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Dungeons & Dragons

Old-School Essentials and Basic D&D Campaign Building

Jan 21

In 1981, Basic Dungeons & Dragons by Tom Moldvay released, quickly followed by Expert D&D by David Cook. The Old-School Essentials Rules Tome by Gavin Norman combines both sets of rules along with errata together into one book. Combined with adventures penned by Moldvay and Cook themselves, an entire 1981 D&D campaign can easily be built and run.

5E EN5ider #313 - Intriguing Organizations: Which Watch?

Jan 20

We've all got them but today EN5ider takes on the challenge of making a settlement's police force engaging and varied—with this excellent organizations article in hand, you can quickly bring some character to the city watch in your games!

5E Epic Monsters: Peter Pan

Jan 20

“It’s a bird! It’s a plane!” No, it’s that half-bird half-boy shadow-fighting faerie-friend from Neverland, that lad who can never grow up but apparently can do anything else: Peter Pan!

Swords & Sorceries Brings Ancient Myth to Dungeons & Dragons 5E

Jan 17

On a storm-wracked sea, the ship the Heart of Iron heads for the island of a long-forgotten, long-abandoned temple holding untold treasure left by an extinct people who sacrificed it to placate a sea demon. In the vast plains of the Sunlands, merchants claim a great treasure lies unclaimed in the ancient cursed ruins of Juakufa. Adventures await in the Broken Empire.

News Digest for the Week of January 17

Jan 17

Hello everyone, Darryl here with this week’s gaming news. Did you hear that Wizards of the Coast is making a Critical Role D&D sourcebook? We’ve also got more Pathfinder 2e previews, a new Unearthed Arcana for Dungeons & Dragons, custom color minis from HeroForge, and more!

RPG Crowdfunding News – Destiny Aurora, Blood Floats in Space, and more

Jan 15

The RPG crowdfunding projects presented in this article end between January 24th to the 30th unless they’re a quickstarter. There are eight options during that period including RPGs and related products, each worth judging for yourself.

Whispers In the Dark Kickstarter – An Interview with Matt Corley

Jan 14

Matt Corley of Saturday Morning Scenarios (publisher of Lamp’s Light Sanitarium and Harper’s Tale) and I talk about his next Dungeons & Dragons 5e project, Whispers in the Dark: Quickstart Rules for 5e. Created with EN World columnist, M.T. Black, this quickstarter is a taste of the full product that they’ll crowdfund this spring. In this interview, Matt shares some details about the game, his...

5E EN5ider #311 - Magic Items: Hunter Totems

Jan 13

We all know those players—the second the party has slain the unimaginable horror from beyond, they've jumped onto the corpse and are working at it with a blade to pry away some teeth, a horn, or another grisly trophy. Over at EN5ider we think these folks need something to work for with all that amateur taxidermy...something like enchanted hunter totems!

5E Mythological Figures: Mary Read

Jan 13

We’ve already seen her counterpart in crime but you may not recognize this pirate anyway⁠—most people didn’t and she spent an absurd amount of her life disguised as a man. It couldn’t be anyone other than the one, the only, the inimitable Mary Read!

Whatever Happened to D&D's Sea Serpent?

Jan 13

Sea serpents are a staple of fantasy monsters so it's curious that they are not more prominent in Dungeons & Dragons. Research reveals the sea monster has always been in D&D, but it's taken a curious path that diverge significantly from the serpentine creature we associate with the name.

Worlds of Design: Monster Workshop Part II

Jan 10

I've been talking about good ways to devise RPG monsters for tabletop games (See "Just Say No to Boss Monsters"). In the previous installment we covered the unknown, unusual characteristics, monsters that cooperate, and critters with combined characteristics. But there are many other ways to surprise your players with monsters, ranging from misdirection to item-stealers to relentless hordes.

News Digest for the Week of January 10

Jan 10

Hello everyone, Darryl here with this week’s gaming news! New D&D product not announced (yet), industry sales figures for the summer of 2019, Asmodee/Fantasy Flight layoffs spark discussions of the company’s future, new Genesys System setting announced, Fallout RPG playtest applications, previews of upcoming Pathfinder 2e and Starfinder releases, and a lot more! Don’t forget you can catch up...

Mists of Akuma: Imperial Matchmaker Review

Jan 09

Welcome back to the Mists of Akuma, an Asian mythology inspired world created by Mike Myler. Mike has written a sandbox mega-adventure that will take players from 3rd level to 12th level. We take a look into the world of intrigue that is Imperial Matchmaker.

RPG Crowdfunding News – Arclands, Deal with the Dead, The Folio, and more

Jan 08

This week I look at RPG crowdfunding projects that end between January 9th and 23rd (a larger period than normal as several quickstarters dropped that I had not covered elsewhere). It’s not a crowded field (I share eight projects in this article), but there are still a variety of options to choose from.

5E EN5ider #310 - New Race: Sentient Illusions

Jan 06

EN5ider's first issue of the year expands the lore and rules for a new type of creature introduced in a Monstrous Menagerie article late last year, providing rules for playing them as a new character race: sentient illusions! Lately on EN5ider: #310. New Race: Sentient Illusions. A few weeks ago we introduced the sapient magical life forms wrought by the Order of Sentience as...

5E Epic Monsters: Dorian Gray

Jan 06

“A man who is master of himself can end a sorrow as easily as he can invent a pleasure. I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.” Which is the precarious proposition at the heart of the man, the portrait, the monster: Dorian Gray.

Jack Vance's Forgotten Contributions to D&D

Jan 06

Renowned and influential fantasy author Jack Vance passed away at the age of 96 on May 26, 2013, but his books were highly influential on several aspects of Dungeons & Dragons in more ways than just spellcasting.

Paladin, How Are You Righteous?

Jan 03

Your paladin is a knight renowned for courage, honor, courtesy, justice, and a readiness to help the weak. You do what is right no matter the cost. But why? And how do you show your righteousness?

News Digest for the Week of January 3

Jan 03

Hello everyone, Darryl here with this week’s gaming news! By Night Studios buys out one of its owners following controversial social media posts, D&D Beyond shows us what level we’re all playing at, the Figurines of Adorable Power released, and more!

Talking 52 in 52 with Owen KC Stephens

Jan 02

Want to lock in new D&D 5e, Pathfinder 1e, PF2e, and Starfinder content delivered every week in 2020? Plus over 500 bonus supplements? All brought to you by Owen KC Stephens (Star Wars Saga Edition, Starfinder, Dungeon & Dragons, Fantasy AGE, Wheel of Time RPG, EverQuest RPG, Fantasy AGE, and EN World)? And at less than $30? Welcome to Rogue Genius Games 52 in 52 exclusively at the Open Gaming...