Generated Tuesday, 7 January 01:18 AM EST from the TTRPG Blogroll. Also available in rss.
GROGNARDIA – Tue, 07 January, 05:00 AM
There's that word again -- "realism." As I've noted before, it (and variations on it) were a commonplace of Dragon articles after 1983 or thereabouts. This instance of it appears as part of the subtitle to the article "Who Gets the First Swing?" which appeared in issue #71 (March 1983). The article,... read more.
Sea of Stars RPG Design Journal – Tue, 07 January, 03:13 AM
Tera slipped the credstick into her bag, the job had been . . . not too difficult. A few dicey moments but overall, nearly a true milk run. It had given her a chance to try out some of her new programs. She was not a first rate hacker yet, she was not even sure if she was a second rate one, but s... read more.
Tabletop Joab – Tue, 07 January, 02:54 AM
It’s now 2025, so it seems appropriate to kick the year off with an update on what the path forward looks like for Tabletop Joab. There’s a fair bit to cover here and I’m just writing from the heart, so let’s just dive right into it. Google, the Ultimate BBEG Let’s start with the elephant […] The po... read more.
Roleplaying Tips – Tue, 07 January, 02:05 AM
Sannu Johnn! I hope you had some great holidays. Mine were quiet, just how I like’em. Got some gaming in too! A couple of quick Wizard of Adventure updates first: Ok, on with today’s GMing tip! I was chatting with Roleplaying Tips Discord moderator and D&D 2E GM, Auke, and he says he uses a […] The ... read more.
Tales of the Lunar Lands – Tue, 07 January, 01:13 AM
Know, O prince, that between the years of the fall of the Sons of Aliahan, and the years when the moonless sky drank the Great Pit of Giaga, there was an Age undreamed of, where shining kingdoms lay spread across the worlds above and below like blue mantles beneath the stars - Romalia, Samanao, Asha... read more.
Nerdarchy – Tue, 07 January, 12:52 AM
Picture this: a group of holy warriors, each a champion of divine ideals, united in their sacred mission. An all-Paladin party is a sight to behold—literally, since their gleaming armor and radiant auras are hard to miss. But beyond the epic visuals, this party configuration...... read more.
Daily Adventure Prompts – Mon, 06 January, 09:31 PM
theoutcastrogue:the-griffons-saddlebag: 💎 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺! Marksman’s Cloak Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement by a ranger) ___ While wearing this cloak, you can concentrate on a second ranger spell you cast while also concentrating on “hunter’s mark”. If you are forced to make a Constitution saving ... read more.
The Dododecahedron – Mon, 06 January, 08:10 PM
Happy New Year! I’m preparing my white whale game—a culmination of my inspirations, ambitions, and sensibilities. In the interest of staying accountable to my goals, I’ll include a progress tracker at the top of each of my blog posts, like this: Castle Kelpsprot: 28 rooms keyed as of January 6. I’l... read more.
Elfmaids & Octopi – Mon, 06 January, 06:12 PM
Are megadungeons good?Maybe. If you want to run one huge dungeon for a year or more for a whole campaign this would be good. There is a danger you will never finish it. Too repetitive foes can be boring. Ive been playing current dnd5 adventures fortnightly at about a volume a year or a bit more but ... read more.
One Foot in Fairyland – Mon, 06 January, 06:00 PM
It’s an opinion so widely shared that the degree of consensus practically elevates it to the status of fact: Curse of Strahd is the best campaign-length adventure for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons published by Wizards of the Coast. And out of all the games I’ve run since I began playing 5E in 201... read more.
Patchwork Paladin – Mon, 06 January, 05:49 PM
My last post was about the importance of time and time tracking in play. When you track time as a GM, you give yourself fixed points at which to roll random encounters, trigger events, shut down spells, and in general have the world act upon the PCs. Another thing that I do with time is to trigger f... read more.
EN World: D&D & Tabletop RPG News & Reviews – Mon, 06 January, 05:41 PM
Start the New Year by trying these games TTRPGs that are Not DnD... read more.
Roleplaying Tips – Mon, 06 January, 04:16 PM
Roleplaying Tips GM Thomas P. shares some great ideas below in response to my recent believable dungeon ecology tips. (Note, I added the headings — those aren’t Thomas’s fault, haha.) Hi Johnn, I have been loving the deep dives you write and this one looking into creating believable dungeon ecologi... read more.
Richard Green | Game Designer – Mon, 06 January, 04:00 PM
Here’s the write up from our latest Tomb of Annihilation session, in which the adventurers continued upriver to the ruins of Mezro. I used the mini-adventure Beautiful Plumage from Jungle Treks in this session and it worked really well. Begin here with Session 0 – Caves of the Cockatrice 9th Uktar,... read more.
Azukail Games – Mon, 06 January, 03:59 PM
Characters can come across cooking pots in camps and kitchens, and may feel a need to check just what’s cooking inside them and whether it’s good to eat. Leftovers from many different meals, an assortment of previously cooked meats and vegetables that is lacking any texture but filling. Mutton stew ... read more.
EN World: D&D & Tabletop RPG News & Reviews – Mon, 06 January, 03:21 PM
Two new rulebooks set for release in June.... read more.
Kobold Press – Mon, 06 January, 02:00 PM
It’s Midgard Monday! Each week, we visit a corner of the wide world of Midgard. Look for standalone content you can drop into your campaign—whether it’s in Midgard or your own homebrew. Find new inspiration each Midgard Monday! Diverse in their beliefs and practices, cults have emerged in every cor... read more.
Campaign Mastery – Mon, 06 January, 01:00 PM
Before you can use a landscape, you have to understand them. Have no fear, this post will equip you with everything you need to know. Pt 1 of 2. This is the third of my time-out posts in between the Trade In Fantasy series. I made the time-out logo from two images in combination: The […]... read more.
From the Sorcerer's Skull – Mon, 06 January, 12:00 PM
Our Land of Azurth 5e game continued last night, a much-delayed continuance as we started a holiday-themed adventure before the holidays. It's fitting, though, that we got to finish it on Twelfth Night.Sent to aid a village suffering from child-disappearances far to the north, the party suffered acc... read more.
Schwalb Entertainment – Mon, 06 January, 11:34 AM
A Season of HungerAn Novice Adventure for Weird Wizard Stillwater’s Goblin Scourge The peaceful town of Stillwater is plagued by mischievous goblins. These creatures have been tormenting the villagers for weeks, stealing, vandalizing property, and terrorizing livestock. The villagers, desp... read more.
Seed of Worlds – Mon, 06 January, 10:46 AM
Launch into 2025 with a wealth of shiny links! For more, see the previous list found here or you can check the RPG Blog Carnival or on Third Kingdom Games news roundup. Originally inspired by weaver.skepti.ch End of Week links. Sacha Goat compiles the best of last years blogs in 2024 Bloggies comme... read more.
Playful Void – Mon, 06 January, 10:15 AM
Bathtub Reviews are an excuse for me to read modules a little more closely. I’m doing them to critique a wide range of modules from the perspective of my own table and to learn for my own module design. They’re stream of consciousness and unedited critiques. I’m writing them on my phone in the bath.... read more.
EN World: D&D & Tabletop RPG News & Reviews – Mon, 06 January, 07:04 AM
Most Anticipated TTRPGs of 2025, 85 new monsters in Monster Manual, Starfinder 2e cover reveal, and more!... read more.
EN World: D&D & Tabletop RPG News & Reviews – Mon, 06 January, 06:13 AM
D&D, Shadowdark, The One Ring, Traveller, Nights Black Agent, Call of Cthulhu, and more!... read more.
Sly Flourish – Mon, 06 January, 06:00 AM
There are lots of ways to build NPCs in your fantasy RPGs. In Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master I suggest building NPCs by finding an existing character archetype from your favorite source of fiction – books, TV shows, movies, comics, and so on. Picking characters from existing fiction is a shortcu... read more.
GROGNARDIA – Mon, 06 January, 05:00 AM
As I've been delving into Traveller, I've also been working on a little bit of whimsy: a Riphaeus sector booklet on the model of GDW's The Spinward Marches and The Solomani Rim supplements. I say whimsy both because I'm not sure how useful this project will be and because I'm making an effort to rep... read more.
Dungeon Fantastic – Mon, 06 January, 01:42 AM
It's a Felltower Sunday, so I spent a bit of a time working on maps. I have a nice book of 4 squares to the inch graph paper from someone recently (thank you!) and turned it into a "fine detail for Felltower" map book. I've been working on the levels far ahead of where the PCs have been going. It's... read more.
Methods & Madness – Mon, 06 January, 12:40 AM
One thing that bothers me about D&D - most editions share the same problem - is that it feels like I need at least TWO different uses of each ability score.For example, if I have Charisma 15 (+1), I feel I need to have a use for the score (15) AND also for the modifier (+1).Otherwise, why would I ne... read more.
Nerdarchy – Mon, 06 January, 12:37 AM
Coming to you from across the cosmos tonight, our in house advice columnist, the Necromancer with the Answer, has collected a few letters from folks with death related problems. Tonight, Maxillae the Mad draws out two questions and offers her sage counsel. Stay tuned after...... read more.