Tales From the Shelf

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (D&D 5E) burst onto the scene in 2014, taking a game that’d been around since the ‘70s and giving it new life. After a huge public playtest called "D&D Next," the creators wanted to smooth over old division and give everyone — whether you’re an old-school fan or totally new — a game that feels both classic and modern. D&D quickly stopped being just a niche hobby and it started becoming more popular, showing up everywhere: streams, podcasts, and mainstream pop culture (Community, Stranger Things, D&D movie). In 2024 the game system was given a major overhaul, providing smaller changes and fixes to various parts of the game. This is now known as Dungeons & Dragons 5.5 Edition (2024) Description In D&D 5E, the players create fantasy adventurers. From elven rogues to dragonborn paladins, while one player takes up the role of the Dungeon Master (DM). The DM is the one who builds and describes the world, acts and voices the non-player characters and controls the monsters and the world around them, acting as both the lead storyteller and generally the rules referee. The heart of 5E is “rulings over rules.” Instead of pages of complicated charts, the DM is encouraged to make quick calls and keep things moving, not letting rules stop the game in it's tracks. The game is built on the "Three Pillars": Combat, Exploration, and Social Interaction.  System Overview & Key Features The Core d20 Mechanic The resolution system is unified and straightforward. To attempt almost most action where the outcome is not clearly obvious and there is a chance for failure, the player rolls a 20-sided die (d20), and adds the relevant modifier (either from their main stat or their skill bonus) and the DM's set Difficulty Check (DC) determines whether the attempt was a success or a failure. Advantage and Disadvantage This is 5E’s defining innovation. Instead of making players calculate a dozen tiny modifiers (+2 for high ground, -1 for rain, +1 for a spell etc), the system or the DM simply declares whether the character has Advantage or Disadvantage on said roll. The player rolls two d20s and takes the higher result (Advantage) or the lower result (Disadvantage) and adds the necessary modifiers to the result. Bounded Accuracy In older editions, numbers got out of hand fast. With 5E the numbers increase at a reasonable rate. Armor Class (AC) and attack bonuses rise slowly, so even high-level adventurers aren't always guaranteed to overcome a bunch of goblins. Most encounters can still be a challenge, especially if the amount of enemies is high. The Proficiency Bonus A single, scaling number (starting at +2 and ending at +6) represents the character's training and experience. If a character is trained in using a weapon type, a skill (like Stealth), or a saving throw, they simply add their Proficiency Bonus to the d20 roll. Backgrounds Roleplaying your character is starts already at the character creation. Picking a Background (like Acolyte or Criminal) gives you extra skills and story hooks: Personality Traits, Ideals, Bonds, Flaws, all concrete details to play with. Resource Management (Rests) The game manages health and class abilities through a system of "Short Rests" (a quick one-hour break to spend Hit Dice and regain some abilities) and "Long Rests" (a full eight hours of downtime to completely heal and restore all spell slots and abilities). Subclasses While players pick a primary Class (like Wizard) at level 1, they branch off into specialized Subclasses (like the School of Evocation or the School of Illusion) typically between levels 1 and 3, allowing for deep customization while presenting progression through incremental steps as the character grows and levels up Additional links dungeonsanddragons.com - Official Dungeons & Dragons website Basic Rules (2014)  - D&D 5E free rules

Forge Steel is a community-developed, locally-hosted web application and digital utility designed for Draw Steel, the cinematic fantasy tabletop role-playing game created by MCDM Productions. Developed by independent community members during the game's playtest phase, the application functions as a lightweight encounter builder and combat manager. It is specifically built to assist Directors in organizing game data and tracking real-time combat statistics during a session. Description Forge Steel serves as a digital toolkit for preparing and executing combat encounters in Draw Steel. In contrast to cloud-based alternatives, Forge Steel relies on local browser storage. This means the application does not require users to create an account or rely on external servers to save their data. All created encounters, customized monsters, and campaign notes are stored directly within the cache of the user's web browser. This architecture prioritizes data privacy, offline accessibility, and fast load times, though it requires manual file exporting to transfer data between different devices. System Overview & Key Features Local Storage Architecture The application operates entirely within the user's web browser without communicating with a backend database for everyday use. Because it utilizes local storage, no login credentials are required. This ensures the tool remains highly responsive and can continue to function even if the user loses their internet connection during a game session. Encounter Construction Directors can use the tool to design combat encounters by selecting monsters from an integrated database. The application automatically calculates the total Encounter Value, allowing the Director to balance the difficulty of the fight against the level and size of the player character party. Active Combat Tracking During gameplay, Forge Steel provides a dashboard to manage the flow of combat. It tracks essential Draw Steel mechanics, including monster Stamina, current initiative groups, temporary status effects, and the accumulation of Villain Power. This centralized view reduces the amount of physical bookkeeping required by the Director. Integrated Bestiary The application includes a searchable bestiary containing the official monsters released during the Draw Steel playtest and early access periods. Directors can quickly filter these creatures by role, level, or faction, and view their complete stat blocks, abilities, and passives directly within the app. Import and Export Functionality To mitigate the limitations of local-only storage, Forge Steel includes manual data management tools. Users can export their prepared encounters, custom bestiaries, and campaign data as JSON files. These files can then be saved as backups or imported into Forge Steel on a different computer or browser, allowing for manual cross-device syncing. Homebrew Integration Directors have the ability to manually input and modify monster statistics. This allows users to create custom adversaries or tweak existing official monsters to fit their specific campaign needs. These custom entries are saved locally alongside the official bestiary. Additional links forgesteel.net - Official toolkit website

RPG Soundboard is an audio companion for tabletop RPG game masters, featuring a user interface designed for easier, live playback. Load your own music and sound effects, organize them across multiple soundboards and playlists, and increase the immersion of your table. System Overview & Key Features Multiple soundboards & playlists keep separate setups for each campaign, each with independent playlists, players and sound types 30+ real-time audio effects apply DSP room presets live during playback: Dungeon, Tavern, Forest, Castle Hall, Crypt, Dragon Lair, Battlefield, and more Remote control Any device can host or join a session: start a server on your PC, phone, or tablet and connect from any other device on your local network, with real-time sync across all connected clients Sharing screen a dedicated presentation window your players can watch, with a custom background. Supports chroma key (green, blue, black) for OBS and streaming setups 3D dice roller roll dice directly from the sharing window and display animated results live for your players Drag-and-drop reordering rearrange players on the fly with animated swaps Cross-platform Windows, macOS, and Linux Sound Types Tag any sound player as Ambient, SFX, or Music using color-coded categories. Create your own types to match your workflow /images/general-media/1778834657_sIRN1b1s.PNG Your audio files stay on your machine. The app never uploads them anywhere. Links rpgsoundboard.com - Official website reddit.com - Reddit subreddit youtube.com - Youtube channel