forgotten realms Archives - Tribality

Rime of the Frostmaiden Review

Brandes Stoddard — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 18:19:23 +0000

The new hardback adventure from Wizards of the Coast is here, sending PCs where the sun don’t shine. No, really, that’s the plot! Auril, the Frostmaiden, has blocked out the sun over Icewind Dale, save for four hours of twilight each day. It’s a story about climate catastrophe, but going down the thermometer, set in the Forgotten Realms. I’ve also been part of a first-look review of Rime on the Tome Show, along with Enrique “NewbieDM” Bertran and Jeff Greiner. […]

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The Great Dale: Unapproachable East Campaign Guide Review

Brandes Stoddard — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 12:00:11 +0000

The Unapproachable East has always been one of my favorite regions of the Forgotten Realms, dating back to the excellent Spellbound boxed set of 2e and Unapproachable East of 3.x. This PDF, by Joe Raso and a team of contributing writers, offers a 5e update focused on the Great Dale. Rashemen, Thay, and Aglarond matter here, but this isn’t mainly about those. I received a free review copy. Overview There’s a lot of different content in this book. It’s the […]

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Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus Review

Brandes Stoddard — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 22:35:11 +0000

I’ve received a review copy of Descent into Avernus, with the ridiculously gorgeous limited cover. Let’s see if I can complete a review in a single article! Descent is 256 pages – shorter than Dungeon of the Mad Mage, longer than Dragon Heist, on par with Ghosts of Saltmarsh. It runs from 1st level to 13th. This review includes spoilers. This is your only warning. The book is organized with the five chapters of the adventure first, followed by a […]

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Baldur’s Gate Descent into Avernus – Preview

Michael Long — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 01:27:26 +0000

Welcome to Avernus. The new D&D book that has been released today! Avernus was an ancient name for a volcanic crater near Cumae, Italy, in the region of Campania west of Naples. Avernus was the entrance to the underworld in the ancient Roman world. While in the Realm of the Forgotten Realms, Avernus is the 1st of the Nine Hells. It is the front line in the Blood War. The war between chaos and law. Demon versus Devil. Demons use […]

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Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage Review

Brandes Stoddard — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 21:32:32 +0000

The second part of the Waterdeep adventure series came out a little less than two weeks ago (well, for me; I shop at local game stores that all have the earlier release dates). My full disclosure on this is that I bought my copy (not a review freebie), one of the designers is a good friend of mine, and another writer is a friendly acquaintance. I won’t go easy on their chapters as a result, because I think they’d be […]

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Bitheism, Clerics, and the Service Domain

Colin McLaughlin — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 13:00:30 +0000

I’ve read a lot Neil Gaiman over the years. While I like several of his works a great deal, it’s easy for me to pick my favorite – Anansi Boys. Not only do I love the style and subject, it tells a type of story I simply adore. I’ve been hooked on these tales of dualism – both moral and spiritual – since I was a little kid. Ditheism featured prominently in the live-action game I co-piloted with the estimable Brandes […]

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D&D Edition Expansion as Told through the History of the WWE

Colin McLaughlin — Thu, 23 Nov 2017 13:00:30 +0000

A look at how D&D editions parallel the history of the WWE, and what we can learn from it.

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Unearthed Arcana: Elf Subraces Breakdown

Brandes Stoddard — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 05:46:18 +0000

In keeping with the time-honored traditions of D&D, this week’s Unearthed Arcana brings us four more of the Baskin Robbins Thirty-One Flavors of Elf. Yes, I know that we have the good Professor to thank for elves coming in a ton of varieties, I too have read The Silmarillion and all the abstruse charts contained therein. Anyway, what we have here are the avariel, the grugach, the aquatic or sea elves, and the shadar-kai. (For another take on the shadar-kai, […]

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Using Factions in Your Campaign

DM Shawn — Fri, 10 Mar 2017 05:37:24 +0000

This week on the Campaign Trail I’m looking at factions and how to use them in your game. This article will look at how Forgotten Realms factions are used for D&D’s organized play, how I use factions in my game, example factions in settings and tips on how to establish factions in your own game. Whether you’ve created your own campaign setting or if you are playing in an official setting, establishing factions can help the world live and breath. […]

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Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous PCs

A.A. Amirault — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 13:08:36 +0000

Either as a player or a DM, have you ever reached the point where the party’s money was going out of control? I know that some DMs are very strict with their treasure and can be stingy with their coin, but I’ve seen others that lavish their players with mountains of gold, gems, and valuables, so much so that the encumbrance rules are often bent if not broken. Judging from what I’ve seen and what I’ve played, I fall somewhere […]

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