“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 […]
Inspiring Terrains: Playas (Part 4 of 5) Read More »
Power. Few mortals can resist its lure, yet power is ever elusive. Those who’ve grasped it always seem to lose it eventually. Trapsmiths, on the other hand, do not grab power; they trap it. The Orb of Champions (Trap CR 7) In the middle of a perfectly circular room, a marble pedestal stands 3 ft.
Trapsmith: Power Grab Read More »
This doglike predator is covered in a jigsaw of thick brown scars. Three razored tusks jut from its lower jaw. With an ungodly thunder crack, the creature shreds itself into two identical beasts, each swiftly loping forward to encircle its prey. Then each beast divides again… The homely splicer beast can tear itself into duplicates,
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
Hump Day Hazard: Cadaver Gas Read More »
The hulking black creature, ever so vaguely humanoid in shape, rises from the tar pit. Its small eyes glow red, its body covered with all manner of items—tree limbs, leaves, carcasses of small animals, and even a few weapons. The incorrectly named tar fiend—for it is an elemental, not a fiend—lives in tar pits. It
“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 »
Mimics are among the most hazardous creatures an adventurer is likely to encounter. Surviving on trickery and cunning, instead of brute strength or raw magical power, the mimic inspires fear for its ability to fool and ensnare the unwary. Typically, you encounter a mimic on its own, proving little threat to an experienced adventuring group.
Bait & Switch: Mimics among Us Read More »
This terrible creature resembles an imposing knight wearing baroque full plate formed from some sort of calcified resin. Its helm is a blank gray oval without eye slots or mouthpiece, and it carries a glistening greatsword composed of dozens of slathering fanged mouths in its gauntleted hands. Eaters of dust—or yakat-shi as they are sometimes
Eater of Dust (Yakat-Shi) Read More »
“Master!” “Wait a moment, vile thing, I am engaged in describing the bowels of the Gorge of Misery and Flame.” “But master, I have something for your players, something that plays upon their superstitions…” “What use would such a chart be, least-thing?” “Why, to confuse them, master!” 30 Unsettling Moments, Asides for the Worrisome… Sometimes,
Your Whispering Homunculus: 30 Unsettling Moments 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
Inspiring Terrains: Soggy Fens (Part 3 of 5) Read More »
As you turn a corner, the corridor you are following widens dramatically to a width of 40 ft. Ahead 200 ft., four continual flames, placed evenly apart on both sides of the corridor, form a 40-ft square section. Beyond this lit area, the corridor connects to a roughly circular cavern. A huge statue, aglow in
Trapsmith: Epic Damage Read More »
(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
Secret Lairs: The End of Roads Read More »
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
Hump Day Hazard: Sloughing Ichor Read More »
“The Last Map of the Cartomancer” presents a series of magical maps introduced through the escapades of Lan Su’Vavock and Kai Geyser, two sages on the trail of interconnected clues left behind by an ancient cartographer of legend. [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] ___ “Oh, this I do not like at all.”
The Last Map of the Cartomancer (Part 5 of 5) Read More »
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