A bard dashes through the back rooms of a palace with secret plans in his hands. The guards are after him. The bards desires escape and the best way to slow the guards down is to throw Arcane Lock on this door and then go out the window. It requires 25gp of gold dust. With […]
How the Identify Spell Destroys the World
This article assumes that 1st level identify spells are used in identifying and validating a large range of magical items whenever a magic item changes hands. For example, when an item comes out of a dungeon, when taken off an enemy after a battle, when validating an item’s nature, during a financial transaction, or with […]
A Little Debt Financing Between Friends Goes A Long Way. Plus Pirates.
The party stands on a beach on the other side of the world facing down an army of 30,000 heavily armed but lightly armored orks. And they wonder… how did we get here? King Stephan II is at war with his neighbor. He no longer remembers what the war was about or how it started. […]
Preview: “World Wide Wrestling”
In short: I strongly encourage you to check this game out, and throw money at it until it arrives at your house and does a flying elbow through your door.
Review: “Monster Manual” for “Dungeons & Dragons” 5th Edition
With a fantastic design, writing that inspires the imagination, and mechanics that make monsters fun to run and fun to fight, the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Monster Manual may very well be the best monster book ever written.
On the Unloading a Pair of Magic Boots and Troubles Therein
While killing an ogre for the local Baron for a quick pickup of 100gp, the party offs the ogre’s buddy, a nasty little goblin. This guy was a real jerk. Once he was good and dead – the fighter stabbed the goblin extra for good measure – the party did what adventuring parties do. They […]
What I Did on My Summer Con Season Vacation
This summer was extra-special. Although I have been exercising my RPG muscles, both personally and professionally, in different directions, there is no ignoring the launch of the new edition. And for someone so steeped in Organized Play, the launch of a new D&D campaign at the start of a new edition of the game is a critical hit.
Target Mapping your Monsters: Worldbuilding via the “Monster Manual”
While I read the newest Monster Manual, I could feel the monsters coming together in and around dungeons and world events. There is easily digested lore for every monster in the main part of the book, and each of the 2-3 pieces of lore has something a GM can sink their teeth into and turn into a piece of an adventure.
On Mid-Medieval Economics, Murder Hoboing and 100gp
The party stands before the local Lord of the small town they’re passing through and responding to an ad: Kill the local ogre in the hills for 100 gold pieces! George the Ogre menaced the roads leading into the Lord’s holdings and villages so the Lord wants George gone. You, the Murder Hobos, who breezed […]
10 Things I Dig About the New “Monster Manual” (And 5 I Don’t)
I was one of the fortunate few to get my grubby mitts on an advance copy of the Monster Manual for Dungeons & Dragons. We’ll have a full review of the book in the next few weeks. In the meantime, I wanted to explore some of the aspects that jumped out at me as we flipped through.
Recent Comments