Crit Academy: A Dungeons and Dragons Podcast

A dangerous destination is not a place most regular folk would want to go (though, there are certainly some intrepid adventurers with little regard for their own safety). The realms of fantasy are full of challenge, darkness, and peril. Adventurers are, to a large degree, as admired as they are because of their willingness to go to these places, to deal with that which threatens the peace of the l...

With the guys off on a holiday vacation, Justin was invited to join Aelxbomb on her Twitch Channel to talk about her upcoming project Alex's Bombastic Oddities, written by Aelx herself and published by Crit Academy. This book is filled to the brim with a collection Aelx herself has created over the years of GMing, of things, stories, jokes, and more designed to do one thing: spark something. That'...

D&D Advice: Frame Job! | Unearthed Tips and Tricks Podcast Some of the best encounters in Dungeons & Dragons revolve around political intrigue and espionage. Give a listen as we give a great Player tip on turning a crappy cantrip into a surprisingly useful tool. Listen as Crit Academy drops a new encounter, monster, magic item, and tips and tricks to help improve your Dungeons and Dragons game. Pl...

Embark on a journey that might involve dungeons, might involve dragons, and is guaranteed to be unlike anything you've ever experienced. It's a unique, unpredictable adventure that's never the same quest twice. Dive into this raucous comedic explosion full of riddles, puzzles, combat, and more — the story's in your hands and YOU must decide our heroes' fate. Laugh along and choose between over thi...

D&D Advice: Smite Shards, More Smite Fuel! | Unearthed Tips and Tricks Podcast The world of fantasy RPGs is full of magical artifacts, created by accident. So what happens when a high-level celestial touches the mortal realm? They leave a divine smite shard. Perfect for fueling your favorite paladin ability. Listen as Crit Academy drops a new encounter, monster, magic item, and tips and tricks to...

Do your characters look forward to seeing some of your NPCs again? Well, strap in! Today we discuss how to fill your world with Cute and Lovable NPCs that the players will love. 📢 Get More Details Here: https://www.critacademy.com/post/how-to-create-lovable-npcs-in-dnd NOTEWORTHY LINKS Twenty-Sided Tavern (Sponsor) -4e Dungeon Delves- #dungeonsanddragons #dnd5e #DungeonMasterAdvice --------------...

D&D Advice: Becoming the Characters' Biggest Fan | Unearthed Tips and Tricks Podcast When it comes to Dungeons and Dragons, it can be easy to get caught up in our own stories as Dungeon Masters. It's important to remember, for a game to be truly great, you must become the character's biggest fan. Listen as Crit Academy drops a new encounter, monster, magic item, and tips and tricks to help improve...

Better Backgrounds is a 5e book full of backgrounds that give you fun new things to spend your hit dice on. You could take the ordinary boring Soldier background from the PHB, which gives you two skill proficiencies and a bunch of other junk you'll never use, or you could take the Soldier background from this book, which gives you the same two skills but also lets you spend hit dice on Battlemaste...

D&D Advice: Aracthillid | Unearthed Tips and Tricks Podcast Crit Academy drops a new encounter, monster, magic item, and tips and tricks to help improve your Dungeons and Dragons game. Our new monster combines arachnophobia with brain-sucking mindflayers. Please give a listen as we top you off with much more DnD goodness to bring with you on your next adventure. 📢 See Main Topic Here: https://you...

Are you tired of using boring stairs, ropes, and ladders for your D&D adventurers to traverse the multiple levels of dungeons? Well then, stick around as we delve into Chutes, Ladders, and Stair Alternatives for your Dungeons and Dragons Game 📢 Get More Details Here: https://www.critacademy.com/post/stairs-and-ladder-alternatives-in-dnd View Episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/F7oiqBRUR1I 🚩 Loo...

D&D Advice: Kingdom in Crisis | Unearthed Tips and Tricks Podcast Crit Academy drops a new encounter, monster, magic item, and tips and tricks to help improve your Dungeons and Dragons game. Our encounter is Kingdom in Crisis which delves deep into political intrigue. Give a listen as we top you off with so much more DnD goodness for you to bring with you on your next adventure. 📢 See Episode Her...

We all hope to someday turn our hobby into a full-time job. Most of us don't hope to get rich, but enough to pay the bills by doing what we love is a great start. Arjade Productions  presents Raymond Hick's Money Master's Guide - Game Mastering for Fun and Profit gives you all the tools and details you need to help get you started if you're in the tabletop gaming industry. Since we are a D&D 5e sh...

D&D Advice: Papa Smurf Gonna Whoop that Ass | Unearthed Tips and Tricks Podcast Crit Academy drops a new encounter, monster, magic item, and tips and tricks to help improve your Dungeons and Dragons game. Our monster the arctic tinkerer looks a bit like papa smurf, let the derail begin. Give a listen as we top you off with so much more DnD goodness for you to bring with you on your next adventure....

Arguably one of the best parts of any Dungeon Master's prep in Dungeons and Dragons is the design, creation, and fleshing out of a great and thrilling adventure. This can be a struggle for some DMs, while for others it's as natural as breathing. Well, I'm not gifted in this respect, so I rely on guides and tools to ensure I put together fun and engaging stories for my players. For this, I scour th...

D&D Advice: Hot Delivery | Unearthed Tips and Tricks Podcast Crit Academy drops a new encounter, monster, magic item, and tips and tricks to help improve your Dungeons and Dragons game. Our encounter involves delivering hot stoves...with fire mephits inside? Hopefully it's not too hot for our party handle. Give a listen as we top you off with so much more DnD goodness for you to bring with you on...

In D&D tools help you to do something you couldn't otherwise do, such as craft or repair an item, forge a document, or pick a lock. Your character features give you proficiency with certain tools. Proficiency with a tool allows you to add your proficiency bonus to any ability check you make using that tool. Tool use is not tied to a single ability, since proficiency with a tool represents broader...

D&D Advice: Progress Clocks | Unearthed Tips and Tricks Podcast Crit Academy drops a new encounter, monster, magic item, and tips and tricks to help improve your Dungeons and Dragons game. We discuss progress clocks, a phenomenal Dungeon Master tool we borrow from the great game of Blades in the Dark! 📢 See the Episode Here: https://youtu.be/L4RJZwZ3OTM 📢 Blog: https://www.critacademy.com/post/w...

Wondrous Expeditions: Forests Forests are more than a collection of trees-they are the feeling of dew-slicked moss yielding beneath your feet, the subtle smell of petrichor, and the beams of golden sunlight that filter through the canopy. It's the lively cacophony of birds and insects in a summer-soaked glen and the erie, muffled silence of mist-covered deadwood broken only by the groans of dying...

D&D Advice: Of Quartz we'll find it | Unearthed Tips and Tricks Podcast Crit Academy drops a new encounter, monster, magic item, and tips and tricks to help improve your Dungeons and Dragons game. Our encounter 'Of Quartz We'll Find it' is a fun race against another adventuring party vying for the same prize. 📢 See the Full Episode Here: https://youtu.be/YGsWwuRoM9k 📢 Blog: https://www.critacade...

Nonplayer characters (NPCs) are the supporting cast in the drama that stars your players' characters. While you probably create important ones as needed. Having a simple guide can help flesh them out and even create them on the fly. Today we provide you with a Handbook on NPCs. 📢 See the Full Episode Here: https://youtu.be/YGsWwuRoM9k 📢 Blog: Crit Academy Talks: The NPC Handbook Noteworthy Links...

D&D Advice: Redefine Races and Lineage | Unearthed Tips and Tricks Podcast Crit Academy drops a new monster, magic item, and tips and tricks to help improve your Dungeons and Dragons game. Our DM tip is a simple but extremely effective tool to bring your world to life and help it stand out among others is to simply redefining the races and their origins. 📢 See the Full Episode Here: https://youtu...

Do you love hunting massive monsters and using their corpses to craft rare and fantastical weapons? Do you wish D&D 5e included good details for this? Well, strap in as we delve into Amellwind's Guide to Monster Hunting! As part of its core gameplay, players use loot gained from slaying monsters, gathering resources, and quest rewards to craft improved weapons, armor, and other items that allow th...

D&D Advice: Spell Reagents, Brodents and more | Unearthed Tips and Tricks Podcast Crit Academy drops a new monster, magic item, and tips and tricks to help improve your Dungeons and Dragons game. Our magic item the spell reagent Death Blossom is the perfect exploration reward to enhance even the weakest necromancy minion. 📢 See the Full Episode Here: https://youtu.be/aoYyns0c3Yc 📢 Blog: https://...

Lair actions, introduced in D&D 5th Edition, give shape to epic battles by introducing new gameplay mechanics which the players will associate with a boss monster for years to come. However, despite the fact that player characters face off against boss monsters at every tier of play, only a small portion of creatures, most of which in the 3rd and 4th tiers of play, were given lair actions. Homefie...

D&D Advice: Points of Interest | Unearthed Tips and Tricks Podcast 3 Crit Academy drops a new monster, magic item and tips and tricks to help improve your Dungeons and Dragons game. Our monster, the Shadowborn undead will hunt down the bastard who betrayed it while it was still living. No matter who gets in its way... 📢 See the Full Episode Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSqIGbuS3lE 📢 Blo...