanding the past allows us to make sense of our political, cultural, and personal present, knowing your game world’s history helps you to determine conflicts, alliances, trade relationships, religious practices, and more. In this post, we will work through some practical steps and questions for thinking through these past eras.