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homebrew

A collection of 9 posts

A figure with shaggy blonde hair sitting at the water's edge, holding a crystal and peering into the eyes of a blue dragon-like creature whose head is emerging out of the water.

Reflecting on Homebrew Rules for 5E

Reflecting on two years of using a specific set of homebrew/optional rules for 5E.

A figure with flaming swords facing an opening in a cavemouth and seeing a giant creature with swords staring at it with the words "Game Balance" over its face.

The Biggest Lie in TTRPGs

The idea that you need to worry about game balance when running your game is a myth.

PhD20.com | Ideas and Resources for Tabletop RPGs

Empty Rooms

We fill our games with interesting worlds, dungeons, and stories. Empty rooms are a simple yet powerful tools we can add.

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Creative Origins

All of the articles and advice we read on running Dungeons & Dragons, while useful, can’t replace what you bring to the game. Your experiences, inspiration, and creative origins1 are more important than anything created by someone else. Recognize and reuse that which inspires you and don’t look

Best of 2023

Let’s take a quick look back at the best of PhD20 in 2023. Organizing Obsidian for D&D This series helps game masters simplify and secure their approach to organizing D&D with Obsidian. * Organizing Obsidian for D&D | The Big Picture on Vaults * Organizing Obsidian

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4 Ways to Improve Initiative in D&D 5E

Crow’s Nest by maxprodanov (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) “Roll initiative.” Two of the most exciting words in D&D. Almost always followed by two of the least exciting minutes of a game session. Initiative in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition can put a real damper on the excitement

Make Equipment Interesting in D&D

Equipment used to be a core concept of Dungeons & Dragons. Buy more stuff so you could use it to delve deeper to find greater rewards. Not so much anymore. Yet tables upon tables of choices remain in the Player’s Handbook. You can make equipment interesting again with a

Simple 5E Sub-Systems for DMs in a Hurry

How do we embrace fun, new gaming opportunities in 5E without overly complex sub-systems? By asking three questions. Zipperon Disney asked on Twitter: I think most homebrew alchemy systems for #DnD are overly taxing on the DM and time at the table. Worldbuild magic ingredients, Gather them, keep track of

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Tools for Enhanced 5E Combat

As a Dungeon Master, we strive for fun and exciting combat encounters. The mechanics of Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition provide us with a nice toolset to help. But it isn’t perfect. Combat can drag, feeling like a chore. Or even worse, it can turn into a slugfest of