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Ride or Die: The Importance of Teamwork in D&D – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

Ride or Die: The Importance of Teamwork in D&D – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

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 Last time we met, we spoke about how to build a good team member.  This time around, we look at how to BE a good team member and teamwork in D&D. Every D&D player is not wandering around the world, fighting monsters and looting treasure by themselves.  Each Fighter, Wizard and Rogue is a member of a Party. For whatever their individual reasons, sticking together is how each member of the Party gets rich/famous/not dead.  In your experience with this game, you’re going to run into players that only care about themselves. They are not the norm, or the majority in any way but they do exist. They want all the loot, want to take credit for all successes and think of themselves as the “leader”, no matter the context in the story.  These people suck. You shouldn’t play with them. However, at their table are a bunch of other players that want to get rid of that player too. That’s because those other players don’t suck. They work together

Adventurers Assemble! Putting a Party Together in D&D – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

Adventurers Assemble! Putting a Party Together in D&D – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

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When we last left each other, we discussed my favorite race in D&D, the Dragonborn. This time around, I’d like to share my thoughts on putting a party together. I’m not talking about meeting up in a tavern, this is about how a group of friends who are about to embark on a grand adventure filled with danger and worst of all, the locked door… can create characters that work well together without compromising their individuality. One of the things 5th edition D&D does well is providing players a lot of choices in putting a party together. Within all the base classes (Fighter, Rogue, etc.) are choices a player can make that create distinct styles of play, allowing for flexibility in what the players want to do. It ensures that regardless of the variety of classes, the group will be able to face what the DM throws at them. Also, each character receives what’s called a Background. The background is important to role-playing your character. It provides little details that can

The Ballad of Benvolio Gallipoli – Session 3 – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

The Ballad of Benvolio Gallipoli – Session 3 – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

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Benvolio Gallipoli, exiled from the Feywild, chronicles his mist-adventures in the land of Barovia in this new D&D blog series. The Ballad of Benvolio Gallipoli – Session 3 – Tieflings and Ghosts  This is Hell.  This house, this strange place.  At least, as I climbed the stairs to the attic of this bizarre house there were no windows.  No windows to show me the mist that is hell-bent on torturing me. The mist that has filled my mind with rage-filled visions of my family, and the Lycan who butchered them.  Luckily for my emotions, halfway up these hidden stairs, I spotted a body. The body of a Tiefling. He was breathing, as Xerox touched him he sprang up and opened his eyes. His eyes were glowing, and he seemed to be blind and deaf.  Out of thin air, a small Imp appeared in between us, waving its arms around begging us not to kill him. The Imp blinked out, and the Tiefling regained his senses. His name was Nightshade. He

The Ballad of Benvolio Gallipoli – Session 2 – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

The Ballad of Benvolio Gallipoli – Session 2 – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

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Benvolio Gallipoli, exiled from the Feywild, chronicles his mist-adventures in the land of Barovia in this new D&D blog series. The Ballad of Benvolio Gallipoli – Session 2 – The Death House  This is Hell.  My body is still wracked with pain, the scars from the zombie attack itch.  Yet I, Benvolio Gallipoli, live. This mist, that won’t let us leave these woods, that returned my spirit to my broken body.  This mist, that snatched the one fleeting second of peace I felt as I left this mortal coil and is forcing me to continue on.  Can I cry? I don’t know. I should be crying, but my sadness is overwhelmed by rage. The anger I have been holding inside has boiled up to the surface.  All I can think about are the Lycan Alpha that slayed my wife and child. I know he’s in the Feywild, far from where ever we are right now. I know I should be focusing on my current situation, on my two strange companions

Dragonborn – Best. Thing. EVER. – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

Dragonborn – Best. Thing. EVER. – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

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 Last time, we talked about magic and its place in D&D.  This time around, I want to talk about my absolute favorite race to play in D&D:  The Dragonborn. Those of you that are fans of Elder Scrolls have heard that before, but in D&D, Dragonborn are humanoids that have a strong bloodline connection to the most mythical of creatures.  Tall, strong and scaled, the Dragonborn are not only great warriors, but their bloodline can help them tap into magic as well. Everyone who plays D&D has favorites and Dragonborn are hands down mine.  In fact, these articles wouldn’t even exist without the Dragonborn.  Several years ago, I got divorced.  As a result, I went through a bit of a funk.  I tried to fill my time with new experiences, the first being Improv classes.  I had always wanted to be on stage performing for people and these classes allowed me to do that.  It was a life changing experience, one I highly recommend people try at least once. Anyway,

Magic in D&D – Wait, You Can Do WHAT!?!? – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

Magic in D&D – Wait, You Can Do WHAT!?!? – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

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 Now that the Fighter, the simplest Class to play, is familiar to you, I thought a conversation about magic in D&D is in order.  From it’s very humble beginnings in the 70’s, D&D has had a very close relationship with magic.  The fantasy lands of D&D, full of adventure and sometimes tragedy has used magic to take the place of technology, enhance storytelling and expand the boundaries of what “can be”.  Magic in D&D has worked a bit differently over the many different editions, but at the same time has expanded to become a cornerstone of the game.  Almost every aspect of the game ties to some form of magic.  This month, I’ll be focusing on how Player Characters use magic in D&D to survive, fight or screw with people.  When people first start out playing D&D, magic use takes the most time to get the hang of, mostly because the different PC classes use magic differently.  Selecting spells, managing spell slots and the different magical abilities can intimidate new

The Ballad of Benvolio Gallipoli – Session 1 – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

The Ballad of Benvolio Gallipoli – Session 1 – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

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Benvolio Gallipoli, exiled from the Feywild, chronicles his mist-adventures in the land of Barovia in this new D&D blog series. The Ballad of Benvolio Gallipoli – Session 1 – Goddamn You, Mist!  This is Hell.  Nine months in the world of man, the stench hasn’t gone away.  The sun has damaged my Elven skin.  It’s been difficult finding work, I am still adjusting to being removed from my Fey magics.  I managed to scrape enough gold together to get a decent set of armor and a shield.  At least, when I was banished, they let me keep my sword.  After a few odd jobs to acquire some basic gear I started looking into more serious work.  I got a tip some farmers were complaining their cows were being killed, so I signed up for the team being hired for security/investigation.  Figured I’d at least be around people like me: just looking to do the job and no small talk.  God was I wrong.  The farmers were broke, and could only

What Is the Fighter class? – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

What Is the Fighter class? – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

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 Last month, I kicked off 2018 with a discussion on the 6 core ability scores at the heart of every character sheet.  Now what are you going to do with these abilities?  You’re going to get a job of course!  In D&D, your job is known as your class.  There are a ton of them, each with different play styles.  Each will be getting attention here over the course of the year.  I’m starting off with the fighter class (old school gamers remember calling them the warrior), mainly because it is the easiest to sit down and get to business with.  I do, even after all these years really love playing as a fighter, as now it’s a lot easier to have the character’s personality keep things interesting out of combat.  It’s great for the new player not just because their sheet will be easier to manage, but in combat fighters are invaluable.  Out of combat, they are great for the shy player (everyone loves the strong, silent type) or

Geek Tank Games TableTop Tokens Review – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

Geek Tank Games TableTop Tokens Review – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

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Geek Tank Games’ TableTop Tokens have terrific art, with good detail and a fun variety of tokens. They’re waterproof and pretty difficult to bend or crease. It looks good, helps with creativity and makes the DMs job easier. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, connecting with the gaming community is so easy that it can happen without even trying.  A few weeks ago, I got a tweet (hit me up @DMKyleQuimby) from Geek Tank Games.  They’ve got a Kickstarter launching soon and wanted me to check out their Tabletop Tokens and get the word out.  They sent me these great terrain kits and I got to work using them and sharing them with my fellow DMs.  I have to say, they are terrific.  During the 4th edition days, mapping and terrain became very important.  Sessions got so involved in intricate combat tactics that knowing exactly what your surroundings were was critical.  Now, with 5th edition is not as critical but it is still, in my opinion, an important tool in

Ability Scores: What Are They and What Do They Do? – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

Ability Scores: What Are They and What Do They Do? – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

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 In 2017, I talked a lot about my views on this crazy game as a whole.  I wanted to be as wide open as possible so that as you learned/played the game it didn’t become a to-much-at-once situation.  Now that 2018 is here, I thought that some of you have taken my advice and started a game.  So, getting into some of the nuts and bolts of the game would help you begin making your own characters, and learn where all the “numbers” on your sheet came from. Let’s talk ability scores.  5th Edition has done a good job in minimizing character complexity so new players don’t get overwhelmed by the numbers.  If any of you have friends that played 4th Edition, ask them to see a typical 1st level character sheet.  You know, all 4-5 pages of it! For 5th Edition there are a few numbers to calculate, but everything comes from your 6 Ability Scores: Strength (Str), Dexterity (Dex), Constitution (Con), Intelligence (Int), Wisdom (Wis) and Charisma (Cha).

The Ballad of Benvolio Gallipoli (Coming Soon) – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

The Ballad of Benvolio Gallipoli (Coming Soon) – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

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  Not too long ago, my buddy Bob of the Battle For Salvation gaming club in White Plains NY (that’s called a shout out kids) called me up.  He had gotten his hands on the 5th edition D&D module The Curse of Strahd.  He thought it would be fun to get a few buddies together and run it for us.  My schedule is/was pretty busy but I hadn’t played with their crew in a long time so I said “Count me in!”.  I thought it might be fun to make a blog about it, written in character.  Sort of like reading the journal entries my character would make as he lived through the story.  As I was putting the character together, I was (as usual) getting obsessed with his back story and felt that this whole blog thing could work.    Now, I know that giving major story spoilers for a published adventure would be pretty rude.  I will be keeping campaign story details to a minimum.  I’m not making a

Women in Dungeons and Dragons: This is no Boy’s Club – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

Women in Dungeons and Dragons: This is no Boy’s Club – For Those About To Roll, We Salute You!

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 Now that you’ve got the gear, let’s talk about the “role” of women in Dungeons and Dragons.  It’s fair to say that most people who identify as geeky are of the open-minded/progressive variety.  By definition, we love what we love so dang much we spend as much of our time and money on t-shirts, cosplay, action figures, whatever we can get our hands on.  We love it all so much, when someone wants to enjoy it too we welcome them with open arms.  D&D is no different.  Over the years, I’ve sat at tables with people younger, older, richer, poorer than me.  Gay, straight, bi, trans.  I am fully aware of the “losers who can’t get laid in mom’s basement” stereotype.  It’s total BS.    As I was thinking of exactly what I wanted to say about women in Dungeons and Dragons specifically, I found myself at a loss.  I am a boy after all and although I’ve played with plenty of women over the years I was worried it

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