In our ongoing attempt to make sure we're delivering the content folks want, this is our second Best of EN5ider poll. This will help us decide which article types to commission more of in the future, and which should be consigned to the annals of history!
You can vote for as many articles as you like. If an article stood out to you, give it a vote.
You can vote for as many articles as you like. If an article stood out to you, give it a vote.
- Cherished Trinkets. A rules-light article which discusses the use of trinkets as treasure in your game. By Ryan Chaddock.
- Five Campaign Lessons from the Hobbit Films. This system neutral article discusses game mastering and what lessons you can learn from Peter Jackson's Hobbit movies. By Eric Pierce.
- Archery Contests. Running and conducting large archery tournaments can be fun and easy! By Russ Morrissey, based on an original article by Ryan Nock.
- Battlefield Events. Introducing random events to spice up combat encounters, from weather changes to pit traps. Does an innocent wander onto the battlefield, or do you stray into an ancient wild magic surge? by Russ Morrissey.
- The Business of Emotion. This is an adventure for 3-5 characters of levels 2-3. The village of Lanidor is suffering from an enchanted "summer of love". Can the PCs figure out what's going on? By Paul Okesh.
- Player Pets: Rearing Wild Animals and Training Domesticated Animals. Rules for adopting, purchasing, and training pets, from dogs to wolves to giant fire beatles and constrictor snakes. How to gain their loyalty and teach them tricks or tasks, while ensuring that the Ranger's animal companion or spellcaster's familiar remains the more potent option. By Jensen Toperzer.
- Nature's Remedy. Nature's Remedy is a brand new article for EN World EN5ider patrons! An introduction to the craft of herbalism, a handful of example herbs including darkberries, firedrake petals, silver garlic, and more, plus rules for their preparation, and a the new Master Herbalist feat. By Russ Morrissey.
- Give Chase. Adding to the chase rules found in the core rulebooks, this article presents an abstract way of mapping a chase, along with three new complication tables for underground, castle grounds, and mountain chases. By James Introcaso.
- Circles of Power: Three New Druid Circles. There are many types of druid in fiction and film with widely differing specializations. This article explores three new Druid Circles to help bring variety to your game table. Explore the Circle of Birds and Beasts, the Circle of the Elements, and the Circle of Life. By Mark Kernow, and illustrated by Deanna Roberds.
- Creating Enjoyable Puzzles for Role Playing Games. Carl Heyl shows you how to create enjoyable puzzles for your game. It's all too easy to stop a game in its tracks, or throw off any sense of immersion. The advice in this article gives tips on creating organic, fun puzzles which don't interrupt your game. Illustrated by Sade.
- Winterheart. Winterheart is an adventure for 4th level characters. Can the PCs rescue a young prisoner with latent icy magic before her despair plunges the region into a deep winter? By Esper, illustrated by Jen Tracy, cartography by Esper.
- Fantastic Tomes & Librams. Fantastic Tomes & Librams presents you with 1d100 mundane but exotic books and tomes to furnish a wizard's study, a library, or a treasure hoard. Each entry contains the book’s name, its author, a short description, and an optional notation indicating its rarity, relative value, and number of pages. By Russ Morrissey.
- Fire of the Mind. Tired of villains simply described as "mad" or "insane"? This article introduces four new illnesses - Multiple Personality Disorder, Aphasia, Schizophrenia, Paranoid Schizophrenia. Each includes rules for the player, and advice for the GM. By James Abendroth; illustrated by Sade.
- Strands of Life. Giltônio Santos brings you 11 new healing spells for the cleric, bard, druid, paladin, or ranger in your life, and takes a brief look at direct healing, damage mitigation, and gradual healing. A vital article for anyone playing a healer! By Giltônio Santos; illustrated by Jen Tracy.
- Party of One. It's not always possible to form a full five-person-plus gaming group, but that doesn't have to stop you enjoying your favorite tabletop RPG! Party of One takes a look at the one-on-one campaign, featuring one player and one GM, and discusses ways to make it a fun and rewarding experience for both. By Matt Click; illustrated by Ellis Goodson.
- King & Country. Previous vocations aren't the only types of character backgrounds. This article discusses the creation of character backgrounds based on nationality, along with two fully developed backgrounds: Crusader Nation and Arcane Dominion. By Mark A. Hart; illustrated by Scott Harshbarger.
- Don't Wake Dretchlor. A forgotten mansion. A sadistic demon. A deadly game of cat-and-mouse. Can the heroes outwit the demon and escape the mansion, or will they fall prey to Dretchlor's evil machinations? An adventure for characters of 5th-7th level by Kiel Chienier; illustrated by Rick Hershey and Sexualtyranosarus.
- King & Country II. By popular demand - the sequel to King & Country, Mark Hart's introduction to nationalities as backgrounds! You asked us for it, so we obliged! Here are four new fantasy realms for use as backgrounds - the Confederacy of Feuding Houses, the Lost Civilization, the Regime of the Dark Overlord, and the Savage Land. By Mark Hart; illustrated by N.C. Wyeth.
- Get Sick: Six New Diseases. Bottle fever, demonic plague, itching insides, ooze decay, aberrant touch, and walking rot. What do these all have in common? They're all new diseases for your game - some mundane, and some supernatural. Not only that, this article contains guidelines for creating your own diseases! By James Introcaso.
- Those Who Crawl. Dungeon crawls are the oldest and one of the most common gameplay scenarios. Kiel Chenier brings you five tips and tricks to help make those dungeon crawls more exciting and run that bit more smoothly. From tone, to tracking time, these five tips will make your life that little bit easier! Illustrated by Ellis Goodson.
- Volumes of Forgotten Lore: Arcane. From veteran author Ari Marmell (Drow of the Underdark, Tome of Magic, The Goblin Corps, Thief's Covenant) comes this look at new player options for the bard, sorcerer, and wizard. The Bardic College of Names, the Dread sorcerous origin, and the Shadowcaller tradition for the wizard make up this first chapter of forgotten lore.
- The Art of Peace. In a world of violence and vicious magic, monks of the Shifting Flow and the Watchful Gate audaciously dream of peace. The Art of Peace introduces two new monastic traditions, the all-new Envoy background, and 8 maneuvers for monks who value their karma. By Josh Gentry.
- Master & Apprentice: Gaining New Levels With Style. A new subsystem to bring realism into your game! Fletcher Haug introduces a mentor-based level training system, along perks and mojo - ways to give players control over the story of how they level up and to introduce training-based background details that can be called upon during play. Art from Savage Mojo.
- Into the Stars: Science Fiction for Fifth Edition. Spice up your game with a little sci-fi action! Meet the Engineer and the Spacer backgrounds, learn how to move in zero-g, and grab an energy shield, ablative armor, or an energy weapon. By Kiel Chenier; illustrated by Indi Martian. This is also the final article from layout designer Justin Buell; it will be sad to see him go, but exciting to bring on board Eric Life-Putnam to fill his shoes!
- A Paladin's Dark Vows. Not all paladins are good; some may stray from the true path, while others are pure evil. Josh Gentry presents new flaws and class features for dark paladins. When a paladin turns from the light, flaws of aggression, blind loyalty, and naïveté provide corruptions of the virtues of bravery, loyalty, and wisdom. Additionally, paladins may take oaths of the Purge or Supremacy, or use the new Bloody Hands class feature. Illustrated by Scott Harshbringer.
- It's Alive! Does your victim wish to inflict a plague via an obscure ritual at the start of a solar eclipse on the grounds of an accursed cemetary using the blood of an innocent demon? Build rituals to achieve your villain's dark goals. Animate a golem, summon a god, open the Gates of Hell, or banish the sun. Seven tables describe the ritual's purpose, time, location, components, side-effects, price of failure, and - of course - how to foil the dastardly deed! By Mark A. Hart; illustrated by Jacob Blackmon.
- The Right Way to Fudge. When and how should the GM fudge an encounter? Jeremy Lewit discusses the reasons and the methods, and provides advice on the right way to fudge. Should you alter the enemies, change the goalposts, or add new challenges? Illustrated by Savage Mojo.
- The Mystery of Mordecai's Monster. From Dan Head comes this adventure of mystery and horror! Who is Mordecai, and what has become of his latest creation? Can the PCs solve the mystery of Mordecai's monster before it's too late? An adventure for 3rd level characters. Illustrated by Nick Cramp and Rick Hershey.
- As Good As His Blade. Expand the list of weapon properties to include barbed, double, awkward, tripping, and more! Along with nearly 20 new weapons designed to use these new properties, and changes to the entangling and reach properties, this article will unlock the potential of weapon design and introduce more variety into your fighting style! By Connors; illustrated by Jacob Blackmon.
- Over the Next Hill: The Village of Drood. The Village of Drood is a small village bordering a dark wood, founded by a travelling wizard and ready to be plugged in to your campaign. The first in a series of three settlements, this article contains NPCs and plot hooks. By Mark Craddock; illustrated by Jacob Blackman.
- Volumes of Forgotten Lore: Divine. In the second of his Forgotten Lore series, veteran author Ari Marmell brings you new divine player options. The Protection, Shadow, and Travel domains, the Urban druidic circle, and the Theologian, a new tradition for the wizard. Illustrated by Jeshields.
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