Do you want the ability to “juice the combat”? Do you want a mechanic to smooth over the rough spots, increase PC interaction with the game world, and avoid the occasional character death? Here you go! These five variants on the action point rules—fate points, hero points, kickers, player biscuits, and short takes—are ready for […]
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“Inspiring Terrains” looks at encounters—fundamental building blocks that bring together PCs, conflict, and environment. With a little inspiration and a few mechanical bits, it’s easy to make the terrain in an encounter just as memorable as the foes. [Part 1][Part 2][Part 3] ___ For the fourth installment, we endure the stinging winds of the preternaturally
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When it comes to skill challenges, failure is not an option. “Of course,” you say. “No one wants to fail a skill challenge.” But this means something else entirely. Skill challenges are generally meant to represent situations or tasks which move the story forward—nonviolent encounters which carry just as much importance as those dealing with
If the gods and the mortals that worship them had their wish, each and every one of the deceased would receive a proper burial. None would be left to decompose, face down, in sloughing mud or shifting sands. None would have their naked limbs picked at by the myriad scavengers and ghouls that roam the
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“As a designer, your work enables new experiences in play for others. If you are doing it exceptionally well, you are inventing new game genres and new play styles; that is, entirely new methods, styles, and systems of play. You use technology, art, and your own vision of what it means to play to create
The Kobold Guide to Game Design Volume III is Here! Read More »
“Inspiring Terrains” looks at encounters—fundamental building blocks that bring together PCs, conflict, and environment. With a little inspiration and a few mechanical bits, it’s easy to make the terrain in an encounter just as memorable as the foes. [Part 1][Part 2] ___ Stagnant Water, Sucking Mud Fen, bog, marsh, swamp—whatever the name, standing water and
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(Art by Eli Arndt) From the darkest depths of forgotten seas, an ancient evil has been pulled into the light. The venerable sailing bark The Lusty Elf has made an unexpected catch while weighing anchor off a nameless isle. The four hale and hearty sailors who manned the anchor windlass, struggling mightily to reel in
At the end of the path, diverging from the road, there sits a homey looking shack. It smells of hearty stew and delicious bread. A pleasant sort of kindness fills the air, and the scent of the food is mouthwatering, making it hard to resist the inevitable pangs of hunger. Two old hounds lie wearily
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Mida gasped and let out a shriek that chased the crows from the treetops. “Give her back, you hobgoblin!” Icarus cackled, holding the wooden doll—a ballroom dancer—just out of Mida’s grasp. “Give her back, give her back, give her back!” Tears welled at the corners of her eyes. Icarus scurried to the edge of the
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“Inspiring Terrains” looks at encounters—fundamental building blocks that bring together PCs, conflict, and environment. With a little inspiration and a few mechanical bits, it’s easy to make the terrain in an encounter just as memorable as the foes. [Part 1] ___ Deep, Foreboding Mines Mines have been part of fantasy literature since its earliest days.
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“Shut your mouths.” Nyx licked the blade of her punching dagger and slid against the wall. The cracks in the masonry felt icy. “Do you hear something, Nyx?” “I said hush, damnit!” Nyx peeled back her halfling braids, put a finger to the back of her ear, and held her breath. The rest of the
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Welcome to 4th Edition week here at KQ.com. All this week will feature wonderful material designed for 4th Edition (while still being inspirational for any edition). ___ Door? BOOM! What door? Born from the union of a human and an ogre, the half-ogre is a wretched unwanted creature hated by its parent races. Those born
Welcome to 4th Edition week here at KQ.com. All this week will feature wonderful material designed for 4th Edition (while still being inspirational for any edition). ___ Skill Challenges are the “other kind of encounter.” Some players hate them, some love them, and many just don’t know what to think of them. There’s no reason
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I’m minding my own business, walking to lunch, and I think, “Would devils give player characters STDs?” That was probably the moment I decided that, yes, perhaps Courts of the Shadow Fey is pushing things quite far. This adventure overturns certain default assumptions about 4E combat and the presumed monster mixes. It includes information as
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Welcome to 4th Edition week here at KQ.com. All this week will feature wonderful material designed for 4th Edition (while still being inspirational for any edition). ___ The encounter is our fundamental building block, bringing together PCs, opposition of some sort, and the environment. Although 4th Edition with its emphasis on movement during combat underscores
Inspiring Terrains: Snowy Mountain Peaks (Part 1 of 5) Read More »
Welcome to 4th Edition week here at KQ.com. All this week will feature wonderful material designed for 4th Edition (while still being inspirational for any edition). ___ Found most often in abandoned kobold warrens, trap wisps maintain the snares and pitfalls left behind. Retaining only shadowy memories of their past lives, they are both cunning
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