2CGazette - Designer's Diary

World-building for all 5E Games available in the Epic Legacy Campaign Codex!   In D&D world-building, finding the right balance between esoteric, fantastical elements and grounded, relatable aspects is crucial for crafting a compelling and immersive setting. In this blog post, we'll discuss strategies for achieving this balance, ensuring your world feels both magical and believable. Within the realm of fantasy there is a temptation to have everything be devoid of explanation or reasoning. On the other hand, many stories provide far too much structure and rules, turning their campaign into an overly “realistic” or logical experience; a concept at odds with...

Check out Epic Rogues in the Epic Legacy Core Rulebook! Rogues in Dungeons & Dragons are often seen as stealthy, nimble characters who excel at striking from the shadows and avoiding direct confrontation. However, the Rogue class is deceptively resilient and can, in many cases, take on a tankier role in a party. So lets discuss the surprising survivability of Rogues and explore how they can contribute to a party's frontline. And hopefully help you share the burden the next time your barbarian or paladin is struggling to hold back a tide of orcs.   Evasion and Uncanny Dodge One...

More powerful magics in the Epic Legacy Core Rulebook As a Dungeon Master, designing challenging and memorable encounters is a crucial aspect of creating an engaging Dungeons & Dragons campaign. We talked previously about how to balance spellcasting - but sometimes, bending or breaking the traditional spellcasting rules can lead to more powerful and unique monsters that surprise and challenge your players! In this blog post, we'll discuss when it's appropriate to break the spellcasting rules and explore various ways to do so while maintaining balance and fun in your game.   When to Break the Rules  Breaking the spellcasting rules...

Examples of reason & context in design from the Epic Legacy Campaign Codex! Establishing Context and the Foundation for Reasoning As a game master or fantasy writer, you have the power to create vibrant, captivating worlds for your players to explore. One of the essential aspects of building a compelling setting is ensuring that your world makes sense, and this involves providing reasons and context for the events and elements within it. This article will delve into the importance of context and reasoning in fantasy writing, offering insights on how to create a more immersive and relatable experience for your players, and...

Epic magic and its application in the Epic Legacy Core Rulebook Crafting a memorable Dungeons & Dragons experience often involves designing unique and engaging monsters for your players to encounter. While we have mentioned the importance of a well curated spell list before, the topic is worth diving a bit deeper into. An essential aspect of bringing these creatures to life is their spell lists, which can define their abilities, tactics, and overall impact on the game. Choosing a spell is difficult. There are many things to consider and the consequences for getting it wrong can be high. So lets...