“The Cimmerian laid his hand on his sword hilt, and the gesture was as fraught with menace as the lifting of a tiger’s lip to bare his fangs.” — Robert E. Howard, “The God In The Bowl” When it comes to the art of swordplay in literature, none have captured it with the electrifying […]
Steely Gaze and Lethal Blows: Pulp Combat Read More »
What happens to all the treasure that adventurers find? If it’s not useful, it usually gets sold. Should you find yourself frequently liberating others’ possessions, the following can be used to add a little variety to your loot or even as inspiration for a story hook. The value of the items can vary at the
Treasure Tables: Baubles & Trinkets Read More »
In great laughter, wonder, loss, and grief it is there—water at the corner of eye. —Archdruid Naqua of Tellwood Dungeon delvers discover that an abandoned alchemist’s lab has one remaining assistant in today’s elementally imbued scene. The Forgotten Assistant Your footsteps echo off the crude stone walls as you proceed down the corridor. Here and
Prepared!: The Forgotten Assistant Read More »
What components will you find in the wizard’s bag? You can roll randomly for a result below, or use the handy number provided with each entry to figure out your result on a d12. You can also pick the one that works for the area in which your characters currently linger.
Collection of Curiosities: Inside the Spell Component Bag Read More »
“Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action comes, stop thinking and go in.” ―Napoléon Bonaparte A combat turn in most RPGs represents 5 to 10 seconds. If you spend much more time than that deciding what to do on your turn, you’re wasting time. That doesn’t mean your turn can’t take more
Howling Tower: A Need for Speed Read More »
A persistent, even nagging, feature of the Imperatrix’s reign has been the presence of adulterine castles, fortresses without royal license or outside the crown’s control. Across the great northern kingdom are scattered hundreds of castles, fortresses, and towers. These adulterine strongholds are something of an incongruity in a kingdom that is otherwise stable and secure.
Grand Duchy: Adulterine Castles of the North Read More »
Fires of creation, fire in the soul, a fiery heart—why do we so often evoke flame when we speak of the essential? —Archdruid Naqua of Tellwood Travelers meet and discover the truth behind an unending blaze in today’s elementally imbued scene. The Ever-Burning Shrine Recent rains have made the road muddy and pitted. Traveling along
Prepared!: The Ever-Burning Shrine Read More »
“Sorcery thrives on success, not on failure.” —Robert E. Howard, “The People of the Black Circle” When it comes to mechanical systems in RPGs—Pathfinder in particular—there are perhaps none more esoteric than the malleable rules that govern magic. Casters and their iconic spells have evolved over the various editions of D&D into what we know
Pulp Sorcery: The Secret Art of Better Spell Descriptions Read More »
When setting up ritual circles, some practitioners place objects of importance. You can roll randomly for a result below, or use the handy number provided with each entry to figure out your result on a d12. You can also pick the one that works for the area in which your characters currently linger.
Collection of Curiosities: Inside the Ritual Circle Read More »
The votes are in, and we can now announce a winner. Congratulations go to Jeremy Hochhalter, who crafted the Xanka for us! Thanks go to our contestants, our judges, and all those who took the time to stop in and vote for some fun fifth edition D&D monsters.
Monarch of the Monsters 5: Crowned! Read More »
We started there, a mote from the heavens; we’ll return there—if the sky will have us. —Archdruid Naqua of Tellwood A bit of intrigue is just what your party’s stroll through the wilds requires. Today, Prepared! brings you a bit of the sky with this elementally imbued scene. Clouds Come Down The road vanishes now
Prepared!: Clouds Come Down Read More »
Recently, Wolfgang and I were exchanging emails, chasing down a few ideas for some Real Steel. One of the things we discussed was fantasy metals, and then he said this: “Or maybe elven chain is really titanium?” This is something I’ve often thought about, so I knew right away fantasy metals were going to find
Real Steel: Fantasy Metals Read More »
Scholars can collect bits of this or bits of that amid their search for knowledge. You can roll randomly for a result below, or use the handy number provided with each entry to figure out your result on a d12. You can also pick the one that works for the area in which your characters
Collection of Curiosities: The Scholar’s Ivory Box Read More »
Nomad and Raiders! Hill giants don’t make world-dominating plans, but that makes them no less terrifying to their victims. Concerned mainly with finding food and shelter, these giants quickly consume all the game in their territory and start wandering into human settlements looking for easy prey—or enter service as shock troops for dragons and other,
Larger than Life: Hill Giants Now Available Read More »
A group of RPG characters is like a U. S. Army Green Beret team or a Navy SEAL team. Every member of the squad has a specialty, and for the group to succeed, everyone needs to be on the job. That means cooperating with teammates and sticking to the plan when the world, in the
Howling Tower: It’s All About Teamwork Read More »
In the course of the Monarch of the Monsters 5 contest, we had a huge number of entries from many monster designers out there. Now you, the voting public, can pick which one you want to see win the Monarch of the Monsters 5 contest! Please familiarize yourself (possibly again) with the sixfinalists, then proceed
Monarch of the Monsters 5: Let the Public Voting Begin! Read More »
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