A troll in a field is dead. A troll under a bridge is dramatic. A troll in your privy is terrifying. The danger of enemies in 5th edition is based heavily on the circumstances in which they are encountered. Skirmishing doesn’t change this fact but does change the nature of those circumstances. Previously, you’d have […]
The Art of Skirmishing: The Role of Creatures Read More »
It’s November, and everyone’s gaming! So here’s a fang-tastic set of wallpapers for your computer, your smartphone, or whatever electronic device you’ve got. This month, we’ve got a piece from the Tome of Beasts 2 (artist Hugh Pindur).
Tome of Beasts 2 Wallpapers Read More »
None living know for sure what caused the fall of the great northern dwarven kingdom. Some say that the dwarves lost their way. Forged on the adamantine anvil by the smith god Volund and the thunder god Thor, they were created to be warriors in Wotan’s battle against the wild elves of Thorn. As they
Warlock’s Apprentice: The Drownstone Road Read More »
There are a few reasons why you might choose to run a one-on-one session (one player, one GM) as part of your group game, some of which we’ll cover in depth in this post. Maybe the other members of your group were unable to meet, but you still want to play? Or perhaps one of
One-on-One Roleplaying: Running a One-on-One Session as Part of Your Group Game Read More »
It doesn’t matter what game you’re playing: you can break all of its rules and go wild with how you want to use or ignore them. Take all of the best bits and run with them. What we’re talking about now is how exactly to begin doing that. Now, there’re no formulae for doing it,
The 4th Pillar: Setting up an “Imbalanced” Campaign Read More »
In a previous post, I brought up focusing your traps with purpose and mentioned nonlethal traps. These types of traps are often overlooked when designing adventures, but they are equally valuable. Nonlethal traps alert guards to the presence of intruders, scare off dangerous animals, capture valuable prisoners, or hobble fleeing prey.
Trapmaster: The Soft Touch Read More »
The Emerald Order is one of the few organizations in Demon Cults & Secret Societies that is not actively malicious. There are certainly many evil members who pursue their studies in the order for personal power and gain; however, their overall goals are not necessarily evil. In the first installment, we provided you with an
Secrets of the Emerald Order: Emerald Order Initiate Read More »
A GM’s work is never done, so to make things easier on you, we’re providing a series of tables to help you flesh out your encounters, adventures—your world. In this round of Dungeon Tables, we present to you Instant Town! Simply roll on the charts below to create a settlement from the ground up. Then after
Dungeon Tables: Instant Town Read More »
From the creators of the original Tome of Beasts! Kobold Press has wrangled a new horde of wildly original, often lethal, and highly entertaining 5E-compatible monsters to challenge new players and veterans alike.
Alternate Traits and Actions The following changes allow GMs to alter a ghost dragon without modifying its challenge rating.
Expanding Codex: Ghost Dragon Read More »
Selim’s dagger came free, the high priest’s corpse slumping over the altar. “That’s it then,” he said. “Let’s see what we’re getting out of this mess.” “Boss,” said Faridah, “we may want to nix the looting.” “Why would—” As he turned, Selim saw the ritual turned loose. The temple was falling apart, tendrils of noxious,
The Art of Skirmishing: Bailing Out Read More »
Discovering a dusty library full of ancient lore in the midst of a dungeon is often a moment for heroes to stop, stare in wonder, and peruse the secrets to be had. When that moment strikes in the Scarlet Citadel, though, it’s far from peaceful. In fact, a resident chuul would demand a word with
Scarlet Citadel Kickstarter Update Read More »
Before the world turned upside down, I ran a 5th Edition game about once a month. I was hopping between campaigns with an overlapping group of players, which included my kids and my friends and some of my friend’s kids and ranged in age from preteen to middle-aged. We were running Storm King’s Thunder in
Getting the Kobolds Rolling with Roll20 Read More »
A few installments back, I mentioned that I could write an entire article on pacing’s importance. So here I am, making good on that promise! In today’s post, I’m going to talk about ways to punch up the pacing to make your shows thrilling for both your audience and your players. I’ll talk about two
Beyond the Audience: Punch It Up! Read More »
One of the biggest shifts you’ll need to make for your one-on-one game is from campaign arcs built to include many PCs to arcs crafted for a single PC. This is actually one of the changes that many people wind up preferring to group games, but it can feel strange or intimidating at first.
One-on-One Roleplaying: How to Craft a Single-PC Campaign Arc Read More »
We’ve discussed a lot about imbalance and taking your games off the rails, but before we jump into putting together a how-to for all of this, of course we’ve got to get some disclaimers out of the way. It’s important to know the disclaimers up front rather than as an afterthought. So here they are.
The 4th Pillar: 5 Things to Avoid in an Imbalanced Campaign Read More »
Stay informed with the newest Kobold Press news and updates delivered to your inbox weekly. Join now and receive a PDF copy of Shards of the Spellforge
