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I've begun a series of episodes discussing Xanathar's Guide to Everything, the new D&D rules supplement. In this first episode I give an overview of the book with a tour of its contents. Whether you're a player or a DM, Xanathar's Guide has something for everyone.

Have any of you used the proficiency dice optional rule? (E.g. instead of a +2 proficiency bonus, you roll a d4 and add it to the d20 roll.) If you have, what did you think of it? Did it slow down play at all? How did it compare to a flat proficiency bonus (i.e. did it seem a lot more...

I'm curious if any of you have used the hero points optional rule in the DMG. If so, how did it work for you in your group, specifically in the different tiers of play. E.g. did you find the d6 added to the d20 quite powerful at 1st tier and middling at 4th tier, or was it useful throughout...

As a follow-up to my highly-popular series of episodes on the PHB, I am now doing a series on the DMG. I'm going through the books page-by-page and exploring the rules, options, variants, and all the good stuff in the core books of the game. Whether you're a new player or DM looking for a...

My series of episodes exploring the PHB have been a big hit, so now I'm tackling the DMG. This week I discuss mapping your campaign. If you'd like to get caught up, there are links to all the other episodes in the series in the linked shownotes. I hope this series of episodes is useful to you...

I thought I'd solicit opinions on a D&D house rule I've been thinking about. I'm looking for feedback from other DMs, as I already know most players aren't going to like a house rule that would possibly nerf their character. ;) It seems to me that Dexterity in 5e is rather overpowered compared...

This week I conclude my in-depth discussion of the D&D Player's Handbook with an exploration of the spellcasting, conditions and exhaustion rules. At this point I have discussed all the general rules of the game in the PHB that a DM will benefit from knowing and understanding. I hope these...

Today I continue my series on the Roles of the GM. In this episode we discuss the GM as a teacher. As GMs we often find ourselves teaching players a new game, or even teaching players who’ve never played an RPG before. I give you strategies to set yourself up for success and ensure your players...

If your first-printing D&D books are falling apart, Wizards will replace them. The process is actually much easier than the incorrect process described on their website. I also discuss an excellent Ted Talk I saw about how playing RPGs can be good for you. Check out my new episode of Game...

My in-depth discussion of the PHB continues on the Game Master's Journey podcast. This week I discuss chapter 7 and ability checks. I then share some thoughts on when to call for a check and when not to, as well as some better ways to handle a PC failing a check. I hope you'll check it out...

I've started a series on my RPG podcast, Game Master's Journey, in which I am digging through the DMG content in the PHB in detail. Once I finish the PHB, I will go into the DMG. I hope you'll check it out. Episode 137: Preface, Introduction and Chapters 1-4 Episode 138: Chapter 5 - Equipment...

I've done some playtesting of the new encounter building guidelines in the Unearthed Arcana, and they've worked very well for me, definitely better than those in the DMG. However, they take a little unpacking, and they can seem a lot more confusing than they really are. This week on my rpg...

Greetings fellow gamers! I wanted to let you know I did a full review of Volo's Guide to Monsters on the latest episode of my RPG podcast, Game Master's Journey. Hopefully this review will help you make an informed decision if you're considering buying this supplement. What did you think of...

I've noticed that a lot of reviewers online really phone in their reviews, often giving you little more than a lengthy description of the table of contents. I spent a lot of time on this review of Storm King's Thunder. Within the blog post you can also find links to a couple podcast episodes I...

We just began Storm King's Thunder! Here is the first video of our first session. This first video includes session zero stuff like character introductions, establishing of ties between characters, and descriptions of the characters' beginning magic items. We then go on and begin the adventure...

This week I give my full review of Storm King's Thunder. What surprised me about this book is how useful it is for DM's not planning to run the campaign. I gleaned a lot from it's pages that I can use in my own adventures set in my own homebrew world. For more thoughts on Storm King's Thunder...

In this week's episode of my RPG podcast, Game Master's Journey, I discuss some of the cool innovations and tips and tricks I've gleaned from my first perusal of Storm King's Thunder. I really like how they handle treasure and magic items in the book. I think players playing Special NPCs has a...

I've been working on a fae PC race for my homebrew world of Primordia. They are small creatures. Thematically, I think it would be cool if they could fly, but I feel like that may be a bad idea. I think there are some solid objections to giving flight as a racial ability. 1. Otherwise flight...

Death House is the introductory adventure for the new Curse of Strahd campaign. The linked article contains spoilers for that adventure, so don't read it if you may be a player of the adventure. The unwary DM who runs this adventure as written will have a TPK on her hands at least once, if not...

You may not realize that 5e's XP and advancement system has some inherent problems. I didn't until I did some number crunching. The biggest problem is that encounter difficulty does not always correlate with the xp payout for the encounter. I explain the problems and propose a solution in this...