Learning Life and sharing D&D…
One roll at a time.
Will you join me in our adventure?
I’m an optimist.
Sure, we will all die as we get really, really better with age, but I really mean it. I mean that everything gets better with age when you are an adult. You have better rights, you have better growth, you get wiser, and you get better at surviving. Obviously, life is unlucky for others, and outright horrible sometimes. I pity those who were dealt the worst cards in life.
But everything gets better. Probably.
What are centuries compared to untold millenia
Where Ao intervenes in the realm of mortals?
We’ve been building ever since Ao’s Sundering
When Ao proved his mettle against lower gods.
We do not praise evil; We praise Ao’s patience, and wait.
We do not praise good; We praise Ao’s retribution, and wait.
We do not value chaos; We value Ao’s supervision, and wait.
We don’t value order; We value Ao’s word, and wait.
Ao comes when the gods blunder,
So we build Ao’s Tower
To prove that the gods are wrong
and that Ao is right.
The caves weren’t as bright as they are now for Sildar. Before, they were dark. Save for the orange light of the campfire and torchlight. But fire always meant trouble here. It meant torture and deprivation. It meant humiliation from Yeemik the goblin.
Sildar roamed the caves with ease now. He was free to leave, but he felt something holding him back. Fated to hide in Cragmaw Cave forevermore. He watches the goblins as they build traps. One stacks stones atop a pond of rising water, a fitting trap to wash out any invaders to the cave. Other goblins patrol the stream towards the entrance of the cave. Yeemik and Klarg are directing other goblins outside to build defensive towers. Out of the few times Sildar looked outside, the construction was ramshackle and falling apart. But given time…
There is no time for the goblins, though. They die now, one by one. A tall and fearsome rabbit man with a powerful punch surprises them from the bushes and slaughters them. The same half-elf who ran away the other night joins him. The night that Sildar died at the hands of Yeemik. Soon, a human fighter and a woman dressed in a green cloak shows to end the rest. Sildar retreats back into the cave. His memory had been vague, but he senses hope for the first time after spawning. –And after the hope, he remembers now.
Sildar claws his way towards his most recent memories. Back to where he spawned. He let his wings unfurl where they could in the trapped cave environ. Behind him, the rushing of water and the sound of fighting resonate through Sildar. But his thoughts were of himself. He used his monstrous strength to jump clear over the large snake roosting at the ridge above him. Sildar was practically flying. Now he stomps his way towards Yeemik’s favorite spot of Cragmaw Hideout. Someplace away from Klarg, where he is free to torture the prisoners. Sildar thought of Iarno. He wondered if his guild companion was okay. Unaware, Sildar let a goblin with a torch run through him as he ran screaming towards Yeemik’s position. This slight angered Sildar. Yet another goblin desecrates his body. Enraged, Sildar let out a roar not unlike that of an eagle. He surprised himself, however. Sildar never roared before.
From Sildar’s experience, he let out the sound of a Griffon. Like the one he rode upon as a part of the Cavalry of Waterdeep. It was Sildar’s service to the city watch that allowed him to join the Lord’s Alliance. The goblin stopped in its tracks and dropped the torch. It turned around slowly, gazing at the horror that was now Sildar Hallwinter. Sildar roared again, and the goblin pissed itself. Then an arrow penetrated its heart, and it died with fear in its eyes.
Sildar feasted upon the soul of the goblin when it emerged. At least he felt some vindication. As he ate the essence of Maglubiyet’s evil, he watched the green-cloaked woman pick up her arrow from the corpse. She didn’t see him. Sildar knew why, and was glad of it. After all, he assumed she was there for him, too. Soon, Shenzi the half-elf and the rest of her party joined the cloaked one towards Yeemik’s cave. Sildar followed. The halfling magic user was in the middle of the pack—the Rabbit Man before him. The human fighter was far behind all, and Sildar was closest to him. The tattooed fighter turned back towards the cave. He looked upon Sildhar’s now massive frame, but turned around and muttered to himself.
“It was nothin’, Maquin”, he said. Sildar still followed.
Perched upon Yeemik’s ledge just above the goblin camp, Sildar watched the party of adventurers confront the murderous clan that killed so many people. His remaining band of goblins snarled. Sildar’s monstrous senses told him many were more fearful of this new fight, but Yeemik remained strong. He told the adventurers just what he’d do to them. And Sildar knew it would be true, if fate allowed.
But it was a pitiful showdown. The halfling with the party named Quinfer let out an icy barrage of death upon a group of Yeemik’s kin. Shenzi and Maquin let loose arrows into the group, too, which decimated their numbers entirely. Sildar learned of the rabbit-man’s name, Travis, after Quinfer praised him for a stunningly brutal show of force. Blood let loose in this cave of torturers, but it wasn’t the tortured blood of prisoners anymore. Some splashed upon Sildar’s ridge above.
Filled with the pride of revenge, Sildar beams when he learns it was Shenzi who would be dealing the final blow. After all, she lost her entire party after an ambush gone wrong. Her previous teammates and the prisoners she tried to save, including Sildar himself, lost their lives after taking a gamble on the sensibility of goblins. Shenzi pierces Yeemik’s heart, and her words echo in the chamber. “I will cut you down, break you apart, splay the gore of your profane form across the stars! I will grind you down until the very heavens cry for mercy! My hands shall relish ending you, here and now!”
And so it happens that Yeemik dies a glorious death. Sildar didn’t let any of their souls go. He hunted them down, especially Yeemik. He wouldn’t be allowed to join Maglubyet in death. Not ever. Sildar chirped, and he found the woman in the cloak gasping in terror from below. They lock eyes while her teammates are distracted. Sildar was surprised to learn that the woman in the green cloak is a fair-faced half-orc. As they looked upon each other, Sildar felt compelled to turn. He found his spawning place. –And he recognized why he came from here. Before Sildar was his old bag. He let out a ghostly coo, beckoning someone to find it.
Behind the half-orc woman, a voice called out. It was Maquin. “Xahri, everything alright?”, he said.
“I’m not sure,” Xahri said. “I think I saw something above us”.
It may have to be Xahri, Sildar thought. He found that he could leave this place. There was nothing left to hold him back from the adventures that lay beyond his horizons. Xahri discovered the contents. Aside from a simple gemstone and a potion of greater healing, inside Sildar Hallwinter’s bag was a peculiar item for a retired adventurer. The heavy leather harness features an emblem of the City of Waterdeep, including an expertly crafted image of a guardsman riding a Griffon. Initials are carved into it. – “S.H.”
There are so many things that I want to talk about regarding my blog, Dungeons With Dragons. Some of it I am keeping close to heart, but a lot of it I want to share with you! No matter what, though, changes are coming to my website that I am sure will be fun for everybody involved.
There are a variety of things I want for DWD:
So, what does “easy to access” mean? It means that I’m going to be delving into the guts of the website itself to make it operate smoothly! It also means updating some of the current buttons I have created over the years (Looking at you, “Need a Ride” button!). I think giving the base website a slight makeover will be beneficial for the rest of the plans I have for the website in the long run as well. I plan to have this done after I move into my first apartment here in glorious Colorado Springs! So my deadline for these website updates will likely be towards the end of July.
So, when I say “fun to interact with”, what in the Nine Hells does that mean? Well, it means more interactivity for the website! While I’m not a good coder by any stretch of the imagination, I plan to hide several secrets between my blog posts that readers can find. By leveraging the power of AI to assist with my coding questions, I plan to cobble together a website featuring interesting tidbits about the world of D&D, along with random tips for DMs and players. Later on, I would like to hire someone to create mini-games that people can enjoy while browsing the site.
However, just like any endeavor, it is wise to take small steps. I know I already mentioned the “Need a Ride” button, but that was already my first step into coding something that encourages interactivity. Now I just need something a lot less intrusive and much more immersive into my theme of Dungeons With Dragons. Stay tuned, I suppose.
Here, I really want the website to grow into a small hub for like-minded D&D players. Somehow, I’d love for the site to be a part of various events around the web. Maybe for various events around the world, eventually. I think this requires the addition of a forum for like-minded people to congregate. I also want to integrate YouTube into the blog, which will expand the community I am seeking to cater to. In the long run, it would be great to foster partnerships with some of the major players in the D&D community. I am nowhere near close to thinking about that, though. I haven’t even thrown any skin in the game so to speak…
That’s the first step in this plan! I want to throw some skin in the game. By this, I mean contributing to the community differently. By providing free and paid content to the community for life. Along with my various blog posts, you can expect to see more content from me to help you with your D&D modules and adventures. While I may not be an expert in the game by any means, I want my contributions to make it easier for players in the community to do what they love—playing D&D and creating memorable moments with their friends and family. As a result, you may occasionally find a .pdf or graphic that can help you play D&D as you browse the site.
Here, I want to address the elephant in the room. I haven’t posted content in over a year. I want to provide answers to what’s been going on in my life and how my recent experience will now contribute to helping this website grow.
In 2024, I was struggling in Spokane, WA to foster a business in doing paid D&D games online using the platform startplayinggames.com. While that website is quite a viable business, and I can definitely see myself using it again, the cards weren’t going in my favor. I foolishly left my hotel job to try and pursue this effort without the backing of a community behind me. However, something else amazing happened while I struggled with this business.
A work opportunity occurred. The hotel industry clawed its way back into my life! I was offered a position that I couldn’t pass up, essentially. Instead of working as a GM (Game Master), I’d wind up as a GM (General Manager) instead! That’s right, I was offered a position of management for a hotel. That was back in May 2024. For a straight year, I threw myself into the position with the goal of learning as much as I could about administrative work and company management. It was hard work. I was expected to do more than check guests in. My new clients were my directors, contractors, employees, and, of course, the hotel ownership. I had to navigate hiring, managing employee needs, and maintaining a hotel building.
It was very valuable experience, if I do say so myself. I want to give a big shout-out to my bosses, Fred and Lee, for giving me great insight into the business.
Taking what I learned there, I took the opportunity to leave after my friends asked me to move to Colorado with them. I figured I also had family in Colorado that I’d like to get to know about, too, so it was a done deal. Now, I plan to renew my efforts into this website and towards the D&D community at large. I don’t know about you, but I would like to make a living from fun and entertainment, rather than a traditional job.
So that’s where I’ve been for the past year. Now, you know. I may have to hire a mindflayer to hunt you down now that you do, though. So watch your brain.
Now, the plan is to write content regularly for the site! I was astonished to learn that, despite the site effectively having one foot in the grave, there were still many people visiting the site and reading my old content. I view this as a disservice to my readers, and it needs to be corrected immediately! To remedy this, I plan to do exactly what I set out to do when I started this site. To provide great human-written content to my readers, as I always have. Given my professional background in news writing, I am capable of handling this task myself.
Regarding the AI-generated images on the site, they will remain until I reach a specific milestone. Eventually, I plan to hire a professional artist to create the dragons on the site, rather than relying on AI for this specific task. I am not artistically inclined. I do have family who have art in their blood, though. Maybe when the website proves itself, they’ll be able to participate. It’s either that, or I will employ somebody to do the job proper. The day that happens will be glorious! I can’t wait!
A woman contracted to murder for her patron stands on the road with a bloody knife in hand, as her future party member cautiously inspects the scene. She’s able to wipe away the blood from her blade before they notice, and now she’s just a concerned passerby investigating the death of the poor courier on the road.
The paladin foolishly leaves his party members and roams by himself along Old Svalich Road. He ignores the warnings of the night. The full moon. The howling in the distance. The legends of Barovia. He dies a bloody death without a witness. Gored by a horde of passing wolves running heedless of their master, Strahd von Zarovich.
The adventurers greet the master lich in broad daylight. The shadow of a crumbling and ancient tower that belonged to it. However, the lich is found mistaken. No longer undead, but instead a simulacrum, he begs the party of low-level adventurers to spare his life. After all, the spells he knows will kill him, and he seeks a new beginning. The party surprisingly does just that, and now he’s their butler. For now.
The above accounts are just some of the experiences my players have had at my table. All of them varied and interesting experiences! While I’m sure many Dungeon Masters around the world are having their own interesting experiences, I want this platform to be the place to share these stories with you all. I also want this place to be where others share their stories in D&D for others to learn from, too. That’s always been a focus for DWD, and I’m here to assure you that it will remain so.
Thanks for reading. This blog post feels to me like a pouring of my soul to the internet at large rather than some helpful information, I fear. But that’s what it means to write truthfully online, I believe. To those who have visited my site over the past few years with expectations for content, I am truly sorry. As a fellow consumer of content, I know it is vital to keep things up to date and be consistent with you all. Now that I have more time on my hands and some learned skills of the management trade, I genuinely do believe that it will be easier (and more fun) to maintain this wonderful site for you all. Stay tuned for a more updated experience soon.
Sincerely,
Ryan – Creator of DWD
57 sessions of Curse of Strahd. That’s how many sessions I had before I made the decision to switch out my campaign with my players. To put this into context, each session I DM’d lasted 3 hours. So, doing the math, that’s 171 hours worth of Strahd von Zarovich taunting (and getting taunted by) the players. For those familiar with Curse of Strahd, we barely scratched the surface of the module. The players were level 6 at the time, and they had just finished exploring one of the most exciting dungeons I’ve personally done so far: The Amber Temple. Now, going into the Amber Temple, the players at that level were painfully aware of what I’ve been telling them out of game. It was going to be a dangerous slog. Without going into spoilers and many character deaths later, the party was still having a blast.
However, towards that last session, life got in my way. I got hired as a general manager for a hotel. I was moving to a new apartment. My life? Topsy turvy, like Ireena’s poor spirit in Barovia. My computer died, too. Thus, the sessions grew further apart. Scheduling was a hassle. The game I’ve been curating went by the wayside. I barely recognized what happened as the final sessions went awry.
On top of that, I got bored. The theme of Curse of Strahd is oppressive. Dark and grim can only be so exciting after months of grim darkness and oppression infecting the spirit of what traditional happy-go-lucky D&D adventures tend to be. I wanted to go back to form. And it wasn’t just me. Either through my own personal lack of interaction with the players, or with how the game-feel shifted… Suddenly, the dedicated group I entrusted my time with started going their own separate ways. I could tell they were getting bored, too. Well, not all of them. Obviously, when life hits, there’s nothing a DM could do other than to hope the player returns when the time is right. To disparage them otherwise is rude and can break trust. Don’t do that to your fellow players…
So what else could I do?
Yep! I went ahead and switched modules. The response I received from my players after I announced this switch was a renewed interest in playing. Of course, not everybody could make it, but when you have a dedicated group like me, new players tend to find themselves in my games faster than I can blink sometimes. I feel fortunate for that. In no time at all, less than two weeks of waiting and prepping, I had my players building their new characters and learning about the theme of Waterdeep’s urban landscape. The change in setting and the new challenges presented in Waterdeep’s world breathed new life into our game.
In my beginning months as a DM, which was well over 2 years ago now, I wouldn’t ever think of switching modules. To end a story when there was so much left to tell! So many more characters that could die! However, by the time the campaign ended, one long-time character in the game died a most exciting and gruesome death. Lunara, the naive centaur Ranger, through certain decisions of her own, turned to the darkness of evil. –Before she could murder a party member for her own personal gain, she was murdered by the party. She wasn’t the only one changed by their time in the Amber Temple.
It was a fantastic ending for that character. It went so well with the roleplaying that members of the party that ended her life held a burial in her honor anyway. The player controlling the dead party member rolled a new character, and all was well. Despite a player vs. player encounter that ended in a death, I had one rule: If there was to be PvP, it would be planned ahead of time with consent and understanding of the consequences. Or I would end the game. My players followed my rule to the letter, and again it was great. Several other moments occurred, too. A player had to leave my table, and his PC left the Amber Temple, which had changed him forever.
My point is that the sessions leading up to my ending Curse of Strahd felt very culminating. Despite more to do and experience from the module, the party of characters that started the game 57 sessions ago actually met their end. It wasn’t a total demise, mind you, but it felt final to me. The other players must’ve been thinking the same, and because of the delayed timing, I bet we were all itching for something different.
I did this with various one-shots during my playthrough of Lost Mines of Phandelver / Phandelver & Below and when I was still doing Curse of Strahd. These one-shots provided a refreshing change of pace and allowed me to explore different aspects of the game. For instance, we played a one-shot themed on a cult world takeover, which was a stark contrast to the gothic horror of Curse of Strahd.
But in this specific circumstance, my bore with COS meant that I needed to end that story essentially for good. And a simple one shot break wouldn’t do it this time. We could go back to COS later, but my thinking right now… What would the consequences be if I kept up Curse of Strahd? I bet you this:
When you start a long-form videogame like Valheim or Satisfactory, you play for a while, but the gameplay starts to feel dull. Yet, you yearn to try again. You want to try anew with the knowledge of experience and the nostalgia you felt before! And sometimes that works. Even if it’s the same experience essentially, you’ve gotten to your original point faster. Or at least more efficiently.
I felt exactly the same when I started Waterdeep: Dragonheist a few weeks ago with my players. The feeling of starting session 0 again with the knowledge of how to run D&D as an actually experienced DM is pretty great. Exploring a new setting is invigorating, too, and my veteran players loved the creation of their new characters. My favorite character at the party so far is actually a new player. He’s doing an Owlin Wizard that’s 2 feet tall. A brilliant character design.
It’s funny to think I was so resistant to switching up D&D stories. After this paradigm shift, my threshold for making the switch consists of knowing exactly when the party’s story should end. –And the party’s story doesn’t need to end when the module ends. And that’s okay. If anything, it returns to form what a tabletop game actually is. It’s a game. There are end conditions, and it is a treat to have the party survive and fight their way to the end of a module story without losing the souls of their characters in the process. Out-of-game, it’s a celebration to do so without life getting in the way. So:
My Curse of Strahd campaign was flirting with all three reasons. That’s my justification for switching, anyway.
No regrets. Sayonara, Barovia. Until next time!
Thanks for reading my article. What are your stories with switching up campaigns? Did you end up saving a game table by switching, or did it have the opposite effect? Have you ever finished a campaign in its entirety before? What was that process like? I’d love to hear about it!
Thanks again, and have a great day.
It’s a surreal experience for me writing this article after so long. Whatever people tend to say about time, one thing is true. It ages you. I hope I aged like a fine fire-wine, rather than as a lich rotting in its phylactery. I’m back! I’ve returned to write for the D&D players in the world who want to tell their stories, too, and to share some stories of my own. My journey has been a rollercoaster, and I’m excited to share it with you all.
So much! Honestly, this past year was a blur. At first, I got burned out on writing and got myself into a rut. Then, I focused on work, but the allure of D&D entertainment was still fresh in my mind. I left my hotel front desk job and attempted to be a professional Game Master via startplayinggames.com, but an opportunity came. I became a GM for a hotel thanks to an excellent connection I made in my previous hotel career. Thanks, Fred!
So this summer, when I became a general manager for a local hotel, it became an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. It meant more income, but more importantly for myself, it meant learning about what it takes to manage a place I can be proud of hosting. My earlier experiences working as a news reporter first and then as a front desk agent for many hotels in the Pacific Northwest helped land me the position, I suppose. What’s funny is that I can easily say that I am a GM that GMs. However, I still personally prefer the term Dungeon Master. It just feels better in my heart.
A GM that DMs. Ahh. Much better.
You’ll get more content than the 10 articles I posted already! And I’ll be honest here, 10 articles from 2023 isn’t much. I need to do some serious updating with my webpage formatting and do better with some of the programming. However, I am pleased to see that despite the small number of articles I have posted, I have data in front of me. It’s really, really weird to me, but there is still a concurrent amount of viewers that go to the website.
That means that whatever I was doing, it was gathering interest. It means I must’ve been helping people (or, at the very least, entertaining them) with whatever article I wrote. So you can expect more articles. I want to try to post semi-daily every week. That means that within a few short weeks, I should more than double the content I have produced for this site. That isn’t saying much, though. But I’m committed to providing more content that you’ll enjoy.
What is going to be really cool to explore is adding media to the blog. I am very interested in making videos, which could include tutorials, interviews with prominent D&D community members, podcasts, and maybe some funny TikTok memes.
No matter what I plan to do with Dungeons With Dragons, it will be about having fun with roleplaying games and celebrating this excellent hobby with like-minded people. While some art may be AI-generated (hopefully not for long), the writing will never be artificially written. This is my excuse to flex my writing muscles and to put my own critical thinking to the test.
Just like how I used D&D to escape my mundane life and attempt to entertain others, I also want DWD to entertain you. I want to teach beginners that DMing isn’t as hard as some make it out to be, and I want to get back into this sphere again.
In the coming days, you’ll be coming across articles that will likely talk about some of the newest modules I’ve been playing. From new sections of Phandelver & Below, the re-imagined successor of D&D’s famous Phandalin adventure, to my recent explorations into the beautiful module Waterdeep: Dragonheist. I will also use this blog to feature my new Twitch channel, Dungeons With Dragons! While I will be playing video games on this channel, the main focus of this blog will be the live GMing sessions I plan to share with you. –Including any edited YouTube tutorials that result from those live streams.
I am very grateful to those that have read this article. Reading through what I wrote, it seems like some word soup. –And I may have plans that will make me busier. But the more I do stuff like this…you know, content creation? The more I feel in control of myself. I know that I’ll be learning so much more about the hobbies I love to explore. D&D. Writing. Video Editing. Teaching people and conveying my thoughts. Telling stories! I want to share that with you all in this blog.
Thanks for letting me do that. Until the next article! Have a great day.
As Elven Barbarian Danithan Carthor sleeps, dreams come to him…
Of The Grand Mountain, black upon white.
Its shadow reaching, white upon black.
The world spins, the mountain does not.
The mountain shadow touches his, pain.
Fear mixed with marked bravery.
The Grand Mountain looms over him.
This is a poem involving one of my players in our Lost Mines of Phandelver game. For Danithan, this dream references Ygthir Unsulah Del-Ull, one of the forgotten sons of Shar. Ominous.
Ryan Grimes
The level 5 Warlock Elf eyes the battlefield. Grasslands merge into the plains, and a small squad of orcs are closing in. Having rolled initiative, the Warlock player rolls high and goes first. He grabs his shortsword and hurries to meet the first orc enemy! The Warlock chooses to attack.
A 7 on the dice. No hit, so the Warlock ends his turn.
The players, including the Dungeon Master, look at the Warlock player befuddled. The round continues. The Barbarian rages and prevents the Warlock from getting surrounded. The fighter joins in and uses an extra attack to dispatch the nearest orc, and the Wizard casts webbing to prevent the orcs from surrounding the team.
As the rounds go, and the Warlock takes similar actions, the DM eventually asks him if he plans to use any of his spell slots. But in this scenario, the Warlock player totally knows better. The elf had already used up his spells in the last battle, and they hadn’t finished a long rest yet!
But the DM reminds the Warlock about his Eldritch Invocations, which is another way to cast spells.
“What’s that?” The player asks.
Everyone else facepalms.
In this article, I aim to teach new and experienced players interested in the Warlock class about the features available to them at level 5. For simplicity, I only focus on the ones available to the Warlock from the Player’s Handbook (PHB). Some features and abilities won’t be listed because they are unavailable until higher levels (such as some Pact Features that become available to Warlocks at level 6). Without further ado, let’s get started!
Table of Contents:
To start, the Warlock is a relatively complicated class to play compared to the Fighter or the Barbarian. The reason for this is the way Warlock spell slots work and the added ability called Eldritch Invocations. At level 5, the basic Warlock has:
Warlock players can choose from three Otherworldly Patron types to make a pact with, which gives them added features and abilities. These patrons are not usually gods but are extraplanar beings from different realms. Or if they are god-like, they are vastly different from the known gods of the D&D multiverse. The description of these entities can be found in the Player’s Handbook, which I highly recommend getting, but here is a small excerpt:
Here, I describe the features and abilities the Warlock gains from choosing one of the three available patrons available in the PHB. The Archfey, the Fiend, and the Great Old One. Each patron has several features available to the Warlock. However, at level 5, they only have access to one feature from each patron. The next feature does not appear until level 6, so I won’t be detailing those just yet (perhaps in another article).
No matter who your Archfey patron is, they will have granted your Warlock a boon of spells and one feature. This feature will have been available to you since level 1.
Expanded Spell List
You know 6 of these specific Warlock spells at level 5:
Whenever your Warlock levels up, you can choose to replace one spell, which must match your spell slot level. Level 5 Warlocks have access to 3rd-level spell slots.
Spells that take attack actions can have the Warlock Proficiency (3) + Charisma modifier added to them.
Spells requiring saving throws follow this Save DC calculation: 8 + Warlock Proficiency (3) + Charisma Modifier.
You must have an arcane focus to cast these spells.
Fey Presence
This feature gives your Warlock the ability to charm or frighten other creatures!
Cosmetic Reminder:
The PHB encourages players to factor in fey-flavored cosmetic changes to their chosen weapons and patron abilities. For example, Warlocks with the Pact of the Tome may have a leafed book wrapped in shadowy pages. Warlocks with Pact of the Blade may have vines adorning their pact weapon. Food for thought!
No matter who your Fiend patron is, they will have granted your Warlock a boon of spells and one feature. This feature will have been available to you since level 1.
Expanded Spell List
You know 6 of these specific Warlock spells at level 5:
Whenever your Warlock levels up, you can choose to replace one spell, which must match your spell slot level. Level 5 Warlocks have access to 3rd-level spell slots.
Spells that take attack actions can have the Warlock Proficiency (3) + Charisma modifier added to them.
Spells requiring saving throws follow this Save DC calculation: 8 + Warlock Proficiency (3) + Charisma Modifier.
You must have an arcane focus to cast these spells.
Dark One’s Blessing:
You gain temporary hit points when you reduce a hostile creature to 0 HP!
The calculation for the temporary hit points: Charisma Modifier + Warlock Level (5).
Note about Temporary Hitpoints: Temporary hit points disappear after a long rest, and you cannot add temporary hit points cumulatively. To clarify: If your Warlock has 4 temporary hit points, and they recently gained 8 temporary hit points, the player can choose which number to keep, but they cannot add them to a total of 12 temp hit points. They can only choose 4, or 8. The temp hit points they don’t select get removed.
No matter who your Great Old One patron is, they will have granted your Warlock a boon of spells and one feature. This feature will have been available to you since level 1.
Expanded Spell List
You know 6 of these specific Warlock spells at level 5:
Whenever your Warlock levels up, you can choose to replace one spell, which must match your spell slot level. Level 5 Warlocks have access to 3rd-level spell slots.
Spells that take attack actions can have the Warlock Proficiency (3) + Charisma modifier added to them.
Spells requiring saving throws follow this Save DC calculation: 8 + Warlock Proficiency (3) + Charisma Modifier.
You must have an arcane focus to cast these spells.
Awakened Mind:
You can communicate telepathically with any creature you see within 30 feet of you!
Note: The creature you communicate with must understand at least one language.
Warlock Pacts are the specific gifts granted to your Warlock by their patron. In the PHB, there are 3 Pacts for Warlocks to choose from, which give particular features:
You gain the Book of Shadows Feature! This feature allows you to choose 3 cantrips from any class spell list and add them to the Book of Shadows grimoire that you receive from your patron.
You can now use an action to create a specific pact weapon in your Warlock’s hand! This weapon takes any form of the Warlock’s choice, and they are proficient with it. This weapon’s damage is magical too!
You now know the find familiar spell and can cast it as a ritual! Find familiar will not count against the number of spells you already know. Learning about find familiar is essential to understanding Pact of the Chain better, so here it is in detail:
Find Familiar – You gain the service of a spirit animal! They can be any form you choose below:
This familiar appears in an unoccupied space in range of the Warlock and has the monster statistics of the chosen form. It will always type as a celestial, fey, or fiend instead of a beast. — Determined by the Warlock.
With that out of the way…
Pact of the Chain entails the following:
Instead of the available list of forms from above, your Warlock is entitled to these additional familiar forms:
The Warlock’s familiar also adopts the stats of the chosen form.
A 5th-level Warlock should have 3 Eldritch Invocations they can cast. –Which means your Warlock can do special magic that other magic-wielding classes cannot! Remember that this list pertains only to PHB invocations that a Warlock can do at level 5. There are other invocations from other modules and at higher levels. Here are the basic rules for Eldritch Invocations:
Here are all the PHB Eldritch Invocations available to the level 5 Warlock. I grouped them up by requisites (or lack thereof) so aspiring Warlocks can choose their invocations easily:
Before we can dive into the eldritch invocations for Eldritch Blast, it’s important to note what the cantrip can do at the base level for Level 5 Warlocks because it’s pretty important:
This base cantrip is powerful! The fact that you can do two attacks instead of one makes the Warlock on par with the Barbarian in terms of attacking power. It’s fascinating, considering you can attack at range. The fact that you can augment eldritch blast to do additional things makes this a must-have for Warlocks looking to deal damage or control the battle, which we will get into below.
The following invocations require the eldritch blast cantrip, which your Warlock must learn to use:
Agonizing Blast – When casting eldritch blast, you can add your Charisma modifier to your damage when it hits!
Eldritch Spear – When casting eldritch blast, you can extend its range to 300 feet!
Repelling Blast – When you hit a creature with eldritch blast, you can choose to push it 10 feet away!
These invocations have requisites involving the PHB available pacts, such as:
Pact of the Tome:
Pact of the Blade:
Pact of the Chain:
These Eldritch Invocations for level 5 Warlocks are accessible without any requisites (Some may require Warlocks to be level 5, but no higher). Some of these eldritch invocations allow you to cast spells for free, while others will enable you to expend a Warlock spell slot to cast spells instead. Some of these are very useful:
Armor of Shadows – You can cast the mage armor spell at will without using a spell slot or materials!
Beast Speech – You can cast the speak with animals spell at will without using a spell slot!
Beguiling Influence – You are now proficient with Deception and Persuasion!
Devil’s Sight – You can see in darkness, magical or otherwise, up to 120 feet!
Eldritch Sight – You can cast the detect magic spell at will without using a spell slot!
Eyes of the Rune Keeper – You can read any form of writing!
Fiendish Vigor – You can cast a level 1 false life spell on yourself without using a spell slot or materials!
Gaze of Two Minds – As an action, you can touch a willing humanoid and perceive its senses until the end of your next turn!
Mask of Many Faces – You can cast the disguise self spell at will without using a spell slot!
Mire the Mind – You can cast the slow spell with a Warlock spell slot!
Misty Visions – You can cast the silent image spell at will without using a spell slot or materials!
One with Shadows – Whenever you are in dim light or the dark, you can use an action to become invisible!
Sign of Ill Omen – You can use a Warlock spell slot to cast the bestow curse spell!
Thief of Five Fates – You can use a Warlock spell slot to cast the bane spell!
After reading and writing through the invocations, my favorite is the One With Shadows invocation.
Remember that a level 5 Warlock can only choose up to 3 Eldritch Invocations at this time. So make sure to choose them wisely! You can only change one invocation once you level up again.
The ability score improvement to your Warlock’s character sheet will have been achieved by level 4. So your Warlock should have been able to increase their ability score by 2, or instead choose to increase two ability scores by 1. You cannot increase an ability score above 20, or the dragon in the article may try to convince your patron to consume your soul.
I hope I made it easier for players to understand what the Warlock can be capable of in Dungeons and Dragons 5e. There is so much more content to dive into involving the Warlock. I mean, I haven’t even gotten into the features, pacts, and invocations from other modules! –And already it’s a lot of info!
I can say that the Warlock is one of the most versatile classes in D&D. Choosing to multi-class a warlock with another class, such as Rogue, can turn your character into an excellent assassin. I’m still drooling over the power to remain invisible at will, thanks to the One With Shadows eldritch invocation ability. The next time I get to play D&D as a player character (hah!), I’ll try out that build.
I cannot understate the potential of this class enough. If you want to be all about combat, you can go all in on Pact of the Blade and supplement it with the Eldritch Blast cantrip and invocation abilities.
Or, if you want to go more into RP and to socialize, your Warlock can easily use Beast Speech, Beguiling Influence, and Eyes of the Runekeeper invocations to persuade NPCs and perceive things in-game that other players would have a hard time with. Tie this with Pact of the Chain, where you can manipulate your familiar to places that your Warlock cannot reach, and you can break out and escape any area that may confine you!
Very fun.
Is there anything else I should mention about the Warlock at level 5? Do you have any suggestions, or did I make a mistake anywhere? Please let me know! Thank you so much for reading.
And I came up with a wonderful idea for where to take my blog, Dungeons With Dragons.
I want to make this life of ours a fun place to be around, just like how it is in Dungeons & Dragons. There’s a lot in the subject of life where we could apply the lessons that D&D can teach you. Don’t believe me?
I’ll prove it to you. But first you have to join my party. Want some stew with that ale?
Starting with this website, and with a little trust from you, I’ll start talking about my thoughts on life’s lessons that could help you live it just a bit easier. Just from a Dungeons With Dragons Blog point of view.
If you’re not interested in that, I still plan to talk about D&D in the same format I have been. How to play the game, class and character help, thoughts and information on monsters. You know, technical D&D 5e stuff that players of the game should know about. –But don’t be surprised if you find a side post about how gods darned tasty my mom’s stew was. I’m not gonna go into the details, but inspiration hit me like a Dungeon Master granting it when I tasted it. The stew was that good.
The inspiration was that I thought of the reason for this article: “So I Was Eating My Mom’s Stew”.
Here’s my point: I just want to make this blog fun, damnit. That means gamifying it a little bit. Having fun with the formatting and inviting others to participate in the making of the website. To help turn it into an interactive place of wonder.
For example, I want to reveal that I’ve been looking into implementing a custom dice system into the website. My first implementation will be to code in a dragon rolling a d20 to the bottom of the page. Here’s a preliminary gif that will be at the top of the home page:
And the bottom of the page will be a randomized d20, it would look sort of like this:
What do you think about it? I need to figure out the coding. Get into Javascript. I’m thinking of using Chat GPT to teach me coding and figure it all out. Feel free to give me feedback.
Were I to be any DND character, I’d probably be a Bard in my current scenario. A human Bard. I’ve told you about my character, what about yours?
If this is Dungeons With Dragons, will you help me explore this dungeon? I’ll write you notes every once in a while as we carefully meet the dragons ahead. You seem more like the quiet type, anyway. Am I wrong?
If you find something interesting, feel free to click on it. It might be important. A note. A picture. A peak at my inventory. As if I’d let you do that willingly. –You may have to roll the dice to do Sleight of Hand. Maybe it’s to perceive something else, like a monster or an ally. Whatever it is, I just want it to be fun to interact with. You’ll know to click it when you see it.
Thanks for reading Dungeons With Dragons. Stay tuned for these changes. Check back often. You may notice a dragon you’ve never seen before.
When I started playing Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition a few years ago, I played at a table with a good friend of mine who I think is excellent at the role of Dungeon Master (DM). His main strengths were in how he planned his games. –I would later learn that how he introduced his games to his players would be paramount to getting his sessions started right. Turns out, after searching, Session 0 was a thing to focus on when DMing games. So, I copied those methods and added my own personal flair. I must tell you that following Session 0 best practices is probably the main reason my games keep going. Other than that my players are frikken awesome, of course.
One game turned into two throughout the year, and some new players joined in the middle of those games. I can safely say that the only time I’ve had a player drop out of my games entirely was due to personal reasons (like school or work). So, I want to share a bit of my process for getting my games going, recruiting players, and conducting my games on my Discord server.
Many experienced D&D players and Dungeon Masters know about Session 0, where the game doesn’t start just yet. It’s more about meeting everyone officially at the table, building player characters, and establishing the world that they’ll be playing in. –Whether it’s in Discord, on the phone, or at the physical table in your home.
It’s also about getting player expectations and introducing your Code of Conduct.
Just writing the title above me has me feeling all Stalin-esque like I’m a dictator in my own world. Well, sorry to say to players who want less structured games, but I am the dictator of my Discord world! –At least when it comes to ensuring that my server is inclusive while fostering good teamwork and mutual respect.
Personally, I’ve found that enforcing these rules is so easy to do, especially when you read them out to everybody during Session 0. When everyone knows what to expect and respects each other despite disagreements, it could save many headaches for the future. So, how do you foster that?
I must take each player aside to ask them what they want from my game. I set up the world, but how do my players want to have fun in it? Do they want to focus on their character’s roleplaying? Do they like combat? Are they prepared to face the dragon in the article? Ask them these clarifying questions and take note of what their needs are for your games. This act does more than help you prep your games; it’s respecting your players.
The following is the exact excerpt of my server rules that I post prominently on both my Discord servers: My Curse of Strahd server and my Lost Mines of Phandelver server.
The rules are written my way, but they borrow from an Adventurer’s League Code of Conduct ruleset that I saw online. It’s a resource I’m afraid I can’t quite find anymore:
In general, I plan to run my games with “the rule of cool” rule basis. Keep it nice, civil, & friendly. If you have a question, ask me. Here’s some specific rules to keep in mind:
**Harassment & Behavior: **
All members of the server, players, DMs, and otherwise, are expected to respect the other members and players, and all people are welcomed here. This includes treating each other with respect regarding, race, age, sexuality, gender, religion (or lack thereof), and other physiological or ideological characteristics/beliefs. Every person is entitled to this respect; call and address every person & their characters by the name and pronouns they’ve given you.
**General Conversation:**
Do not engage in inappropriate conversation, mean-spirited insults (if you are asked to stop, stop immediately), forcefully telling others how they should play or act, or other intentional behavior that is hurtful. If you have an issue with another person, settle it privately or message me.
**No #NSFW Content**
While this is an adult server, I want to keep it safe for work. This means no posting of nudity, sexual images, real life gore/violence, promotion of hateful speech or behavior). Foul language is allowed, but it should be kept to a minimum and be respectful of all participants in chat.
**In-Game Courtesy**
While in Voice Chat during a game or session, it is expected that all players give others a chance to speak, not interrupting them, discouraging them from talking, or from participating. It is reasonable to expect that some players will be more experienced and/or more comfortable when speaking and playing, and tend to “lead” the conversation, which is perfectly fine. But all players should try to be respectful of everyone else in their session while some of us are learning the game (Myself included). I will be doing my best to keep everyone involved and make sure ALL players are heard.
**Welcoming New Players**
Bringing in new players and welcoming people to the server is what I will strive to do to keep the ongoing game running. Everyone is welcome, including people of all race & creeds, and all levels of experience to D&D. Please be sure to encourage inexperienced players along, never put them down or discount them based on lack of experience as some people may have had bad experiences before.
**Keep Content In Appropriate Channels**
This will help keep the server organized. If you think a conversation may derail into another discord topic, please move it to that particular thread on the server.
**Rulings & Disagreements:**
There will be times when a player may disagree with another player or myself about how something is supposed to be done or the way things are handled. In those situations, I have the right to make a judgment call. If you disagree with the call, you can message me about it later out of game. I recognize that mistakes happen, especially when I’m learning, but it’s usually better to have fun than deliberate over the rules, which could be learned from during study later.
• DO NOT continue to argue mid-session.
• DO NOT complain about the situation in a public channel.
**Consequences: ** I’ll always attempt to resolve issues in a way that corrective behavior can be followed and allow all to continue playing and participating. However, failure to comply with these rules will result in the following:
• Verbal or Written warnings.
• Permanent banning from the server and game you are involved in.
There is zero tolerance for harassment here, consider this your only warning if you are found violating this rule.
**Reporting Problems, Harassment, Rules, General Questions:**
If there is ever any issue where you feel someone is breaking one of the server rules, is being disruptive, or harassing you or other players, even just for clarification of rules or general questions, please contact me.
Feel free to copy my code of conduct rules for your games! It’s my aim to help people create a fantastic environment for their D&D campaigns without having to stress about how to get started. Some of what was written above is very specific to my campaigns, but this could easily be converted to serve your needs. Ain’t the internet grand?
I would hold a D&D Session 0 for that player specifically. At the very least, setting aside a few minutes to read your Code of Conduct to the newbie is easy. After that, you should be able to resume your game.
Very carefully.
I remember a situation involving a homebrew mini-campaign that I played with my gaming group. –And one player understandably thought that this campaign was more adult in nature. So much so that they posted a nude picture of their character on my Discord server. Now, this wasn’t entirely my player’s fault. After all, the theme in my campaign was about a cult involving Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. And my theme of love in this campaign was heavily laden with all sorts of innuendos and meanings.
I advise clarifying that breaking the server’s rules isn’t allowed. Because if they can do it, others can, too. It was immediately addressed as soon as it occurred, and the player involved was so respectful about it that it didn’t even cause an issue at the table. All I had to do was point out the server’s rules, which they agreed to earlier, and that was that.
I’d also like to say that getting to know the players you’ll be playing with is essential. The best thing you can do for yourself is to vouch for a player who will respect your table rules. That said, that expectation and curation demands something from you, too. Which is transparency. If you aren’t transparent about your intentions of the game with your players, then miscommunication happens, and mistrust is sowed. Even if that doesn’t happen, you could get players with entirely different intentions trying to apply to your games.
When I got interested in starting my own games, I was fortunate to have many of my players coming in from my real-life circle of friends. However, I also knew I would have to get new players into my games. People I didn’t even know yet. And I’m expected to just…buddy-buddy?
I ended up on dndbeyond.com, a robust forum full of interested players. In my original forum post one year ago, I laid out exactly what I was doing, how I was playing, and the kind of players I wanted to play with (beginners like myself). Here’s an excerpt of that exact post:
Game: D&D 5e (Lost Mines of Phandelver)
Group type: Online (Discord, Fantasy Grounds Unity)
Experience: DM = New (That’s me!) , Players = New, Experienced
Location/Timezone: Pacific Standard Time
Schedule: 5 PM weekly on Tuesday (Time is tentatively set, but will usually be TUE, WED, THU starting 4,5, or 6 PM.
Roles sought: Players. I’m only looking for 1 player, but may add more depending on circumstances.
Game style: Casual and RP focused. Learning.
About Me:
My name is Ryan. I have played DND before, but never a full campaign. –That said, I’ve been enamored with the game and have found myself with more than enough time to get a game setup. My goal is to learn how to DM on Fantasy Grounds and learn how to make the game as fun for players as it will be for me.
I’m a former news reporter (working at a hotel now lol) and I’m currently writing my own fiction novel. In general, I love telling stories. I just like the idea of eventually making a world that a small group of people could enjoy and participate in together. This will be my first dive into it.
About my game:
This will be set with the Lost Mines of Phandelver starting campaign. Session 0.
I have a full discord community set up, and the game is ready to run on Fantasy Grounds. Everything provided to my players, including FGU and the DND modules that come with it, are free and only need to be installed for your use.
This means that the first games may run slow. -_Because we’re all learning Fantasy Grounds and DND 5E combined. So patience is required. The game I’m running may be perfect for beginners.
My rules generally follow the code of conduct set forth by The Adventurer League’s rules. More details will be in the discord server that I’ll provide to you should you be chosen to join my campaign. The people in my game currently are friends and co-workers of mine, but should they fall out, I want to continue learning how to play. Thus, I’ll have need to invite players to fill the gaps. On this occasion, I want a random player to join the game from session 0 too. Nothing is expected of my players other than that they enjoy themselves and follow the rules of conduct. This means that this game will be privately played.
If you are interested, please respond back about yourself and your experience playing DND. Any other details you want to add, go for it!
This post attracted four interested people to play in my game. I invited 2 of them to play with me, and we have been having great adventures since August 2022. We still play together today once a week at generally the same time that I wrote in my post.
I think players interested in D&D will also want to know what to expect from their potential DM. Keeping this in mind, I sought to define my game specifications to the players I was seeking:
Feel free to use this method for yourself.
Remember that to properly apply the Code of Conduct, you must follow it as best as possible. No one likes a hypocrite… It’s essential to keep consistent with your players. This means that your promises are kept as best as possible. I still feel like I have to work on that, DMing-wise. That said, the role of the DM is not to be perfect. It’s to be practiced.
Now, you have a reliable Code of Conduct for your players to adhere to and a working template for contacting new players should you seek them. After that, I hope you enjoy the finer points of DMing your own games. Like how to set up your Discord server, for example! Or organizing snacks at the table. Oh, and prepping your game, of course.
What game are you preparing? Do you have your own code of conduct or suggestions? Please share and help the D&D community!
Thank you for reading.
Nerdy Glasses Dragon–
