Tag: dms guild

DMs Guild Review – The Curse of Skull Island

Transform your session zero into a mini-adventure of character creation with a fun pirate theme.

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A review copy of “The Curse of Skull Island” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

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Designed by: Anthony Joyce (w/ Nautical Character Options by Jeremy Forbing)

Every DM should know what a session zero is, but just in case: session zero is the recommended way to start a fresh campaign, by gathering up your players to create their characters, discuss the campaign’s setting and themes, and go over any house rules, questions, and concerns, before starting your first official adventuring session together.

“The Curse of Skull Island” is a mini-adventure designed to slot right into a “zero-th” session of a campaign. The brief adventure is specifically designed to kickstart a Ghosts of Saltmarsh or other nautical-themed campaign while letting players create their characters and introducing them to tabletop roleplaying, Dungeons & Dragons, or the specific Dungeon Master’s GM style (or all of the above).

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DMs Guild Review – The Lost Lyrics of Rezinar

A review copy of “The Lost Lyrics of Rezinar” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

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Designed by: Steve “Jaspor” Orr and Bill Putrino

I love music and appreciate fun parodies (hello 90s Weird Al!). “The Lost Lyrics of Rezinar” provides a dozen parodies of popular classic rock and pop songs with new Dungeons & Dragons themed lyrics. Most of them are clever and fun, though I was hoping for much more meaningful bard-related content.

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DMs Guild Review – Handful of Heists

Five mini-heists, capers, and cons designed to supplement the urban adventures of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist.

A review copy of “Handful of Heists” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work via Patreon.

Designed by: Jimmy Meritt, with maps by Louie Skaradek

Those who have read (and/or watched) my Waterdeep: Dragon Heist review know that I was a bit miffed that there was no actual heist. Thankfully the DMs Guild is here to set things straight.

“Handful of Heists” features five 3rd level mini-adventures that fit perfectly within Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, or any urban setting of your campaign.

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DMs Guild Review – Artifacts of the Guild

A massive compendium of over 250 magic items from dozens of DMs Guild creators.

A review copy of “Artifacts of the Guild” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

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Compiled by: Terry Herc, with 50+ DMs Guild Contributors

“Artifacts of the Guild” is massive magic item compendium featuring contributions from may of the best DMs Guild creators, including JVC Parry, Ashley Warren, Phil Beckwith, James Introcaso, and Christian Eichhorn.

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DMs Guild Review – Mirrors of the Abyss

A high level deathtrap dungeon featuring over 260 pages of detailed information, clever trap designs, and striking artwork.

A review copy of “Mirrors of the Abyss” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

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Designed by: Ryan Durney and Christopher Rush

Tier 4 content (levels 16-20) on the DMs Guild isn’t exactly common. High level adventures are exceedingly difficult to balance, and are often the culmination of years-long campaigns rather than a self-contained adventure.

“Mirrors of the Abyss” tackles a high level adventure with an excessively detailed deathtrap dungeon in an abyssal domain run by a vulpine demon woman named Eshebala. Think “Tomb of Horrors” but with a lot more personality, a la carte chambered dungeon design, and over 260 pages of detailed information and beautiful original artwork.

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DMs Guild Review – Those Lost in Madness

Four new Far Realm-touched subclasses. Why should Warlocks have all the fun?

A review copy of “Those Lost in Madness” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

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Designed by:  Milosz Gawecki

Thanks to the magic of Public Domain, eldritch horror has become pervasive in fantasy, sci-fi, and supernatural horror, and Dungeons & Dragons is certainly no exception. In 5e it’s mostly regulated to a single subclass of the Warlock, The Great Old One. “Those Lost in Madness” adds four new Far Realm-themed subclasses for Barbarian, Cleric, Druid, and Rogue.

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DMs Guild Review – Advanced Arcana

The 160+page Guidebook adapts creatures, items, spells, and an entirely new mana-based spell system from Magic: The Gathering into D&D.

A review copy of “Advanced Arcana – Alternative Mana-Based Spellcasting System” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

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Designed by:  Ken Carcas, Justyn Johnston, Luke Monroe

I’ve never been a big fan of Dungeon & Dragons’ unintuitive spellcasting system, with leveled spell slots and having to memorize spells. Give me a universal mana system or simple limited number of uses per day or per encounter any day.

“Advanced Arcana” attempts to translate the mana system from popular collectible card game Magic: The Gathering. This is particular relevant with the still semi-recent release of the official Wizards of the Coast published supplement, Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica, which finally adapted at least some of Magic: the Gathering‘s content into Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition.

But there’s still a lot of room for M:TG content, including its actual magic system. Unfortunately Magic‘s system is also a bit of a pain for different reasons, and combining it with D&D results in needlessly fiddly spellcasting that’s already giving me nightmares of some of the worst gameplay aspects of the card game.

Thankfully the new spell system is only a fraction of the content available in this massive 150+ page guide book. With new magic items, creatures, and even adventures, “Advanced Arcana” is practically the Xanathar’s Guide to Everything: Ravnica Edition.

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