The Devil of the Deep Blue Sea
One of the exciting things about writing an aquatic setting is that there are whole creature types that don’t have a single aquatic or swimming creature in the Monster Manual, VGTM, or MTOF. Fiends, for instance. There have been aquatic ...
What Makes a Good Side Quest
When planning a campaign, a lot of energy and preparation time is spent on the main throughline or the main quest. It is the spine that each session hangs on, providing a sense of continuity and build to dramatic action. ...
How to Easily Incorporate Side Quests
Side quests don’t have to be distracting fetch quests or the infamous escort quests so often present in MMORPG games. In tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons, they can be exciting opportunities to explore characters, deliver key exposition, and ...
Karokans – a Crabfolk Race for D&D 5e
This week on the Campaign Trail, I thought I would share a new undersea racial option I am working on for the Under the Seas of Vodari. Some of our backers mentioned they wanted to see some kind of crustacean ...
Using Sentient Magic Items to Further Character Development
Sentient magic items offer a unique way to offer players new opportunities to roleplay their character. Maintaining a relationship with one’s magic sword can become annoying if it is not tied into the overall arch of the character wielding it. ...
Using Rumors to Create a Living World
As a DM it’s my goal to create a believable world for my players to explore, interact with, and change. Their actions shape the campaign as much as the NPCs and encounters that I built. One way you can add ...
Finding a Big Bad: Undead
In our final article of this series, we’ll take a look at a group of monsters so varied and vast that many campaigns have been made to solely fight the scourge that is the undead. Undead are so versatile because ...
Finding a Big Bad: Oozes
The evil shampoos of the Dungeons and Dragons multiverse, oozes are classic monsters that no dungeon worth its treasure would be without. While the monsters with the Ooze type only have a handful of entries, each has potential to test ...
Finding a Big Bad: Plants!
Get out your trowels and gardening gloves, today we’re going to dive into the jungles of the Plant monster type. Plants have a handful of monsters that appear in the Monster Manual and the highest CR threat of any plant ...
Finding a Big Bad: Monstrosities
This week we take a look at one of the broadest categories of monsters in Dungeons and Dragons 5e: Monstrosities. The introduction to the Monster Manual defines monsters as being “frightening creatures that are not ordinary, not truly natural, and ...