How can we apply the concept of ‘story beats’ to build a memorable single-session adventure?
A new narrative template for cinematic one-shots
Review: Dungeon of the Mad Mage (and a new ranking)
I overlooked this adventure for far too long. Now I rate it as one of my favourite 5e adventures so far.
How To Homebrew Your Own Game Rules In D&D
Sooner or later, you are going to want to tinker with something in your game. The thing is, should you? What’s worth tinkering with, and what is better left ‘as is’?
Learning from the MCU to make your game epic
I’m probably the wrong person to write this because – whisper it – I don’t really like Marvel films. But you don’t have to love Marvel to appreciate how wildly popular they are. Since 2007, Marvel Studios have produced more than 30 films, and the MCU is now the highest-grossing film franchise of all time … Continue reading Learning from the MCU to make your game epic
The Complete Guide to D&D’s Musical Instruments
Have you ever made a new bard character and wondered which musical instrument was a good fit? Have you ever looked at the equipment list in the Player’s Handbook and thought, hey, what even is a dulcimer? Do you want to use musical instruments to add depth and colour to your worldbuilding? If so, this post might be for you!
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?
Coming soon: Adventures in Hawk’s Rest!
I’m disappearing for a bit but excited to share my latest project with you!
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.
Happy Belated Birthday, Scroll for Initiative!
Whoops: I missed my second anniversary. Can’t believe it’s been two years! Thank you for reading, sharing, and commenting. To celebrate, here are my top ten posts. 10. How to Run Time Travel in D&D This was quite a personal one for me. I had been playing D&D for 20 years and never used time … Continue reading Happy Belated Birthday, Scroll for Initiative!
Welcome to the Arena: How to Run PvP D&D
If you’re a fan of RealmSmith, you might be following Champions of the Realm, a charity tournament of PvP (player versus player) combat. It’s good fun. They even got Bruce Buffer to do the announcements. If you want to run a PvP tournament in D&D, how do you make it work? Players and scheduling Realistically, … Continue reading Welcome to the Arena: How to Run PvP D&D