DM David Hartlage
@dmdavid.com
D&D design, advice, rules, and inspiration from your friend DM David. He/Him dmdavid.com
During wilderness travel in Crows, our ref @d20play.bsky.social rolls a random encounter and gets a curious elephant. It grabs a random item from a party member. The die chooses a rage potion and the beast samples it. Now we have a raging elephant problem. I like when the dice create a story
Witnessed yesterday: For some reason, a Camry driver enraged the driver in the next lane. He started pitching rubbish out at the Camry. While moving, he sticks BOTH hands out his window to do some lengthy, bird-flipping theatre with maximum flourish. Painted on his car: Responsible Driving School
Real, preserved armor that looks like D&D splint in the Golubac Fortress in Serbia.
When I realized that my reaction to the D&D announcement would be ready so late, I considered scrapping the post. But in my biased opinion, I had some interesting and slightly controversial things to say. dmdavid.com/tag/wizards-...
Wizards of the Coast Announces More D&D for Everyone, but Not All of It’s for You
At Gen Con, Dungeons & Dragons franchise head Dan Ayob joined various D&D team members and stars connected with D&D to reveal future plans for the game and franchise. They announced mor…
dmdavid.com
I just checked the ticket situation at the one Chicagoland theater showing The Odyssey in 70mm IMAX. Even the 2:30am week day showings are sold out deep into September. I suppose I can wait until October.
As cool as the show was, my favorite announcement was improved search on D&D beyond I hope I can search for tiny hut without finding 10 adventures with huts at the top of search
The D&D team spent big on this spectacle and it shows! I hope Hazbro’s ROI guys never find out
I remember the 3e and 4e announcements. Just a big room with chairs. Now we have a spectacle with a soundtrack, a set and stars! Of course 3e had t-shirts and a Gary Gygax appearance, so that was fun
Security is tight at the D&D keynote. D&D hasn’t felt so dangerous since the 80s
I’m gathering miniatures for the games I’m DMing at Gen Con. Here are 4 aspects of Venin, Grim Hollow’s Arch Daemon of Deception. Which is real?
Empire of the Petal Throne, TSR's 1975 D&D successor, has players reroll all their PC's hit dice at every level. When playing OSR games, I hate fragile PCs saddled with low hp through their career based on bad, early hp rolls, so I like this improvement. The vague OD&D rules even allow the method.
Just got my Gen Con judge schedule. I’m running Spies in the House of Many Eyes, the Grim Hollow adventure that I wrote, Fri, Sat, and Sun morning. Plus I have GH 2-2: Worse than the Disease on Sat afternoon. I prepped that for GameHole, but didn’t get to run it. I’m very happy with this line up!
I took the classic S1 Tomb of Horrors adventure and completely rebuilt the map. The structure is actually the same, but the topology of the map has been completely changed. dysonlogos.blog/2026/06/28/d...
I hope to see you all there on Tuesday! youtube.com/live/pA3U84l...
DnD ENCOUNTERS with Shawn Merwin - d20play Live 104
YouTube video by d20play
youtube.com
A while back I thought about getting a phoenix mini for an adventure, so I shopped the Elder Elemental Phoenix figure. At $179, I skipped it. Now that WizKids put it on sale for $54, I splurged. I totally failed to appreciate its massive size. I’m going to need a bigger adventure.
Pulling out some old maps, I came across this one of Dengor’s Palace from DDEX315 Szith Morcane Unbound. Opal the cat found it inviting
Has anyone run or played The Whispering Cairn from Dungeon magazine? I know it’s very well regarded.
As I write an adventure for organized play, I have a question for DMs: The party faces 3-4 monsters with the ability to cast fear 3 times each. Are you spamming fear because that's the way to "win," or are you using it more sparingly, say once per turn.
Is DnD 5e too lenient? Almost boring? Usually yes. But these Sithicus Ashes of the Black Rose adventures are HUMBLING me. Watch me and @dmdavid.com run from DM @d20play.bsky.social and try to survive!
DnD Actual Play ASHES OF THE BLACK ROSE Curse of Strahd and Confession and Consolation
YouTube video by d20play
youtu.be
How our Crows game with @d20play.bsky.social went: Check out our tokens after just travelling to the dungeon. Those skulls mean everyone is either boned or double boned. Later: Many dead PCs Crows is brutal and fun
Anecdote from Bulgarian tour guide: My son, he says to me, “We don’t get old anymore; we just level up.” I know that’s via video games, but it still has me thinking about the reach of Dave & Gary’s creation.
Belogradchik Fortress in Bulgaria dates back to the Romans and substitutes natural rock formations for some walls. Real world D&D inspiration
Today, playing a Druid, I turned into a horse and attempted a test of strength by saying, “I will pull the woman from her wax prison using horsepower!” That’s living the dream
Here are our planning notes for the 2012 D&D championship GEN CON. I had so much fun with the opens and championships. We took that shit serious!
DM David Hartlage@dmdavid.com · 4mo agoI saved 4 characters from the 2012 D&D championship at Gen Con. Here’s a shot of the final showdown. I love that the DM came equipped with at least 2 Balors!
I saved 4 characters from the 2012 D&D championship at Gen Con. Here’s a shot of the final showdown. I love that the DM came equipped with at least 2 Balors!
