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Campaign Inspiration

Forged in Fire: 3WDs Top 3 Homebrews For 5e: The Sword of Power, Zeus’ Thunderbolt and Demonic Bob Ross

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In our recent episode, we discussed a listener question about homebrewing magic items that are based off our favorite books, movies, myths, and television series. Specifically, they were hoping to translate the legendary Shardblades from Brandon Sanderson’s epic series, The Stormlight Archives. We discussed several of our own homebrew items that we’ve instituted in our … Read more

You Say It’s Your Birthday – 3WD Reveals 7 Tips That Will Help You Build Your Own Very Special One-Shot D&D Game

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Birthday games. Several of our recent articles and episodes discuss our passion for running birthday games for our game group, whether it be D&D, the OSR, Avatar Legends, or the classic Marvel Super Heroes system; it’s become our thing.

In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave discuss the recent Birthday Game they ran where The Doctor teamed up with the Sensational She-Hulk and members of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four to stop the impending Cyberman invasion orchestrated by the wielder of the Cosmic Control Rod, Annihilus, and do battle against the Brood in a giant Space Whale (believe us…. It made way more sense at the table!)

We then discuss our 7 best tips to help you build your own Very Special One-Shot for Birthdays or any other day!

What’s In A Name? 5 Tips to Worldbuilding by Naming Magic Items in Your D&D and TTRPG Games

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From King Arthur’s Excalibur to the mighty hammer of Thor, Mjölnir, the history of fantasy is filled with iconic magic items. Their names take them from something simple, like a sword or hammer, and make them as much a part of the story as the characters who wield them. 

I’d like to share a funny scene that has played out in my head numerous times over my years playing D&D…

Bilbo, Gandalf, and the dwarves have made their way to the Last Homely House at Rivendell after their escape from the goblins. Lord Elrond investigates the ancient runes that adorn the magical swords the party found in the troll’s cave, finally turning to Gandalf after some time, “This weapon is called…+1 sword of goblin-slaying!”

Now, any of us that have read The Hobbit and/or The Lord of the Rings trilogy will recognize that particular sword as the fabled Glamdring, also known as “Foe-hammer” and “Beater” (Yeah, it has three different names. Tolkien was a master at deep lore). That’s a fair bit better than if Elrond had used it’s D&D equivalent’s name, as in my adapted scene above.

While not every magic item needs a collection of names like the aforementioned Glamdring, letting things like a +1 sword or Armor of Invulnerability into your world without anything more than a rules-based description as a name can diminish the power they can have outside of what they do.

Christmas One-Shots: 3 Wise DMs Top 8 Holiday D&D Plots To Give Your Party A Reason For The Season

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The holidays provide opportunities for many things. Like good food, visiting with friends, and running holiday-themed one-shot games. You know, the kind of games which have nothing to do with the plot of your campaign but are light hearted and fun as hell.

And while this session should be memorable, odds are your schedule was pretty tight before any of the holiday madness even began. To help you make your own holiday-themed game we have put together a list of eight of our plots of Christmases Past which were very successful and a ton of fun. Hopefully these will provide you with a starting point and inspiration for your own adventure or at the very least some amusement.

Fatigue and Conditions: An Excellent Mechanic From The Avatar Legends RPG To Add Depth And Roleplay To Your D&D Combat.

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In our most recent episode, we reviewed our experience with playing the Starter Set for the new Avatar Legends RPG developed by Magpie Games, as well as the tips, tricks, and pitfalls we’ve found with running brand new systems that are very different from traditional d20 systems.

During the episode, we got into a discussion regarding one of the mechanics that we were a bit divided on. But I thought it was an interesting way to make the effects of combat more cinematic and narrative, as opposed the the tried-and-true mechanic of hit points.

So, I thought I’d break out the mechanic a bit more in this article to introduce you to something that might inspire you to look at your combat encounters in a slightly different way: Fatigue and Conditions.

Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting – 3WD Reviews the Avatar Legends RPG and Reveals Tips on Running Brand-New Systems in your D&D Group!

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The 3 Wise DMs just played through the new Avatar Legends RPG Starter Set from Magpie Games. Based off the Powered by the Apocalypse system, Avatar Legends is about as different from D&D and Pathfinder as can be.

In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave review the Avatar Legends system, the one-shot that we played as well as discuss tips, tricks, and pitfalls to playing completely new systems – how to prepare, how to run, and how to play – for new and experienced DMs and GMs alike.

Stone Cold Crazy – How a First-Time DM Ran a Crazy One-Shot With Four Kurt Russell’s!

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We recently shared a post about our Halloween one-shot adventure that we started referring to as the “Kurt Russell Campaign.” Four players, all playing one of the legendary roles made famous by your favorite, and ours, Mr. Kurt Russell. The response was fantastic, so we thought we’d do a deeper dive.

In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave are joined by return guests Bonnie and the Monster Wrangler himself, and now official DM, Matt, who decided that for his first official session behind the screen, he was going to do something that might even challenge even seasoned DMs.

A Murder Most Foul: 7 Tips on Running a Murder Mystery Game in any TTRPG

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Here at 3WD, it’s no secret that we love one-shot adventures and holiday-themed games. They can spice things up or provide a welcome change with the routine of your campaign. And with Halloween having just come, what idea could be more of a low hanging fruit than a murder mystery? However, this being a different style of game, it can be tricky – which is why we made a list of seven tips to guide you through making your own in-game murder mystery something that will be remembered. 

Tumbling Dice – Using Board Games in Your D&D Game To Create Unique And Fun Sessions

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Most of us who enjoy TTRPGs like D&D also love board games… classic board games, strategy games, resource management games, and the list goes on. It won’t take long until you as a DM start thinking of implementing some of your favorite board games or board game mechanics into your D&D sessions.

In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave discuss the ways that they have utilized their favorite board games and board game mechanics to create some incredibly unique, innovative, and fun game sessions, or in the case of our Dragonlance game, the entire campaign.

Happy Halloween: Our Best Tips For Horror Gaming in D&D and a Free Halloween Adventure

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So, just in time for Halloween, here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing, call up your friends, plan a night, and enter into a bone-chilling, creepy, and horrific game session.