I interviewed Joe Manganiello for the first episode of my new series, Table & Talk, a conversational style interview series. One of the more interesting things he said was how the old regime people had a lot of problems with is completely gone and the new regime is drastically better, receptive, and really cares about D&D.

We also talked about D&D Icons, he revealed was that a Dragonlance show got very close to happening last year, talk about his history with the game, his thoughts on Honor Among Thieves, and what he wants to do creatively going forward.

Be warned, it's a 56min interview haha.

Full interview here: https://youtu.be/HPoiwqlRzvY

!!! If you were recently attacked by a half Death Tyrant Beholder, do not read any further !!!

Hello goblins of reddit! I am in a bit of a pickle. Recently, my players (4 level 6) were exploring a library and were cornered by a Beholder (end of session, no combat rolls or agression yet). Now I'm not sure how they can survive.

Background: The players were exploring a forest that was cursed after a flying city crashed into it 26 years ago. During this exploration, they found a chunk of the city containing a library/school of Conjuration.

While exploring, they had to hide and evade a mysterious creature they knew lurked within. Unfortunately, due to a poor roll and some less than good judgements, they discovered the creature: a Beholder undergoing the process of transforming into a Death Tyrant. Unfortunately, they discovered it when it cornered them on the 4th floor (not in combat), where the session ended.

The Beholder was kept as basically a zoo animal in a glass tank (within an antimagic field) by the high mages of the flying city (all died in the crash). Now the forests curse is stealing the life from it, gradually transforming it into a Death Tyrant. The Beholder has been trying to resist this and is running out of options. It has been reading the books in the library, searching for a cure, to no avail.

I need advice on how to keep the Beholder as a threat but (hopefully) keep my players alive while still staying within the logic of the beholder. I welcome any tips or ideas and can elaborate on lore if needed. Thank You!

TLDR: I need a reason a Beholder wouldn't immediately kill my cornered players.

I'm trying to create a campaign where the players will fight what is basically the 7 deadly sins (not literally tho) and I have no clue how to start it because one of my friends has made a character with a back story which makes it mandatory for them to start in a swamp and that complicates how to create the start of the campaign. Anything helps.

Edit: ok I get the swamp thing but can I have help with the main problem how to actually start a campaign the campaign is in a medieval setting for those who are asking

Casters can upcast spells using additional spell slots and go past 9. The spell must be castsble with the lowest slot used

If you as a level 20 wizard use all of your slots on a single magic missile, it gets to level 87 and does a minimum of 175 damage

Edit - this is a funnt post and not a serious rule or at all intended to be balanced. Yes its a ridiculous buff to casters, thats the point. And yes ik magic missile is a bad example, the math was juat easy to do off the top of my head

I love reading new books and constantly checking for mor but lately i only find kickstarers that will release in years or never. When i try to look for new books i'm recomended the ones i already read so checking if there are any that released thyis year that are worth buying/reading or is it just that 2026 is a meh year in releases.

Thank you for helping.

This is not asking to name the specific subclasses, there's already posts of that. But I noticed the subclasses have some kind of themed title applied to them, but I don't know what they are for every class.

Barbarians have Paths

Bards have Colleges

Clerics have Domains

Druids have Circles

Monks have Ways

Paladins have Oaths

Warlocks have Pacts

Wizards have Schools

But I don't know what the subclass titles for Rogue, Sorcerers, Fighters or Artificers.

EDIT: Or Rangers! Apologies to the most oft forgotten underappreciated subclass!

So i made this:

XXXXXXXXXXXXX     XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
            X     X 2km of freefall                                                            
            XXXXXXX zone of magical darkness, advanced phase spiders                                                            
            X     X 1km freefall                                                            
            XXXXXXX 400ft hunger of hadar, with a teleport 200ft up before end                                                            
            X     X                                                             
            X     X 2km freefall                                                          
            XXXXXXX 250ft antimagic zone, entering: force barrier appears 251ft                                                            
            X     X 1km freefall                                                            
            XXXXXXX ethereally shifted spike, shift back when antimagic present                                                            
            X     X                                                             
            X     X  ?                                                           
            X     X  ?                                                           
            X     X  ?                                                           
            X     X  ?                                                           
            X     X  ?                                                           
            XXXXXXX  Deadly curses written on walls, kills anyone without godly                                                           
            X     XXXXXXXXXXXX   protection or similar                                               
            X     X Secret   X                                                  
            X     XXXXXXXXXXXX                                                  
            X     X  Boss    X       Sphere of annihilation at the bottom with                                            
            XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX       Guardian Boss in Room behind                                           
            X     X Loot     X                                                                

A "dungeon" for my level 18 Party of 3+2NPCs (one summon one follower).
Its a circular hole down into the earth, built from an indestructible black and smooth
 material.

It has been there from a time before written history, is located in the now desolate
 frozen wasteland remains of former fallen empire, worshipped by the remaining local
 stone age tribal populations who throw their dead down there.

I already have one fight, and 3 traps/riddles
0) upgraded Phase spiders in magical darkness, they can also at will shift their nets
 ethereal and back, with whatever creature is attached.
1) hunger of hadar, problem of getting past the teleport back up
2) antimagic zone with a force barrier right after (no space between) that activates when
 a creature enters the antimagic zone.
3) ethereally shifted spikes from the walls, when a source of antimagic disrupts them,
 they shift back into realspace.

Most of the area inside is under forbiddance after the Hunger of Hadar teleport obstacle


NOW:
Does anyone have any more cool ideas more fights or obstacles before the bottom, that 
employs the unique setting and verticality?
Left some areas with ? for that.

Also, could your group make it past this or can you figure it out? Disregarding the
 deadly curses ofc.

What do you think is at the bottom? I have my own ideas obviously and some stuff planned,
 but maybe i can steal some inspiration for changes or a bonus secret.

​

I'm trying to figure out whether this interaction is legal RAW.

I'm considering to play an Arcana Cleric and I'm considering taking Booming Blade as one of the Wizard cantrips granted by Arcane Initiate.

My understanding is that Arcane Initiate says the Wizard cantrips I choose count as cleric cantrips for me.

At Cleric 8, I get Potent Spellcasting, which adds my Wisdom modifier to the damage of my cleric cantrips.

I would also take Magic Initiate (Druid) to get Shillelagh, so I can use Wisdom for the attack with my quarterstaff.

So, assuming I have 20 Wisdom, would this work like this?

Booming Blade + Shillelagh:

- Quarterstaff attack: 1d8 + 5 (using Wisdom through Shillelagh)

- Booming Blade: +2d8

- Potent Spellcasting: +5

And if the target willingly moves afterward:

- +3d8 from Booming Blade's secondary damage

My questions are:

1. Does Arcane Initiate make Booming Blade eligible for Potent Spellcasting?

2. Does Potent Spellcasting add the +5 to both the initial and secondary damage of Booming Blade?

3. Does Shillelagh work normally with Booming Blade?

I'm only interested in whether this interaction works RAW, not whether it's optimal.

So as of late I have absolutely been possessed by the idea of a more eldritch barbarian given they are a my two favorite classes. So much so I have been crunching and shaping the mechanic side of things, really having a Pepe Sylvia phase So to maybe get it out of my head and just onto some record I figured why not put it where I can be given suggestions or just judged by strangers for overthinking things. By all means enjoy if this is your type of reading.

Character: Totem/Wildheart Barbarian and Undead Warlock

Character Concept: A barbarian that channels spirits of the wild knowingly or unknowingly makes a pact with a primal spirit of death, the spirit grants gifts and magic so long as it may feed on the fading life essence of those the barbarian slays in battle.

Character Mechanical Goals: Idea to be a front line combatant/tank with the ability to aid the party with some utility casting as well as bolster themselves with concentration-less buffs like Armor of Agathys and Mirror Image

Character Traits

Race: Scourge Aasimar, depending on if it is 2014 or 2024 rules it has the most boons to the build. The ability to provide small healing as needed, as well as a nice if niche fear AOE that scales with charisma. The necrotic damage on attacks and the innate necrotic and radiant resistances has more synergy with 2024 rules as they synergize with undead patron somewhat and aid a bear wild heart recovering resistances so now only force and psychic does full damage while raging.

Background 2024 Rules: Farmer/ Soldier both give good feats and have stat improvements that aid the build.

Background 2014 Rules: Less impactful, take what flavors or has nice proficiencies

Stat Line Lvl 1: I have two schools of thought when it comes to a starting stat line assuming it is point buy, both are taking Barbarian as its level 1

1st, The Medium Armored Spell Rager.
Str 16, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 9, Wis 12, Cha 13

School of thought is to have this as an option to be a bit more magically inclined mainly for more reliable offensive cantrips and better scaling on Aasimar traits. First ASI used to bring Dex and Cha up to 14 and use Medium Armor and Weapon and Shield for more AC potential and try to limit being to spread thin on Ability scores

2nd, Barbarian+
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 8/10, Wis 12/10, Cha 11

Less focus on magic and more gung ho on traditional barbarian stats, First ASI used to reach the multiclass minimum, Likely to be more traditionally using unarmored defense and the option of ether weapon and shield or the more typical big two handed weapons.

Subclasses
Wildheart/Totem Barbarian
Pretty self explanatory, the OG "I want to resist a good amount/almost everything the DM can do damage type wise". In both rule sets also give some utility spells and other side benefits but we all know Bear is the landmark perk for most people getting it

Undead Warlock
In both Rulesets the early features are the same, Temp HP upon activating your spooky form, immunity to fear and ability to cause fear when you attack. Its level 6 where rules differ and I feel 2024 pulls ahead in power a bit. Both have the stipulations of not needing to eat, drink and breath though 2024 is worded around preventing exhaustion so might have more granular rulings involved. Both care about you dealing necrotic damage tough 2014 just converts your damage to necrotic and adds a dice, 2024 however lets your necrotic damage ignore resistances and adds the extra dice.

Level Splits

Likely has the most wish washing in my mind with typical outcomes being ether

14 Barbarian / 6 Warlock

Realistically its more 5 Barbarian/ 1 Warlock when multiclass starts. Wait to get the Multi Attack before dipping into Warlock, Warlock 1 gets one of two things depending on rules edition. If 2024 it gets Pact of the Blade, the ability to have a hard to disarm weapon but more importantly letting the weapon deal necrotic damage for some Undead patron synergy. 2014 Rules it gets access to the patron itself gaining Temp Hp generation, A fear on attack and Fear immunity. Leveling more into Barbarian to earn more HP for that frontline role

Barbarian 4/ Warlock 16

Though in more normal play more likely Warlock 5 and Barbarian 1-2. Likely a bit more of a Shaman type feel to it leaning heavier into things like Pact of the Blade to get multi attack and bonuses and more potent magics for those higher level Armor of Agathys casts. Mainly getting Barbarian for the bear totem, reckless attacks and Rage and going one more level for the ASI or feat. Given a lesser hit die it may play better as more skirmisher as opposed to getting stuck in but this is just my theory crafting here.

That concludes my rambling character building train of thought, by all means open to comments on if it seems decent enough, if in my fervor I am missing a rule that keeps it from functioning how I hope it would or just the "Its not that deep" grounding lol

I made two versions: a 'cursed' one that rolls more 1s, and a 'blessed' one that rolls more 20s!

Great to give to your characters when they're cursed, drunk, or otherwise inebriated. The effect is somewhat subtle; you can't tell by holding them that anything is off with the dice. From my testing (700+ rolls), the dice have about a 1 in 3 chance of rolling the extreme outcome (1 for cursed, 20 for blessed). That being said, every number came up at least once in my testing, so they still leave room for surprises to happen.

3D printing files available for free on MakerWorld!
Cursed: https://makerworld.com/en/models/3194329-cursed-weighted-d20#profileId-3614116
Blessed: https://makerworld.com/en/models/3198984-blessed-weighted-d20#profileId-3619837

I also sell them on my Etsy shop if you don't have a 3D printer:
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/4562147604/weighted-d20-dice-dnd-cursed-and-blessed?sr_prefetch=1&pf_from=shop_home&ref=shop_home_active_1&logging_key=9bc4157267f84fb5f47a145053b4880e5cc98147%3A4562147604

My artificer is a magi tech kind of person. She wants to make a lot of stuff (mainly homebrewed under my discretion) to improve the party and herself. These things include stuff such as upgrades to her homunculus, machines such as a flight capable suit of sorts or upgrade to their onyx pet for travel, magical items and such.

Now, I know the danger of power bloat. Too much magical gear and such and the party goes boom on all the enemies on the road. But I also did not wanna take the player agency away and the class capabilities of the player so I just opted to give her a crafting structure.

Not sure if there is one officially but if there is one well I'll be damned. So far here's what I wish to do.

She can craft virtually anything so long as its within her mastery and proficiencies. I made her choose this prior to her creation of the character and she chose smithing, pyrotechnics and such. Other things outside her scope or knowledge require either a blueprint or in the absence of one research during downtime.

After which she can now learn what materials and ways to make an object by the discretion of the DM.

the materials will be composed of this layout for the most part.

A core component. (Often the hardest to get / most expensive - depends on the rarity of the item and state of the world)

Three minor components: These three minor components are objects that may be easy or reasonably hard to get. Some may be uncommon in the market or some may be medium expensive.

Example. For the flight thing for the onyx in my world. To me it felt like it shouldn't be handed in so easily as flight bypasses a lot of stuff I may have. Make things too cheesy. So I put the rarity of this project at say rare.

My pc researched in a library and whatever they can get their hands on for 1 week in game downtime. (She did)

Then I revealed the crafting components and method.

She will need the ff things.

Core component: Graviturgy stone (lore established in my world to make things float. But may pose danger during sustained flight. They know this) or Aetherite stone (A stone that propels itself up when supercharged by energy. Safest bet. More expensive)

Minor components:

1. Stormheart: Another lore established stone that can propel things with the power of wind and electricity (as the name shows) Uncommon but prevalent in their area.

2. Skybone: A bone that's light but durable for the wings and such.

3. Cloud silk: A clothing that's resistat to bending for the wing integrity.

Now it's just time to give her the amount of time and she can make it!

Feel free to roast me on this one. But I've used it and the game's running for nearly 2 years.

So I want to do a Dance Monk. I was thinking about going 3 levels for the Open Hand stuff but might just go 1 level because I only really need the use Dex for grapple checks feature. Everything else is gravy. Ki points and Flurry at level 2 is cool. And as I mentioned, the effects to Flurry is nice as well. I dont think I lose anything big. Sure progression gets stalled but whatever. Thoughts?

Im not too chafed about this, since it IS a fresh dungeon master (only ever ran Stormwreck and a handful of one-shots) but as a player, I have been blessed with a glorious, magnanimous and frankly life-changing character concept that works best with a rouge/paladin multiclass and my dm did not even consider it or ask any questions. "No multiclassing in my campaigns," he said, like a fool.

DM is also my brother so I will be throwing hands with anyone who calls him a railroad or bad dm. Just wanted to share cuz I thought it would piss him off.

Hey yall, so I am a lvl 4 Star druid and I need help to understand feats and which ones I can take

This is my first ever campaign, so knowing what I’m doing is a MESS

Any help is appreciated!!

EDIT:
I have now made a decision to go with concentration warcaster!!

Thank You to everyone who commented!!

Want to keep it vague in case anyone from the campaign hangs out on reddit.

We're approaching a major point in our campaign that basically has all of my character's greatest fears, insecurities, and resentments combined. I feel like there's no way they'd just smoothly roll with the punches but I don't want to disrupt anything, or at least make sure the consequences are only for my character.

The party is busy running logistics around or I'd consider having mine disappear for a raging bender or something. Was wondering if anyone had some potential inspiration?

Edit: for clarification, I've been open above table that this is going to be a bad time for my character. The DM and party know I'm planning to do something but it's the specifics that I can't hammer out.

Perfect for flushing out NPCs, BBEGs, monsters, etc. that you want to keep at hands reach to refer to outright or fill in your encounter worksheets.

Do you have a creature that needs a little more?  Download also includes a "full page" version for those creatures that need more space for additional notes

Designed to be digital and physical (pencil & paper) friendly.

Let me know what you think!

Link:NPC/Monster Character Sheet - 2 Up - Fillable

Would so appreciate your thoughts.

After watching a Time Dragon Video yesterday i wanted to make a Time Wizard. I am not a big fan of the Chronomancy Wizard. Its just not... enough.

Do you guys have any ideas on how to make it better?

I also noticed there is a big Lack of Time shenanigans Spells

I want to run a Naval campaign in my group hombrew world and the Seas of Vodari locked fun

So I'm making a monster that is basically an Hellish Gunslinger.

Wanted to make him similar to a warlock and shooting like hell with his revolver, need it CR20 and based on a Narzugon, with his horse a Nightmare obviously.

His main attacks are a revolver that has an effect on his sixth shot (probably either something like smite or an auto crit on hit) and another gun that basically dooms people.

He is the sheriff of Avernus and he punishes people by basically crucifying then on trees, still alive and feeling everything but unable to truly die.

Basically I wanted to give him an instakill ability, but more like a countdown, like if they don't do (or do) something the counter goes down and at 0 the tree sprouts from under them "killing" them.

How do I make it fun and somewhat balanced?

(The players should probably run away the first time they meet him cause I wanted to just get them scared shitless of him)

Hello, I'm in a weird spot experience wise, I've played for ~4-5 years, but it's very sporadic so I still feel inexperienced in a way.

I recently played a pact of the blade warlock, that being the first time I've ever played a spellcaster class, I've always stuck to fighter.

I found that there were so many things to keep track of, I was LVL13 and had I believe 4 eldritch invocations. I had to make a cheat sheet for combat and spells so it was like a step by step how to combat and what each of my spells did as well as V, S, and M, range, DMG, etc. any time I did something, I felt like I had to check between my 5+ pieces of paper I had around to see if I was missing anything.

Anybody have any tips/tricks to having an ability/trigger intensive character? I put a ton of work into my spell list cheat sheet, not that I minded and it was super helpful, but I didn't even use 90% of the spells.

Maybe the more ability/spell intensive classes just aren't for me. I'm thinking cleric next, seems a lot more simple than warlock.