Webcomics

When it comes to paladins and their oath, I've always been a flexible DM. I don't normally insist a player follows their oath and I rarely have a patron outright punish a paladin for failing to uphold it. If you are a less devout paladin however, there are extra dangerous quests a patron/god might send you on to make up for your transgressions. That's where the fun begins!

"This sort of makes us brothers and best friends, huh?" Key the Kobold. I am in love with the sudden popularity of small and cute dungeons and dragons characters. I prefer to play my traditional edgelords but the variety that's popped up in the community is amazing! It really does make the world feel big.

I hope everyone is having an amazing holiday! As an October Baby, I’ve always had a +5 resistance to Scares...

“I never learned common core.” -Key the Kobold If there’s one thing I’ve learned running hundreds of mystery focused adventures,...

“It’s best to keep that door closed…” -Lock Lock and Key are back. I love meta humor in my campaigns....

“Back in my day the word ‘Lich’ meant something.” -The Lich It’s always good to have at least one player...

“Let’s try using a riddle this time. Riddles never fail!” -Lock I love puzzles, riddles, and passwords (no surprise). Really...

“Town Town, capital of Country Country.” -Kurokami Sometimes the ideas you have at 3 am aren’t the best. It’s nice...

“We are really desperate for heroes right now.” -Rodeo Wizard Dnd has tons of settings like Dragonlance, Ravenloft, Spelljammer…and forest....

“Pazuzu did laugh before torching the town…so that’s a win I guess.” -Rodeo Wizard If you think Pun Wizard looks...

So you’ve finally made it heroes…is that a cat?” -The Lich Sometimes the you don’t get the heroes you want....

Lock and Key are here to offer their security services. For a small fee, you too can employ your own...

“A lion, snake, goat hybrid? This is the nightmare scenario.” -Kurokami I think there will always be a level of...

“We build our own prisons…” -The Game Master I figured we’d put an end to this story arc that I...

“Don’t worry kid. Stick with us and you’ll be destroying realities in no time!” -Damian Clay, Former Assassin of Ciar...

“…back in my day we had one tavern to pick from and we liked it!” -The Dm Over the years...

“I better get lots of exp for this…” -Kurokami One mistake lots of new DMs make is ignoring their player’s...

Early morning post! I’ll be pretty busy later in the day but I wanted to get this up! Gotta love...

“Do I have the answers? Of course I have the answers…you want the answers? I can’t give you the answers...

“Heck! There’s a good chance it’ll end up being me!” -Adger Dukes I love campy tropes more than I should....

“My favorite part was when the villain farted. My least favorite part was when he burned down my village and...

“The villain’s identity? Listen…If we didn’t write it down it probably isn’t important!” Skirbo the Silver Sometimes my players forget...

“The true victim is my pocket book and that is something I can never forgive!” -Cal the Druid I normally...

“An expert dungeon master can get into the minds of his villains and really figure out what makes them tick.”...

“I spent 3 years training with my ninja sensei and mastering the art of Haki.” -Skirbo the Dark. It’s been...

The next installment of Paladin Vs The Lich! Added in a little bit of world building. I plan to have...

The second installment of Paladin vs the Lich! I took a bit of a break in December but I’m back...

“Who hasn’t destroyed one or two worlds?…I’d be surprised if I met a demonic entity that hasn’t!” -Kurokami I love...

The epic rivalry between a Paladin and her archenemy, the Lich. Will the forces of good triumph? Happy Thanksgiving everyone!...

“Why did you kill them? Why did you kill our parents?” “To playtest my abilities.” -Dunbrill, the Tailor of Tristan...

“He’s betrayed the sanctity of the Huddle Up! I knew he was evil.” – Dunbril the Tailor New comic featuring...

“Pft. Green tieflings. Everyone knows tieflings are red because they reflect light from the sun.” -Kurokami, Warlock of the Edge...

“Bonus damage? Hold on Raphael, let’s hear him out.” -Dunbrill, the Tailor of Tristan Cursed items can be really hard...

“What are you going to do, Cleric? SMITE ME?” -Sir Maximus, Former Knight of Sangovania When I make a new character,...

“What do we do when “hammer” isn’t the answer?…do you think we should get him a greatsword?” Kurokami, Warlock of...

“When you think about it…we could use it to save OTHER towns!” – Raphael, Cleric of Tymora A comic inspired...

“What if I needed to cast fireball later? Then where would we be?” – Babyshanks I try my best not...

“We get paid to kill things! Technically, we are all assassins!” – Damien Clay, Assassin A comic inspired by our...

“What is a man? A miserable pile of hit dice!” -Count Dharts, OC Do Not Steal A comic inspired by...

“Next time I’m sharing my backstory first.” -Thiebius the Legendary Part 2 of a previous comic: The power of dice compels...

“I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE YOUR HELLFIRE OUTSIDE!” -Kalvin the Red This has become a running gag at our table....

“My name is Dunbrill the Tailor and I’m the fastest man alive.” -Dunbrill, an orc who got hasted A comic...

“Hey! It’s Mr.Grim-Kill-Dark-Black! He taught at my orphanage!” -Baby Shanks A comic inspired by a recent oneshot. There’s a lot...

“You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?” -Shady Kalvin, the Shady (don’t trust this guy) I like to use...

“Especially important is the warning to avoid conversations with the DM. We may ask what is relevant but anything beyond...

Plot hooks are tough. I try to float out a selection of possible villains but I sometimes run into the...

“This is why I made sure all my friends and family were already dead…” -Kurokami, Warlock of the Edge Lord...

“What am I? The God of Doors?” -The Edge Lord, Twilight Incarnate A comic inspired by a recent oneshot. I...

“It was a gift from the Queen of the Elves!” -Baby Shanks A comic inspired by our last campaign. 5e...

“She even let me keep the cursed ring!” -Calabasas the Druid Another comic inspired by our campaign. I always make...

“In the Astral Sea, no one can hear you scream…” -Skirbo the Silver A comic inspired by a recent session....

“Why did we bring a dog into the Citadel of Lost Souls?” -Baby Shanks A small moment from our DnD campaign. The group was hired to protect a celebrity dog from a group of assassins and things escalated from there. Alternative win conditions can directly enhance the game. Rather than having combat end with a complete decimation of an opposing force, you can center it around other goals that can help keep the fight dynamic and fun. Here are my three favorites… Protect an important ally (in this case it was a dog). Stop the ritual. Survive a 3-way battle. Does anyone have other win conditions they’ve tried with some success? I’d love to add some to my list!

“Leave him alone! He’s already dead!” -Rondo, the Worm Whisperer A comic inspired by a moment from our table. Vicious...

“Your turns coming around…any minute now. I’ll let you know.” -Skirbo the Silver A comic based on several anti-climatic fights...

“We can play the blame game all day but in the end it’s Skirbo’s fault.” -Calabasas Critical fumbles can really spiral out of control. I love hijinks but I try to avoid strict mechanical failures when someone roles a nat 1 on a skill check. I describe it in a funny or dramatic way and we keep the momentum going. I think critical fumbles can work well for some tables but make sure to talk about it during your session zero. You don’t want to surprise your players with a homebrew rule like that!

“The Church of the All-Seeing Eye has over 10,000 followers. The exposure will be great.” -Bishop Futurae Most campaigns give out too much gold or too little. In my last campaign, I included a pirate ship with a bunch of upgrades. The better the ship was the more expensive the upkeep cost became which left my players hoarding gold like real pirates! I also included a second type of currency that they could trade for random magic items. It felt like a good balance. What does your party do with gold? Do you let your players buy magic items? What big ticket items do you include in your campaigns?

My first time dming 5e, I downed the party bard with a single arcane missiles which resulted in his very...

Figured I’d get back into animating and decided to do a quick loop. I’ve been working with the new Adobe...

A comic inspired by a dropped plotline I wrote for our campaign (darn players). Seeding in comedy is tough! Funny voices can only get you so far. When trying to hit a tone I normally match whatever my players are throwing at me. There’s a variety of ways the game can be played so be flexible and know when to call it quits. Not every player will match every DM. Don’t take it personally when a player just doesn’t jive with the campaign you’re running!

I like to make deadly boss monsters with big weaknesses to balance things out. This means I tend to miss the 6-8 medium encounter daily target. This can leave some classes feeling a bit weaker. I’ve found the best way to fix class balance is through magic items rather than class changes. Items can be adjusted with little fuss and can add a lot of flavor to the narrative.

Watched Sonic over the weekend and decided to write a comic about the experience. I don't know if it's Oscar worthy but I do hope the VFX team gets some kind of award for all their hard work. It looked great!

I love mundane items. There’s something really appealing about portable rams, sacks of flour and 10 ft poles. Throwing a bag over an enemy’s head is a popular move at our table. You’d be surprised by how many spells require the caster to see their target!

“That’s the problem with adventurers these days. No appreciation for death. “ Karen, Vassal of the Raven Queen A comic based on our recent session. Death has become easier to mitigate over the last couple editions. Some people increase the reagent cost, add a dice roll, ban the spells or add a lingering negative effect to resurrection. In my setting, finding diamonds is harder than normal and being caught with them can land you in jail. It’s become a fun secondary resource for my group to manage. The Diamond Mines of Ciar is my favorite homebrew dungeon to run.

Some #dnd rules are vague. For Wild Magic Surge, I have the #sorcerer roll an additional D20 when they cast a spell. A surge occurs on a nat 1 or nat 20. My players can take their complaints to the dice gods!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Traditions are a great way to keep your players looking forward to the next year of sessions. Anyone have any fun yearly DnD traditions? I’m always on the lookout for more!

If you are playing a game and you feel you need to “punish” other players, something has gone terribly wrong. Talk to them out of game. Most people don’t realize they’re creating problems!

Most of the towns I design have an elaborate criminal justice system. My players have started to declare every attack they make as “nonlethal” no matter how over the top their description gets. We’ve started calling it the “Get Out of Jail Free Card.

I’ve received a ton support this year! I have a lot to be thankful for. I really hope everyone has a happy holiday season!

[Bonus Comic] I’ve just hit over 60 hours of game time in SwSh and I have to say that the Gigantamax forms have really grown on me.

I always say if you aren’t having fun you aren’t really playing DnD and many people will tell you that no DnD is better than bad DnD...

There aren’t rules that dictate how long a table should spend on any one pillar of the game. Talk to your players and figure out what they enjoy. Time at the table is limited so make sure it’s spent on the things your players actually find fun!

Surprise is a powerful tool. When battles can be over in 5 rounds, 1 round of inaction can turn a fight into a stomp. I typically require my players to purposefully research, plan and enact a plan to gain surprise. I believe the normal rules for initiative already cover the “quick draw” situations that commonly arise.

The most important aspect to party cohesion is a shared goal and an evil character can work with a good group if it moves them towards their ultimate desire. During your session 0, hammer out what exactly holds these characters together!

Right now, my party is in the Feywild but just before that they were pirates. I had planned out an entire setting for the pirate adventure and only used 10% of it because I thought throwing in a space ship would be cool. I didn’t expect them to use it!

Another comic based on my DnD experiences! When it comes to persuasion, I’ll accept an out of character logical request in lieu of an in-character appeal. I do draw the line when the player skips the logical part and heads straight for the request!

Gotta love Barbarian Rage! My favorite DnD oddity is the fall damage cap. Fall damage caps out at 20d6 bludgeoning damage. I don’t know where this figure came from, but it was used in 3rd edition as well. I guess it’s a dnd tradition!

Alignment is a fun mechanic. I’ve started making custom alignments for each adventure I run based on the big themes of the campaign. A couple examples include tradition vs modernity and pirates vs the navy. Sky's the limit!

“I love it when a plan comes together.” – The Traffic Cone Magician. Diving back into the insane world of...

A comic inspired by my Curse of Strahd campaign. Lots of DM’s hate edgy characters but I feel like the edgy character is a symptom and not a problem. How do you encourage your players to roll up more interesting characters?

I like to use strong npcs as examples of how powerful the players can one day become. Sadly, powerful npcs do introduce problems! The most obvious is the Avengers Effect. Why aren’t the strongest superheroes handling the problem themselves? You need an explanation!

There's an art to throwing out plot hooks! My favorite story involves my players hunting down an aboleth and getting jobs to grind out gold and “progress the story”. The druid started selling purified water to sick citizens. Almost everyone in the city died.

I love moments where a player pulls out some obscure class feature and wins the day. While I don’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of the game, I do consider myself well-read! Even so, my players still manage to surprise me with some crazy situational feature like Stillness of Mind or Feral Senses.

Sometimes bad decisions are made. It’s the nature of the game! It helps when the death is impactful but sometimes it’s hard to make every bad decision seem super heroic. When a player dies, I give them one last action and a chance to share some parting wisdom!

5E has done an incredible job at balancing the different classes but sometimes it feels like martial classes lack a bit of flavor. Especially after you’ve finally gotten a good hit on the boss only for him to change the laws of physics.

Inspired by our resident bard, Kalvin the Red. It’s great to have a player who is invested in the plot and trusts the DM enough to follow big plot hooks! You just have to hope their foolhardy isn’t too grossly punished by your gritty survival setting!

“The heftiest of treasures go not to the skilled man nor the smart man but the man with the sickest gains.” – Dunbrill, The Tailor of Tristan. I guess it's true what they say. One man's dump stat is another man's treasure.

A comic inspired by a Phandelver campaign I ran last year. When my party’s rogue came to me with his origin story I knew someone was in for a harsh lesson. The real imaginary world isn’t so kind!