A pool of oily black water ripples as you approach. Darkwater can be both an unexpected terrain hazard and a potential story hook for assassination plots. If your adventurers are moving through a dark and dank cavern system, they might walk right into a puddle of darkwater. If they’re mixing among the social elite in […]
Who is this Miranda person anyway? And what is she doing with the website? Well, let’s start with that first question. Before I started tackling the whole college experience, I knew one thing: I wanted to work at TSR. They made games that I loved to play. Making games seemed like an awesome thing to
Dancing Among the Kobolds, You Find… Read More »
If you open issue #19 of Kobold Quarterly, you’ll find an article called “Magic Shops: What’s in Store?” by Christina Stiles and Spike Y Jones (the very same authors of this article!). That article explores the topic of how you can turn the experience of shopping for magic items into a useful GM tool, plus
Magic Shops: Flights of Fancy (Part 1 of 2) Read More »
Undead creatures don’t like to play nice with living creatures. Perhaps the characters living in your world have seen a fair share of zombie hordes rushing hapless villages, swarms of undead rats stripping flesh from dead and dying people, a ghost of a wronged citizen haunting the former headman’s house, or a vampire stealing away
Deadly Harmony: Creature Combinations Read More »
Kobold Quarterly issue #19 is out today, and this Kobold horn of plenty is overflowing with what might be our most diverse set of articles and columns ever. Sure, maybe there’s nothing new about this issue having great crunchy, fluffy articles for Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons, and the AGE System RPG
Kobold Quarterly #19 Now Available Read More »
Constructed by the elf witch Azria Dwin’dardae from dozens of fist-sized diamonds, this ornate cauldron glows with a warm orange light when filled with liquid of any sort. Those who find the secret to claiming ownership over it can enjoy a variety of benefits.
A low hum of muffled clicks and whirrs emanates from this feline statue as it stretches. Its dark body glistens in the available light, and its eyes and ears move as it begins to look around the area. A faint glow flickers in its eyes, a low thrum underlies the sound of its movement, and
… and so I said, “No, you kiss the fish!” Thank you, thank you. For those just joining us, it’s time for a serious announcement. The kitchen is out of veal. Also, I’m stepping down as the web editor for Kobold Quarterly. I started at the magazine way back in 2008 with issue #3 when
All Mimsy Were the Borogoves Read More »
“You! Filthy wastelander! How much further until we reach our prey?” Esolpe Dupler brayed as he and his rotund son, Galdrich, attempted to match my pace. The blackened valley was treacherous. Progress was slow. I pulled back the hood of my cloak and spun around, “Not much longer, my Lord. We are fast on their
Midgard: Services Rendered Read More »
Remember the tetsubo? Remember asking for some video of stuff getting cut and smashed? Good! Check this video out: What else do you want to see? We can do videos on the subjects of previous written Real Steel articles, or we can do something completely new. Tell us what you want to see! If we like the idea and
Real Steel: VIDEO! Tetsu No Bo Read More »
The empathic connection between a master and familiar has a way of shaping the behavior of both… [previously] __ Lennox pleaded with the grey-bearded man in the park. “C’mon… I know you know the old woman in the swamp outside the city. You told a nobleman she could raise animals from the dead. Now please,
Familiar Roles: Practical Ideas for Animal Familiars (Part 2 of 2) Read More »
“When you told me you wished to ‘drop in on an old friend’ while we were in the city, I do not recall you ever mentioning that the ‘friend’ was the local arch-priest,” Benedict said to Jerika as they ran down the stone corridor, the temple guards behind them. “Perhaps it slipped my mind,” said
Divine Favor: the Inquisitor Read More »
(Illustration by Jeff McFarland) Fetid, gore-choked breath—you smell the abomination before seeing her. Taller than two men, this massive creature stares down from a crazed woman’s face of cerulean skin, the color of the deepest seas, wreathed in a wet tangle of blue-green, kelp-like hair. Her eyes are obsidian, her mouth a twisted, oversized gash
Kankodraa, Scion of Dagon Read More »
The vow of poverty is a highly restrictive roleplaying challenge… [previously] Protest A few monks take the vow of poverty as a form of protest, their convictions made manifest to demonstrate against an injustice or philosophy that they will not abide by. Almost universally, they brand themselves in some way to showcase the offense they
Wow of Poverty (Part 4 of 4) Read More »
“The Impious King,” a story well known and often recited in taverns. But told only when the lord and his men are absent. __ Long ago, in a distant land, there was a king who was very greedy and cruel. He always smiled when he slept because when he dreamed of all the wicked things he would
Midgard: The Impious King Read More »
There is a game master rule of thumb: who, where, how, and why, but never when. In most cases, you can plan an encounter with all elements fixed in place except the time it triggers. Therefore, you can plan for NPCs to be at a certain place for a certain reason doing a certain thing,
How to Set Up an Assassination Attempt without Upsetting Your Players (Part 2 of 3) Read More »
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