One way to handle this problem is to vary the ways in which your traps are detected, such as using traps that are obvious or using natural hazards. This adds variety, allows the optimized PC to occasionally be surprised, and allows a trap that can be located by multiple skills to involve other characters in […]
Trapmaster: What Do I See? Read More »
Prerequisite A Roll 20 Base, Plus, or Pro account. One or more purchased Kobold Press items eligible for sharing. The list currently includes: Deep Magic, Midgard Heroes Handbook, Underworld Player’s Guide, and Margreve Player’s Guide How to Share Log in to Roll 20, and click Games > My Games. Click the name of the game
VTT Tips: Sharing Kobold Press Content with Your Players Read More »
Living Shadow. While seeking an end to their indenture, Wraithstrider’s dreams were haunted by an unknown being of liquid darkness. The thing offered them power and freedom from the Master’s chains in exchange for the completion of an occasional task. Now Wraithstrider haunts the mountain’s environs doing what they’re good at: making people feel safe
Rogue’s Gallery: Wraithstrider Read More »
While manipulating the encounter difficulty chart is a simple way to indicate how factors affect combat difficulty, it’s also imprecise, doesn’t have many gradations, and can be misleading. It still has its uses in adjusting the broad overview of an encounter but is less useful for dealing with more granular modifications, like how NPC roles
Art of Skirmishing: Synthesis Read More »
Ratatosk Culture and Society Unlike the common Midgardian squirrel, ratatosk are not solitary creatures, and they live in close matriarchal family groups called scurries. The squirrel-folk are proud of their heritage, and each ratatosk can proudly recite tales of their scurry back to the first squirrel, Ratatosk the Clever. The eldest female of each scurry
Ratatosk: Culture and Society Read More »
It’s a brand new year, and there’s a brand new face wandering the warrens! I’m Thomas, the new Editorial Director at Kobold Press. I am absolutely thrilled to be stepping into this role, for it very much feels like coming full circle.
Hiring Update: Coming Full Circle Read More »
Frightful Chatter. The fleshspurned clashes its oversize teeth together to create a menacing din. Each creature within 30 feet of the fleshspurned must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. Incorporeal undead are not immune to the frightened condition inflicted by the fleshspurned’s chatter. A frightened creature can
Tome Unbound: Fleshspurned Read More »
THE APPROPRIATOR An appropriator is sent by the Emerald Order to obtain important information and items by any means necessary. The appropriator is as much a skilled merchant as professional burglar, and if one method fails, they will use the other to ensure the order has what it wants. A magic sigil, tattooed upon the
Secrets of the Emerald Order: Agents and Operatives Read More »
1d100 Mildly Magical Curios 1–2 A thin silver ring with a round center stone that you can change the color of by rotating the ring around your finger once 3–5 A linen shirt that never needs to be ironed 6–7 A felted brown toy goat that bleats when squeezed 8–10 A black top hat that,
Dungeon Tables: Mildly Magical Curios Read More »
This post covers several of the conceptual adjustments that GMs can make in order to adapt 5E rules and table dynamics to parties of two. We discuss the foundation for these shifts first—cooperation at the table between the player and the GM. Then we dive into some of the most difficult situations to navigate—PC death
One-on-One Roleplaying: Problems to Plan for and Avoid in Your One-on-One Game Read More »
Here are two more magic potion/oil formulas, a feat, and some guidelines for adding ability checks to your magic item creation. Formula: Oil of Sharpness Formula, legendary To make this oil, you need simply follow these instructions: Gather 20 pounds of high-quality rust monster dung. You will need to feed the rust monster a consistent,
Midgard Alchemy: More Potion Formulations Read More »
Ice Fall Complex trap (level 5–10, deadly threat) At the heart of a temple devoted to a winter deity lies a hard-to-access shrine. After passing over a bridge of ice that crosses a ravine so deep that the bottom cannot be seen, explorers come to a set of massive double doors cast with the deity’s
Trapmaster: Chilling Encounters Read More »
Honey Axes The most well-known of the bearfolk’s magical creations are the powerful honey axes. Bearfolk legend tells that when their people first emerged from the forest, several powerful weapons known as “honey axes” were gifted by the fey to the most accomplished warriors. Whether or not this legend is true, possessing one of these
Warlock’s Apprentice: Bearfolk Honey Axes Read More »
The Rule of Cool emphasizes that the rules of a game are simply a frame to hold a fantastic creation, and the frame should never pull focus from the piece itself. Cultivating this kind of storytelling does take practice. When there aren’t specific rules written, it is much easier to say, “No, you can’t climb
Beyond the Audience: Stay Cool Read More »
The Emerald Order goes to great lengths to protect the knowledge they possess. Among the other secrets they have divined from the Emerald Tablet is the ability to create undying guardians through sacrifice. When creating a new repository for knowledge, senior members of the Emerald Order will take a willing volunteer and entomb them within
Secrets of the Emerald Order: Undead Guardians Read More »
1d20 Smell 1 Moldy 2 Dank 3 Dusty 4 Rotten 5 Decay 6 Ashy 7 Fresh 8 Clean 9 Earthy 10 Sickly sweet 11 Fragrant 12 Floral 13 Burnt 14 Acrid 15 Metallic 16 Grassy 17 Smokey 18 Musty 19 Tangy 20 Sulfur 1d20 Sounds 1 Dripping 2 Shrieking 3 Trickling 4 Grinding 5 Clattering
Dungeon Tables: Dungeon Dressing Read More »
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