I just finished making an illusion wizard build and OFC I had to go the illusion adept feat for my ASI. The feat states:

“When you cast a spell from the Illusion school using a spell slot, you can cast it without any Verbal, Somatic, or Material components, except Material components that are consumed by the spell or that have a cost specified in the spell.”

It got me thinking, how does one tell someone is casting a spell? Obviously they would be saying an incantation or doing some kind of somatic movement or maybe digging into their component pouch. But since I don’t have to do any of that, and could quite literally be standing still like a statue, when do you know to counterspell?

The Blood Moon Beast is an ancient supernatural predator that feeds not only on flesh, but on the souls of its victims. It remembers those it has consumed, steals their voices, and uses them to lure, deceive, and terrify the living.

This CR 5 version, known as the Fettered Blood Moon Beast, is still partially restrained by an ancient binding. Even in its weakened state, it is a dangerous opponent, capable of tracking wounded creatures, unleashing a terrifying howl, and using legendary actions to relentlessly pursue its prey.

The creature comes from my new 75-page folk-horror one-shot adventure, The Red Tithe, designed for 5E (2014) and 5.5E (2024).

The adventure features three different level tiers:

• Tier I: Levels 3-4 (CR 5 Blood Moon Beast)
• Tier II: Levels 10-11 (CR 13 Blood Moon Beast)
• Tier III: Levels 17-20 (CR 23 Blood Moon Beast)

Each tier features a different manifestation of the Beast, along with appropriately scaled encounters involving the Beastmen, villagers transformed into monstrous servants of the creature.

In The Red Tithe, the adventurers investigate the disappearance of an isolated village where generations of ritual sacrifices were believed to keep an ancient horror imprisoned. The adventure combines investigation, exploration, roleplaying, moral dilemmas, and challenging combat, and is designed for 3-6 characters and approximately 4-6 hours of play.

The 75-page manual also includes 6 custom monster stat blocks, 3 battle maps with 8 total versions, and 4 tokens for tabletop or VTT play.

If you're looking for something dark and unsettling to run this Halloween, I hope you find the Beast and its adventure useful!

You can find the complete adventure on DriveThruRPG!

My Kickstarter for 300+ Mythological Items for 5E and 2024 is also live now! The campaign includes a physical hardcover, as well as printed editions of my previous manuals.

You can find more of my creatures, magic items, and manuals on DriveThruRPG, my Linktree, or over at r/JonnyDM!

The client wanted the three main characters of his campaign portrayed in a quieter moment of their journey: sitting around a campfire after a long day of adventure. As they rested beneath the stars, they shared stories, laughed together, and deepened their bond.

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc., and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more, so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

*New 2026: For 2026, I'm updating all my old work to include a Pre-Session Checklist that will include a list of all miniatures you may need, maps, handouts, possible loot, a link to a playlist, and more to make it even easier to start your session!

Fizzbang Frazzlepop, an eccentric goblin wizard, has dedicated his life to achieving the ultimate form of undeath: becoming a lich. However, his numerous "Get Lich Quick" schemes have all ended in spectacular failure—until now.

On Liar’s Night, a time when deceit reigns and the veil between worlds thins, Fizzbang plans to summon the archlich Vecna. In a race against time, your players must decide if they want to help or hinder Fizzbang's attempt before the clock strikes midnight aka. The Liching Hour!

B.J. Keeton has created the perfect Level 6 One-Shot to run for Halloween, even more so if you're already running The Lost Mine of Phandlever, Dragon of Icespire Peak, or Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk, because this all takes place in Phandalin/Tresendar Manor!

Without further ado:

• Google Docs Notes for The Liching Hour: DM Notes (Preview)
• Link to: The Liching Hour Playlist 
• Link to: The Liching Hour PDF and Maps
• Link to: The AAA Collection

Included in The AAA Collection is:

• Downloadable copy of DM Notes, including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
• DM Notes for the Visually Impaired
• (New) Pre-Session DM Checklist
• Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks organized neatly, along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP
• A Spell List for Fizzbang and Fakena
• A DM version of the map

Over 8 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc., please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early, feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,
Advent

Hello, fellow adventurers :)

Today, I'm excited to share the entry for Army of the Dead, a 9th-level Necromancy spell that lets you summon an entire undead army!

This entry comes from the Tome of Summoning. The full compendium features over 60 pages on the theme of summoning and planar magic, offering new options for players who want to command powerful entities in battle. At its core is the Summoner, a unique class built around a lasting bond with a Summon - a companion that grows stronger alongside its master. Unlike temporary conjurations, a Summon is a permanent ally, highly customizable through a list of almost 145 Enhancements, allowing players to shape its abilities and role to fit their playstyle. The class also comes with a 8 subclasses, each proficient at summoning a specific type of creatures. Some forge pacts with celestial or fiendish entities, while others call forth spirits, elemental forces, or creatures born of pure magic. Each subclass grants a unique Summon, further expanding the possibilities for customization.

Beyond the Summoner, the manual includes over 35 spells, 15 feats, and 4 subclasses, all designed to enhance summoning magic for spellcasters. Whether you seek a loyal companion, a strategic battlefield presence, or the means to command otherworldly forces, the Tome of Summoning is the right tool for the job.

This manual just received a v2.0 update, including updated layout, illustrations, rules, balance adjustments, a brand-new subclass, and much more. For the occasion, you can find it discounted either on DriveThruRPG or my Patreon, alongside a vast collection of previews for this and all my other titles! I'm currently working on updated version of all my older manuals, so there's a lot to uncover :)

My Pokémon-inspired Weapons and Items of the Day, with a fusion of Honedge, Pawniard, Duskull, & Impidimp for a sword of quick cuts!

This item was created as a Tier Reward for Patron Terrence Lash! Thank you for your support!

Join my Patreon to vote on future items and get all the PDFs with over 1000 items, including all the Pokémon items, or buy the individual PDFs in my shop!

F231 - Katana of Crimson Spirits

Weapon (Longsword, Sentient) – Rare (5613 gp, requires attunement)

This red & blue +1 katana longsword has a dark gray handle wrapped in red and blue twisted cloth. The sword’s bone white tsuba is shaped like a skull, while the blade is blue with bone white fullers and a red blade edge.

Attacks with this sword do an additional 1d6 necrotic damage.

The sword is sentient, has normal hearing and vision to 30 ft, understands common, and has Intelligence 10, Wisdom 10, and Charisma 10. It can evolve, and will do so when it has decided its wielder is ready.

While attuned to this sword: you have a +2 bonus to Deception rolls; you gain a hover speed of 10 ft; and while afflicted with a status condition, you have advantage on attacks with this sword, which would cancel out a disadvantage on attacks.

This sword has 4 charges, regaining 1d3+1 after a long rest, and can be used to cast the following spells:

• Azure Nukiuchi (1 or more charges): As part of an attack with this sword, you make the blade glow blue, giving the attack an additional 3d6 slashing damage. You can use additional charges to increase the damage by 1d6 per charge.

• Crimson Iaijutsu (1 charge): As a reaction, when you are attacked by an enemy you were unaware of (such as by surprising you or being hidden), you are able to make a perfect quick draw strike on the attacker. Make an attack using this sword with advantage on the attacker, and if you had not moved on your last turn, this attack does an additional 1d6 necrotic damage.

• Night Slash (1 or more charges): As part of an attack with this sword, you make the blade glow with dark energy, giving the attack an additional 3d6 necrotic damage. You can use additional charges to increase the damage by 1d6 per charge.

• Dead Soul’s Blade (4 charges): As an action, the sword summons the silent spirit of a fallen enemy to protect you, which lasts for 8 hours or until one of its effect are triggered. The first time you would drop to 0 hit points as a result of taking damage, you instead drops to 1 hit point as the spirit protects you, and if the creature that caused the damage is within reach of this weapon, you can use your reaction to make an attack on the creature with advantage. If you would be subjected to an effect that would kill you instantaneously without dealing damage, the spirit protects you from the effect before dissipating.

This item was created as a Tier Reward for Patron Terrence Lash! Thank you for your support!

This was a piece I did for Adri (a friend). Cintilla is the character she payed in her previous campaign, her backstory has a lot to do with rediscovering her true self, after being brain washed and turned into a vessel for Despair.

Shout out to her!! Thank you for your amazing concepts, really inspiring <3

I wanted to see if I could create an optimized bard using all of the rules available, from 5e to 5.5e, and this is what I came up with. It was inspired, in part, by Carian sorcery from Elden Ring (hence a lot of blade / weapon spells), and many of the spell combos found in D&D shorts. The build can do fun tricks like the forcecage / Mordenkainen’s faithful hound trap, or the prismatic wall / reverse gravity trick in 1 round (by using Cartomancer), it can make a maximum of 15 attacks in a round amplified by conjure minor elementals, and still has some reasonable support and strong social / face abilities. It can also have fun with glyph of warding multi-buff shenanigans, AND the fun of an otherworldly familiar. I tried to get all my favorite D&D things in 1 build, and I think I did it. In some campaigns, I would sacrifice the headband of intellect for one of those evolving rods of the pact keeper, or maybe a broom of flying, but that is situational. It also makes use of the bastion rules to acquire the teleportation circle special facility mostly to get access to to 8th level wizard spells like clone that it would not need to use every day. Anyway, any thoughts on this one?

Admittedly, I am not a very good character optimizer, but I tried.

The link: www.dndbeyond.com/characters/171732290/xja2NA

I Added tounge & intestine/organ with green stuff. Not sure if I should add more or if that will be to much.

too weak, strong, or just righ?

I was cleaning out my mother's house and found these two sets that appear to be from 1981 and are first editions. I was doing some research but hoping someone on here would be able to give me more information on whether these are valuable or collectable.

The basic set has unwrapped books but the dice and crayon are still sealed. Everything is in excellent shape. The dice are two different shades of blue and have a marbled look. There is a white crayon.

The expert set has unopened books, another set of marbled dice that are different shades of blue. The crayon is red.

I mention the dice and crayons because from what I could find it seems to be rare to have marbled dice in different shades and the red crayon seems to be another rare item. I tried to post more pictures but it wouldn't allow me.

Are these collectable? Are they valuable?

TIA

I got into D&D lore in high school and wanted to start my own game but I don’t know where to start. I’m going to be the Dungeon master.

Would you be interested in this kind of character design and/or style? I would like if you could comment!

I have a BBEG for my campaign I'm planning who's final goal is to converge the Nine Hells and Faerun into one, which of course would be chaotic. But one part I'm struggling on is to how to make him actually attempt it, what methods in DnD can destabilise two realms enough for this? Are there any?