Dear Osvaud, This is Osvaud. We have a flair for the theatrical. We’ve even been (fairly) accused of overdoing it on occasion. For example, if someone was to discover and read this diary, I wouldn’t stop it from happening. Where’s the fun in that? Heck, I would probably patiently watch, observing them through divinations or […]
Memoirs of a Lich: Drama Read More »
The Diplomatic Mission Most parties are no strangers to diplomacy. Whether they’re trying to get a better bargain for the swag they’ve hauled from their latest dungeon crawl or attempting to convince the guards that no, their friend was really just joking about splitting open their skulls, adventurers are all familiar with using words over
Alternative Adventures: The Diplomatic Mission Read More »
What have we done? The following is a dramatic reenactment of actual play. The role of the corpse mound was played by the corpse mound from the Tome of Beasts. No actual players were harmed during this session, though both PCs and NPCs gave their lives. The half-orc Zazuk stared before the party as they
Actual Play: Corpse Mound in “The Last of the Direwish” Read More »
“Well?” “Well, what, your domeness?” “You’re covered in dust—explain.” “Ah, the dust. Yes, well, I was under the Great Stair and—” “You are not to go under-stairs, ever. You’ve only been briefly in my employ and would do well to remember the last homunculus that pried too deeply into my affairs and property.” “Yes, master.
Your Whispering Homunculus: 50 Treasures of the Southlands, Part One Read More »
Magic & Munchausen The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen by Rudolf Erich Raspe (1736-1794) is one of the most widely known examples of proto-fantasy. In the book, which narrates the astounding and weird deeds of the fictional German adventurer, we can find a lot of elements familiar to tabletop RPG players, including monsters, space travels,
Magic & Munchausen: Mythical Items from Classical Literature Read More »
Villains and Corruption One of the great elements of Midgard since the earliest days has been its villains and cults. These draw their power partly from their magic and secrets but also from the flaws of each heroic race. In particular, cults and villains thrive because humans are especially susceptible to corruption, such as by
Midgard Notebook: Villains and Corruption Read More »
Feats of Nuria Natal Oh, the lands of Nuria Natal! Today, you bring us dread feats of the forgotten sands. Where gods walk and men think it nothing to seek immortality. Where riches abound and fortunes are to be made in markets and in ancient tombs. Where the dead walk and the sun bakes. Nuria
Heroes of Nuria Natal: Feats of the Southlands Read More »
Dear Osvaud, This is Osvaud. The worst part about being an ancient wizard is daily preparation. As time marches on, the list of magic we’ve learned gets longer and longer. We end up with a library of known spells and have to create a filing system to track them all. By comparison, the number of
Memoirs of a Lich: Spellbooks Read More »
Cardtography: The Basics Since the introduction of computer RPGs, randomly generated dungeons are everywhere. Software developers prefer to call them procedurally generated rather than random because they aren’t truly random; they’re created according to a rigid procedure. Developing a procedure that spits out satisfying dungeons is a popular problem among programmers, and the web is
Howling Tower: Cardtography Read More »
Loyalty Beyond Death Encounters have consequences. Every slain bandit has friends who will want revenge, and every devil banished back to the Eleven Hells reports its failure to its Dark Lord. What happens when the PCs’ daring deeds come back to bite them? The following encounter chains are more than just random encounters. Each conflict
Out of the Frying Pan: Loyalty Beyond Death Read More »
Dear Kobold Oracle, The newest player in my group is constantly checking their cell phone despite that I’ve mentioned more than once that we don’t usually use electronics at the table. On top of that, the rest of our party uses real dice, but he insists on using his cell phone for die rolling, so
Ask the Oracle: Cellphones Read More »
Part 5, On Parthia and the Fire-Worshippers of Atashkala Upon leaving Tabur by barge, it’s a twelve-day journey upon the Lumeta River. We fended off centaur raiders twice before reaching the eastern edge of the empire at the fortress town of Kazan. An impressive fortification, the town rests on both sides of the water and
Midgard Expanded: The Travels of Lucano Volpe, or Parthia’s on Fire Read More »
Like the strong, dark dwarven beer of the Ironcrags, the Midgard Kickstarter project has been a long time fermenting—and it’s now live! The dark roads await us, and the deep magic calls. Check it out here. This Kickstarter will bring a whole new world to 5th Edition, and expand the options for Pathfinder RPG players. We’re
Midgard Kickstarter for 5th Edition and Pathfinder is Live! Read More »
Midgardian Magic One of the principles behind the revised Midgard Campaign Setting is the “Dark Roads & Deep Magic” ethos. Not surprisingly, this means additions to player and game master options alike with the incorporation of new schools of magic from the Deep Magic series. The existing school of heavily Midgardian magic are well known:
Midgard Notebook: New and Old Schools of Midgardian Magic Read More »
The Hands of Time Mira cursed as a gobbet of molten iron landed on her shoulder. A partner would have made the riddle of the clock easy to bypass. As it was, her only course had been to spike the pendulum. She thought the sweat on her brow beaded from concentration as she picked the
Trapmaster: The Hands of Time Read More »
Parenthood Hervard the Steady was one of the greatest wizards of his time: a capable adventurer and a renowned university lecturer. Intelligence and perseverance made him a great wizard; generosity and patience made him a great teacher. And he had great talent for divination. Legend has it that on his last day of life at
Dirty Jobs: Parent Read More »
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