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DROW & How to Make Betrayals work in D&D
Welcome to the drow. The drow were left out of the 2024 Monster Manual—a decision I can’t quite understand. I would call it the worst omission, if not for the fact that orcs were also excluded. Since I’ve committed to covering every monster that appears in either the 2014 or 2024 Monster Manual, I’ll be Continue reading
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Traps & Puzzles for Dungeons and Dragons
Traps Trap Article Pit Traps Beholder (CR 13) Boulder Traps Ancient Copper Dragon (CR 21) Mind-Game Traps Quest for an Evil Dragon (also contains traps for an abandoned bandit hideout dungeon) Ancient Green Dragon (CR 22) contains a variety of traps Complex Traps Solar (CR 21) Cold Based Traps White Dragon Wyrmling (CR 2) Continue reading
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DRACOLICH: How to Use Immortality as an Unfair Cheat
How to Use – Dracolich “Suicide” Tactics Fighting back isn’t the only way a villain can respond to the heroes’ aggression. Another way is to go after a city, or other civilians, forcing the heroes to either risk themselves in order to save the civilians, or to suffer the effects of massive unpopularity. [See below]. Continue reading
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DRIDER: How to Use Darkness and Range in Combat
Three Ways of Running DnD’s Drider: The Temporary Parley Trap, Tactics of the Darkness Spell, and the Drider’s devastating sniper range tactic. How to Use – DnD’s Drider Parley Tactic Advantage of Knowledge of the Drow The drider is the ideal monster with which to set up a drow campaign. As a being who was Continue reading
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ANCIENT SILVER DRAGON: Perils of the Fogbound Lair
The silver dragon has a lair that seems simple, but is actually a deadly maze to its enemies. Let’s explore why that is. How to Use – The Silver Dragon’s Lair (difficulty 24) Unlike with the other dragons, the silver dragon’s lair actions are actually better suited for the path to the dragon, as Continue reading
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ADULT SILVER DRAGON: Daring Escapes and Visiting Neglected Areas
D&D’s silver dragons rule the sky. These mountain-top and midair encounters let your players ride beside—or battle—the sky king himself. How to Use & How to Not Use DnD’s Adult Silver Dragon Reasons For the Dragon to Refuse to Help As I’ve already discussed, bringing powerful friendly NPCs into D&D raises the problem of why Continue reading
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ANCIENT GOLD DRAGON: Life That is Like a Dream
Let’s look at enchantments the ancient gold dragon can have on its lair, and how they and the lair actions can make the fight unforgettable. How to Use – The Lair of a Gold Dragon Combat Encounters (difficulty 27) This article will be a look at some enchantments the gold dragon might have on its Continue reading
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ADULT GOLD DRAGON: Robbing a Dragon, and What Comes Next
When players are forced to rob a gold dragon to gain the item they need, we get to see just how powerful Dnd’s adult gold dragon is. How to Avoid Using – Keeping the Players in Charge Let’s start with my usual. The list of possible reasons for the good-alignment creature to refuse to join Continue reading
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YOUNG GOLD DRAGON: Dignity in Battle and Moderation in Advice
How to Use in Moderation Reason’s for the Gold Dragon’s Refusal As I often mention, the main problem with using powerful good-aligned monsters is figuring out why they don’t do the quests instead of you. Here are reasons for the young gold dragon: Reason’s for the Player’s Refusal There are also a couple of ways Continue reading
About Me
I’ve been a DM since I was about 10 years old. (Not of D&D, admittedly, but still.) After growing bored of fights that were all the same, dungeons heavily populated by one monster type, and a general shortage of ideas, I figured I’d embark on my own trip through the Monster Manual, one monster at a time. Feel free to join the quest.