Magical Wastelands: Abandoned Overgrowth
When magical planes intrude on a fantasy world, the results can lay waste. Get a sample of some of the after-effects of an abandoned overgrowth.
Posts by Ben McFarland
Magical Wastelands: Polluted Blights
The noxious potions, failed alchemical experiments, and magical malfunctions left to spill into the currents of local waterways leave greasy, iridescent slicks while bubbling vents emanate from slag piles consisting of accidental heaps of poorly combined reagents. This inconsiderate, mystical trash warps the creatures and alters the plants and the very terrain of the region, …
Magical Wastelands: Battlefields
Popular culture and memoir alike announce, “War is hell.” JRR Tolkien is said to have written the The Lord of the Rings partially in response to his experiences during World War II. The horrors of conflict should never be minimized, but in the course of your game, your characters might come across the remnants of …
Gen Con: One More for the Books
Gen Con 2019 is done, and I’m on the long road back to upstate NY. This was my fifth year of seriously coordinating convention games for Kobold Press. We’ve had wonderful volunteers in years past, and this year was no different.
Warlock’s Apprentice: Debris of the Great Mage Wars
The departure of the elves and the resulting conflict shaped Central Midgard in fundamental ways. At its core, the Great Mage Wars rise out of the hubris of the Fulgurate Society and leave behind a monument to humanity’s capability for destructive spite.
The Dwarves of Dwergvald
In the Southlands, the Dwarves of Dwergvald differ from the traditional dwarven ideal. Less martial, these dwarves focus on craftsmanship and community. This isn’t to say they don’t have warriors or martial elements—far from it! But the God-Kings of Nuria-Natal strongly patronized their guilds, and in doing so, they created relationships between the greatest sculptors …
Review—The Gathering: Reuniting Pioneering Artists of Magic: The Gathering
I wasn’t expecting my copy of The Gathering: Reuniting Pioneering Artists of Magic: The Gathering for at least a couple of weeks. The Kickstarter notifications had recently gone out, and with the polar cold tightly gripping the Northeast, I presumed I’d have to wait a bit before I’d be allowed to thumb through it.
Cranberry Ooze
The result of alchemical experimentation by insane arcanists with a penchant for oozes and jellied fruits, the cranberry ooze has a deep maroon color, with bits of fruit peel, pit stones, and the yet-undissolved parts of unfortunate victims still suspended within its form. When I first saw one such monstrosity, it crept along the floor …
Coolest Virtual Gen Con Project Ever
As part of the “Coolest Virtual Gen Con Project Ever,” Kobold freelancer Ben McFarland recorded the opening encounter of Grandmother’s Fire, an adventure out of the anthology, Tales of the Old Margreve. While his voice is a little rough—who are we kidding, he could do stand-in work for the Cryptkeeper—it seems that the table had …
Deep Magic: No More Handwaving
For me, magic was all about the handwaving. Unsurprisingly, I spent a lot of time as the DM. Plenty of stories involved an evil priest or foul wizard, or even the clever ogre mage preparing some terrible ritual spell which would unleash a demon or open a portal into the outer planes. My villains were …
Kobold Press Gen Con Events
We’re inside the 100-day mark! Sure, there are still many hours until registration opens for the Best Four Days in Gaming, but you’re going to want to know what grab in that mad scramble when the electronic gates lift on May 19th. We’re here for you…well, we’re here to show you where to find Midgard in …
Midgard at Gen Con 2013!
Are you going to Gen Con 2013? Want to run a session of Midgard and show folks just how much awesome the kobolds can pack into 4 hours? Please email Ben McFarland ([email protected]) if you’re interested in running Midgard adventures at the convention. (Today would be best, but soon will work, too!) Hope to see …
From the Deep Dark Woods of Gen Con…
Some days, it just feels like the stars have aligned and everything is falling into place. That was the Friday of Gen Con 2012—and I don’t mean the fact that the panels went well, or that a seat opened up at the Ars Magica game, although that contributed. I mean that I sat down to …
Everyone Loves Tentacles: Arts and Crafts Edition
As recently stated in Dork Tower, Cthulhu is the bacon of gaming. And you can’t have Cthulhu without tentacles. To help you create interactive tentacle minis of your own, I will show you how you can make them for mere pennies. What you will need: Scissors Tape Pipe cleaners ($2.19 / 100 @ Office Depot, …
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Play It Like You Stole It!
Thank you. Five years ago, I was writing Living Greyhawk adventures as a volunteer for the RPGA. We were trying new ideas and having fun, but I wanted to do more. I joined Empire of the Ghouls as a senior patron and started learning with the community at Open Design. I playtested, I punched up …
