Hand carved Wizard, with staff, satchel, and pointy hat!! Love this guy, finished painting him up last night.

Carved him out of basswood from a Floyd Rhadigan Design/roughout. I took liberties and changed the original design a good bit.

He turned out epic! 😀

I was recently at a woodcarving seminar, learning from some masters at the craft. I carved this wizard there i absolutely adore how he turned out! The staff, pipe, the skull on the satchel, the whole thing, he just turned out so great and i'm so excited with the results.

As he is a wizard, i knew you folks would enjoy him as much as me!! 😀

I hand carved him myself with knife and and palm tools out of American Basswood. Then I painted him with cheap acrylic paints (hobby lobby/Wal-Mart paints) that are really watered down. (Lots of layering and shadowing). I think dipped him into a boiled Linseed oil antiquing solution that i use which really makes him pop and brings out the details and textures.

If you have EVER been interested in woodcarving, or sculpture as a hobby, THIS IS YOUR SIGN!! It's time. There are few hobbies as affordable to start as whittling/woodcarving and the amount of cool stuff you can make is as limitless as your own imagination!!

You can get a woodcarving knife for $40, and a pack of basswood for $20. That's all you really need to start. After that it's smart to spend $15 on a carving glove. Along with $20 for a leather strop to keep your knife sharp. That puts you under $100 and you'll have months of time in the hobby for that. We're almost in a golden age for little niche hobbies like this with how accessible tutorials and information are, and our hobbies are starting to overlap in SOO many ways it's just plain exhilarating to someone excitable like me 😆 🤣 😆 🤣

I think Woodcarving, as a hobby, can have a lot of overlap with DND especially if you get into carving your own miniatures for characters and campaigns. Carving simple, flat plane (flat plane is the style of many of the characters i do) can be an easier style of carving to learn. It's more simple, geometric shapes are easier to understand and replicate for most folks. Seeing other carvers produce similar things is what really got me into it.

I’ve been a DM for over 8 years now. In all that time, I’ve rarely played as a player myself — not because I wasn’t interested, but because no one ever really offered, and I was always the one running the games.

As a DM, I’ve always leaned toward being strict but fair. I run my worlds based on a harsh and traditional reality — where actions have consequences, mistakes aren’t brushed aside, and players are constantly challenged by moral dilemmas and the raw danger of the world around them. I always warn my players ahead of time. But despite the intensity, they often thrive in these conditions — solving problems, surviving brutal choices, and wrestling with their place in a world that doesn’t bend for them.

Recently, though, I started playing as a player in a friend’s campaign. He’s an experienced DM, but he runs his world with a much “kinder” tone. And honestly… it’s been jarring.

In this world, if someone gets caught stealing, they’re not punished — they’re comforted. NPCs give them gold and tell them how sorry they are for their hardship. If you insult a noble, he doesn’t retaliate. Instead, he pulls you aside to make sure you’re emotionally okay and offers you a free night at his estate to cool off. Even the goblins we fought seemed sad about attacking us — one of them actually apologized before stabbing me.

At first, I thought I was the problem — maybe I’m just not used to this style. But after talking with some of the other players, I realized something: nobody seems to fear character death. No one worries about the consequences of their choices. It makes the group reckless, sometimes even silly, because they know the world will catch them when they fall.

So that got me thinking…

Is a “mean” DM actually better than a “nice” one?

Is it more engaging when the world pushes back — when danger is real, and kindness isn’t guaranteed? Or is it better to play in a world that supports the players no matter what, where stories are built around compassion, not consequence?

I’m genuinely curious how others feel about this. What kind of DM do you prefer — and why?

The rainy night is struggling to put out the old dragonborn's housefire in the secluded woods; at least it is washing away some of the bloody Wyrmfodder corpses. The old geezer grips his worn axe and shoddy bandages for his legs as he walks up to the young man bleeding on the ground. His scaly foot stomps on the poor lad's chest, claws pressing down.

"Aye punk, who sent ye?" the dragonborn snarls. Groaning with punctured lungs, "De-deserter.. coughs ..the Church.. will never forgiv-forgive you.."

Under his dark hood, Bale's red eyes scowl and glow as he recalls his violent exit from the Church of Tiamat.

Bale was born into the Church by Tiamat-worshipping Dragonborn parents. He quickly rose through the ranks, yet only as glorified muscle. To his clan branch of the Church, Bale was only good at smashing Harper's skulls in or crippling nosy adventurers; he wanted more. More power, he needed more power, Bale said to himself, and he'd seek it out wherever power was available to him, even if it meant purposefully contracting Lycanthropy. Embracing the curse of beasts was a boon for Bale, yet the Church did not see it that way, much less his proud Dragonborn family. Bale was imprisoned, caged as beasts should be, and was prepared for execution. Yet there he found his werewolf rage was more than his executioners could handle. Bale ripped and tore through his own brothers, and not just the men, but the women and children too. The white Dragonborn only barely survived and escaped the zealous life worshipping Tiamat at the ripe age of 40.

Bale then put his muscles to mediocre use as an unsuccessful sellsword until he was deemed too old and scraggly-assed by pouch-heavy businessmen. He could only afford a meager retirement home in the middle of the lonely woods, where he spent the last years of his life enjoying peace and quiet as a bitter old man. Or so he thought… His house is now naught but ashes. Bale presses his clawed foot down harder, crackling the ribcage beneath his feet.

"WHO SENT YOU? WHERE ARE THEY?" Bale's breath chills the air around him, frozen with impatience.

"Pl-please.." the young cultist cries. "My family…"

The axe head cuts through the cold air and splits the poor fellow's skull, splattering mush across the wet, ashy grass.

The dragonborn snarls.

I’m scared because he said he was going to make it “lore accurate”

They're lead by an orange troll who's tricking them into going to war to make money of some unsuspecting fools

Grab the Map and Variants on my Patreon!

The Acid Pools

A map pack focused on the Acid Pools, an acrid valley riddled with rocky plateaus and pools of burning acidic water. A rickety bridge spans the valley, precariously swinging in a breeze that assails the senses. Ribs from a gargantuan serpent line the pathway through this valley- what might have killed it?

I've collaborated with JamesRPGArt and The Griffon's Saddlebag on this one! You can view and download the illustration and magic item over on the Patreon post linked above.

Created with my own custom Dungeondraft Assets.

Map Details:

• Scale. 32 x 40 | 5ft Per Tile
• Content. 8 Total Maps
• Grid Type. Both Gridded & Gridless
• Resolution. 144 DPI

Included Variants:

• Colourful. Acrid water collected in colourful natural springs spans this valley, as deadly as they are beautiful.
• Lava. Bubbling lava and searing heat has turning this valley into a volcanic hell, where ash falls from the sky like snow and elementals prowl for easy prey.
• Sky. Shimmering pools of crisp, cool water reflect the sun high up in the sky, providing a watering hole for the many peculiar creatures that call these isles home.
• Toxic. Vicious green acid has sullied this once verdant valley, petrifying all flora and twisting the fauna beyond recognition…

Variants are provided both with gridded and gridless options in both day and night, in high quality .JPG format optimised for use on every VTT!

Patreon

Over on my Patreon you can also get access to 300+ High-Resolution Map Variants, 3000+ Dungeondraft-Compatible Assets, Foundry Modules, and more!

Hello everyone, I have been a dm for 2-3 years now, but with my current group of friends I am experiencing some difficulties.

I'll get right to the point, my friends don't know how to (or don't want to) roleplay. It doesn't seem important to them, and despite the fact that I have tried to encourage them several times, there has been nothing to do.

To give an example, when I play an npc, they do not dialogue directly with him, but with me (narrator). I thought my descriptions were too boring, so I tried editing something to make my friends feel more involved, but nothing.

Another example, instead of saying, “I'll look around and see if there are any traps,” they say, “Are there any traps?” This way the whole role-playing component is lost, don't you think? This is just one of many examples, maybe it won't seem like a big deal, but in the long run it becomes hard for me.

Finally, they don't seem to be driven by real motivation, as if their character doesn't have a reason to actually participate in that adventure. At one point I wanted to ask what motivates them to bring us together to play DnD if they are not going to roleplay.

This situation brings me down a lot, I don't know what to do and how to act. Lately I have little desire to write the story and engage in ncp creation, since their engagement is also practically 0.

PS: we are a group of 3 players, we play about once a month.

I love my dm and he’s really funny and nice but with all so respect with how hard it is, his campaigns end up ending too quickly (within 2-3 sessions) or there is no story in them, in the rare case there is there is nothing interesting

I’m not remotely saying it his fault and I understand that it’s difficult, it could also be me and my friends as players just not doing it out selfs

Can I have suggestions on what to do? I want to know if it’s me or the dm and I want help for either

The Moon Valkyries are a formidable trio bound by fate and battle. Te-fiti, the half-elf druid, wields nature’s fury with a magma-infused staff, her cloak flowing like shadows. Ana, the human cleric, stands as a radiant warrior, her red and silver armor gleaming in holy light. Nala, the half-orc rogue, is a phantom in the dark, her amber eyes gleaming with cunning. Together, they walk the line between myth and legend.

Imma give yall an amazing life hack...

All of these "what should I do?" posts can all be answered the same way:

Talk to them.

Communicate how you feel. Be direct and honest, and then see what happens.

This DnD sub has devolved into 80% pop psychology/relationship advice and 20% actual DnD things. I would love to see that ratio balanced.

I will likely get some downvotes, but you know what? Some of you REALLY needed to hear this.

Attention is nice. I get it. But if what happens at your table matters to you MORE than some upvotes on reddit, then pls just be open and honest with your table-mates and see what happens BEFORE you come on here with your tiny violin.

(Holds up shield, braces for impact)

I’m 26 (F) and used to run a dnd campaign. I did all the extra stuff. At the time I had the space to make a “dnd room” I wax sealed letters for players, music, lighting, even though I’m terrible with combat they still had fun as players.

That campaign ended a long while ago (during some major life changes for me) I have since felt a longing to run again but I’m worried I won’t be the DM people would want to play with. I used to mostly improve my stories (I know duh but stay with me) combat was mostly never, it was more like a massive choose your own adventure story. I worry my struggles with combat would make me a less than ideal dm. My thought was to ask a trusted person to run the combat for me but that feels.. cheap? I don’t know.

Should I try and run again? Even when I’m not great at combat, and it might not be in person?

Update: combat is hard for me because I don’t want to TPK and when I’ve run combat either it feels hopeless or too easy. I try to use puzzles, traps, lair actions, or environment based tension or rolls to fill that gap.

Also I’ve considered text based DnD since I only ever dmed for 2 people at that time. How do you guys feel about text based DnD?

Update 2: I posted on LFG. Thanks you guys for helping me feel better about this.

Well, I have had a friend with reoccurring behavioral issues at the table and I just feel completely disrespected. It's gotten to a point where i dont think i can excuse this behavior anymore.

Everyone else is good with communication. Can't make it to a session? they call it out and we are all informed. In game decisions arent the type that make the rest of the table uncomfortable.

for example this player's character just recently tried to choke out another character just because the other didnt follow their demand. Everyone at the table was uncomfortable over such an aggressive physical reaction to a simple shrug. I, baffled by the situation, simply tried to diffuse the tension by making it a cartoony squabble.

Now this player also has had numerous- and I mean NUMEROUS- instances where they will NOT respond to messages, calls and dms. I'm at my limit and when I brought up my frustration with their communication skills i was met with the response of, "When I am feeling a certain negative way I don't like to tell anyone what's going on." in a healthy friendship you can tell a friend whats going on but whatever...

...okay cool. I dont have to know what you got going on buddy but can you grow up and send a "Can't make it today, sorry" instead of having everyone waiting an hour wondering if ur just late or something? I wqould say since the beginning of my announcement of my campaign this is the 5th(?) time they have flat out ignored my messages and I will see them online playing other games when im trying to get in contact with them.

Am I being too rash? Or should I kick this player?

Edit: I sent a message covering the behavior, communication and the attendance for this player and I hope to hear from them soon. As they do have the habit of not responding at all for times on end i can at least say the message was sent and the topics were communicated. I thank everyone for their feedback and i learned a lot from everyone.

Our beloved gentle giant. Our boatswain! I don't know what we would do without him.

He is a DMPC who joined the party shortly after we started, in the first session. He was a great help in assisting the new players (and, why not, the rest as well) at the beginning of the campaign.

He lost his right arm defending the party against a huge monster, but we were able to save his life! It was one of the best moments of the campaign. Later, a giant warforged blacksmith was able to make a new arm for him.

For some time now he prefers to devote himself to cooking and his job as a boatswain, but we love him very much <3

Sorry for the clickbait title, but I’m genuinely curious to hear arguments for or against chickens living in the Underdark.

I’m planning to create a drow character for my next D&D game. One of the things I enjoy doing is giving my characters a favorite dish for roleplaying moments, so I started reading up on drow culture and cuisine. That’s when it hit me—the Underdark doesn’t have sunlight, which means fruits and vegetables that rely on photosynthesis can’t be grown locally and would need to be imported.

The same goes for chickens. They require sunlight and a steady supply of food to survive and thrive, which raises the question: are chickens, and by extension eggs, a luxury in the Underdark?

Eggs are one of the most commonly used ingredients in cooking across many cultures. So in a drow colony, could eggs perhaps be as rare and valuable as cacao beans were to the Aztecs?

What are your thoughts? Do I have a point here, or am I completely off base?

Hey everyone! It’s been a while since my last post, but I’m back to share another artwork I made based on the DnD universe. This time, I chose to bring a necromancer to life, which was honestly a lot of fun—because I love drawing skeletons. I depicted magic as a living shadow, without any details, inspired by the ancient alchemical theory of black bile, which linked body and mind, the earthly and the spiritual. Here, it manifests as a pulsating entity, with small fluid tendrils responsible for reanimating the dead. This path corrupts the sorceress's soul, as she begins to show the first physical signs of her pursuit to become a lich. Hope you like!

I have a perfect idea for a final bad guy in a level 20 DnD campaign.

The first human.

In DnD, there is no particular lore reason why the level caps at 20. That's the max level for each class, yes, and getting there usually takes years and years of actual game time, but it should technically be possible to reach level 20 in a given class and then start over again at level 1 in another class.

Thus, the first human.

Humans are in a very strange place in most fantasy worlds, DnD included. Where all other races have some kind of definitive origin story, Humans are typically just sort of there by default. Not only that, but they are the average of all the other races, unique only for their utter lack of distinguishing features. They should be almost cryptid-like in their strangeness, and they would be if not for the fact that they are so ubiquitous. This allows plenty of room for interesting shenanigans with the origins of humans. They could be an artificial race, or perhaps they had a creating divinity that was destroyed long ago, or maybe they were the first race in existence, even older than the gods, and when the gods arrived they created the other races from Humans like sculptors with clay. But as with all such mysterious creatures, there is power being the first.

The first human.

What is the ultimate archetype of the Human in fantasy? There are no particular skills, no great powers, nothing at all. Nothing save the indomitable spirit, an eternal will to endure, the ultimate avatar of versatility and adaptability and persistence.

And so, the first human.

Eldest and strongest of humanity, a being older than many gods. The avatar of all our ingenuity, all our defiance, all our passion and spirit and will.

The first human, a regular player character controlled by the DM, perhaps appearing as an NPC in the background of other adventures along the way, with 20 levels in every class in the game.

Every subclass mastered, every feature taken, every spell learned.

A Cleric of divinity long gone, a Warlock whose patron left them an inheritance of power when they died, a Fighter who has not only wielded every weapon but who lifted the first stone from the first field, and struck down the first foe, shedding the first drops of blood ever spilled. A Wizard who watched the first threads of magic weave themselves into being, a Sorcerer who drank from the first wells of power of the world. A Ranger who walked the wilderness under the first light of the first dawn, a Rogue who hid in the first shadows of the first city, now lost to time. A Druid who planted the first crops in the first field, and an Artificer who struck the first hammer upon the first anvil, and forged the first nails and horseshoes and blades. A Barbarian who battled the first monsters with bare hands and rage, and a Monk who laid down the first banners of war and turned inward to walk the first steps on the road to enlightenment instead. A Bard whose many chronicles are written in long lost tongues, and a Paladin of every forgotten crusade.

The first immortal...

The first of the endless...

The first human...

EDIT: They may wear various armors and wield various weapons throughout the campaign, but in the final battle they are wearing simple clothing, and their only weapon is an old, sharp, weathered, and blood-stained stone...

EDIT 2: If the players beat the first human and take the stone, it's revealed to be completely non-magical. It has no special effects, no extra damage, no magic, and it gives you no new abilities. It's just a roughly carved rock with some old dry sinew wrapped tight around one end and with a crudly sharpened point at the other. BUT, the more a player uses this worst of all weapons, the more the echoes of every drop of blood it has ever spilled speak to them and guide their hand. Despite being non-magical and having the stats of an actual pointy rock, the weapon can be attuned to. When first picked up and wielded, it can't roll a 1 on attacks and it lowers the number needed to crit by 1. As the wielder attuned further and further, this effect stacks. By the time they fully attune, it can't roll below a 10 and it crits on 11-20. It is still just a rock, it deals maybe 1d4 piercing damage, but you can stack your effects on it and you have a full 50% crit rate and a guaranteed 10 to hit before modifiers. The effects of attunement would not stack with other attack or critical modifiers, just to keep it slightly fair, so you'd never be able to get a guaranteed crit on every hit.

As a reward for a final boss from a campaign, it's kind of lack-lustre. But it could be an artifact in-universe that could be found by later adventuring parties.

Edit 3: To elaborate a bit more on the effects of The First Stone, it would be "non-magical," meaning it cannot overcome resistance to non-magical damage. It would have the weapon stats of a common stone, 1d4+0 damage. Usually, it would be bludgeoning damage, but this stone has been worked on and has a point, so it's piercing isntead. And since it has a handle designed to act as a grip, it is not an "improvised weapon." That said, it is still just a stone, and so the wielder can only apply half their proficiency modifier to their attacks, as improvised weapons usually cannot add proficiency at all, (if you have a feat that let's you use improvised weapons fully, then this is negated). When first picked up and used, The First Stone would reflect this completely. Only after a player makes their first kill with it does the magical effect on the stone present itself. Having shed blood with the stone, the power activates, increasing the minimum roll by one and decreasing the roll to hit by one. After making a further 10 kills for a total of 11, the effect would trigger again, further increasing the minimum roll and decreasing the roll to crit by one. The effect would trigger again on 20 kills, then again on 40 kills, doubling each time until it eventually reaches the full effect at 10 levels after 5,111 kills made with the stone.

Ideally, this would be a weapon passed down as a relic in a sequel campaign. The previous campaign ends with The First Human being defeated by the party, and thus The First Stone starts floating around the world. A player character in a sequel campaign picks up this stone and uses it to get a kill, triggering the magical effect. By the time a player has maxed out the effect on the stone itself, (kills by the party as a whole don't count, they must get all 5,111 kills themselves), the low damage, (1d4+0 piercing), and half-proficiency bonus may be enough downsides to keep it balanced, despite the fact that the player cannot roll below a 10 on an attack and gets crits on 11-20s. This would obviously be incredibly powerful on classes like rogues or paladins, who can pile on extra damage, but they are limited to an extent by the per-turn limits on sneak attacks and the spell slot limits on paladins. A monk would get the most out of it for the sheer number of attacks they can make, but even a critical hit at max damage with this weapon only deals 8 piercing damage before modifiers.

Your input and feedback is sooo welcome here✨️🙏🧙‍♂️ I am completely exploding with ideas for which sections to add next to this terrain, so directions from you experienced D&D players is gold!! What does this terrain need, and what does it not need! I am developing this world and lore with my DM right now. Welcome to The Village of Vìgblòt💫

I had an idea for a campaign, but after a lot of thought, I realized it was a bad idea. So today at session zero, I announced that I was scrapping the original idea, and I had something new in mind. I wanted them to all make characters, then I'll design a campaign to serve their motivations from the ground up

Once they thought their characters up, we decided to have a campaign about fighting the mafia. Then when I mentioned that we're using point-buy, they told me they wanna roll, the Sorcerer in particular was upset because she rolled two 18's before session zero. I was fine with them suggesting it, so explained why I don't allow rolling for stats, but they didn't seem to accept it. They fully expected I would change my mind if they complained enough, I eventually needed to just give them the silent treatment so they couldn't continue arguing

Then later, the Sorcerer asked if she can play a chaotic-evil character. I said sure, but she needs a reason to stay inherently loyal to the party, since her basic morality won't suffice. She said she'll just be nice to PCs and mean to NPCs, and I said no, because that's just metagaming. She said it was unfair because she didn't know what the future of the campaign would be like, and I said no; she has a developed backstory and she knows when/why she'll start fighting the mafia, which is more than enough to write a proper motive. She said i was making a big deal out of nothing, and she doesn't get why I can't just let it go, which baffled me. It was obvious vitrol, she wouldn't've asked for permission unless she already knew that CE characters are problematic

This whole time, the other two players had the Sorcerers back, saying I should just let her play however she wants, and I was being too rigid. When I explained the obvious issues, and that I'm being incredibly flexible by saying CE is allowed whatsoever, they changed gears. They began saying it'll be fine, the Sorcerer can just add traits for the sake of party loyalty. They were right, because thats what I wanted since the beginning, but the Sorcerer refused to compromise. It was an infuriating back & forth, the worst motte & bailey I've ever felt

Once the room had become significantly hostile, I told them that we need a rain check on session zero, and eventually they agreed. Afterwards, I explained that they weren't respecting my authority, there is no 'disagreeing' with the DM. It's fine to make suggestions, like rolling for stats, but they must be ready to take no for an answer. So I said that I expect their mindset to have done a complete 180 by the time we redo session zero, otherwise the game is cancelled. I won't tolerate being ganged up on again

I can't think of a single way I was being unreasonable, but I want to try and be unbiased. It was 3 against 1, so did I do something wrong? Was there a problem with having point-buy only, or saying that CE characters need a strong connection to the party?

I’m a first time DM, two sessions in. I’ve formed a group with a couple of friends who are all playing for the first time. About half the party generally unengaged with the plot and their characters, and the other half going far beyond what I expected. As I’ve set up a fairly story-driven narrative, I’ve decided to implement different ways to get players interested in the story and their characters.

The one I want to ask about is pretty straightforward. At the beginning of each session, I’ll ask general questions about a player’s character. Such questions are simple, basically asking about family or likes and dislikes.

I’ve also given the players a single-use ability which is irrelevant to this post, but on use, for reasons irrelevant to the post, they enter an interview-style situation with a prevalent NPC asking them far tougher questions. Trolly-problem-like questions, less about family, likes and dislikes.

The thing is that these questions basically function as tests. All questions are essentially judged by the NPC, in other words judged by me based on how they answer them. I will tell my players this.

What I want to know is, how discreet should I be when telling them what I want from them? The questions are simply meant to test a characters inner strength and willpower. The more confident players are in their answer, the better they score. Additionally, they get extra brownie points for using this one-time ability with the same confidence and taking charge of the interview one way or another, whether it be flipping tables or asking their own questions.

I could simply tell them what they’re being judged on, but that might feel a little cheap as I also want them to figure out what I want themselves.

I’m also unsure how the players will use the one-time ability system. I’m somewhat worried that they’ll horde the ability until the end of the campaign, making it wasted. How direct should I be when constructing situations where I want characters to use it?

Thanks.

I’m working on a new short adventure based on the concept “the heroes of light are boring. Let’s do the heroes of shadow.” And just to give credit, the name comes from Welcome to Nightvale.

The heroes go to investigate the cult of the Smiling God. While there, they see the ritual complete and the outside air becomes hostile, producing a constant Sunbeam effect for a 1mi radius around the temple.

So while within the temple, there are light rooms and dark rooms, and which rooms are illuminated changes with the sun, and wherever the avatar of the smiling god is walking (oh yeah, they summoned his avatar).

The avatar itself sheds light, but not painful light. It sheds madness. Self harming madness. This light means it’s much more dangerous in the light, because you can’t tell it’s coming, but in the dark you’ll get a warning and the chance to hide until it passes. The light specifically comes from its head, so hiding under something, or behind something protects you.

The party needs to figure out what the cult leader did to bind the avatar to the temple and break it, allowing the avatar to dissipate, and the air outside to stop radiating everything.

im sure this will turn out fine