By Lillian Cohen-Moore Sep 25, 2017 | Articles, Writing a Better Homebrew Campaign |
Music is everywhere. Our commercials, online ad spots, in our radios, courtyards, arenas, phones, record players, mp3 players, CD players, even our wax cylinders and greeting cards. We are saturated with it, and chances are, your world probably is too. Part 4, When Your World Mirrors Ours If your homebrew is an Austen-era fantasy of manners or a near-future gritty cyberpunk, the music to write, read, and play to is just a few clicks away. For a...
By Stephen Rowe Sep 22, 2017 | Articles, Memoirs of a Lich |
Dear Osvaud, This is Osvaud. We once gave serious consideration to godhood. I think we were rare because we didn’t assume it was amazing. Unfortunately, most (un)holy books are propaganda puff pieces, so we went more direct to the sources. Basically, we murdered an awful lot of outsiders to learn a few vital secrets. Oh, that reminds me of a fun fact: a bell doesn’t ring every time an angel loses their wings (that’s the saying, right?). It’s...
By Beth Jones Sep 20, 2017 | Articles, Of Godly Might |
Clerics of Thor Thor is known by many names, but whether it is Perun, Thunderer, or in some parts of the far north, even giant-slayer, he is always hailed as the mightiest of warriors and master of the battlefield. Worshippers of Thor often bellow, “Thor’s thunder in your ears; Thor’s roar, the last you’ll hear,” while crashing a warhammer into the face of a foe. This brief litany on the battlefield that accompanies head-bashing is most...
By Adam Roy Sep 18, 2017 | Articles, Shades of Magic |
Clockwork Magic Items Clockwork magic originated in the Free City of Zobeck, amongst the human, dwarf, and especially kobold followers of Rava, the Goddess of Gears and Fate. It has rapidly spread across the breadth of Midgard in the last century, and clockwork spells and magic items can now be found almost anywhere in Midgard, from the Constructor Temples of Ptah in the Southlands to the Boiling Tower of Steam of Auvindri Against-the-Wind in...
By Jacob Huebsch Sep 15, 2017 | Articles, The Far Side of the Table |
Upgrading the Game: “Teching” the Table There is an enormous amount of technology that can be added to the table. Initiative trackers, digital character sheets, rulebook PDFs, and virtual dice rollers make up a small number of possible additions players or GMs may use. Throughout this installment, I work to describe my own adventures in using technology. Each article focuses on a different piece of technology, discussing its...
By Brian Suskind Sep 13, 2017 | Articles, Midgard Expanded |
Part 9, Bowing Before the Spider Gods (Ruined Pages—Fragments) Monks…slavers… …affixed the chains to our wrists and connected us to the line of other slaves. …they eat their foes….dragged…. A portal in the archway… …elsewhere…high-plateau, very arid… …now near a brackish lake, we… …thermal spring…leaping snake shot like an arrow…which poisoned Agosto!… ….Never should have left home… Sharp teeth…taste of webbing… …torments abound…...
By James J. Haeck Sep 11, 2017 | Articles, Beyond Damage Dice |
Monk Weapons, Part 2 A weapon is more than the damage it deals. In combat, skilled warriors use their weapons to confuse, disorient, and disadvantage their enemies before moving in for the kill. Beyond Damage Dice ties unique maneuvers to weapons from both the core rules and the Midgard Campaign Setting, giving them a distinct impact on the battlefield. This first part of the monk weapons series presents new maneuvers that monks can use with...
By Daniel Colby Sep 8, 2017 | Articles |
Wandering the busy streets of Zobeck, you stagger and bustle past many a merchant stall and peddler’s cart—so many different shops lining the streets!—and all sorts of strange and wondrous wares. Zobeck attracts merchants and customers of all types: rich, poor, and everything in between. This city is among the most prosperous, sitting at a crossroads. An attraction for those wishing to improve their lot in life, a place offering wonder...
By Davide Quatrini Sep 6, 2017 | Articles |
Variant Goblins from English Poetry The sister of the renowned pre-raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Christina Georgina (1830-1894) was a feminist poet involved in the pre-romantic English literary movement. In her most famous poem, “Goblin Market,” she describes a band of goblins characterized by beastly features. 5E stats are provided for those unusual monsters, aimed at GMs who want to give a fresh spin to a...
By Kobold Staff Sep 4, 2017 | Articles, Wallpapers |
2017 Kobold Press Calendar It’s September! So here’s a set of wallpapers for your computer, your smartphone, or whatever electronic device you’ve got. These come from our Kobold Press 2017 Calendar. This month’s scene is by Bryan Syme. Back to Kobold School Discover Midgard, a fantasy realm of dark roads and deep magic! The 2017 Kobold Press Calendar brings you 13 scenes of wonder, mystery and adventure. From the Black...
By Richard Pett Sep 1, 2017 | Articles, Your Whispering Homunculus |
Evocative Words—Part One “Reading, master?” “Silence maggot, or I’ll have you flensed. I’m too busy consuming Mugwort’s Tome of Evocative Words to communicate with you in any way. Now go and put some more lard on the cat’s boil. Her yowling is irritating me.” Words, beautiful, lovely words. Each paints a glorious picture, and though the old saying of a thousand words is true, so also is the reverse—simple words can evoke images and implant...
By Kobold Staff Aug 31, 2017 | Articles, RPG Blog Carnival |
August’s RPG Blog Carnival was all about Magic. What’s awesome about magic? Why do we love it so? How do we bring more of the impossible to our table? Magic! Many a spell slinger brought an assortment of magics to chat about: We at the Kobold Blog throw a series of thematic 5E magic items your way with Shades of Magic. Alan Kellogg (of Mythusmage Today) gives insights on magic and how to present it in your game: Part I and Part II....
By Brian Suskind Aug 30, 2017 | Articles |
Alchemical Warfare Alchemical weapons have a long history in RPGs. It is a safe bet that the first gamers found themselves in a situation where igniting a flask of oil seemed like a great idea. Thumbing through the pages of history it is easy to find references to chemical weaponry. Chinese generals used clouds of vapor distilled from mustard seeds to blind their enemies. Indian alchemists used a serum distilled from certain tree roots, plants...
By James J. Haeck Aug 28, 2017 | Articles, Shades of Magic |
Primordial Magic Items The raw power of elements is called upon by druids, evokers, and sorcerers alike, for what mage does not wish to command the natural world itself? Long ago, these great spell-binders tamed the elements and forced their primordial power into these arcane tools. Should you come to possess these great magical tools, be prepared to wield them against the enemies of the earth. Boots of Quaking Wondrous item, very rare The...
By Stephen Rowe Aug 25, 2017 | Articles, Memoirs of a Lich |
Dear Osvaud, This is Osvaud. After thousands of years of murdering teams of well-outfitted adventurers, we’ve amassed quite the stockpile of junk. I am pretty sure we’ve got a closet somewhere so precariously stacked with portable holes and bags of holding that it unintentionally qualifies as a magical trap. At this point, anything we stumble into that’s less than a minor artifact isn’t really worth an identify spell,...
