Ernie Noa's RPG Blog

  N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God - 5e Conversion Guide with Maps - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild (dmsguild.com) Please enjoy this 5e D&D conversion of the various monsters, creatures, magic items, and encounters for the classic D&D module N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God.  The original module, the Monster Manual, and the Dungeon Masters Guide are required to use this conversion guide. The original adventure is available for purchase on DMs Guild. The following digital maps have been included at 70 DPI.  Grid and no grid options have been included.     Two variants of each map have been provided. The Village of Orlane The Golden Grain Inn Inn of the Slumbering Serpent Temple of Merikka – Ground Floor Temple of Merikka – Upper Floor Temple of Merikka – Cellar The Dungeon of the Reptile God – Level 1 (two variations) The Dungeon of the Reptile God – Level 2 (two variations)

Advice for New DMs I have been running D&D games since the early 1980s .  Here are my thoughts that may help new Dungeon Masters as they begin running games.  Keep it moving.  This is the most important advice I can offer.  Keep the game moving and don't get bogged down by the rules.  If you aren't sure about a rule or game mechanic, make a quick ruling at the table and move on.  Make a note about the rule and in between games look it up and implement it next time around, or if you prefer your own house ruling, keep using it.  The rules are a framework, and there are many optional rule variants in the official books.   Experienced Dungeon Masters like Professor Dungeon Master over at Dungeoncraft or Ye Old Geek frequently recommend game hacks or rules changes to improve or speed up the game.  Make Notes If your players meet an NPC or make a discovery make a quick note, particularly if it was not something you anticipated.  ...

“ The limp body of the captain was lifted high in the claw of the massive glabrezu.  The captain’s companions lept towards the beast before it claw could either crush the life out of its prey or cast him into the nearby flame-filled chasm .”   This was the scene during my weekly game this past week.   The party had chased the Matron Mother of a Drow House into a shrine within her manor hoping to capture her.   The matron had polymorphed into a glabrezu and had attacked the rogue dropping him to zero hit points.   What would this NPC do?  Crush or otherwise kill the player character, or drop him and attack other player characters.   Handling NPCs tactics and strategy requires considering the intelligence, behavior, knowledge, and motivation of each NPC.   I have read and listened to a fair amount on this subject and first and foremost, I would recommend taking a look at the “The Monsters Know What they are Doing” book o...

I grew up playing D&D in the early 80s and tend to view D&D through an old-school lens.  I enjoyed Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and if I am lucky, I still run an A&D game once a year at a local convention.   I played 2 nd edition, read the 3 rd edition books, and played some video games based on 3 rd edition.  I read the 4 th edition books, wrote a campaign \ adventure for 4 th edition , and ran a few games, mostly with my kids.   I found 3 rd and 4 th editions to be pretty complicated and they didn’t feel like earlier editions.  I really enjoyed the edition of minions in 4 th edition and I’ve tried to use them a bit in 5 th Edition.  4 th Edition felt almost too tactical and a bit like a video game.  It was not bad, but it did not ‘feel’ like D&D.  5 th Edition felt like the best of both worlds or all five worlds.   In my humble opinion, it took the best of AD&D, 2 nd edition, 3 rd edition (3....

 I have created a new page on this blog with a concise list of all of my publications for D&D as well as for a few computer games.   The previous list in the menu was long and messy looking, this page should be a better way to keep track of everything.  I hope you find it helpful. Publications (enoa4rpg.blogspot.com) Happy Gaming.

 I do not clearly remember the year I started playing Dungeons and Dragons, but it was around 1980 give or take a year or two.  I was a player a little, but almost exclusively ran games as a Dungeon Master.  I collected TSR books, adventure modules, and games, and dabbled a bit with Traveller, but D&D was my primary game.   I wrote custom adventures and created homebrew worlds through college, and stopped a few years after as friends drifted away and adult life set in.  Computer games scratched the itch for role-playing from the mid-1990s until around 2016.  I even wrote adventures for the Neverwinter Nights 1 and Neverwinter Nights 2 computer games based on Dungeons and Dragons. My kids were old enough that I could sneak out of the house once a week or an open game at Titan Games , a local gaming store.   The open group grew steadily until it was quite large and hard for the DM and store owner to run each week.  He knew I was itch...

  https://www.dmsguild.com/product/401794/B1-In-Search-of-the-Unknown--5e-Conversion-Guide-with-Maps Please enjoy this 5e D&D conversion of the various monsters, creatures, magic items, and encounters for the classic D&D module B1: In Search of the Unknown.  The original module, the Monster Manual, and the Dungeon Masters Guide are required to use this conversion guide. The original adventure is available for purchase on DMs Guild. The following digital maps have been included at 70 DPI.  Grid and no grid options have been included.     Two variants of each map have been provided. • Caverns of Quasqueton Upper Level 4900 x 6160 • Caverns of Quasqueton Lower Level 4900 x 6580