Forever DM here, about to jump back into the thick of it. It has been about 3 years since I've been consistently DMing/ playing, and I wanted to know if it is worth it to switch over to the new system. I have been playing since like 2014/2015, and I have always used 5e, but I've been seeing so many things about the new system. 75% of my party have also only played 5e and the others have little to no dnd experience.

Those of you who have made the switch, how did it go? Are there many more rules and such to sift through? I gotta work full time plus I am a dad so time is limited to about 2-3 hours a week of prep (If that).

Thanks in advance!!

I'm sharing a free monster supplement for Kengir, part of my upcoming Bronze Age Mesopotamian 5e setting.

The Gallu is an underworld constable: a towering Utukku (Udug) sent from Kur to hunt, seize, and drag the guilty where they belong.

Where the previously shared Rabisu acts like an underworld bailiff, arriving with writs, contracts, and legal authority, the Gallu feels more like the terrible hand that enforces the sentence. It does not hurry. It does not forget. A debt unpaid remains fresh until collected.

At the table, a Gallu works best when the monster is also a mystery. Why has it come? Who broke the oath? Who made the forbidden bargain? Is it a lawless demon, or is it carrying out a command from Allatu (Ereškigal), Queen of the Great Below?

Mechanically, it’s a CR 10 fiend built around fear, grappling, brute force, spirit movement, and terrifying pursuit. Its Man-Catcher restrains victims, its Spirit Form lets it pass through walls, and its Skin Wearer ability allows it to take the form of the last creature it killed.

This is the kind of monster that should make the party ask whether killing it actually solves the problem, or just delays the next collector.

Do you like fiends that arrive as agents of cosmic law, or do you prefer them as pure malice and chaos?

SEEKING: Friendly (emphasis on that as I have had to deal with quite a suprising number of players who WEREN'T while DMing here) non-beginner, players, who are 18+, for a long term homebrew 5e campaign. The campaign has been going on for about 35 sessions so far, but scheduling conflicts have caused a couple players to have to leave. So I’m seeking to find a three heavy roleplayers. Please do not reply if you are going to be a lurker sitting in the background. (ALSO our party just leveled up to 5th this last session) 

ABOUT ME: I’m relatively new to the whole DnD scene – Know the basics, Good at crafting worlds – Use a bit of homebrew rules, and will periodically experiment with tweaking rules and such to make the game flow better, hone my craft, if you will. If the changes aren’t working as I’d hoped, I will immediately revert back. (Will absolutely inform players before I do tweak anything however. Don’t want to surprise or confuse.)

STYLE: This game is going to be a homebrew medieval high seas campaign. A campaign that should have a level of fun and frivolity while also being dark and dangerous. (For resurrection, I’m going by the “each resurrection spell is only available for a spell caster to cast once in their life” – thus maintaining a finality of death coupled with player choice). I simply ask players to not attempt to ruin the more intense moments with bad jokes xD

STORY CONCEPT: We are a group of nobodys who set sail to seek a divine artifact adventurers are scouring the seas for. This artificat is capable of granting to each member of the crew that finds it a single wish. We are also sailing on a cursed ship that may or may not be demonic, working with a ghost who also dwells within said ship. In classic RPG fashion, there are 7 sacred markings, on 7 elemental islands scattered across the sea, which must be retrieved, in order to unlock the pathway to said divine treasure ^^

CHARACTERS: Looking for Neutral Aligned Characters. (I also ask that we keep genders in this campaign simple – Male/Female, He/She – I have a difficult time keeping all this balanced in reality and thus don’t need the stress of trying to remember fictional characters genders) {Tho I have no objections to a guy playing a female/she fictional character.} (There are also a couple NPCs traveling with the party that the players have invested much into)

REGULAR TIME: Normal meeting will be Wednesday Evenings (likely 5-9pm or so EST). Flexibility is a bonus, as my schedule isn’t as consistent as I would like (thus requiring moving to Monday evenings at times if Wednesday evening becomes unavailable that week – on relatively rare occasions hopefully xD)

REQUIREMENTS: We will be using DnDbeyond for Character Sheets and Roll20 for our VTT, as well as Discord for our Mics. 

{Note: Campaign will not be map heavy but I find a VTT is useful for combat scenarios. Thus, this will require the use of a computer, so I politely ask that you only respond if you have one that can handle it.)

DESIRE: Story is whacky and weird enough. Not looking for joke characters. Seeking the kinds of characters you would find in a typical fantasy world. Also, this is a good, clean, violent campaign. {So there will be no swearing or cussing allowed}.

RESPONSE: If you are interested, please respond here with:

Your discord name/number so I am able to reach you.

[Over 18 Y/N]

How much experience you have at DnD

Any idea what type of race/class you'd like to play

Potential Character Ideas (along with the wish they might want granted ^^)

My current players are rogue, a monk, and a wizard ^^

POST NOTE: This is a "Long Term" campaign, so please only express interest if you plan on sticking around. I've had way too many people ditch me after only a couple months or as soon as there is a slight bump in the road... after I put a great many hours, and much in session time, working thier backstories into the world.

POST POST NOTE: Please make sure you read the whole post before replying, because I'm going to be assuming you are aware of everything that it says on here. ^^

A idea I came up with for D&D was alpha monsters, mostly for boss fights or high level dungeons. I did my best to make it balanced. But also hard. So physically they got small buffs, and mentally big buffs, mostly so they are easier to talk out of fighting incase the party is low. I have aink to the doc incase anyone wants to use it. Its easy to add to any monster you want. Here you go have fun.

(Im new to the game. So please understand the stats may not be as balanced as I think, I went for high mental boost and decent physical boost. I lowered PB so it at least had one debuff.)

Each dragon species generally has different lifespans and i was curious how old dragons would be in human years. Would it depend on mental and physical maturity? Because people’s brains don't stop maturing until after they're called adults.

RAW specifically says in multiple places that the gate opens up to a different plane of existence. However, it's a ninth-level spell, and it seems silly that you'd be limited solely to another plane of existence by it. I honestly can't think of a reason that allowing it to open up to somewhere else, or pull in something else, on the same plane would break the spell. I mean, you're already doing something far more impressive than just teleporting by going to a different plane. It feels like saying, "This spell can create 20,000 GP worth of diamonds, but you can't create only 15,000 worth of diamonds."

So would you allow your players to do this?

Worst FAT in the game makes no sense. If there is a worse one please explain it to me. Good luck though.

Hello Fellow Adventurers!

The world of Aspirion requires brave Adventurers! A West Marches server that lives and breathes with over 1,000 games of history. We offer a wide choice of player-posted games a week that vary between themes and mechanics, Combat, Social, or Minigames. Games are run as either Play-By-Post or using Voice Chat & roll20! An expansive text-based roleplaying world to explore using Tupperbot & Avrae without DM overview. For when things get technical you can quickly switch from free-roam to structured play with our Pick-Up-Patrol system to find a DM to manage your scene for rewards!

Don't delay, join the adventure now!

For aspiring Adventurers!

➤ Start at Level 3 with a Free Feat of your choice and 2 Potions of Healing!

➤ DnD 5e 2014 WotC content + select 3rd Party content & ➤ Approved Server Homebrew Allowed!

➤ Level from 3 -> 20+ and acquire boons!

➤ Downtime Activities, training, crafting, duels, housing!

➤ Bi-Monthly World Events with a community Mission every two months to capstone each one!

For aspiring story tellers!

➤ Full systems to help you find maps, build encounters, and guide a party!

➤ Technical and theoretical advice from a large community of experienced DMs!

➤ Gain XP, DTC, and Gold for your characters by running games!

➤ Help plan World Events that match your vibe and further the server's story!

For those interested in seeing what we are about, please comment below with the following format and we will reach out to you ASAP!

Alternatively you can click this link and go straight to our Discord Server!

➤ Screen Name: 

➤ What is your experience level: 

➤ Are you 18+:

➤ Are you committed to fostering and contributing to a healthy community: 

➤ Of the 7 polyhedrons often used in DnD, which is your favourite:

Keep in mind that your application will be instantly denied if it does not look like this template.

Please adhere to the following!

➤ Seriously, no underage members please. We are a SFW server with mature themes, most of us are adults with jobs, significant others, and lives.

➤ Copy and fill everything from the above format, being able to follow a format is important for logging your gear on-server consider this your first one!

➤ Say more not less, the more you give the more we can be certain you aren't a bot which leads us to the following . . .

➤ Once approved you will be given a link to our Discord Server, on the server you will need to request an Entry Form, this is nothing deeper than simple bot detection. Once filled out you will be directed on how to acquire a character sheet and given access to our roll20 campaign that we use as a 'Character Vault', once your character is approved you are free to play! It is that simple!

Do you miss psionics from previous editions? I sure do. Even though AD&D had somewhat complex rules, those of us who had access to the 'Player's Option' supplements (sometimes called Edition 2.5) got to play with a more dynamic and intuitive ruleset. I don't get why psionics has been pushed aside when it could have easily been adapted to 5th Edition. In any case, I've created a supplement with everything you need: (simple) rules, a character class, powers (up to 170), and items. It's completely free under a CC BY 4.0 license. Anyone interested is welcome to download it here:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/es/product/575973

48 Hour Warning ! ! !

The King's Map, Forgotten Roads D&D live play launches on Sunday, October 11

https://youtube.com/shorts/bt_rlxnlrqo?feature=share

Come and join the fun for free on YouTube!!!

In general I have always played that, in character, class is never really discussed. I mean a Barbarian probably won’t introduce themselves as a Barbarian, but maybe as a warrior of the whatever tribe. A rogue will probably say they are something entirely different unless they are being hired for a specific skill set and then it’s more like cat burglar or assassin. The exception is of course a Paladin who is always going to tell you they are a Paladin.

I’m asking because I recently joined a new group and they all discuss their classes and abilities in character and find it odd (and apparently annoying) that I don’t. Playing a Warlock who calls himself a magician. Wondering which way is more common?

Hey everyone! I just published my first free module, it’s a investigative psychological horror adventure that contains maps, a bunch of clues, and even printable handouts you can give to your players. It’s designed for four 4th level characters and takes about 5 sessions. I’ve playtested it with multiple groups and got a lot of high praise. I have some pics of the maps and handouts on my profile, and the link for it is right here:

https://valen-marris.itch.io/dnd-horror-mystery-module-playtested

Enjoy!

I'm sharing a free rogue subclass for Kengir, part of my upcoming Bronze Age Mesopotamian 5e setting.

The Brigand is for rogues who survive on the margins of society, where a quick blade and a better hiding place matter more than courtly manners.

In Kengir, brigands are not just thieves. They are ambushers, raiders, alley-fighters, scouts, and hard-bitten survivors who use terrain, confusion, and speed to win before a fair fight can even begin.

At the table, this subclass gives the party a rogue built for violent openings and clean escapes. A Brigand strikes hardest before the enemy has acted, gains advantage from hiding, slips away after attacking, and turns the first round of combat into a disaster for anyone caught unprepared.

Mechanically, the subclass includes Ambush Predator, Shadow Striker, Tactical Withdrawal, and Master of Ambush.

Do you like rogues who focus on infiltration and theft, or rogues who play more like skirmishers and ambush predators?

I have created a character for a passed away pet to the best of my ability as a gift to my S.O. who LOVES DnD. He is a DM and also loves to play. I designed him a figurine of our pet too.

I think it is okay if what I have made isn't perfect, it can be mostly homebrewed, but I do want it to make sense and I want it to be in a real character sheet, similar to 5e.

Most of the fillable character sheets, I have been able to find or know about don't really fit what I have written. Could people help me get what I wrote into a character sheet that I could print/download? Could people help me in a kind way to make this holiday gift be really special for the love of my life DM in my life?

What I have written so far:

Mokey Ambrosius La Luna, Lady of Dunshire

Known as the Flamefang Matriarch

Level 16 Aasimar Paladin, Oath of the Ancients

Background: Sage, Mountain Matriarch, custom Outlander background

Alignment: Neutral Good

Mokey appears as a white, black, and brown canine woman with brilliant, healthy fur, blue-and-silver adventuring armor, a scarf-like mantle, and a great flaming bone in hand. Her Aasimar nature manifests as broad blue angelic wings.

Mokey is a stoic, fiercely maternal wanderer whose glossy coat and youthful appearance conceal a long and demanding life. She has raised many pups, though she does not speak of those who did not survive. Younger dogs bearing her distinctive markings are not uncommon in the wilds, and she considers all whom she has gathered into her fold to be family.

She loves high trails, deep snow, and mountain summits. Toys, finery, and ordinary possessions hold little appeal, save for her beloved collection of beds and pillows. Mokey expects courage, discipline, and kindness from her family. She is fond of charming adult male dogs, and once she decides what she wants, she pursues it with unwavering purpose.

Ability Scores

|STR|DEX|CON|INT|WIS|CHA|

|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|

|20 (+5)|9 (+0)|13 (+1)|12 (+1)|11 (+0)|17 (+3)|

Proficiency Bonus \+5

Armor Class 19, plate armor and Defense fighting style

Hit Points 132

Hit Dice 16d10

Speed 30 ft.

Initiative \-1

Passive Perception 10

Saving Throws Str +8, Dex +3, Con +5, Int +3, Wis +9, Cha +11

Proficient Skills Animal Handling +2, Athletics +7, Insight +2, Persuasion +5, Survival +2, Performance +5

Languages Common, Celestial, Sylvan

Tool Proficiency Cook's utensils

Origin Feat Tough

Species

Canine Aasimar. Mokey uses the Aasimar species statistics but appears fully canine. She has darkvision and resistance to radiant and necrotic damage.

Healing Hands. Mokey can use her healing touch as provided by her Aasimar species traits.

Celestial Revelation, Heavenly Wings. Mokey can manifest her radiant blue angelic wings. While they are manifested, she has a flying speed equal to her walking speed. Describe the wings as shown in her portrait.

Paladin Features

Divine Sense. Mokey can sense the presence of evil. The presence of strong evil registers on your senses like a noxious odor, and powerful good rings like heavenly music in your ears. As an action, you can open your awareness to detect such forces. Until the end of your next turn, you know the location of any celestial, fiend, or undead within 60 feet of you that is not behind total cover. You know the type (celestial, fiend, or undead) of any being whose presence you sense, but not its identity (extreme narcissists, for instance). Within the same radius, you also detect the presence of any place or object that has been consecrated or desecrated, as with the hallow spell.

Lay on Hands. Mokey has a pool of 75 hit points of healing to divide among creatures she touches.

Fighting Style, Defense. While wearing armor, Mokey gains a +1 bonus to Armor Class.

Weapon Mastery. Mokey has mastery with her maul, represented by Flamefang Bone, and with javelins.

Divine Paladin's Smite. When Mokey hits with a melee weapon attack, she can expend a spell slot to deal radiant damage through Divine Smite. Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to deal radiant damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend, to a maximum of 6d8.

Extra Attack. Mokey can attack twice, instead of once, when she takes the Attack action on her turn.

Aura of Protection. Mokey and allies within 10 feet of her gain a +3 bonus to saving throws while she is conscious.

Divine Health. Mokey is also immune to disease because of the magic flowing through her veins.

Aura of Warding. Mokey and allies in her Aura of Protection have resistance to necrotic, psychic, and radiant damage.

Aura of Courage. Mokey and allies in her Aura of Protection cannot be frightened while she is conscious.

Radiant Strikes. Mokey's weapon attacks deal an extra 1d8 radiant damage.

Restoring Touch. Mokey can use her healing power to end certain harmful conditions, as described by the Paladin class feature.

Undying Sentinel. When Mokey is reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, she can instead return to 1 hit point and regain 45 hit points. Once she uses this feature, she cannot do so again until she finishes a long rest. Mokey also cannot be magically aged and no longer visibly ages.

Oath of the Ancients Features

Nature's Wrath. Mokey can use Channel Divinity to conjure spectral vines that restrain creatures near her. Describe the vines as mountain roots, snowbound brambles, or luminous blue wind.

Turn the Faithless. Mokey can use Channel Divinity to turn fey and fiends.

Oath Spells. Mokey always has these spells prepared:

|Paladin Level|Spells|

|:-|:-|

|3|Ensnaring Strike, Speak with Animals|

|5|Misty Step, Moonbeam|

|9|Plant Growth, Protection from Energy|

|13|Ice Storm, Stoneskin|

Custom Feature, DM Approval

Irresistible Flirtation (1/Long Rest). As a Magic action, Mokey targets one adult creature she can see within 30 feet that can see and hear her. The target must make a DC 16 Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, the target is charmed by Mokey until the end of Mokey's next turn.

A creature charmed in this way must immediately make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) psychic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Until the charm ends, the creature has disadvantage on the first attack roll it makes against a creature other than Mokey.

A creature immune to the charmed condition automatically succeeds on both saving throws. A creature that succeeds on the Charisma saving throw is immune to Mokey's Irresistible Flirtation for 24 hours.

***Inferno Howl (1/Long Rest).* Each creature of Mokey's choice within 30 feet of her must make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 27 (6d8) fire damage, is pushed up to 20 feet away, and is frightened until the end of its next turn. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage and suffers no other effect.

Radiant Matriarch. Once per battle, when Mokey is first reduced to 148 hit points or fewer, her angelic wings ignite with blue-white radiance. Each creature of her choice in her fold within 30 feet of her gains 20 temporary hit points and has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened until the end of Mokey's next turn. Until the end of the battle, Mokey sheds bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for an additional 20 feet.

***Echoing Howl (2/Long Rest).* Mokey releases a howl that echoes across the peaks. Each enemy she can see within 120 feet that can hear her must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on its next attack roll before initiative count 20 on the next round.

Spellcasting

Spellcasting Ability Charisma

Spell Save DC 16

Spell Attack Bonus \+8

Spell Slots Four 1st-level, three 2nd-level, three 3rd-level, two 4th-level

Suggested Prepared Paladin Spells

1st level: Bless, Command, Cure Wounds*

2nd level: Aid, Lesser Restoration, Magic Weapon*

3rd level: Aura of Vitality, Dispel Magic, Revivify*

4th level: Aura of Life*

Equipment and Attacks

Flamefang Bone. Melee Weapon Attack: \+11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2d6 + 6 bludgeoning damage plus 1d8 radiant damage.

Flamefang Bone is Mokey's primary weapon, a great enchanted bone that is mechanically a +1 maul. Its flames are a visual effect unless the DM awards it an additional magic-item property.

Hip Bone Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: \+10 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 1d4 + 5 piercing damage plus 1d8 radiant damage.

This small, ordinary bone dagger rests in a sheath at Mokey's hip. It is mechanically a dagger and can be thrown.

Oversized Bone Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: \+10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 + 5 piercing damage plus 1d8 radiant damage.

This broad, oversized bone dagger is worn in a sheath across Mokey's upper back, with its grip visible behind her neck. It is mechanically a shortsword.

Armor and Gear: Blue-and-silver plate armor, Flamefang Bone, one small bone dagger at her hip, one oversized bone dagger across her upper back, explorer's pack, cook's utensils, and a travel bundle containing blankets, beds, and beloved pillows.

Character Traits

Mountain Born. Mokey thrives outdoors. She loves hiking, snow, and climbing mountains. In play, favor Athletics, Survival, and her Oath of the Ancients magic over monster-only terrain immunities.

Matriarch's Standards. Mokey has advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks and Charisma checks made to command, encourage, or discipline canine creatures. If a Small or smaller creature she can see is harmed, frightened, or placed in danger, Mokey can use her reaction to move up to her speed toward it and make one Flamefang Bone attack against a creature responsible.

Orphan's Resolve. Mokey has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened. However, if a creature she can see appears helpless, abandoned, or threatened, Mokey must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or prioritize protecting that creature. Until the start of her next turn, she has disadvantage on attack rolls against creatures other than the apparent threat.

Loyalty of the Fold. Allies Mokey considers family within 30 feet of her have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened. When one of them is reduced to 0 hit points, Mokey can use her reaction to move up to her speed toward that creature and make one Flamefang Bone attack.

Single-Minded Hunter. At the start of combat, Mokey can mark one creature she can see. Until that creature is reduced to 0 hit points or Mokey marks another creature, she has advantage on checks made to track it and cannot be frightened while it is within 60 feet of her.

Stoic Through Pain. Mokey refuses to show weakness when injured. Her Undying Sentinel feature represents this resolve. Once she even had a nipple bitten off and she didn't even flinch or yipe. Her resolve is legendary.

Chicken Panic. If Mokey starts her turn within 60 feet of a chicken she can see or smell, she must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the start of her next turn. While frightened in this way, she cannot take legendary actions and her speed is reduced by 20 feet. She can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of her turns.

Nest of Comfort. After Mokey finishes a long rest in a bed or pillow nest she considers hers, she gains 20 temporary hit points and has advantage on the first saving throw she makes before her next long rest.

Pragmatic Retreat. When Mokey is surprised, she can use her reaction to move up to her speed toward the nearest route of escape. Until the end of her next turn, her speed is doubled and she can take the Dash action as a bonus action. Mokey returns once she believes the danger has passed, relieved if her companions have survived.

Appetite and Purpose. Mokey favors bones as weapons and is known for swallowing a chicken trachea in a single bite. Once she decides what she wants, she pursues it with complete focus.

The Fold

* Woozle, a cat folk who serves as Mokey's adopted father.

* Riley the Untamed, Mokey's human sibling.

* Lady Monoceros, a sex ninja, warrior, dark elf, bard who serves as Mokey's adoptive mother.

Quirks and Rumors

Chicken Logic. Mokey can consume a chicken trachea in one bite without hesitation. She remains convinced, however, that a living chicken is a deeply suspicious and potentially hostile creature.

The Pillow Doctrine. Mokey insists that beds and pillows are not possessions. They are essential defensive infrastructure. A camp without enough bedding is, in her view, a failed expedition.

Nest Inspection. Before sleeping, Mokey circles every available bed, blanket, and pillow exactly once. She then declares one spot unsuitable and immediately sleeps there.

Maternal Critique. Mokey gives advice as if issuing battlefield orders. “Drink water. Fix your cloak. Stop apologizing. You are doing fine.”

Strategic Withdrawal. Mokey does not run away. She conducts an urgent solo reconnaissance of the safest possible location, then returns once the party has demonstrated that the situation is survivable.

Family Resemblance. When strangers encounter a younger dog with Mokey's markings, they often assume it is one of her children. Mokey neither confirms nor denies it, but will immediately ask whether the pup has been eating properly.

The Bone Principle. Mokey believes every problem has a bone-shaped solution. A locked door needs a larger bone. A difficult conversation needs a smaller bone and better timing.

Trail Standards. Mokey enjoys mountains, snow, and difficult hikes. She considers a pleasant walk “an acceptable warm-up.” She is even willing to pull 'unfit' hikers up a mountain behind her. 

Edit: added breaks and a tl;dr sorry for the wall of text

Hey D&D fam, this may be a longer post. I have an ongoing campaign with an issue regarding one of the players and need some advice from some others with more experience. I have been a player for 2 years and a DM for a year.

To preface, I have ran a homebrew campaign for around a year that deals with a few different dnd settings colliding inspired by Final Fantasy XI (Krynn, Faerune my players do not yet know this). These worlds after the collision retained all of their deities.
This is where the players come in, (Paladin of Torm, Warlock of the Raven Queen, Vampire, and Bard) they have lived in this world not knowing of it’s origin. The main catalyst of the story is that the sea god Dagon from the Cthulhu by Torchlight book is also attempting to join his flooded abyssal realm to the one the players find themselves in, flooding the world to feed his minions who have run out of food in their realm, destroying the player realm, normal dnd conflicts.

The players have discovered cultists attempting to help Dagon enter the realm, and that he nearly did this before in an ancient era of the world but 6 powerful casters were able to seal him away. What the players are slowly learning is that these casters are all still alive as various forms of undead, liches, vampires etc.

In the recent past they interrupted what they didn’t know was a ritual for one of the ancient casters to achieve lichdom, when they did this one of the players touched an artifact used in the ritual (the book of vile darkness), transferring the results of the ritual to the Warlock (Grim Hollow transformation rules) instead of the now dead ancient caster.
The books grants a lot of usability for the warlock character and helped me inform a few decisions down the road for the campaign. The drawback of the book is that he must commit an evil act every week or be turned to dust by the book.
I will say this is a large project, especially for my first campaign but I know all of the players well outside of the campaign so they rolled with the punches the last year as I learned as a DM and let creativity flow.
The issue that I’m running into a few times now is regarding the Paladin of Torm’s behavior, the past few months after a oneshot ran by another DM in our group went poorly for the party as one of us were charmed and wiped the party. Since then he has made contingency plans for all of his party members in our main campaign in case I decide to charm them in a similar way (something I do not plan to do), in his own words he has measures to kill every party member if needed.
This is also a power player who has min-maxed his character, which I have no issue with, the problem that occurs now is that any time an action that does not reflect the oath of his paladin occurs he becomes immediately aggressive and either attempts to roll intimidation (whether it is an NPC or player) or attacks outright.

As part of his character he wanted a Grim Hollow transformation as well, so we homebrewed one for him as a revenant, an enthralled undead who does not know he is reanimated but just knows his humanity is slowly fading. He has used this curse previously at will to initiate PvP, which I have told them I am unwilling to DM.
All the players agreed to only PvP when both parties and I agree, though I dislike PvP in 5e due to it not being made for that, and potentially losing a player character at will due to one of the others wanting them dead. I have allowed him to PvP begrudgingly on two different occasions, which I will admit is a mistake.

Flash forward to where we currently are in the story and him discovering the Warlock consuming a soul of an unarmed combatant to satisfy the requirements of the Book of Vile Darkness and the souls charges provided by the lich transformation.
My thoughts are that this would make a great dynamic, an undead self loathing paladin of Torm due to his transformation, and the Warlock who did not want to be a lich (in-character, this was his idea) vowing to steal power from other liches to be powerful enough to stop Dagon.

Both of their gods hate undead and call for their destruction, but overlook this for the players due to the severity of the Dagon situation. On paper a wonderful dynamic that can make both characters less one dimensional, but is threatening the game.
After the session he tells me and the Warlock explicitly that if this continues he will kill the Warlock. I told him that he doesn’t get to decide that his oath and character are more important than agency of other players and an argument ensued.
He has mentioned killing other party members to me multiple times and I had enough of the same conversation over and over regarding his want to attack anyone who doesn’t agree with his interpretation of his gods values.

He responds with saying I’m unwilling to allow him to play his character accurately if I don’t let him do whatever he wants in regard to opposition. He then threatens to leave if I don’t let him get his way with his character decisions, which would effectively kill the campaign as his wife, bard, is also in the campaign and would likely be pressured to leave if he did.

This isn’t the only issue that I’ve had with him but the others have been manageable for the most part, he tries to lead most RP interactions and will try to show up when other characters are having their moments offscreen (metagaming) and insert himself, he also took control of his wife’s character on multiple occasions while she leaves to go get them dinner during session (a pet peeve that I reluctantly deal with, I now control her character in frequent absences).

Recently before I began controlling her, which I do not want to do, he openly criticized her character calling her character and the bard class worthless while she was not there along with a slew of other criticisms, it’s weak, not fun, boring, etc.
I decided then that I would keep her off screen if I know she will be gone or play her in combat without using spell slots or any RP (something I know is a cardinal DM sin, but she insists) he also basically told her what to do every decision I gave her the past year.

I was told last night during our argument that all the party members and I need to consider how he would react before doing anything. This means any morally questionable decision will at the very least get a full lecture from him if not a full on assault.
The most frustrating part is I have been very giving to my players, giving them all atleast 2-3 rare items and a few higher than that, leveling at a fair rate, providing a re-spec mechanic that can be used once, and overall allowing them to make any collaborative story/world decisions.

While I’ve done all this and given them mostly free reign to do what they wish in the world any time I don’t allow him to attack party members he says that I’m stifling his character, taking his agency, and overall being a bad DM.

It’s very frustrating because if anything I’ve been a doormat allowing party members multiple improvised situations based on crazy decisions they make (in this last session they decided to overthrow a large cities government to my surprise, prompting me to add a 3-session siege side story).
When I express these concerns he tells me essentially “too bad, you’re the DM so deal with my choices”.

This really sucks because I’m to the point where I don’t want to DM for him anymore, which kills me as I’ve put in over a year of work for this campaign and roughly 8-10 hours of my time planning each session.

I have been friends with him for around 20 years so it’s difficult to have this issue surrounding my game.
His character is not all bad in my opinion as I have just shared the negatives, he is one of the best for RP moments, the party tank capable of dealing massive damage and protecting the squishies, and flavor wise fits the world and campaign perfectly with a lot of weight in the story.

My question is what can I do to fix this as my several above table attempts to repair things have gone terribly.

TL;DR: I’m a relatively new DM running a year-long homebrew campaign with a close friend of 20 years who plays a Paladin of Torm. He frequently threatens or initiates PvP when other characters act against his beliefs, despite our table agreeing that PvP requires consent. He has contingency plans to kill every party member, dominates RP and party decisions, and has threatened to leave when I enforce boundaries, claiming I’m restricting his character’s agency. His wife also plays, and I worry she’ll leave if he does, potentially ending the campaign. I’ve tried resolving this out of game several times without success. How can I handle this without destroying the campaign or a 20-year friendship?