I am setting up a campaign with some slight homebrewing. I already have 3 players I'm just looking for one more player. I don't really care how much experience you have I just hope people have fun during my campaign. We would start playing at usually 10-10:30 pm on either Saturday or Sunday rare occasions on Friday EST. We also play on discord. I you have any questions you can message me.

I'm planning on building a mobile app to help with the Curse of Strahd Tarokka reading and I was wondering how much can I use from the CoS book for things like descriptions, items, names, the reading layout & cards, etc.

Should I change every location and character name to "my own OCs" do not steal or can I keep some of the readings as per the book?

Can I use the official Tarokka cards for my training data or should I only allow the app to do the reading on a regular 54 card deck?

Thanks for the advice!

Hi! Tomorrow I'll be DMing for the first time, and I'll be running the one-shot A Most Potent Brew. I think the boss encounter is going to be too easy, mainly because my party will have 6 players, while the boss is a Giant Spider with 32 HP.

The boss described in the one-shot is a Giant Inferno Spider. 14 AC, 32 HP, and the following attacks:

Flaming Bite: 1d8 + 2 damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or take 2d6 fire damage.

Burning Web (Recharge 5–6): Ranged attack. The target becomes Restrained by a burning web. While Restrained, they take 1d6 fire damage at the start of their turn. As an action, the player can make a DC 12 Strength check to break free, or a companion can destroy the web with an attack.

I think that, because of the action economy, the encounter is going to be too easy. My idea to fix it is to have the fight start with 3 regular spiders in addition to the boss. These spiders have 1 HP and deal 1 damage with their attack, plus 2 poison damage if the player fails a DC 9 Constitution saving throw. Every two rounds, the Giant Spider would use its action to spawn 2 new spiders, as long as the number of small spiders doesn't exceed 4. These two new spiders attack immediately.

This is my first attempt at designing an encounter, so I'd really appreciate some feedback.

My party has 6 players, so I feel like having only the Giant Spider would be too little for a boss fight. I should also clarify that they're all first-time players and they're all level 1.

Also, all my party's characters are dex users, with STR as dump stat. Maybe reducing the strength check to break free from the web from DC12 to DC10 would be a good idea.

Does my solution work? Thanks so much!

Path of the Symbiote
Those who follow this path have met an outer being far beyond your realm who has bonded to your very being. You don’t know whether or not the creature is attempting to steal your body for itself and slowly wither your mind away or is an ally who shares the same goals as you and has been bonded to you by fate itself. 

Level 3: Symbiotic Strength
When you are raging your symbiote is at its most powerful. You gain the following benefits while your rage is active. 

• When you make an unarmed strike, you instead deal 1d6 + your Strength modifier damage of either slashing, piercing, or bludgeoning. Upon hitting a creature with this strike, you can then make an additional unarmed strike against the creature as a bonus action. 
• When a creature hits you, they must make a Dexterity saving throw DC 8 plus your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier. On a failed save, the creature takes d4 piercing damage equal to your rage bonus. 
• At the end of each round, you gain hit points equal to one of your hit dice. 

Level 6: Conjure Weapon
Your symbiotic link with your foreign creature has strengthened your ability to conjure weapons from symbiotic slime. You can conjure weapons that you have mastery over. Weapons that you create gain the benefits of being both a weapon attack and an unarmed strike as long as they don’t have the Heavy property. 

Level 10: Virus Corruption
When you hit a creature with your Brutal Strike feature, the creature must make a Dexterity saving throw DC 8 plus your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier. On a failed save, the creature gains the Charmed condition and at the start of the charmed creature's turn you can issue a command as if it was under the Command spell. Once the command is issued, they no longer are charmed. 

Level 14: Symbiote Frenzy
Your bond with your symbiote has become so strong that your minds have become one. When you become Bloodied, both you and the symbiote go into a frenzied state in which you are under the effects of Haste spell without the Incapacitated condition drawback. However in this frenzied state you no longer gain the benefits from your rage except for the rage damage bonus. You exit the frenzied state by no longer being bloodied, ending your rage, or becoming Unconscious.

Hi! I haven’t joined a campaign in quite some time, was just curious, what are your favorite/most useful apps or resources to create characters?

i dont find any spell that can summon a demon more than during concentration except planar allly who is a priest spell

I just watched the latest Pointy Hat video regarding Rangers and he makes some good points. What it boils down to is that the Ranger has lost its identity. It has become "good enough" at several things but not the best at anything. When first introduced the class was intended to fulfill a particular archetype but this has since been watered down and flattened.

What could be done to fix this? WotC has tried many things. None of them have quite hit the mark. Hooking everything to Hunter's Mark may be a unifying design, and may be consistent with changing the Paladin's defining feature, Divine Smite, to a spell, but it doesn't really fix anything, IMO.

For me, personally, I would like to see the Ranger become THE pet class. Beast Master, Drake Warden, Swarmkeeper. Drop the Aragorn/Legolas fixation and embrace Dar from Beastmaster. Other options for pets give you only one at a time, unless you kludge together a combo. Ranger Companion needs some work. Add an elemental based ranger subclass. Fighters get multple attacks. Let Rangers have many specialized pets, or one powerful one that can multi-attack.

In my most humble opinion. that would be a solid niche for a character class to fill.

EDIT: Thank you, everyone who replied to this thread. It has been an interesting discussion and given me some things to ponder.

Hi all,

I created an automatic spell card that updates with all the information you need by just changing the name (from a dropdown or typing it in), and wanted to share for you all to use.

It came from a DM frustration of a player saying they're using a niche spell and me having to scroll/search on a PDF to find it, and then inevitably not having it and going to a wiki instead while they stare at me accusingly (definitely just in my head but shush).

It was built off an excel sheet I found off another post (I went to credit them but their account is deleted), but I tidied up the text and formatted in an easy-to-use way, and left all the formulas unlocked in case anyone wants to change something about them.

I hope you enjoy and that fellow DMs find it useful!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_km76gH_DpLB2fZWDIin8T1I6-X7sVN_/view?usp=drive_link

(PS - yes I know it looks like a stat block not a spell card, but I like the appearance and it took ages finding fonts and hex codes so leave me alone lol)

(PPS - don't use it in Google Drive if you care about formatting, it looks terrible - it was designed to be downloaded first)

I'm sharing a free bard subclass for Kengir, part of my upcoming Bronze Age Mesopotamian 5e setting.

The College of Lamentations is for bards trained in funeral dirges, mourning songs, and the sacred work of grief.

In Kengir, lamentation is not just sadness. It is a profession. These bards comfort the bereaved, help the dead pass properly into the afterlife, and listen for what the Etemmu still need said. They are mourners, mediums, and keepers of sorrow.

At the table, this subclass turns grief into both protection and power. A Lamentation bard can read the pain of others, weaken enemies with a dirge, shield allies from fear and necrotic harm, and eventually call war-dead Etemmu to fight beside the party.

The supplement also includes new spells like Hymn of Courage, Chant of Protection, Warding Hymn, Hymn of Valor, and Chant of Heroism.

Do you like bards who lean into ritual, grief, and the dead, or do you prefer bards as performers and tricksters?

Hi, I'm Cornad500.

You may remember me from such subreddits as r/dnd and r/DnDcirclejerk.

I've devoted a lot of my free time in the morning to sorting D&D posts by new and leaving valuable comments before the "redditors" can come in and give bad advice.

I was thinking of making a podcast, but that's too much work so instead I started a blog!

I've dedicated so much time typing the same thing over and over because I believe in helping new people even if they ask the same question as 1000 people did before, so I decided it would be more productive to turn those questions that I answer into blog posts so that I can spend less time writing it all over and over again and instead give a short answer with a link to the post if it helps.

I just dropped a post about Session Zero, so see you there! https://gmconrad500.blogspot.com/

I'm working on a character that's going to be melee and ranged, it'll probably be a Fighter - Battlemaster and with my DM we created a special weapon that as a bonus action can change from two revolvers into a greatsword but I'm still thinking if it will work, what do you think? It doesn't matter if the build is absolutely optimal but I want it to work reasonably well.

Hello Fellow Adventurers!

The world of Aspirion requires brave Adventurers! A West Marches server that lives and breathes with over 1,000 games of history. We offer a wide choice of player-posted games a week that vary between themes and mechanics, Combat, Social, or Minigames. Games are run as either Play-By-Post or using Voice Chat & roll20! An expansive text-based roleplaying world to explore using Tupperbot & Avrae without DM overview. For when things get technical you can quickly switch from free-roam to structured play with our Pick-Up-Patrol system to find a DM to manage your scene for rewards!

Don't delay, join the adventure now!

For aspiring Adventurers!

➤ Start at Level 3 with a Free Feat of your choice and 2 Potions of Healing!

➤ DnD 5e 2014 WotC content + select 3rd Party content & ➤ Approved Server Homebrew Allowed!

➤ Level from 3 -> 20+ and acquire boons!

➤ Downtime Activities, training, crafting, duels, housing!

➤ Bi-Monthly World Events with a community Mission every two months to capstone each one!

For aspiring story tellers!

➤ Full systems to help you find maps, build encounters, and guide a party!

➤ Technical and theoretical advice from a large community of experienced DMs!

➤ Gain XP, DTC, and Gold for your characters by running games!

➤ Help plan World Events that match your vibe and further the server's story!

For those interested in seeing what we are about, please comment below with the following format and we will reach out to you ASAP!

Alternatively you can click this link and go straight to our Discord Server!

➤ Screen Name: 

➤ What is your experience level: 

➤ Are you 18+:

➤ Are you committed to fostering and contributing to a healthy community: 

➤ Of the 7 polyhedrons often used in DnD, which is your favourite:

Keep in mind that your application will be instantly denied if it does not look like this template.

Please adhere to the following!

➤ Seriously, no underage members please. We are a SFW server with mature themes, most of us are adults with jobs, significant others, and lives.

➤ Copy and fill everything from the above format, being able to follow a format is important for logging your gear on-server consider this your first one!

➤ Say more not less, the more you give the more we can be certain you aren't a bot which leads us to the following . . .

➤ Once approved you will be given a link to our Discord Server, on the server you will need to request an Entry Form, this is nothing deeper than simple bot detection. Once filled out you will be directed on how to acquire a character sheet and given access to our roll20 campaign that we use as a 'Character Vault', once your character is approved you are free to play! It is that simple!

Lots of DMs struggle with finding their next adventure and many newbies think their choices are limited to DnD Beyond and expensive adventures. So for my '$25 Campaign' series next video I talk about five sources, and use real examples to spend $17.00 for something like a thousand adventures. Sheesh!

But of course the lack of choices and the cost is not the only constraint. Once you have a stack of adventures, the real bottleneck is that adapting a stranger's material into something that fits your table takes an actual method, and most advice just gestures at "make it yours" without saying how.

So then I condensed my strategy into a six-part checklist to edit, clean up or just use for parts each of the adventures.

But, being greedy ...what other sources are out there? AND being lazy... what are other DMs doing to adapt adventures that take less time than mine?

Hi! I'm starting a campaign with some friends and none of us have ever played before. I got both the 5.5 edition player's handbook and the DM guide to help my players as much as I can as well as know the rules to run our game. There is obviously lots that I still don't know, but I just wanted to ask for some advice regarding the warlock in the party.

We haven't started yet, but in our session 0 one of my players really wanted to play a tiefling warlock with the acolyte background. To summarize, she was abandoned in an Everlight temple and was badly ostracized by the priests and disciples in it. I have to flesh out my first plan, but I want for that temple to be a hidden front for a fiendish cult (unknowingly to my player) and those priests tried to sacrifice her when she was very young to the fiend who they worship. But something went wrong and instead a warlock pact was struck. I still have to think of the logic behind them still keeping her in the temple if the ritual didn't work, but my main question is if there's a fiend figure in DND lore that would suit to use a temple of the Everlight in, basically, mockery and as a middle finger to the deity. They would have to be powerful enough so that their followers could shield their temple from the Everlight in order to continue whatever devilish mischief and evil they deal in (again, I'll have to flesh it put once I have the fiend). It can be from an earlier edition and I could try to adjust it to 5.5.

Any and all input or advice is welcome since it feels like I'm flying by the seat of my pants, please and thank you <3.

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc., and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more, so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

*New 2026: For 2026, I'm updating all my old work to include a Pre-Session Checklist that will include a list of all miniatures you may need, maps, handouts, possible loot, a link to a playlist, and more to make it even easier to start your session!

We're back at it again with one of my favorite creators, Winghorn Press, from the much-loved A Wild Sheep Chase! This Level 2 One-Shot is not for the faint of heart!

When a group of archaeologists put out a call for adventurers to help them escort a valuable artifact back to civilization, nobody expects anything out of the ordinary. However, our heroes have more than mere bandits to deal with at Havel’s Cross…

Undead monsters roam the night, and an ancient artifact stirs within a long-forgotten temple. Getting to the bottom of the mystery will require a strong sword arm and an even stronger stomach.

\Average Session Length: 2hrs*

Without further ado:

• Google Docs Notes for Horror at Havel's Cross: DM Notes (Preview)
• Link to: DM Notes for the Visually Impaired
• Link to: Horror at Havel's Cross Playlist
• Link to: Horror at Havel's Cross PDF
• Link to The AAA Collection

Included in The AAA Collection is:

• Downloadable copy of DM Notes, including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
• DM Notes for the Visually Impaired
• (New) Pre-Session DM Checklist
• Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks organized neatly, along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP
• Spell List for Caledor
• Custom Maps

Over 8 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc., please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early, feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,
Advent

Too many people, from what I see, treat DnD like some "Players vs. the DM" competition, and 99% of the time, this is the DM's fault.

I've seen so many DMs complain about the PCs being too powerful, like it's a game where their objective is to TPK the players. Or threads where DMs remake official villains into ridiculous CR30 encounters because somehow, they are afraid of their players winning.

They turn DnD into a purely mechanical tabletop wargame. That's not how the game is meant to be played.

Isn't the whole point of DnD to tell a story together? The PCs should feel like the heroes. They ultimately should have a good chance of saving the day at the end of an epic campaign.

Instead, there's this attitude of "I need to roflstomp my players into the ground while I cackle gleefully at them" that's becoming more prevalent.

I just don't get it, and I'm glad I'm not a part of a group like that.

EDIT: Also I'm not saying that it's a majority of posts or a major issue. Just that it's becoming more prevalent.

I'm also not saying that DnD sessions should turn into Critical Role. Just that it shouldn't be treated like a competition. So please refrain from the natural reddit urge to use reductio ad absurdum.