Annabelle's Nerdy D&D Blog — Blog

Mastering DMPCs: Tips and Suggestions

Posted by Annabelle Collins on

Mastering DMPCs: Tips and Suggestions

DMPC’s or Dungeon Master Player Characters are levelled characters that are played by the DM of the group in addition to their normal DM’ing role. They often get a lot of bad rep online and to be honest I can see why. Playing a character is a lot of work. DM’ing a game is a lot of work. If you try and do both, chances are the quality of both will go down. That said, when created and played with thought, having a DMPC in the party can be great addition to your game. When DMPCs Work Well   DMPC’s...

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How to make DnD combat easier to run as a DM

Posted by Annabelle Collins on

How to make DnD combat easier to run as a DM

For me as a DM, one of the most challenging aspects of running a game can be managing combat. Keeping track of initiative, hit points, who is concentrating on spells, and multiple creatures' actions can really quickly become overwhelming! Happily though, with a few tips and some preparation, you can make combat easier to manage for yourself and even more enjoyable for everyone sat at the table! Here are some strategies that have worked well for me:   Prepare in Advance   Ok, this one is kind of obvious but I’m the sort of person that leaves things to the last minute...

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Introducing the worlds best magic item ... The Prestipotty!

Posted by Annabelle Collins on

Introducing the worlds best magic item ... The Prestipotty!

Ok, now I’ll admit no one asked for this, but I am about to give you the best magic item ever invented for Dungeons and Dragons. I present to you …   The Prestipotty is an essential magic item for any DnD campaign! It is essentially a magic toilet, vanishing away waste. Ok, I know it doesn’t sound glamorous, but think of how many problems it solves!   The technicalities of producing a Prestipotty as a magic item   Ok, so here’s a run down of how I made the Prestipotty. From the Magic Item Rarity Table in the Dungeon...

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How to make NPCs feel believable

Posted by Annabelle Collins on

How to make NPCs feel believable

Making NPCs feel believable and unique is a great way to get your players interested in roleplay. When each new person the party speaks to has the same personality (or lack thereof!) it can quickly get boring for players. Of course, as a DM it is very easy to go too far the other way and to spend hours designing this beautiful nuanced character for the shop-keeper who the party may literally never visit. The middle ground you want to strike is having a distinct personality with minimal effort!   When bringing NPCs to life, I have six bullet points...

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How to make DnD character sheets easier for beginners to understand

Posted by Annabelle Collins on

How to make DnD character sheets easier for beginners to understand

We’ve all been there. That first time staring at a character sheet and just feeling overwhelmed. For a lot of new players character sheets are one of the biggest barriers to playing the game. If you want to make Dungeons and Dragons easier for your players (or yourself!) it’s really worth considering what kind of character sheet to use. I’ve laid out four options to make 5e character sheets easier to understand. These are; using pre-generated character sheets, digital character sheets, character sheets designed for accessibility and of course, colour coding a “standard” paper character sheet.   Using pre-generated character sheets...

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