d&d – The Daily SPUF

D&D Druid: 5 Wildshapes Your Dungeon Master Will Not Allow

June 4, 2024June 6, 2024 aabicus 0 Comments animals, d&d, Druid, Dungeons & Dragons, dungeons and dragons, Filler, roleplay, roleplaying

It’s not happening. All of these are completely rules-legal, but you’re still not gonna get to play as them. There’s no way your GM will sign off on them, unless they’re going for a completely nonsensical setting or don’t mind crippling power disparities. Look upon these Wildshapes, ye mighty, and despair: 1. The Haungharassk Starting with this one because I talked about it in a previous article! This giant snail has a golden shell and even shinier stats, able to carry 9 passengers, climb walls, grant temporary hitpoints and remove curses with a single touch. It is hideously overpowered for… [Continue Reading]

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D&D 5e: A Complete Guide to Sidekicks

May 22, 2023December 14, 2023 aabicus 0 Comments d&d, Dungeons & Dragons, dungeons and dragons, guide, roleplay, roleplaying, rules, sidekick

Pelor help me, I’ve fallen down another rabbit hole of obscure D&D mechanics. And these are even less likely than usual to ever happen in my actual games. But I don’t care because the sidekick rules are honestly really cool and revolve around one of my favorite concepts: playable NPC/monsters! Introduced in Dragon of Icespire Peak (and heavily fleshed out in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything), the sidekick rules are a system whereby a normally-unplayable creature can gain its own class levels that let it grow stronger alongside a party of regular PCs. There are three Sidekick classes (Warrior, Expert, and Spellcaster)… [Continue Reading]

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The 5 Best Weapons in D&D 5e (That You Can’t Use)

May 17, 2023May 17, 2023 aabicus 0 Comments d&d, Dungeons & Dragons, dungeons and dragons, Filler, list, npc, roleplay, roleplaying, weapons

D&D 5th Edition simplified the weapon tables to an extreme degree compared to its predecessors. Gone are Exotic Weapon Proficiencies, or most subqualities like “keen” or “masterwork”, and most of the surviving options differ only in damage type or dice. And for the most part, martial NPCs/monsters honor these categories and follow the same rules for their own loadouts. But sometimes they don’t. Occasionally, a certain official monster or villain carries some seriously cool racial weapon with unique stats, and every GM just knows the party’s gonna ask if they can loot it from the corpse and use it themselves.… [Continue Reading]

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D&D 5e: A Guide to Throwing Weapons

April 13, 2023May 16, 2023 aabicus 0 Comments d&d, Dungeons & Dragons, dungeons and dragons, guide, melee, roleplay, roleplaying, throwing weapons, thrown weapons, weapons

There are a few playstyles in 5e that don’t really receive enough developer support, in my humble opinion. Strength-based unarmed builds, for one, as well as single-wielding one-handed weapons without a corresponding shield. But throwing builds are probably the most-maligned on the list. Unless you stretch all the way into archery, non-spellcasters unfortunately aren’t going to hold their own in ranged combat. In today’s article, I want to discuss a few of the reasons why, and what an enterprising player can do to mitigate the issues. Problem #1: Action Economy Martial characters (except rogues) gain more attacks as they level… [Continue Reading]

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Why You Should Try D&D 1st Edition

April 5, 2023July 2, 2023 aabicus 0 Comments 1st edition, 1st edition D&D, cleric, d&d, Dungeons & Dragons, dungeons and dragons, gary mack, OD&D, roleplay, roleplaying

Dungeons & Dragons has come a long way from its early days. When OD&D first came out in 1974, it quickly caught fire and spread throughout the wargaming community. Almost five decades later, it’s still recognizably the game we love, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t also massively evolved. My only goal with this article is to encourage you to seize any opportunity to experience the singular wildness of old-school D&D. How? No idea, that’s probably the hardest part. I’ve only ever had one opportunity, and it was in 2011, while I was a professional Traveller GM for Strategicon. One… [Continue Reading]

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Medic Plays D&D for the First Time In A Year

January 24, 2023January 21, 2023 Medic 0 Comments cat, d&d, dnd, dungeons and dragons

It’s been a long, long time since I properly played Dungeons and Dragons. So when my sister messaged me with a campaign idea she’d had, I jumped at the idea. For the first time in over a year, we would finally get the group back together and play. Well, we were playing online via Discord, but you get what I mean. After a long time discussing characters, we settled on three characters: Regret, a Tiefling Spore Druid with ties to the Fey Lands; Leoric, a Wood Elf Rogue who also has ties with the Fey Lands; and finally, me, Milo,… [Continue Reading]

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D&D 5e: How to Build an Effective Naked Character

October 12, 2022April 23, 2024 aabicus 0 Comments armour, builds, d&d, D&D unarmored builds, Dungeons & Dragons, dungeons and dragons, guide, nudity, roleplay, unarmored

Okay, you don’t literally have to be naked, but this article is about unarmored builds and how to craft one that doesn’t sacrifice effectiveness or survivability. I always find myself gravitating to unarmored characters because it fits my personal fantasy of a heroic protagonist. From shirtless barbarians to suit-wearing badasses to unlucky everyman survivors… Fiction is filled with characters who take on the world without a shred of protection beyond their skills and smarts. But unfortunately, D&D’s primary form of AC is equipping armor (heck, the acronym literally means ‘Armor Class.’) Which means you need to keep some things in mind… [Continue Reading]

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D&D 5e: Why You Should Play a Dex Paladin

September 21, 2022September 29, 2022 aabicus 0 Comments Classes, d&d, Dungeons & Dragons, Paladin, paladins, roleplaying

Paladin is an incredible class, possibly the most reliable all-rounder in D&D. Between their tankiness, damage output, healing output, magic steed, and sky-high Charisma, they’re an incredible choice for new and old players. When I GMed a solo adventure to introduce the system to my boyfriend, I knew Paladin was the best class to let him experience everything D&D has to offer. But there’s one Paladin playstyle I don’t hear talked about often, and that’s the Dex Paladin. Normally, Paladins are the iconic Strength class, thanks to their heavy armor and predilection for melee combat. But I happen to believe… [Continue Reading]

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D&D 5e: 5 Good Feats For Monks

August 29, 2022August 29, 2022 aabicus 0 Comments d&d, Dungeons & Dragons, monk, roleplay, roleplaying

Monks have a problem when it comes to grabbing feats in that they are highly dependant on ability score improvements (ASIs) to function. They need good Dexterity, Wisdom, and Constitution to function, and if you don’t improve those numbers, you’ll quickly fall behind. That means the only time I can really recommend taking a feat on Monk is as a 1st level Variant Human/Custom Lineage. (Or if you have an odd-numbered Dex or Wis and take a feat that boosts either stat by +1). With that being said, there are several stellar feat options if you go ahead and do… [Continue Reading]

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Playing Druid in D&D 5e: A Complete Guide

May 1, 2022July 17, 2024 aabicus 0 Comments d&d, Druid, Dungeons & Dragons, roleplay, roleplaying

This article will consolidate Druid Fortnight! I know it was a pretty niche topic, but I hope you enjoyed reading about one of the most multi-faceted character classes I’ve encountered in any gaming system. If you took away anything from this series, I hope it’s that druid is definitely worth experiencing. If you feel any desire to try the class out yourself, I highly recommend you give it a shot. Table of Contents Introduction (How I Learned to Love the Druid) The 5 Best Races For Druids 5 Good Feats For Druids The Oddest Shapeshift Form in the Game 5… [Continue Reading]

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