This week on the Campaign Trail I’m back looking at campaign settings that go beyond the typical fantasy world. Past articles in this series have provided notes on running a campaign (or adventure) in a setting such as prehistoric/lost world, ...

After a week off, I’m back to finish off the ranger, like a horror-movie sequel. Throughout the series to date, we’ve seen the ranger transition from a super-fighter with a smattering of mystical abilities and an obligation to travel light ...

One of my favorite parts about 5th edition is the incorporation of soft-multiclassing feats which allow players to create a variety of themes without watering down their core class. One of my least favorite things is how Medicine is a ...

In roleplaying, we often spend a lot of time talking about or going after legendary items. This is also true of fantasy (the one ring), science fiction (kyber crystals), comics (the infinity gauntlet), and anime (the dragon balls). Characters often ...

This Handbook from Wizards Community Forums was posted October 2014 has since been deleted. There were a lot of great optimization guides and handbooks that were also lost when all the information on the forums was deleted. Fortunately, I pulled ...

Prestige classes were introduced in third edition as a further means of individualizing a character. A recent Unearthered Arcana article introduced playtest material for us to create Prestige Classes for D&D 5th Edition. I’m working with one of my players who ...

I’m taking a week off from the history of the Ranger class to talk about encounter design, an under-appreciated art within the broader work of game-running. Tabletop games, like video games, have long had a concept of a “boss fight,” ...

I love the aboleth. As a villain for aquatic campaigns there are few better, but when building up to an epic invasion or major climax there are few creatures easily accessible to the DM. Below is the protoaboleth, a Challenge ...

Fantasy and Science Fiction will always be different sides of the same coin. They are like twin siblings, different yet the same. They often share similar morals, heroic characters, exotic locations, non-human races, terrifying monsters, and indulge in activities that ...

I have been reading Wizard of the Coast’s new D&D Book: Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide (SCAG), and overall I really like it. It’s a nice addition to my growing collection of 5th edition books. To be honest, when I first ...