Tools and Taverns
Affects species ability score bonuses: choose 2014 or 2024 rules.
D&D 5e DM Guides
Practical, table-tested advice for Dungeon Masters. Every guide pairs with a free generator so you can put the advice to work immediately.
New to running D&D?
Skip the reading and let the First Session Prep Wizard build your first session, a player handout, and a one-page run sheet, one small step at a time.
Prep
- How to Prep a D&D Session (New DM Guide)A practical session prep checklist for new Dungeon Masters: what to prepare, what to skip, and how to prep a D&D 5e session in about 30 minutes.
- How to Use Random Generators in Your D&D CampaignWhen to use random generators in D&D prep and play, how to make results feel authored, and how to chain generators into a coherent town, cast, and adventure.
- How to Improvise as a D&D Dungeon MasterHow to improvise at the D&D table: prep situations not plot, say yes and build on player ideas, and use generators as an improv safety net for NPCs, names, and rumors.
- How to Take Campaign Notes You Will Actually UseA retrieval-first system for D&D campaign notes: what to capture during play, how to organize by entity, and how to find any fact in seconds mid-session.
Running the Game
- D&D Loot by Level: How Much Treasure to GiveHow much gold and how many magic items to give a D&D 5e party at every level. Tier-by-tier treasure pacing, 2014 vs 2024 guidance, and fixes for an overloaded party.
- D&D 2024 XP Budget Table - Encounter Building RulesThe D&D 2024 XP budget table: per-character XP for Low, Moderate, and High difficulty at every level, a worked example, and what replaced the 2014 multiplier.
- How to Create Memorable D&D NPCsA practical guide to writing, stating out, and running non-player characters in D&D 5th Edition. Quirks, motivations, voices, and when to skip the stat block.
- 100 D&D NPC Personality Quirks100 ready-to-use D&D 5e NPC personality quirks, grouped by mannerism, speech, appearance, belief, and secret. Free, no login, and one click from a full generated NPC.
- D&D Encounter Balancing GuideHow to build balanced combat, social, and environmental encounters in D&D 5th Edition. XP budgets, action economy, difficulty tuning, and pacing across an adventuring day.
- D&D Shop Pricing GuideHow to price, stock, and run D&D 5e shops. Equipment pricing, magic item economy, shopkeeper personalities, and running a haggling scene at the table.
- How to Run D&D 5e Combat FasterHow to speed up D&D 5e combat: pre-roll initiative and HP, run a tight declare-and-resolve loop, cut the search-for-rules tax, and end fights when the outcome is decided.
- How to Run Your First D&D Session (New DM Guide)A free, step-by-step guide for brand new Dungeon Masters: session zero, a three-hour plan, your first fight, quick rulings, and ending on a hook.
- How to Play D&D Solo Without a DM (5e Guide)Yes, you can play D&D 5e alone. Replace the DM with an oracle, random tables, and a journal; pick fair odds, run solo combat, and compare free tools.
- How Bastions Work in 2024 D&DHow D&D 2024 Bastions work: facility slots by character level, giving orders each turn, defenders, stash, and random events. Includes a free Bastion planner to track your own.
World Building
- D&D 5e Tavern Prices - Ale, Meals, Rooms, and Tavern GuideD&D 5e tavern prices at a glance: ale 4 cp, modest meal 1 sp, inn rooms 7 cp to 4 gp a night. Then build a tavern players remember: names, keepers, menus, and rumors.
- D&D 5e Pantheon Guide - Build a Pantheon and Its GodsHow to build a D&D 5e pantheon: the roles every pantheon needs, then each god step by step (domains, alignment, symbols, clergy, tenets). Includes a free deity generator.
- D&D Settlement Sizes - Hamlet, Village, Town, and CityD&D settlement sizes in one table: hamlet (50-300), village (300-900), town (1,000-8,000), city (8,000+), with what each has, key NPCs, economy, and hooks.
Reference
- D&D 5e Item Prices - Full Cost Reference from SRD 5.2.1Every D&D 5e price from the SRD 5.2.1 equipment tables: weapons, armor, adventuring gear, tools, mounts, food and lodging, hireling wages, and lifestyle costs.
- D&D 5e Tool Prices - Cost of Artisan Tools, Kits, SetsWhat D&D 5e tools cost: artisan's tools, thieves' tools, gaming sets, musical instruments, and kits, with the ability each one uses. Transcribed from the SRD 5.2.1.
- D&D 5e Weapon Prices - Cost of Every Weapon in the SRDWhat every D&D 5e weapon costs, from a 5 CP dart to a 500 GP musket, with damage, properties, mastery, and weight. Transcribed from the SRD 5.2.1 weapons table.
- D&D 5e Armor Prices - Cost of Every Suit and ShieldWhat every D&D 5e armor costs, from 5 GP padded armor to 1,500 GP plate, with AC, Strength requirement, stealth, and weight. Transcribed from the SRD 5.2.1 armor table.
- D&D 5e Adventuring Gear Prices - The Full Cost TableWhat D&D 5e adventuring gear costs: rope, rations, torches, packs, potions, spellcasting focuses, and ammunition, with weights. Transcribed from the SRD 5.2.1 gear table.
- D&D 5e Mount and Vehicle Prices - Horses, Carts, ShipsWhat D&D 5e mounts and vehicles cost: horses, mules, elephants, saddles, carts, wagons, and ships, with carrying capacity. Transcribed from the SRD 5.2.1 tables.
- D&D 5e Food, Drink, and Inn Prices - Cost per NightWhat a D&D 5e inn room, meal, ale, and bottle of wine cost, by quality from squalid to aristocratic. Transcribed from the SRD 5.2.1 food, drink, and lodging table.
- D&D 5e Hireling Wages and Spellcasting Service PricesWhat D&D 5e services cost: skilled and untrained hireling wages, messengers by the mile, and the price of having a spell cast for you. Transcribed from the SRD 5.2.1.
- D&D 5e Lifestyle Expenses - Daily Cost by LifestyleWhat each D&D 5e lifestyle costs per day, from free wretched living to 10 GP aristocratic, and what each one buys. Transcribed from the SRD 5.2.1 lifestyle expenses.