Middle-Earth


D&D 5e: Three New Elf Cultivars 2

A recent conversation over in the social medias (join my Dungeons & Dragons 5e group in MeWe) with Cam Banks has me thinking about other takes on elves. In particular, he was looking for lower-magic elves with no cantrips or teleports. There’s not a lot of official content that points […]


suspicion, Tangled, Eugene, Wanted

D&D 5e: Alternate Threat Tracks 2

D&D’s Exhaustion condition is a six-level track, starting at a mild penalty and ending up in death. I really like what they’ve done here and how it intersects with the overland exploration system. Dehydration or starvation are really the main ways you ever go from Exhaustion 5 to Exhaustion 6, […]


D&D 5e: Apostate and Renegade Wizards 1

Today I have for you a subclass – well, two subclasses, but heavily overlapping – that rely on some setting assumptions about wizards that are definitely not true in all settings. If you’re not already allowing and banning subclasses based on how they fit your campaign’s theme, cosmology, and society, […]


Design Comparison: Exploration and Journeys

Far over the Misty Mountains cold To dungeons deep and caverns old We must away ere break of day, To seek the pale enchanted gold. —The Hobbit On one hand, talking about the Ranger class in this blog has had me reading the Exploration rules. On the other, I’ve been […]


D&D 5e: The Halfling Personality

Since I’ve written posts for the Elven Personality and the Dwarven Personality, it would seem silly not to at least finish the Professor Tolkien Collectible Cup Set with this post. Not that I won’t continue on to races not found in Middle-Earth but included in the Player’s Handbook, but it might […]


D&D 5e: The Dwarven Personality 2

My breakdown of elven personality, with traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws, was kindly received, so I have moved on to dwarves. This is still some serious easy-mode of stereotypes, but even halflings are a less-trodden ground than elves and dwarves in fantasy. As before, I’ve made no effort here to […]