Do you need a character backstory? Here are the questions that are worth answering.
How To Make A Compelling Backstory
What does your favourite character look like?
One of the most popular articles I wrote last year was a bit of a surprise. Inspired by Legend of the Five Rings, I came up with 20 questions for deeper character creation. A year later, it is the most-read page on my site! The first question in the article is ‘What do you look … Continue reading What does your favourite character look like?
How to reimagine evil species in D&D
There is a long tradition of certain D&D creatures being 'always evil'. But what if they are just misunderstood?
Make Your Goblins Unique: Thinking in Depth about Monsters and Factions
I have recently enjoyed watching Baron de Ropp’s YouTube videos about fantasy geopolitics, and it got me thinking about how we can do so much more with the monsters and factions in our games. I wouldn’t necessarily say that this post is ‘geopolitics’ per se, but that's certainly part of it. I think this approach … Continue reading Make Your Goblins Unique: Thinking in Depth about Monsters and Factions
Awesome, free adventure hooks from the Monster Manual
Have you ever read the Monster Manual? From cover to cover? If not, you really should. It’s a gold mine of inspiration and ideas, easily my favourite of the core rulebooks. Here are 64 mini adventure hooks I found there.
Deeper character creation: the game of 20 questions
Some players strive to be more than just another elven wizard. The game of 20 questions is a neat concept for building richer, deeper characters.
How to run a session zero
Want to start a new campaign? Run a session zero first. Here's how!
Building a New World: Part 2
Having determined what my world as a whole wil look like, it’s time to zoom in on one continent in detail.
Building a New World: Part 1
This week, I downloaded the World Builder’s Guidebook from DriveThruRPG, and my goodness, what a find. Many thanks to Twitter user @Archarzel for putting me onto this. The World Builder’s Guidebook is a 96-page supplement by Richard Baker, published in 1996 for the 2nd edition of AD&D. This was about a year before TSR was … Continue reading Building a New World: Part 1