This 12-inch-long green-scaled gecko has backswept horns and ridges down its back. It turns and regards you with startlingly human eyes before bunching powerful muscles and leaping. The malicious fey creatures colloquially referred to as Margreve backpack geckos (a reference to their small stature and tendency to turn up in travelers’ gear) are a tremendous […]
Monster Monday: Margreve Backpack Gecko Read More »
Do you need a recurring villain? Karesh is a nasty little boss that you can use at almost any level of Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition play. History Early in his career, Karesh leads a typical band of kobolds. His life changes when his band is forced to relocate to a new mountain cave, where
Karesh, Kobold Herald of Tiamut (Part 1) Read More »
Today we’re going to finish talking about boss battles in your tabletop games, including how you can borrow a few ideas from Diablo 3 and other titles as well. Arenas, Temptations, and Movement: Providing a Memorable and Challenging Environment Another idea to borrow from Diablo 3 when it comes to boss battles is to crank
From Diablo 3 to D&D: Memorable and Challenging Boss Battles (Part 2 of 2) Read More »
Shivering, Gavin longingly gazed at the dungeon’s exit, then at the dim light coming from the dangling, crude chandelier above him. All that stood between him and freedom was a burly half-orc. Gavin drew the bedroll he used as a makeshift cloak closer around his naked form as a cold draft started up. Ordinarily, a
Trapsmith: Impromptu Surprises (Part 2) Read More »
Deep within an ancient forest, a trembling young woman enters the clearing where a ramshackle hut crouches on birds’ legs. Far below the earth, a caravan of kobold merchants passes through a stone archway carved with the faces of leering ghouls. High atop a northern mountain, a dwarf grips his battle-axe and gazes over the
I’m no scholar of Robert E. Howard, just a fan of his storytelling and his best-known character, Conan the Barbarian. Conan first crossed my reading list when I discovered a shelf of dog-eared paperbacks at the local second-hand shop. I was still a relative newcomer to swords-&-sorcery fiction at the time, and Conan was unlike
Howling Tower: Conan the Instructor Read More »
Back in the fall of 2009, Chris Dinkins and I interviewed a host of game designers and novelists who were also experienced game masters. We sent around too many questions to too many GMs and received far too much material for one article to hold. As a result, a lot of great material got scrapped.
The Lost GM Scrolls: Mike Mearls on Stepping Up and Taking a Poke at the World Read More »
Monsters of Sin epitomize the very worst of our natures—and they prey on others’ weaknesses. This third book in the Monsters of Sin series for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is devoted to Gluttony, the irresistable desire for pleasures of all sorts, so there’s bound to be one to tempt any character. It includes: The Bottomless
Monsters of Sin: Gluttony Now Available Read More »
Open Design is up for four ENnie Awards this year (vote here), and our kobold mascot Jiro is out on the campaign trail stumping for votes! He’s traveling all over Midgard, and we’ll be giving you updates on his progress. (We’re not sure how he’s going to get out the vote in the Empire of
$5 Off ENnie Nominated Books At The Kobold Store Read More »
Back in the fall of 2009, Chris Dinkins and I interviewed a host of game designers and novelists who were also experienced game masters. We sent around too many questions to too many GMs and received far too much material for one article to hold. As a result, a lot of great material got scrapped.
The Lost GM Scrolls: A Friday Funny with Mike Mearls Read More »
Today we’re going to talk about boss battles in your tabletop games, including how you can borrow a few ideas from Diablo 3 and other titles as well. Making these climactic encounters a true apex to your adventures is crucial, and they are loads of fun to dream up. Remember, folks, D&D invented the “boss
From Diablo 3 to D&D: Memorable and Challenging Boss Battles (Part 1 of 2) Read More »
“Stop! Gods, I’m done.” Gavin’s chest and legs were on fire. Gasping for air, he looked at Thurmish. The giant oaf was barely out of breath. “Where is Zaron?” Thurmish gazed ahead, spat on the ground, and said, “His magic is helping him flee. He won’t return—not for us at least.” “And what of our
Trapsmith: Impromptu Surprises Read More »
The trap is a D&D icon. Classic dungeons such as Tomb of Horrors and The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan are famous for their mechanical ambushes. Traps are so central to the concept of dungeons that an entire class—the thief—was developed to deal with them (along with locked doors). In real life, of course, archaeologists have
Howling Tower: Placing Traps to Serve a Larger Purpose Read More »
“Dark Roads & Golden Hells is one hell of an achievement… or perhaps eleven of them. Every chapter offers a world of ideas, every paragraph a vision. Open this to any page, and see if it doesn’t draw you in. Open Design has created a dazzlingly worthy successor to the Planescape legacy.” – Colin McComb,
Dark Roads & Golden Hells Now Available Read More »
In the last post, we covered how the Threat Level system works to provide Dragon Age and AGE system game masters with a base score for deciding if a group of adversaries would make an appropriate challenge for their player characters. This post expands on those rules by providing the Threat Level system for the
AGE of Combat: Building Combat Encounters in the AGE System (Part 2 of 2) Read More »
As ever, readers who are new to the diary, please read the earlier installments first. (Art by Chris McFann.) DAY FIFTY-FIVE (later) Well. Planning—and subsequently executing—a company picnic is significantly harder than I initially expected. Here’s my whole freaking Saturday basically wasted, and I’m no closer to having that punch made than I was this
Oh, I’m Going to Get Killed Any Minute Now (Part 24) Read More »
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