Columns Archives - Tribality https://www.tribality.com/columns/ D&D / Role Playing Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:46:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://www.tribality.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/cropped-logo-2020-icon@2x-32x32.jpg Columns Archives - Tribality https://www.tribality.com/columns/ 32 32 The Journey from Dungeon Flops to Tabletop Legends https://www.tribality.com/2025/10/24/the-journey-from-dungeon-flops-to-tabletop-legends/ https://www.tribality.com/2025/10/24/the-journey-from-dungeon-flops-to-tabletop-legends/#respond Fri, 24 Oct 2025 16:02:42 +0000 https://www.tribality.com/?p=36304 If you have ever sat around a table flipping dungeon tiles and rolling dice hoping not to get mauled by a plastic monster, then you know the charm of the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure System board games. They have been around for years, each one trying to capture the magic of DnD without needing a dungeon master. Some of them nailed it. Others? Well. We’ll be taking a look at how these games went from rough experiments to genuine hits, […]

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]]> https://www.tribality.com/2025/10/24/the-journey-from-dungeon-flops-to-tabletop-legends/feed/ 0 UA 2025: The Psion Breakdown https://www.tribality.com/2025/06/06/ua-2025-the-psion-breakdown/ https://www.tribality.com/2025/06/06/ua-2025-the-psion-breakdown/#respond Fri, 06 Jun 2025 19:48:31 +0000 https://www.tribality.com/?p=35543 Not even the Ranger has had as many UA releases thrown at it as the Psion (née Mystic). Searching through the dusty, moldering archives of this very website, I see that I last wrote a UA breakdown about psionics in 2020, but it was already in good company. I was genuinely surprised to see a new attempt, because I honestly thought the Aberrant Mind Sorcerer, Psi Knight Fighter, and Soulknife Rogue were WotC’s last word on the topic. Psion Class […]

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]]> https://www.tribality.com/2025/06/06/ua-2025-the-psion-breakdown/feed/ 0 Dungeon Traps Done Right: A Guide to Smart, Interactive Trap Design https://www.tribality.com/2025/05/25/dungeon-traps-done-right-a-guide-to-smart-interactive-trap-design/ https://www.tribality.com/2025/05/25/dungeon-traps-done-right-a-guide-to-smart-interactive-trap-design/#respond Sun, 25 May 2025 18:12:13 +0000 https://www.tribality.com/?p=35525 This month we have a guest post from Alexander Atoz of dragonencounters.com. Traps are probably the second most iconic feature of RPG dungeons—right after monsters. And yet, despite their reputation, they’re often the most poorly used. Many RPG rulebooks suggest resolving traps through a simple dice roll or a skill check. Instead of a challenge, it’s a coin toss – taking something that should be interesting and exciting and turning it into a random punishment for bad luck. Even when […]

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]]> https://www.tribality.com/2025/05/25/dungeon-traps-done-right-a-guide-to-smart-interactive-trap-design/feed/ 0 UA 2025: Horror Subclasses Breakdown https://www.tribality.com/2025/05/18/ua-2025-horror-subclasses-breakdown/ https://www.tribality.com/2025/05/18/ua-2025-horror-subclasses-breakdown/#respond Mon, 19 May 2025 03:26:13 +0000 https://www.tribality.com/?p=35479 I haven’t written an UA breakdown in a hot minute—the last one was before the three core books of 2024-25 dropped!—but this drop sucked me back in. Part of this is to find out where the reading audience is these days. I’m sad to see that they’ve dropped bylines for UA articles; I liked knowing whose ideas I was reading. Also, the very short turnaround on this feedback window is a travesty. I’m sure they have reasons, but since the […]

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]]> https://www.tribality.com/2025/05/18/ua-2025-horror-subclasses-breakdown/feed/ 0 D&D – System Reference Document v5.2 https://www.tribality.com/2025/04/23/dd-system-reference-document-v5-2/ https://www.tribality.com/2025/04/23/dd-system-reference-document-v5-2/#respond Wed, 23 Apr 2025 10:19:17 +0000 https://www.tribality.com/?p=35354 Big news for third-party creators: Wizards of the Coast just released SRD 5.2 under the Creative Commons license, expanding on the foundation laid by 5.1, and it’s a pretty big deal. SRD 5.2 isn’t just a rules update. It’s a toolkit packed with more spells, feats, monsters, and gear for designers to build adventures, homebrew campaigns, and entire new settings… all while keeping full ownership of their creations. That’s right: what you build with SRD 5.2 is yours, no strings […]

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]]> https://www.tribality.com/2025/04/23/dd-system-reference-document-v5-2/feed/ 0 Monolith Board Games – Seeking testers https://www.tribality.com/2025/04/01/monolith-board-games-seeking-testers/ https://www.tribality.com/2025/04/01/monolith-board-games-seeking-testers/#respond Tue, 01 Apr 2025 21:20:06 +0000 https://www.tribality.com/?p=35304 Test Tower Up on Board Game Arena! Tower Up is now available in alpha on Board Game Arena! Monolith Board Games is seeking testers to try out the game and help us find all the bugs. What’s Tower Up? This fun, family friendly city building game challenges you to get the right materials and build the fastest before placing your roofs! Ready to play? Here’s the qualifications: Must have these qualifications to volunteer as a tester You must have played […]

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]]> https://www.tribality.com/2025/04/01/monolith-board-games-seeking-testers/feed/ 0 Dragonlance Humble Bundle of Novels, Available Now https://www.tribality.com/2025/03/17/dragonlance-humble-bundle-of-novels-available-now/ https://www.tribality.com/2025/03/17/dragonlance-humble-bundle-of-novels-available-now/#respond Mon, 17 Mar 2025 22:11:12 +0000 https://www.tribality.com/?p=35208 Get ready to embark on an epic adventure through the land of Krynn with the ultimate Dragonlance collection of novels, Michael! Wizards of the Coast today announced The World of Dragonlance in partnership with Penguin Random House and Humble Bundle, a collection of ebooks that lets fans experience the beloved Dragonlance setting in a whole new way. This exclusive “pay what you want” Humble Bundle takes you inside the World of Dragonlance with 26 best-selling novels, available at three price levels starting at just […]

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]]> https://www.tribality.com/2025/03/17/dragonlance-humble-bundle-of-novels-available-now/feed/ 0 Mr. Potato Head Beholder Miniature Unveiled at GAMA! https://www.tribality.com/2025/02/26/mr-potato-head-beholder-miniature-unveiled-at-gama/ https://www.tribality.com/2025/02/26/mr-potato-head-beholder-miniature-unveiled-at-gama/#respond Thu, 27 Feb 2025 01:34:15 +0000 https://www.tribality.com/?p=35117 Keep your eyes peeled for the D&D Icons of the Realms: Potato Head Beholder Boxed Miniature from WizKids, which was unveiled this week at GAMA. Available at local game stores in late summer/early fall of 2025 for $24.99, this 3-inch-tall Potato Head Beholder offers D&D players and collectors a fun way to bring one of the most unique creatures in D&D to life at their table. The D&D Icons of Realms: Potato Head Beholder Boxed Miniature includes the following accessory components:   8 Eye Stalks  1 Fire […]

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]]> https://www.tribality.com/2025/02/26/mr-potato-head-beholder-miniature-unveiled-at-gama/feed/ 0 SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence – Board Game Review https://www.tribality.com/2024/11/09/seti-search-for-extraterrestrial-intelligence-board-game-review/ https://www.tribality.com/2024/11/09/seti-search-for-extraterrestrial-intelligence-board-game-review/#respond Sat, 09 Nov 2024 15:00:34 +0000 https://www.tribality.com/?p=34850 Czech Games Edition (CGE) has a knack for creating games that capture our imagination, and with SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, they’re inviting players to explore one of humanity’s greatest questions: Are we alone? In this game, designed by Tomáš Holek, players take on the roles of scientists from various institutions, working to detect signals and uncover alien life. It’s a game of strategic depth, filled with scientific excitement and, of course, a bit of tension. Here’s my take on […]

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]]> https://www.tribality.com/2024/11/09/seti-search-for-extraterrestrial-intelligence-board-game-review/feed/ 0 UA 2023 – Player’s Handbook Playtest 7 Breakdown, Part Five https://www.tribality.com/2023/11/15/ua-2023-players-handbook-playtest-7-breakdown-part-five/ https://www.tribality.com/2023/11/15/ua-2023-players-handbook-playtest-7-breakdown-part-five/#respond Wed, 15 Nov 2023 13:33:22 +0000 https://www.tribality.com/?p=34496 Is… is it possible, by some strange chance, that I’m coming to a close in this series? Sure, I’m a whole packet behind, but I’m doing my best here, folks. This time, I’m planning to finish the packet. Wish me luck. Barbarian | Fighter | Sorcerer | Warlock | Wizard Wizard The flavor text name-checks several familiar figures – Bigby, Tasha, Mordenkainen, great! – and one who is a much deeper cut to me. Yolande, it turns out, is a significant figure in Greyhawk lore just […]

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