Articles Archives

Penny Dreadfuls: Against the Nostalgia Fetish in Fantasy Roleplaying

By Neal Hebert / May 20, 2013 / Articles, Front Page

Ever since the announcement of “D&D Next”—or, to translate marketing-speak into actual English, Dungeons & Dragons: 5th Edition—more than a year ago, Wizards of the Coast’s efforts to unite the disparate tribes of fantasy roleplaying enthusiasts under one system of roleplaying has been contentious at best. Fans of disparate—and mutually exclusive, in some cases—styles of […]

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Midgard Icons: The Dragon Sultana

By Wade Rockett / May 17, 2013 / Articles, Front Page

Midgard Icons presents some of the Midgard Campaign Setting’s major NPCs as icons for use in 13th Age, the new fantasy roleplaying game from Rob Heinsoo and Jonathan Tweet. Bring them into your 13th Age campaign; run 13th Age in the world of Midgard; or port the icon relationship rules into your system of choice.

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Gnasty Gnolls: The Avenger in AGE

By Peter von Bleichert / May 16, 2013 / Articles, Front Page, Monsters

As you might expect from the title of this article, Pete continues his look at the gnoll. If you missed the first part, take a quick peek here first, and then come back to explore all that is the Midgard AGE gnoll avenger! Gnolls have slaughtered their way to gaming infamy, and they are a

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Old Hat Monsters: Tribal Hero Template

By Frank Gori / May 15, 2013 / Articles, Front Page, Monsters

“My lands are where my dead lie buried.”—Crazy Horse Tribal cultures sometimes have a different leader in war then when in peace. The tribal chieftain template I discussed last week was for a chieftain who mostly leads primarily by speaking. The tribal hero, or war chief if you prefer, leads by action. You can represent

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Your Whispering Homunculus: 100 Spots for Overnight Roughing It (50 Fair and 50 Foul)

By Richard Pett / May 14, 2013 / Articles, Front Page, Your Whispering Homunculus

Master Pett’s Your Whispering Homunculus presents only the finest in British gaming. Indeed, you are not likely to find a more comprehensive assortment of miscellany anywhere. (So much more than just another bloke in a dress.) “Master! Look what I’ve found in the dungeon.” “Ah, my old adventurer’s tent. How much I miss the days of

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Midgard Mayhem at MACE 2012 and MACE West 2013

By Mark Francis / May 13, 2013 / Articles, Front Page

Last fall Christina Stiles approached me about participating in an event she was organizing for MACE 2012 entitled Midgard Mayhem. The event was designed to showcase the just released campaign setting of Midgard by Wolfgang Baur by running adventures set in it. The idea sounded cool and I agreed to run a couple of adventures

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Old Hat Monsters: Tribal Chieftain Template

By Frank Gori / May 8, 2013 / Articles, Front Page

“The sight of it made the earth seem unearthly. They were accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there—there you could look at a thing monstrous, beautiful, and free.” —Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness. My first Old Hat Monster article was about breathing new life into the classic monster races

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The Chemist

By Ben Asaro / May 7, 2013 / Articles, Front Page

Not all healers are tied to a church; in some places there are surgeons, hospitalers, and village elders. The most refined healer not associated with a deity is the chemist. Combining superior alchemical knowledge with medical research, the chemist can create compounds, tinctures, salves, and extracts of vast power. The adventuring chemist adds arcane lore

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Announcing the Kobold Press Community Use Policy

By Kobold Staff / May 6, 2013 / Announcements, Articles, Front Page

The Midgard Campaign Setting fan community is growing faster than an ill-advised alchemy experiment in Maillon! It’s an active, vibrant community, full of people who want to take what we’ve created and run with it in exciting and fun directions. So we thought, why not make it easier for them? To encourage fan sites and free

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Midgard Icons: First Duke-Admiral Cadua

By Wade Rockett / May 5, 2013 / Articles, Front Page

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The Broken Tower

By Thomas Gutschmidt / May 3, 2013 / Articles, Front Page

Filled with wondrous creatures and devastating monsters, Midgard holds adventuring challenges no matter where you are on the map. This article presents a short, divisional encounter. Although designed for Midgard—specifically the Northlands—it can be easily adapted to other locales. An unfinished tower in the wilds is under construction, but at whose command? And what creatures

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Gnasty Gnolls: Lore and Adventurers

By Peter von Bleichert / May 2, 2013 / Articles, Front Page, Monsters

Gnolls are one of my all-time favorite monsters. From the blue box’s hyena-men, to the latest variations, these monsters have been hacking at parties for time immemorial. The following mini-ecology is system neutral, and it can inspire gamemasters and players to help cover the world with these beloved-yet-despised creatures. Feral hunter-scavengers, gnolls are demon-twisted humanoid

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Old Hat Monsters: The Encounter

By Frank Gori / May 1, 2013 / Articles, Front Page, Monsters

We’ve civilized, mutated, and mashed our classic monsters into a fantasy paradox; they’re familiar yet new. On the horizon I have at least three more monster templates ahead that may well breathe new life into your old favorites, but I must confess that sometimes the best way to surprise your players isn’t to change the monster

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Building Character: The Moment Before

By Taylor Hubler / April 30, 2013 / Articles, Front Page

Taylor presents us with a way to help you quickly establish a character’s background before you truly start playing the game. Take a look, and then jump in with your comments and examples in the comments field below! The party is gathering for the first time at a town square to witness the blessing of

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Real Steel: Kobold’s Choice—Building the Mace

By Todd Gdula / April 29, 2013 / Articles, Front Page, Real Steel

In the recent past, we talked about the options for my next project. Then I asked for input from the kobolds, who made their choice here, and who also gave generously here and here. The mace is done—ready to ship to its proud new owner. As promised, I did my best to document the build

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Shadow Knight (Shadowdancer Archetype, Part 2)

By K.C. Doughty / April 26, 2013 / Articles, Front Page

In part 1 of the Shadow Knight, you gained information on adjusting the shadowdancer archetype in interesting ways. This time, K.C. provides you with spells and a feat. Umbral Weapon Imbuement School illusion (shadow); Level magus 2, sorcerer/wizard 3 Casting Time 1 standard action Components V Range personal Target you Duration 1 round/level (D) Saving

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