Category: Dungeons & Dragons
How to use Nosferatu as inspiration for Curse of Strahd
Posted on January 4, 2025 by Dan Zarzycki - No Comments
I recently saw the Robert Eggers retelling of the classic vampire movie, Nosferatu.
While my opinion of the movie as a whole is complicated, I thought the execution of Count Orlok in Nosferatu was incredible. I wished I had this movie as a reference BEFORE I ran my campaign.
How to Run a D&D Module at your Table
Posted on March 2, 2024 by Dan Zarzycki - No Comments
I have read through the following D&D modules and have run most of them at a table in some capacity.
- Curse of Strahd
- Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
- Wild Beyond the Witchlight
- Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
- Dungeons of Drakkenheim
- Lost Mine of Phandelver
- Candlekeep Mysteries
As a new Dungeon Master, you need to understand that running D&D modules is more complicated than taking a book off the shelf, turning to page 1, and running it with your friends.
While I generally think it is best to start with a D&D campaign module to generate ideas and learn the flow of the action, here are the elements I found work well, elements that need to improve, and my recommendations for running a D&D campaign module at your table.
The Spoiler Cast #98 – Dungeons & Dragons Movie
Posted on April 14, 2023 by Dan Zarzycki - No Comments
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:13:04 — 62.3MB)
My conflicted review of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Posted on September 2, 2022 by Dan Zarzycki - 1 Comment
I don’t want to waste your time, so here is my quick, spoiler-free review of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist.
We finished a quick Waterdeep: Dragon Heist campaign. Here is my postmortem.
Posted on July 24, 2022 by Dan Zarzycki - No Comments
After about 8-10 sessions with a group of four players, we wrapped our Waterdeep: Dragon Heist campaign. For the purposes of providing DMs new to the campaign with some lessons learned as well as some new ideas, here is my lists of things that went well, things that need improvement, and my favorite player moments. I hope it gives you inspiration!
Overall, I think Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is an excellent book to have simply for the ideas it presents, but this starter adventure itself is only good if you significantly adjust it, requiring a veteran DM to run it.
I completed a 2 year Curse of Strahd campaign. Here is my postmortem.
Posted on July 22, 2022 by Dan Zarzycki - 1 Comment
If you have the time to dedicate to it, I recommend Strahd to medium and high level DMs. It is a campaign that can be run as written but is flexible enough to adlib and make it your own.
Complete guide for a first time DM or GM
Posted on July 11, 2021 by Dan Zarzycki - 2 Comments
I have been playing D&D for a number of years and more recently started running as DM of my own campaigns. I have been running campaigns for two years now, but I am still learning to this day.
Still, while there are a number of great video and text resources out there, I wished there was a more streamlined, holistic guide to how to be a first time DM or GM. In the interest of paying it forward, here is my guide, with a short table of contents, to get yourself started in running your first adventure. I hope it helps!