Tools for Dungeons & Dragons
I’m watching more and more new gamers try their hand at tabletop role-playing games and wanted to share some tools I’ve developed that might help. Put the ones you like in your toolbox and leave the rest.
Tools for Starting a Game
Getting started can be daunting. Here are some ideas that might help.
Blog Link: Bringing it all together quickly with Backgrounds
Inspired by the above tweet, the blog post lists of the Backgrounds in the D&D 5e Player’s Handbook with questions to ask players for fleshing out these ideas.
Example:
Acolyte
What religion or temple did you all serve?
NOTE: Maybe an elf god owes Pelor a favor from some ancient myth or the tiefling is there because the Devil-God pledged several years of service from his finest children.
What was your character’s favorite festival at the temple?
What mythological story resonated most deeply with your character?
Adventure Question:
What holy/unholy relic did you all hide in the caves not far from the temple and why are you compelled to go back and get it now?
Blog Link: Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything: Patron Quickstart 1
If the players can’t agree on a background that is alright. Just choose a patron and ask the players to make a character who would serve such a patron. You’ve got someone built into the game to send the players on missions and adventure ideas aplenty, I hope.
Tools for Keeping the Game Going
If you’ve started a game already and you are hip deep in fantasy adventure gaming, trying to figure out how to keep this thing going. I’ve got you covered.
Blog Link: Context, Cool Stuff and Consequences: a structure for DM’s notes
Folks who say they improv when they DM have a structure that they have often internalized. Here’s one type of structure that might help you out during those moments when you are brainstorming before a game or taking notes while DMing (PDF at the bottom of the post).
The worksheet below is meant to be a tool for jotting down bullet-points for pre-game daydreaming as well as in-game note-taking. Names, places, ideas, encounters, whatever inspirational bits you need when the game is on.
In case you need to flesh out your map a bit. Example city below.
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Asmodeen: former capital of the Tiefling empire, back when there was an empire. Made to honor the God-Tyrant, Asmodeus but was never officially recognized as His unholy capital city. The city is guarded by the 13 Altar-Fortresses, each commanded by a warlock-commander.
Exports: goats, obsidian, indentured devil tutors
Blog Link: 10 Underground Cities
You want to know what is below the earth’s crust. Here are some ideas.
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Culicid: a castle town ruled by a vampire, a veteran of the war and self-styled duchess. She takes blood from thralls taken from the surface, as Culicid is a major stopping point for the Drow’s thrall-trade. Culicid has the largest population of free humans beneath the surface, policed by the duchess’ immortal children.
Exports: bio-luminescent mushrooms, messenger bats, goats
Blog Link: Tables for the Outlands
This is how I set up encounter tables for the weekly D&D I play with my friends on Thursday nights. Blank PDF’s are at the bottom of the blog post in the above link. Hope it is helpful for you.
I don’t think of the tables as Random Encounter Tables but as Inspirational Encounter Tables.
Houserules and More
Your friends’ shenanigans has taken you beyond the rule books. You’ll be making up your own rules with your friends in no time. Here are a few of my favorites.
Blog Link: Bingo Style Experience Points after a few months of leveling up.
A fun way to handle experience points and gaining levels using a bingo board.
Blog Post Link: 0 Hit Point Options
Blog Post Link: So, you’ve hit 0 hit points with guest star, Asmodeus
I’ve seen dear friends get really stressed out about the possibility of their friends’ characters perishing. The above links discuss some options that might make death less terrifying for everyone involved.
Blog Post Link: Making Magic Items inspired by Apocalypse World
Creating magic items in ways that creates fun ideas for new adventures.
Bugwump the Frog-kin Wizard wants to add charges to Kuru’s Wand of Lightning. Poor Kuru, the Hobbit Thief, has been moping ever since the wand lost its oomph. “Clearly you need to go to a mountaintop and get this thing hit by lightning,” I say.
“Oooh, it should be a special mountain, holy to the Storm Giants,” Kuru’s player says.
Bugwump’s player says, “You aren’t making this easy.”
“It’ll be fun! What is the worst that could happen?”
“Lightning from a Storm Giant’s holy mountaintop. Sounds awesome. There is one you’ve heard about not too far away, the Sky’s Anvil…”
And More!
You can grab free maps from Dyson Logos (and jump on their patreon while you are there).
1 Page Dungeons are a great place to start and maybe, in some ways, easier for some than the big hardbound adventures.
There are so many resources it is mind-boggling. The Alexandrian, The DM’s Academy Subreddit, Sly Flourish, TTRPG Safety Tools and more.
My goal here isn’t to overwhelm you. Folks put lots of pressure on the facilitator of a Dungeons & Dragons game. If you get stuck, talk to your friends. The people sharing this experience with you at the table are the best resource of all. What a hobby! Where the best tool is the imaginations and empathy of our friends.
Welcome. I hope you enjoy it and if you need help, you know where to find me.
