Annabelle's Nerdy D&D Blog

There are a lot of rules around in Dungeons and Dragons. If you have new players who want to play spellcasters, then they’re going to have even more learning to do! As their Dungeon Master, you’ll probably want to check in regularly with them, and to tailor your DMing to reduce some of the overwhelm that so many players face when first playing a spellcaster. We want our players to feel like epic badasses striding into battle, not unprepared students dragging their feet into an exam! ;)  If you haven't already, I also highly recommend you check out my post explaining how spell...

Hey hey! Today I'm going to show you how to make an awesome interactive trap / puzzle for your players! The idea of this puzzle is that it is fun and interactive, and adaptable enough for you to pop it into a dungeon or game you're already running.   I love crossing the 4th wall and bringing parts of my games into real life - I think it makes everything feel more tangible and real for both my players and myself. To make this trap I use 16 1x1 tiles with the "plain" surface, and decorate them with decals. The tiles...

  Hullo all!  Not all of us have the hours to spend intricately painting terrain so here's a guide for how to make great looking wooden terrain in next to no time at all!   This tutorial is rated easy-peasy. It takes not time and practically no skill - perfect for a lot of us trying their hand at painting for the first time!     Materials Needed:   Modular Realms magnetic dungeon tiles, "Wood" texture - you can get them here! White Primer - I used this one The Army Painter Satchel Brown Speedpaint  Paint brush  Matt varnish -...

Whether you use dungeon tiles or not in your games, I highly recommend bringing 3D elements into combat!   Bringing 3D elements into your scenery makes a huge difference to your battles. Not only does it bring visual clarity, it also makes for more exciting and immersive gameplay.    I also find combat runs quicker and more smoothly when everyone can see what the environment they're in looks like! Another joy of using 3D battle maps is the opportunities it opens up for tactical gameplay. Suddenly your players begin to make more use of higher ground, cover and other obstacles. ...

Spell scrolls are one use consumable items in Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition that allow characters to cast the spell contained within the scroll without expending a spell slot.   There are a lot of rules and conditions around using spell scrolls. We’ll take a look at them in this post. Personally I (and many other DMs) find the rules as written around spell scrolls somewhat limiting so I’ll also introduce you to some of the common homebrew rules that have evolved around the use of spell scrolls in D&D games.     What are Spell Scrolls?   In DnD 5e, spell...