After a long wait, the third tier of The Campaign Handbook is out! It’s the biggest instalment yet—70 pages packed with ideas for high-level adventuring!
The Campaign Handbook: Tier 3 is Here!
Happy 5th Birthday, Scroll for Initiative!
Here's what's changed since then.
Table energy: what boosts and drains your DM?
It isn’t just the DM’s prep that keeps a game alive: it’s the rhythm of the table. Some things energize the session and keep things flowing, but others quietly drag it down. If you’ve ever left a game feeling weirdly drained, this post might help explain why.
Out now: Ridgeway Watch, an adventure for 3rd-level characters
I’ve just released Ridgeway Watch, an easy-to-drop-in adventure site designed for four 3rd-level characters, perfect for one-shots or side quests. Once a forgotten military outpost, Ridgeway Watch has fallen into the hands of a small gang of outlaws led by a deserter named Kessel. Now it’s a hideout waiting to be uncovered or raided. Inside … Continue reading Out now: Ridgeway Watch, an adventure for 3rd-level characters
D&D is more than just one game
D&D isn’t one game but a framework made up of multiple, overlapping mini-games. They can blend together so smoothly that you don’t notice when you’re switching from one to the other—until something feels off.
Amazing advice from the 3rd edition DMG
I know it’s not a particularly glamorous topic, but the rhythm of the adventuring day is key for establishing an appropriate sense of threat. If encounters are too easy, the game feels trivial; too hard, and every combat becomes a slog. Get the ratios right, and the players feel like badass heroes.
Almost great: The Wild Beyond the Witchlight (a review)
The Wild Beyond the Witchlight was released three and a half years ago in September 2021 and was something of novelty for Wizards of the Coast, especially coming on the back of Rime of the Frostmaiden and Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, two quite dark and horror-themed sourcebooks. Witchlight promised to be the exact opposite, … Continue reading Almost great: The Wild Beyond the Witchlight (a review)
Tired D&D clichés: which ones need to go?
We had a fun session last weekend (a brief sojourn to Tomb of Annihilation via a fairy ring), and one of my players made a comment that stuck with me: ‘Sometimes, you just want a dungeon and a dragon.’ It made me think about tropes: the conventions of a genre that you see over and … Continue reading Tired D&D clichés: which ones need to go?
Encounter balance in 2024: better or worse?
Is encounter-building that a big deal? In short, yes. So how has it changed in 2024?
Cookbooking Witchlight: better information architecture in action
My last post seemed to get a bit of interest, and a few of the comments asked if I could provide an example of its principles in action, perhaps using The Wild Beyond the Witchlight as a case study.