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 »
Walking in the Dark. Maebe couldn’t say how long she wandered the path in a daze, but at some point, she took a wrong turn and then the wrong exit and ended up stranded in the Underworld. Before she had time to become frantic at her plight, she stumbled upon a lone figure in the
Rogue’s Gallery: Maebe Dworhel Read More »
Inspired by Norse mythology, specifically the Poetic Edda, the ratatosk are celestial humanoid squirrels who dwell in the extraplanar environment of the World Tree. Ratatosks are insatiable gossips and tricksters whose joy in gathering secrets is only eclipsed by their delight in spreading those gathered morsels of gossip in mischievous ways. The squirrel-folk build
Ratatosk: Celestial Gossips Read More »
Now, it’s not lost on me that we’re nearing the location of The Scarlet Citadel, and if that Kickstarter had already delivered, I’m sure I’d detour there for a bit. But it hasn’t yet, so I can’t. But you might. However, sticking with what we can get our hands on now, there’s a lot of
So You (Still) Want to Play in Midgard? Part Two Read More »
Blinding Swirl (Recharge 4–6). Stinging sand swirls around the apaxrusl. Each creature within 10 feet of the apaxrusl must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) slashing damage and becoming blinded for 1 minute on a failed save or half as much damage and not becoming blinded on a successful one. A
Tome Unbound: Apaxrusl Read More »
It’s December, and everyone’s gaming! So here’s a high-adventure set of wallpapers for your computer, your smartphone, or whatever electronic device you’ve got. This month, we’ve got a piece from the Southlands Worldbook (artist Marcel Mercado), part of the ongoing Southlands Kickstarter campaign. Let’s go exploring, adventurers! Please, click on the image you want to
Southlands Wallpapers Read More »
Knowing these details aids in worldbuilding and gives your campaign a more lived-in feel. It can help players visualize what their characters or NPCs actually do and how magic works in your world. And it aids in character development—the method a druid uses to brew a potion may be different from that of a wizard.
Midgard Alchemy: Potion Formulations Read More »
Knockout Cane Simple trap (level 1–4, deadly threat) The knockout cane packages a nonlethal punch into an elegant package. The cane has a jade-inlaid pommel shaped like the head of a green dragon. A successful DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check is needed to discover that it is in fact a cleverly hidden rapier sword cane.
Trapmaster: Trapped Treasure, Treasured Traps Read More »
Fire lanes are a concept from skirmish wargaming that describe concrete areas of line of sight that allow attacks to be performed at range. Line of sight blockers describe terrain elements that block line of sight and therefore attacks and abilities. Movement blockers describe terrain elements that block or impede movement even if they don’t
Art of Skirmishing: The Map is Not the Territory Read More »
As the holiday season roars down upon us, your thoughts may turn to family, friends, merriment, and feasts. In other words, you foolishly believe you are safe. For as you place the Thanksgiving roast upon the table, basking in the sounds of admiration and growling stomachs, an ancient evil arises. It opens its own chest
A Thanksgiving Horror: The Turkolich Read More »
Plain and simple, the reason we’re even here is because we like to play games: they’re fun, they offer an escape, they allow us to take our imaginations out for a stroll, they let us strategize and simulate. Sure, there are a lot of nuances as to why we might play roleplaying games, but the
The 4th Pillar: Finding the 4th Pillar Read More »
We’re almost at the end of our little series here, so before we close this book, I wanted to chat about a pillar of good gaming that I hold very dear: the art of descriptive storytelling. I believe many of us who choose to run roleplaying games do so because we have fallen in love
Beyond the Audience: Paint Me a Picture Read More »
We’ve written previously in this series about the importance of approaching a one-on-one 5E game as a co-creative storytelling process. At the table, this looks like the player taking on some roles of the GM and vice-versa.
One-on-One Roleplaying: Supporting Co-Creation in Your One-on-One Game Read More »
Back in the summer of 2019, I wrote an article entitled “So You Want to Play in Midgard? (But You Don’t Know Where to Start),” which discussed how to use the amazing resources of the Midgard Worldbook, the online and interactive Midgard Map, and the Midgard Adventures by Level and Location spreadsheet that I maintain
So You (Still) Want to Play in Midgard? Part One Read More »
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