Ah, the barbarians! A longtime feature of D&D, they’ve suffered endless belittlement and ridicule from other characters, especially mages and paladins. They’re also likely to be the ones who are surrounded by the strongest and ugliest preconceptions. The mere name is enough to evoke all kinds of, well, barbaric images, such as oversized and poorly […]
Midnight Tower
Midnight Tower consists of Tove and Erik, who have been players and DMs of roleplaying games for more than 25 years. At present, Midnight Tower has released several D&D adventures, six printed books, and run eight successful Kickstarter campaigns.
They live in Oxford and have two rebellious daughters, and a small menagerie of disobedient pets.
Tove does most of the writing and artwork for Midnight Tower. She often DMs, and her main character is a bard called Nell Desmodena-Murkborne who grew up at court. As a child, Nell also spent every summer in Feywild with her grandmother – a powerful hag – which has influenced her person more than a little.
In real life, Tove enjoys writing, drawing, reading thick fantasy books, and playing Guild Wars 2 with a cat on her lap.
Erik edits and does much of the layout in Midnight Tower’s books. When playing D&D, his character is a warlock called Sylliban Sensommar, who loves theatre, good company, and spectacular hats. Sylliban also prefers not to spend his evenings fleeing monsters, although this seems to happen quite often.
In real life, Erik reads and writes strange fiction, dabbles in poetry, and is led around by a deaf but very happy semi-ancient springer spaniel.
You can visit their website here.
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Good Reasons to Play a Bard in Dungeons & Dragons
Welcome to a new article in this series of tips on how to make the most of various classes in Dungeons & Dragons! This time, I would like to…actually, if you’re living or staying in a moderately sized town in any D&D campaign, just open the window. Go on, trust me! Great, well done! Now […]
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Good Reasons to Play a Druid in Dungeons & Dragons
If there’s one class in Dungeons & Dragons that requires a bit of extra thought to get the most from, it’s the druid. In my experience, D&D characters of this kind are often played in similar ways: nature-loving, robe-wearing semi-hermits who stroll around the wilderness with leaves in their hair and animals by their side. […]
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Good Reasons to Play a Dwarf in Dungeons & Dragons
Greetings, friends of mead and warhammers everywhere! We’re back with a new instalment in the series on reasons to play different races in Dungeons & Dragons, and in this third article, we’ll take a close look at a real cornerstone (no, I will no apologise for the terrible pun) in the world of fantasy: dwarves! […]
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Running D&D Adventures in Specific Environments: Other Planes
This article is the last (and probably most spectacular) in the series that discusses ways to run Dungeons & Dragons to the greatest effect in various environments. To date, we’ve talked about all the most common places in which quests in D&D take place – forests, towns, deserts, tunnels, seas, and even the air. We’re […]
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D&D Beyond and its new tools for virtual tabletop gaming
Without any preamble or fanfare, a brand-new toolkit was rolled out (in its Alpha state, but still!) on D&D Beyond a few days ago! The platform, which up until now has supported rules and characters, has been changed so that it also includes support for maps and tokens – and thereby effectively works as a […]
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Running D&D Adventures in Specific Environments: Air
In this series of articles in which we’ve looked at running Dungeons & Dragons adventures to great effect in different types of environments, we’ve covered bustling towns and arid deserts, stormy seas and towering mountains, dense forests and dim dungeons. It’s time to turn our attention to places that are more spectacular and especially suited […]
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Five Reasons to Play a Halfling in Dungeons & Dragons
Continuing the series on reasons to play different races in Dungeons & Dragons, in this second instalment we’ll turn to a folk that’s as closely related to D&D as elves but at the same time radically different: the halflings. To understand halflings (and to examine how to have the most fun when playing one), it’s […]
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Running D&D Adventures in Specific Environments: Seas
We’re continuing this series about how to run adventures for Dungeons & Dragons while making the most of certain types of environments – and the time has come for a theme that’s almost as classic as that of woods and tunnels: the open seas!But we’re not limiting ourselves to just seas. In this article, we’ll […]
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Running D&D Adventures in Specific Environments: Towns
This is yet another in the series in which we’re looking at ways to run adventures in D&D in specific types of environments! We’ve covered lots of natural places so far, such as freezing cold arctic regions and scorching hot sandy dunes – but this time, we’re off to an entirely different and far more […]
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Five Reasons to Play an Elf in Dungeons & Dragons
Time for a new series of articles about Dungeons & Dragons – and in these ones, we’re going to take a look at the best (as in the most entertaining rather than tactical) reasons to play the different races found in the game! As we all know, each race comes with a variety of flairs […]
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Running D&D Adventures in Specific Environments: Deserts
The series about running D&D in specific types of environments continues – and this time, we’re bound for the region where adventurers can expect to find anything ranging from ancient secrets buried out of sight to colossal monsters who delight in making a light meal of hapless heroes. Come along as we saddle our mounts, […]
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What should you do if you roll low stats for your new D&D character?
So, it is time for a new campaign – and a brand-new character! You and your group of friends are sitting around the gaming table. You have selected your best dice and gathered them in your hands, shaking them before letting them roll. The first roll is a 14, the second 12, followed by 13, […]
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Running D&D Adventures in Specific Environments: Arctic Regions
Welcome to a new instalment in the series of articles about ideas for how to run adventures for Dungeons & Dragons effectively in different types of environments! Last time, we looked at mountains – and this time, we’re going even higher (or at least farther north in your fantasy realm of choice) to investigate what […]
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Running D&D Adventures in Specific Environments: Mountains
Continuing on the series of articles for running Dungeons & Dragons adventures in certain environments – and how to make these as entertaining and engaging as possible – we’re turning our attention to another common place for fantasy quests: mountains! They’re found almost in every campaign, and they can offer unique types of trials and […]
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Running D&D Adventures in Specific Environments: Dungeons
In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at how to run fun, exciting, and engaging adventures in what arguably is the most common environment of Dungeons & Dragons: The Dungeon! So light your torches, open your spellbooks and draw your blades as we enter the darkness to find what tips and tricks you can […]
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Running D&D Adventures in Specific Environments: The Wilderness
This article takes a look at what might be the most traditional of roleplaying game settings – the wilderness – and how you can use this environment to its full effect. We’ll kick off with a simple tip that is likely to add a ton of immersion and atmosphere, and it’ll take only a minute […]
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Animal Companions in D&D – Why They Are Great and How to Use Them
The idea of fantasy adventurers being accompanied by faithful animals who aid them on their adventures is an old one, and the concept is well integrated into the rules and the basic setting of Dungeons & Dragons. Look no farther than to R.A Salvatore’s great and hugely popular novels: in many of his books, the […]
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Creating interesting environments for spectacular battles in D&D
As has been mentioned in many of these articles, Dungeons & Dragons is a game about encountering enemies in remote places, defeating them, and returning to the hearth with loot and tales of great deeds. And while the rules allow for a huge range of other themes – mystery, intrigue, Politics, diplomacy, betrayal and much […]
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The Best Magic Daggers in D&D and How to Use Them
As Dungeons & Dragons is, at heart, a combat-oriented roleplaying game, it’s no surprise that there’s a wide array of weapon available to the characters. As most characters are budding fantasy heroes or one type or another who repeatedly set out on dangerous journeys in search of gold and other treasure, being proficient in combat […]
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How to Run a Successful Kickstarter – For Beginners
So, we at Midnight Tower are currently running our ninth (9th!) successful campaign ‘The Mystery with the Cursed Statuette – A Detective Mystery Adventure Inspired by Sherlock Holmes’ for 5e on Kickstarter. Therefore, we thought it could be a good idea to share some of the knowledge, tricks and tips that we have stumbled upon […]
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How we run Kickstarters for Dungeons & Dragons as a small creator
Near the end of May 2023, Midnight Tower launched a new Kickstarter campaign for an adventure for the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons. This is our ninth Kickstarter in the span of roughly three and a half years, and it’s still as thrilling and exciting as when we started back in late 2019. Over […]
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The most fabulous shields in Dungeons & Dragons
In a previous article, I listed some of the most dangerous swords that can be found in the default rules for Dungeons & Dragons, the reason being that the sword is perhaps the most iconic type of weapon in a general D&D setting and one that’s closely associated with fantasy in general. This time, I’ll […]
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The most dangerous swords in Dungeons & Dragons
An adventure in D&D can offer numerous different types of events and end in myriad ways that don’t include battles. The characters might be tasked with navigating a trap-filled dungeon, sneaking past snoring guards at the city gates, solving a mysterious theft, recovering a stolen crown, or charming a diplomat from a foreign realm. There […]
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Tips for writing and running Feywild-inspired adventures for Dungeons & Dragons
There are many worlds on which adventures can take place in D&D. Many campaigns start on the Material Plane, which usually is analogous to the “real world” (albeit with magic with wondrous creatures). But there is a host of additional planes of existence, many of which with their own distinct theme and features, and a […]
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How to write and run a horror adventure for Dungeons & Dragons
There are scares aplenty in the world of Dungeon & Dragons. After all, the game is essentially about pitching a group of mortal (if imaginary) adventurers against all kinds of monsters. The core rule books and the numerous third-party modules available today provides a Dungeon Master with a massive arsenal of horrific creatures to throw […]
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The most overpowered magic items in Dungeons & Dragons
In D&D, magic items can turn vulnerable characters who flinch at the slightest threat into powerhouses who slay gricks and golems with ease and panache. The core rulebooks offer a vast range of different enchanted items that increase a character’s chance to hit, boost their damage output, and provide them with an array of other […]
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How to make magic items in Dungeons & Dragons more interesting
Magic items are central to D&D in more ways than one. Their technical benefits in the game are manifold: they enable the adventurers to overcome foes that are far more powerful than they are, survive in adverse environments, escape threatening situations and perform astonishing feats, such as flying or turning invisible. In terms of adding […]
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How to make combat in Dungeons & Dragons more interesting
While there’s been a rise of Dungeons & Dragons adventures and live-streamed gaming sessions that focus on intrigue, character development, mystery, politics and deceit, the game is at its heart a combat-oriented system. Even if many hours of playing time can pass without any fighting place, there are usually events when swords are drawn, visors […]
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Dungeons & Dragons Kickstarter Campaigns Roundup – April 2023
The world of D&D is busier than a swarm of bees targeted by the spell haste. Wizards of the Coast is on a roll like never before, teasing us with numerous game-related products and shows on the horizon. There’s also a wealth of peripheral entertainment in the works, including costly TV series and documentaries featuring […]