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.
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)
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.
I thought it would be cool to have a kind of flowchart or checklist to help DMs design adventures around its principles. So: I made one!
I have only ever run one homebrew campaign from 1st to 20th level, and it followed a very loose structure, one session at a time. I would love to write something that helps other DMs achieve the same thing.
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.
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
Here we go again! WELCOME to the 2023 Scroll for Initiative Holiday Gift Guide. A few things first. This is an independent blog. There are no affiliate links here, nor am I being paid in any way to endorse these products. (Believe me, I wish I were!) As always, please support your Friendly Local Game … Continue reading The Great 2023 RPG Gift Guide
Ever fancied a trip to R'lyeh to take out one of the Great Old Ones? Do you like the vibe of games like Eldritch Horror and Arkham Horror and want to recreate them in D&D? Have you ever just wondered what Cthulhu's stat block would look like in 5th edition? If so, this adventure is for you!
GATEWAY TO AN ANCIENT THREAT Thousands of years ago, the elves of the Great Wood sealed something away: a magical experiment gone horribly wrong. Their creation was so powerful and so dangerous that they forbade all mention of its existence and erased it from all lore. Yet deep beneath the surface, the Nexus plots and … Continue reading Out Now: Paths of the Nexus, Level 1!