Brian – Geek Philosophy

D&D Player Character Advancement

https://youtu.be/_BxVwd3_-0c This time, I’d like to walk through my take on player character advancement. There are certainly a variety of viable ways to do this, but this is my own adaptation. Awarding Experience Points (XP) The method with the deepest roots in the game is through awarding experience points. In early editions, experience points were…

Creating a D&D Character | Character Class

Creating a D&D Character | Choose a Class Today, we’re continuing in our character reaction series and talking about character class. I still haven’t thought of a name better than Ezra for our example character, so let’s go ahead and choose a class for him. What are Classes in D&D? As it states in the…

How to Run Session Zero for a D&D Campaign

https://youtu.be/GVPQpKwiz40 It’s been said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” That may be true, it’s truer if you forget to hold a session zero. Let’s discuss. What is Session Zero? Session Zero is the platform for everyone in the gaming group to express what they want out of their D&D campaign (or…

Creating a D&D Character | Character Prologue

https://youtu.be/GuGi2yh9LSA This post will be the first in a series about my current character creation process. I say the current process, because my thoughts about character creation have changed significantly over the years. D&D has evolved, and I’ve tried to evolve with it – while still sticking to the things I love most about the…

How to Introduce a New Player to D&D

https://youtu.be/Jes-2bhDHac How to Introduce a New Player to D&D Oh…you want to play D&D? Awesome! You’ve played before right? No? No problem! Just pick up a copy of the D&D Player’s Handbook, read it, make a character, and you can join my game group next week. We’re starting at level 3, go ahead and use…

How a to Plan a D&D Campaign

Planning an entire campaign might seem like a daunting task, but you don’t have to plot out every detail right from the start. You can start with the basics, running a few adventures, and think about larger plotlines you want to explore as the campaign progresses. You’re free to add as much or as little…

How a D&D Gaming Session is like a Business Meeting

So yeah…meetings. You’ve likely been in them in some form or another. Maybe you’ve even led a few (or more than a few). If they’re done well, meetings can be productive. But you don’t often think of them as being “fun.” I mean it’s possible to have fun in meetings, but it’s not usually the…

How to Be a Better Dungeon Master

Want to level-up your Dungeon Mastering skills and learn from others while still keeping your own sense of creativity? Give these three tips a try… 1. Run a Published Adventure Professional campaign books have come a long way. Over the years, there’ve been classic, original and AD&D modules like Keep on the Borderlands or Temple…

How to Develop Your D&D Campaign’s Theme

As a player and connoisseur of role playing games, you likely enjoy a variety of genres. Maybe you like exploration and ancient civilizations, murder mysteries, stories based in unique and unnerving locations, gothic horror, or even secret organizations. But as a DM, how do you pick the right theme for your campaign? Let’s review my…

Character Backgrounds vs Player Backgrounds

For 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons, a character’s background represents the beginning of their story. It gives your character a roleplaying-based start since it gives the player a starting point for deciding how they transitioned into their new adventuring life. Character Backgrounds Bring Variety Character backgrounds also offer specific game-mechanic enhancements for your character. This…