5e D&D | www. Newbie DM .com

Browsing All Posts filed under »5e D&D«

Beyond the Sword Coast: Daerlun

January 21, 2022 by newbiedm

In this post we”ll visit the rich merchant kingdom of Sembia, and specifically the city of Daerlun. Sembia’s published origins are…interesting. Ready? in the first edition Forgotten Realms boxed set, much of Sembia was purposely left blank to allow DMs a clean slate to create their own cities and NPCs on. That idea went out […]

Beyond the Sword Coast: Westgate

January 20, 2022 by newbiedm

In this new series titled Beyond the Sword Coast, we’ll take a quick look at different locales throughout Faerun that campaigns can launch from or visit, outside of the all too familiar Sword Coast. We’ll start with the City of Westgate, one of my favorites in the setting, and how it can make for a […]

New Year, New Campaign

January 12, 2022 by newbiedm

I just launched a new campaign and I’m super excited about it. This past summer I ended a year-long campaign, and unfortunately it did not make it to the end. I wish it had, I loved the story we were telling, but we ran out of steam and ended it with the PCs at level […]

Talking with Ed Greenwood and Jeff Grubb

July 9, 2021 by newbiedm

I had the opportunity to speak with legendary D&D authors Ed Greenwood and Jeff Grubb on the debut episode of my new webshow, The NewbieDM Show. It was an interview I’ve wanted to do for a long time, as I am a big fan of their work. Jeff Grubb is one of those D&D designers […]

My issue with social conflicts in 5e D&D

June 3, 2021 by newbiedm

I was musing on twitter about social conflicts in 5e, and how I think there’s a big disconnect with how they intersect with NPCs and Monsters, and thought I’d bring it to the blog to expand on it. I love twitter, but it’s not great for lengthy musins like this one… In 5e, social encounters […]

Tracking time in the dungeon

May 24, 2021 by newbiedm

One of the things that still gives me a little bit of difficulty when I’m DMing is tracking time in the game’s fiction when the characters are in exploration mode. Combat is simple, the 6 second rounds are codified, and we know that 10 rounds is a minute in the game world, 5 rounds is […]

Audio for my online games

November 11, 2020 by newbiedm

Gaming through a pandemic has forced my home game to go online, leading me to reassess what it is I want (or not) out of my online games, and how to get there. I have one major rule of thumb when it comes to gaming online, and it’s very simple: If I can’t recreate it […]

5e Spell templates for VTT

October 15, 2020 by newbiedm

Due to the COVID pandemic, all my gaming has moved online, and while that in it of itself is not a bad thing, it has generally changed my prep and the way I run games, even if it has allowed for greater consistency in our scheduling. One of the things I find the most challenging […]

5e Eberron first look

November 14, 2019 by newbiedm

Wizards of the Coast was kind enough to provide a review copy of their newest release, “Eberron Rising from the Last War”, and I posted my first look at it on youtube and twitter. Check them out. Alright nerds. Ready to visit Eberron? Lets do this. #dnd pic.twitter.com/JVECTtb8CO — NewbieDM (@newbiedm) November 14, 2019 If […]

Thoughts on running the beginning of Descent into Avernus

October 11, 2019 by newbiedm

I’m a few sessions into Wizards of the Coast’s latest D&D hardcover, Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus for my home group, and I thought I’d put out some thoughts about my experiences running the beginning of the adventure. For those of you into this sort of thing, here’s my party’s makeup: Human Fighter Kobold Ranger […]