Pump the Breaks

Octopath Traveler, a game released for the Nintendo Switch in July 2018, checked a lot of boxes for me as an RPG – Using a unique graphical style, HD2D, the developers threw players headfirst into a rich dynamically shaded world of pixel art. However, the innovative combat mechanics behind the JRPG were less scrutinized than…

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Defying Death

Early adventuring can be a pain – with only 8 or so hit points at level one, a stiff breeze is as much a threat as a given monster, and players and GM’s (especially experienced ones, from my observations) overestimate how survivable a situation actually can be. A number of solutions for character survival at…

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The War Gods’ Guide to Battle

Hello, everyone! For readers who have been around for a while, welcome back to TBM Games, and for those of you who are new, welcome to this distant corner of the planes. TBM Games is a blog devoted to new content for the Fifth Edition of the World’s Most Popular Role-Playing Game.  While there are…

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Monstrous Races – Mephits

Hello, everyone! This week’s article is going to be a little different – instead of writing this week’s playtest draft, I’ve put on the editing hat and taken the back seat to a skilled designer and good friend of mine, Weylin Etra. Weylin has been kind enough to draft up a monstrous race for your…

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Fighter Archetype: The Conqueror

Hello, everyone! Today’s playtest draft is the Conqueror, a fighter Archetype who uses bends their defeated foes to their will. Fighter Archetype Conqueror It takes a trained eye to distinguish between any given warrior and a true conqueror. Conquest has many forms, from the brutal warlord who relies on physical coercion, to the silver-tongued demagogue,…

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Warlock Patron – The Grandmasters

Hello, everyone! The weather outside is gloomy – the perfect weather to get some friends together for some gaming indoors. (Alright, let’s face it, I’d say that no matter the weather, but the sentiment is still there) Today’s playtest content is a new Warlock Patron, the Grandmasters, a duo of immortals locked in a cosmic…

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