One-shots are different from regular D&D sessions. Time constraints force a more linear structure. Increased DM guidance is both necessary and expected. When running one, you need to roll with the punches players throw at you. Be careful not to over prep; one or two pages will do.
Our Team and Ethos
We believe in making games that are as easy to pick up and play as possible. With every product, we ask ourselves “how can we make this easier to run?” in an attempt to bring more people into the game and ensure that even the busiest people can get to the table come game night.
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We believe in making games that are as easy to pick up and play as possible. With every product, we ask ourselves “how can we make this easier to run?” in an attempt to bring more people into the game and ensure that even the busiest people can get to the table come game night.
DM Resources
Here’s a collection of useful tools and other tricks of the trade for any aspiring DM. It includes affiliate links for all the campaign and rulebooks (which partially support us), as well as tools for generating free maps, level-appropriate encounters, and other useful stuff!
5e: How to Run an Evil Campaign
The key to running a great evil campaign is knowing that—at its core—it is still about creating a shared, fun experience. This means teamwork, respect, player agency, and flexible DMing. The campaign must be player-directed for the evil to mean anything unless you’re going for cartoon evil.
5e: Why is Booming Blade Good?
Booming Blade is not great. It fills a niche that makes it a subpar cantrip for most casters, but it has its uses for battlefield control. Best used by melee casters, like eldritch knights, arcane tricksters, artificers, warlocks, etc. Note that it doesn’t allow Extra Attacks for martial classes.
5e: Attacks of Opportunity
An opportunity attack is a melee attack you make against an enemy that you can see leaving your reach. You use your reaction to make this attack and must use whatever you have in your hand. Ranged attacks do not count, and some perks and subclasses can add extra utility to these attacks.
5e: Ability Checks vs Saving Throws
Ability checks and saving throws are both dice rolls used to decide your success or failure at certain tasks. Ability checks are for when you attempt a challenge; saving throws are for when you resist external factors—like spells, traps, or poisons. Though there’s slightly more to it than that.
5e: Nonlethal Damage and Nonlethal Play
To avoid killing in 5e, one can use magic, social skills, tactics, cunning, and nonlethal knockouts. There’s a rule for this in the Player’s Handbook (pg 198): when reducing someone to 0 hit points (HP) with a melee attack, you can choose to knock them unconscious—stable—instead of outright murder.
5E: Underrated Monsters to Boost Your Sessions
Every time you prep an encounter or storyline, it’s an opportunity to take your players to uncharted territory and engage their sense of wonder—or fear of the unknown. While there’s nothing wrong with using staples, it has an opportunity cost. When done repeatedly, this leads to blandness.
5e Tips: How to Make an Engaging Dungeon
The secret to making engaging dungeons is a great premise. Hook players right away with an awesome concept that sells the idea of venturing into the dungeon. A great premise is tailor-made to fit player preferences and will guide the whole design process.
5e: How to Make Engaging Campaigns
D&D is both a game and narrative experience. We don’t play to make numbers go up; we want to be wowed by engaging stories. The game’s mechanics double as a system of emergent storytelling that combines DM intent and player agency. The broad shape and core themes of these stories are the DM’s domain.
Free Mini-Adventure!
Looking for something to slot into your campaign, ready to go? Here’s a Free Mini-Module to slot into almost any campaign!
5e: How to Become a Lich
Becoming a lich is a dangerous process involving sacrifice, powerful necromancy, and evil pacts to achieve immortality. You must gain access to Imprisonment, find the secrets to crafting a phylactery & a special potion, and then a lot of luck. Even then, you must fuel your immortality forever.