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How to Run Monster Hordes in D&D
Crit Academy . Crit Academy .

How to Run Monster Hordes in D&D

Looking to overrun your characters with a nearly endless supply of an undead horde? How about pitting them against the creatures of hell flooding in through a rift? Well, today we teach you how to do just that. Join us as we share How to Run Monster Hordes in Dungeons & Dragons.

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The Best Worldbuilding Tool for Dungeon Masters

The Best Worldbuilding Tool for Dungeon Masters

Building an entire world for your roleplaying game is a HUGE amount of work. Even for experienced Dungeon Masters. What if, with a click of a button you could have a world map, regions, cities, towns, villages, and more all plotted in just a second? Well, with Azgaar’s Fantasy Map Generator, you can do just that!

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Unearthed Arcana: Wonders of the Multiverse
Crit Academy . Crit Academy .

Unearthed Arcana: Wonders of the Multiverse

The Wonders of the Multiverse continue to grow! The new Unearthed Arcana playtest is here! Stick around as we delve into a new race, the fate domain cleric, backgrounds, feats and more.

What is Unearthed Arcana: Wonders of the Multiverse?

The D&D Multiverse continues to grow! Today we cover the playtest content of the newest Unearthed Arcana: Wonders of the Multiverse released in July 2022. As always, these are subject to change, but we are always excited to delve not only into the mechanics but the underlying lore that could indicate upcoming releases.

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“Is This Game Right For Me?” How to Help Players Self-Select For Your Role-Playing Game
Crit Academy . Crit Academy .

“Is This Game Right For Me?” How to Help Players Self-Select For Your Role-Playing Game

Have you ever encountered a role-playing game title or description and wondered whether it was right for you? If you don’t already know the person running the game, and if you’re unfamiliar with the game or module itself, you’ll need some more information to determine whether the game is a good choice for you. This is known as the process of self-selection.

As the person running the game, this is important info for you to provide. If you don’t, you could end up with players who made incorrect assumptions or didn’t have the information they needed to determine whether the game was a good fit for them.

Self-selection is a key tool for avoiding conflict between players and between players and your storytelling style. 

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Solasta Crown of the Magister | How does it compare to 5e Tabletop?
Crit Academy . Crit Academy .

Solasta Crown of the Magister | How does it compare to 5e Tabletop?

Looking to scratch that Dungeons and Dragons itch while you wait for your next session? Well, Solasta: Crown of Magister is here to relieve that uncomfortable irritation. We are going to delve into the game and how it compares to its tabletop counterpart, as well as what it doesn’t do quite well.

Solasta, what is it?

Solasta: Crown of the Magister is a tactical Turn-Based RPG developed and published by Tactical Adventures. Roll for initiative, take attacks of opportunity, manage player location, and the verticality of the battlefield in a game that is based on the SRD 5.1 Ruleset. Solasta: Crown of the Magister brings back the thrill, tactics, and deep storytelling of tabletop games. As you play, you'll feel yourself reaching for your dice and miniatures. It's time to dive into the world of Solasta. Roll for initiative!

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Build Epic Boss Fights with Lair Actions!
Dungeon Master Advice Crit Academy . Dungeon Master Advice Crit Academy .

Build Epic Boss Fights with Lair Actions!

Welcome Dungeon Masters, enter my domain and in this 3-part series, I shall impart to you the secrets of lair actions. I’m Devlin DM, part of the creative team for the bestselling Home-Field Advantage: A Compendium of Lair Actions. This Mithral product contains 250 unique lairs covering over 320 creatures and is available in PDF and print at DMsGuild.

In Part 1 I talked about how a monster’s lair makes a great hook for adventure. In Part 2 I showed off how to Make Monsters Scary Again. In this article, the grand finale, I’m going to give you a checklist to build your own epic boss fights using lair actions!

What’s a Lair anyway?

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Spelljammer: Adventures in Space
Crit Academy . Crit Academy .

Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

What does spelljamming feel like?

For any spellcaster at the helm, they must deal with two simultaneous realities. The first is the awareness of their body and the events around them. Though they can’t move or cast spells without breaking contact with the spelljamming device.

The second reality is a large expansion of consciousness. The spellcaster “feels” the spelljammer vessel as an extension of their body, even the atmospheric envelope, and gravity plane it creates. If this critical link is broken, the vessel becomes inoperable.

Let's discuss the upcoming Spelljammer Adventures in Space released by Wizards of the Coast through the lens of its original material, 2nd Edition.

In Spelljammer, Everything you Know about Space is Wrong!

“Infinite space; stars as flaming spheres of superheated plasma; movement through space as a balance of scientific forces, thrust providing acceleration and maneuverability; scientific fact backing up natural phenomena; life on other planets built along blocks of carbon or silicon elements.

Forget all that. It’s wrong.”

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Make Monsters Scary Again using Lair Actions!
Crit Academy . Crit Academy .

Make Monsters Scary Again using Lair Actions!

Are you sick of your epic villains dying in just a few turns as the party surrounds and splats them?

Do you get frustrated that your boss fights turn into boring slug fests where everyone involved just stands still and wallops each other?

Do you want to fill your players with dread anticipation with only two words?

“Lair Action. Skeletal hands burst from the floor and walls around you grasping and clawing.”

“Lair Action. The cave ceiling cracks, covering the ground with uneven rubble, it looks like the section above your head is about to collapse.”

“Lair Action. Maddening whispers fill your mind, urging, demanding, screaming that you turn on your allies and kill.”

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Remarkable Cults and their Followers | A MUST HAVE DM TOOL!
Crit Academy . Crit Academy .

Remarkable Cults and their Followers | A MUST HAVE DM TOOL!

Hidden behind closed doors and lurking in unseen strongholds, dark forces gather. Today we reveal some of their secrets in Loresmyth’s Remarkable Cults and their Followers.

Behind most nefarious organizations looms a mastermind, a puppet master, or a tyrant. Their powers and abilities are whispered of in rumors, and their histories have become dark legends unto themselves.

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