Wastelander From the Pillars of Uxloon to the fields of Verrayne, from Flensing Gulch to the Silk Thicket, you have wandered countless leagues of the Western Wastes. You know its seasons, its savagery, and even some of its secrets all too well. Warped, decaying energies and dark memories of the trials of survival in that […]
Wastelander: A Background Read More »
The Woodpile Reaching out to grab the handle of the axe, Mira sighed and thought to herself, “This is why I left the farm. I never did much enjoy morning chores…” A 35-ft.-long tree trunk rests on the ground in the middle of a 15-ft.-by-55-ft. chamber, a whirring saw-blade spinning four feet above the felled
Trapmaster: The Woodpile 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Dungeons & Decameron Storytelling games are as ancient as humankind. In his most-known book, The Decameron, the medieval Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375) narrates how a group of young people manage to exorcise the fear of the Black Death spreading in Florence through the art of narrating stories. Many of them contain fantastic elements—even magic
Dungeons & Decameron: Magic Items from Classical Literature Read More »
A Weapon is Much More than Just the Damage It Deals… Down to 5 hp and fighting for your life against trolls, dragons, werebeasts, or worse? You’ll need to use your weapons to their fullest potential: to confuse, disorient, and disadvantage your enemies before moving in for the kill. Beyond Damage Dice offers unique maneuvers
Beyond Damage Dice Now Available Read More »
Oh, the lands of Nuria Natal! Today, you bring us the will of the gods. 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 Natal is a land of
Heroes of Nuria Natal: Face of Bastet Read More »
Dark Power From the Realm of Shadow Let others wonder what dangers lurk within the shadows: you learned long ago that the true power is shadow itself. Through deep study and practice—or a long-ago mark on your bloodline—you can draw mysterious, unsettling energy from the alien dimension known as the Shadow Realm, and turn it
5th Edition Deep Magic: Shadow Magic Now Available Read More »
Spike-Eating Pit Trap Brushing the flakes of rust from her hands, Mira reached into her pouch and withdrew a wooden spike. Glad now that she had paid the druids of the grove to enchant it, the young rogue carefully tapped it into the seam of the pit trap ahead, ignoring the statues of horrific creatures
Trapmaster: Spike-Eating Pit Trap Read More »
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 flows organically into
Out of the Frying Pan: Eyes of the Iron Spike Read More »
“Do you want the job or not? You got pretty good qualifications, but I won’t lie to you—there’s a lot of guys just as qualified right behind you.” Jerfren had, in fact, lied at least three times already in their short conversation. Merippik had been counting The first lie was that the job paid well.
Dirty Jobs: Brewer Read More »
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