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Browsing All posts tagged under »dm«

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

3d printing and Dungeons & Dragons

October 29, 2018 by newbiedm

3d printing has positioned itself as an emerging technology that could upend the way we approach D&D accessories and decorate our table. It is fascinating to watch how quickly it has grown and entered gaming culture, almost out of nowhere, and has led to people creating things for our games we thought were well out […]

Paper Minis!

August 31, 2017 by newbiedm

Everyone loves their minis. Everyone loves having a unique mini that represents their character, or in the case of DMs, that represents the monsters that the PCs will ultimately face. Even back in the old days, when I was a player in 1e or 2e games, we had minis there to represent marching order and […]

Monster Conversion: Redcap

September 17, 2016 by newbiedm

Here’s the Redcap, a monster I first encountered in the 3rd. Edition Monster Manual 3. There is already a 5e version of it in DDAL4-6 The Ghost, an organized play module, and in Kobold Press’ Tome of Beasts. This is my version. I made it a Challenge 2 creature, and stripped it of its fey […]

Monster conversion: Woodwose

September 12, 2016 by newbiedm

Here’s another attempt at converting a monster from 2e to 5e… the Woodwose, known in 2e as a Nightshade… It’s a CR1 creature from the forests of the Feywild, who will turn you into one of them if it kills you with his poisoned blade. Enjoy. Grab it here. If you would like to support […]

Monster conversion: Sandman

September 11, 2016 by newbiedm

Here’s another monster conversion, this time the Sandman, which first appeared in 1e’s Fiend Folio, and was later taken into 2e’s Al Qadim setting in a boxed set called “Assassin Mountain”. The Sandman’s a simple monster, it’s an elemental made of sand who basically puts people to sleep. In 2e, their lore was expanded and made […]