How many spells are there with expensive material components? Answer: more than you think.
Should you stop letting players get spell components for free?
How to roleplay every NPC (almost!)
I recently came across the idea of a psychological gesture from Justin Alexander of the Alexandrian. This is a technique created by Michael Chekhov where actors use a physical action to capture and express their character's main emotional or psychological state. I've been trying it out a bit, and it's fun and really helps me get in character quickly.
How many liches does your world have?
Should the world level up with the players? The question gets me thinking about the ecology of my game world. How rare is an ancient red dragon? A storm giant? A bulette? That’s really what this article is about: trying to find a framework for monster rarity.
How practical is raise dead?
Something goes wrong, a few dice rolls go awry, and then, all of a sudden, somebody’s character is dead. Not unconscious: dead. Now what?
Unlocking the magic of literary fantasy
Over the last few years, I’ve realized that what I really crave in my fantasy isn’t necessarily a recognized subgenre. I call it literary fantasy.
Awesome climate and terrain: Part 2!
Last week we explored arctic, coastal, desert, forest, and grassland environments. This week, we've got a few more: hill, mountain, swamp, Underdark, underwater, and urban.
How to build an awesome fantasy world with climate and terrain
I’ve been reading a lot about worldbuilding and map-making for a while now, so I thought I would put some of my notes in one place.
Seven twists to make your D&D world unique
D&D diverges from our own world in seven major ways. How would our games be different if we moved away from these core assumptions?
A new campaign: seven awesome adventures for 2024
A few weeks ago, I wrote about some of the most well-regarded adventures in the hobby, and it reminded me how much I love running campaigns. My last, Dungeon of the Mad Mage, was epic: it ended in May and lasted the best part of a year. Before that, I ran a 20-level homebrew campaign … Continue reading A new campaign: seven awesome adventures for 2024
From the experts: the greatest RPG adventures of all time
What is your favourite published adventure of all time? I put this question to as many industry heavyweights as I could: writers, game designers, YouTubers, even a few cartographers. I wanted to see what their favourite adventures were and why. These are the responses I got back, which I'm delighted to share with you. Featured: … Continue reading From the experts: the greatest RPG adventures of all time