About Us

You guessed it! We’re a DnD site. But trust us, we’re not like all the others. We’re different, somehow. 

Yes. Like all good DnD sites, we will give you the basic info for all game features provided for all DnD books like Player’s Handbook, Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, etc.

We write from a gamer’s point of view. All of our writers are either DMs or players of the game. 

That means that our articles and videos contain information not provided in the books above:

• Character Build strategies like the use of dump stats and different class/race combinations
• Party Character Functions like tank, blaster caster, utility caster, and healer
• Gaming strategies like action economy and battlespace control
• Roleplay opportunities like character backstory and character deities
• Commentary on DnD history, DnD trends, why people play the game, and what can maximize your roleplaying experience

As players and fellow Dungeons and Dragons enthusiasts, we want your gameplay to be as exciting and dynamic as it can be. That means being able to find the resources for not only playing the game but expanding gameplay beyond the basics.

We know just how much DnD has to offer players of all experience levels, and we want you to be able to explore that for yourself.

As incredible of a game that Dungeons and Dragons is, we also understand that freedom– and learning everything–can be overwhelming. From learning new spells to reading about the lore to just figuring out what you need to play the game, many don’t try D&D because they feel there’s too much to learn.

On the flip side, experienced players can easily get into a rut. One of the greatest aspects of DnD is that so much is left up to creativity. But as you can imagine, it’s easy to lose sight of that creativity and feel stuck.

It’s also easy for players to fall into a pattern, playing the types of campaigns they know and not fully exploring all the game has to offer.

No matter what your situation is, our team of enthusiasts and fellow players is here to help guide you through all things related to DnD.

At Explore DnD, we want you to be able to just do that: explore the game to its full potential. For that reason, you’ll find everything you need to know through our guides. We’ll give you a spell overview to help you bring magic to your game, shop for the best dice and merchandise, and even find the best DnD gifts for a fellow player.

Explore DnD offers comprehensive guides, with the goal of either beginning or enriching your RPG game nights. You’ll find guides for gameplay, rules, and homebrew to make your own campaigns. With every guide, there’s additional information, like frequently asked questions and personal advice to make the most of our information.

Gameplay strategies are researched, tested, and considered to make sure we’re giving you the best advice possible. When we decide to write a review, we aren’t just writing any review; we’re writing a review with enthusiastic players like you in mind.

We think from all perspectives: from someone picking up a set of D&D dice for the first time, to someone who’s created their own elaborate D&D maps and crafted storylines for campaigns. We cover the basics, then dig deeper to show just how incredible this game can be when you apply a bit of innovation and creativity.

When we write a guide, we write it for you. We write it for gamers who want more than the bare-bone basics.

That is the approach we take to every review, guide, and article we write. Our goal is to give fellow DnD players the information they need before diving into another campaign.

We want your game nights to be the best they can be, which means investing in the best books and maps. But it also means shoring up your own creativity, with great ideas for a campaign of your own.

We’re Here to Help You Explore DnD!

We have a multi-step process depending on the article in question. But for all our guides, reviews, and articles, we deliver the same quality. In general, we follow the following guidelines for our articles:

1. We do our research. We play this game. We gather, we observe and we share our best kept secrets. Whether that means playing out our strategies or looking for the latest information, we go above and beyond. All of our guides provide updated information, with a focus on the latest updates for the 5th edition of Dungeons and Dragons.
2. We don’t waste your time. We get it: playing DnD is an investment of time, and that’s especially true if you’re creating your own campaigns. To ensure you have plenty of time for role-playing, we provide clear, organized guides with headers so you can skim and find the gameplay strategy, type of merchandise, or whatever information you’re looking for, as quickly as possible.
3. We provide helpful information. While we do our research, we also want to make sure you have outside resources to look for, as well. That’s especially true for buying focused guides, such as finding the best video games inspired by D&D or the best gifts. But it’s also true for overview articles, where we link gaming news and trends.
4. We have every player in mind. You can spend a ton of times on the reddits and forums, but not everything is going to be helpful. That’s shown by the details we include in all of our articles. Explore DnD includes gameplay overviews, but also more niche topics, like the best campaign ideas. Whether you’re just starting to play or have been playing for years, there’s something for everyone.
5. We keep on top of DnD trends. That means that, while we do have overviews and helpful guides, we also slip in current news articles and trends. We like to connect you to other DnD players and new innovations. We also make sure our information is updated so that you’re reading everything you need to know about the current state of Dungeons and Dragons– both the game itself and the larger community. 
6. We think about a broader DnD community. That means that we cover not only everything inside gameplay but outside of it too. We introduce you to ways to broaden your experience with articles like the best gifts and the best video games inspired by Dungeons and Dragons.
7. We’re driven to deliver the best content possible. You put a lot of effort into making D&D campaigns and maps, or into connecting with other players. You put in the time to role-play and make a game come to life. So, we do our part and respect your hard work by providing quality content with the same enthusiasm and energy you bring to the game.
8. One last thing. We know you’re creative. We know you may be competitive. But most of all, we know you want to have the best gameplay experience possible. Explore DnD doesn’t just give advice. We give you an experience.

Our Explore DnD Team

Emily Medlock

Emily has played D&D since shortly after 3.5e was released, falling in love with the tabletop RPG during the first session. Although she played 4e for a while, 5e stuck, so she tries her best to chase campaigns in hope of running one long-term. Though her favorite base class is the Rogue, she has a complex which generally disallows her to commit crimes. As someone who had to make a new account to grow horns in Fable, she is a 100% Chaotic Good player.Most of her campaigns have included at least seven people, which is above average. This means learning to wait your turn, collaborating with large parties, and fighting overpowered enemies. When she isn’t planning campaigns or diving into the D&D world, Emily enjoys playing video games or taking in nature (when it’s not 100 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Favorite D&D Class: Rogue (or homebrew Heart Mage)

Favorite D&D Race: Aasimar

Most Memorable D&D Moment: When my Bard insisted on stuffing a wild cat into his backpack and said, “See, she loves it,” as the cat tried to escape.

Most Underrated Class: Ranger. I love playing the Ranger, but it’s generally considered low-tier because the DPS and utilization options in combat aren’t the best. But with great roleplaying, ingenuity, and teamwork, the Ranger can compete with most other classes.

D&D Hot Take: If someone isn’t trying to cause trouble or become the only protagonist, give them creative freedom. Also, play your class the way that you want. Stereotypes make good memes, but in the end, D&D is all about the RPG aspect with friends.

Arthur Monteclar

Arthur has been a Dungeon Master since 2017, and if he is not spending his time playing and geeking about D&D, he is researching and writing about it. His passion for the tabletop game started when he felt that RPG video games felt a bit restrictive. He is a huge fan of Skyrim, Divinity: Original Sin, and the like, yet he wanted something where he can express himself limitlessly. So, he looked at D&D, formed a party with his close friends, and the rest is history. Ever since, he has actively followed sites, threads, and news about D&D where he can read about the game a lot.

Favorite D&D Class: Assassin Rogue or Sorcerer

Favorite D&D Race: Tabaxi

Most Memorable D&D Moment: As a DM playing D&D for the first time with my friends, I witnessed the inexperienced party Wizard blatantly cast Thunderwave inside a relatively peaceful inn. In just a few minutes, they became wanted criminals.

Most Underrated Class: Monk. I have rarely met any players who love playing as a Monk. However, I think it would be a fantastic choice especially for roleplaying. Imagine a Bruce Lee-like character in your party that can do insane movements.

D&D Hot Take: The rules should not always be followed. I rely on the Dungeon Master’s Guide, Player’s Handbook, and more, but sometimes, the fun moments are the moments where you dismiss what is possible and bend the rules for the coolness and explosions.

David Blanc

David is a writer and RPG gamer that has had the lines of fantasy action and reality action blur many times. Since the 1980s, David has been captivated by Dungeons & Dragons, both 1e AD&D and basic rules, and has since created his own modules. In the early 1990s, David was a patrol leader in the Guardian Angels during New York City’s crack epidemic. His real-life battles against street gangs, drug dealers, and the Gambino Crime Family are chronicled in his e-book An Angel’s Tale.

In the late 1990s, David fought in stick-fighting and kickboxing tournaments before entering the US Army. There he was briefly assigned to the special ops unit 75th Airborne Rangers Regiment before being reassigned to the paratrooper unit 82nd
Airborne. After the military, David became an actor and a screenwriter. His IMDB writing credits include a crime drama cable pilot The Steele Project: Ides of March and a horror feature currently in pre-production Yin Gateway.

In the early 21st century, David has also served as a police officer in two of the roughest sections of Brooklyn, East Flatbush (67th precinct) and Crown Heights (71st precinct). During his law enforcement career, he has received 4 commendations and 2 medals for multiple rescues. His 9th rescue was covered by ABC Eyewitness news when he used his gun belt to stop a woman from sliding down a garbage chute. Before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, David had been an active competitor on Ukraine’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu circuit. His exploits as an American athlete in Ukrainian cities like Kyiv, Lviv, and Kharkiv are depicted in his weight-loss book Weight Loss of 22 lbs. (10 kg.) in 8 Weeks.

David holds a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a brown belt in Japanese ju-jitsu. As a writer within the D&D world, David likes to make a case for the utility of the game. His belief is that Dungeons & Dragons and other RPGs are simply gamified mythology. By connecting D&D to Jungian archetypes and Joseph Campbell’s monomyth of the Hero’s Journey, David hopes to guide role-players into using D&D
to sort out their actual roles in the complicated real world of the 21st century.Favorite RPG: Dungeons & Dragons followed by GURPS and I.C.E. (MERP)

Favorite D&D Module: Vault of the Drow, followed by Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, The Isle of Dread, and The Keep on the Borderlands.

Best RPG Gaming Moment: David’s largest party ever consisted of David, seven of his friends, and his father as the dungeon master. Just before completing Palace of the Silver Princess and leveling up, David’s halfling thief, Slinky Underhill, acquired a magic harp and summoned the fairy princess Rowena to be his girlfriend.

Favorite Playable Characters: 1e, rangers by far. 5e, David is still figuring that out. So far, his favorite builds are the drow warlock and the mountain dwarf wizard. But if he’s going to play a ranger again, wood elf ranger is definitely the way to go.

Arron Kluz

Arron is a featured team writer and lifelong gamer. Ever since he started playing games on his old SNES, and has been hooked ever since. He has a particular love for games like Pillars of Eternity, Skyrim, a variety of beloved RPG titles, which has in turn led to a fascination and love for playing Dungeons & Dragons, and writing fiction.

Conrad Chan

Conrad started D&D right before 5th edition and quickly transitioned into it upon hearing about how easy it was to catch games and modules. Soon after he turned into a Dungeon Master, trying to understand the intricate rulings and behind the screen works into making a campaign. Now he wants to share what he has learned, from guides to mechanics. Characters, campaigns and Minmaxing are all on the table.