I'm a big fan of humorous asides in games, or playing gonzo-style. And I've played a good bit of Paranoia, so gonzo is easy. I'm debating a gonzo game to be added to my work-in-progress campaign settings. Most of the ones I write are serious. But so far, I haven't come up with an idea … Continue reading RPGaDay 2020 prompt 24 – Humour
Category: d&d
RPGaDay 2020 prompt 23 – Edge
There's a weird idea of edginess being cool in some games I've played in. I think we all agree why it's bad.Edginess for edginess' sake is boring, ham-fisted, idiotic, painful. There, that's done. Let's talk about keen weapons. For those that don't know, in older editions of D&D, the keen enchantment improved the critical range … Continue reading RPGaDay 2020 prompt 23 – Edge
RPGaDay 2020 prompt 22 – Rare
I've been trying for days to come up with a better topic than some of my favourite rare magic items from D&D 5e, but I think that will have to do! So, I'm not going to focus too much on the 'obvious' items - the Handy Haversack, Portable Hole and Ring of Spell Storing are … Continue reading RPGaDay 2020 prompt 22 – Rare
RPGaDay 2020 prompt 21 – Push
I'm debating adding some push and pull roleplaying mechanics into D&D. I've talked a bit about this kind of thing before, but I think I can actually make it work this time. Pretty easy really - I want to give players the option of an Inspiration system that takes a cue from FATE points, so … Continue reading RPGaDay 2020 prompt 21 – Push
RPGaDay 2020 prompt 20 – Investigate
I think I've talked pretty recently about how I handle mysteries and investigation, so I think I'll talk about the recent Web DM video about alternate skill checks and how they might play out for an investigation. Basically, that video centred on the use of alternate ability modifiers for various skills. Investigation is an Intelligence … Continue reading RPGaDay 2020 prompt 20 – Investigate
RPGaDay 2020 prompt 19 – Tower
One of the things that I've rarely used in a game is a stereotypical Wizard's Tower. I think I'll have to add one to a game I run in the near future - a small dungeon that goes upwards (as well as probably downwards), with some minor encounters on each level. It would be very … Continue reading RPGaDay 2020 prompt 19 – Tower
RPGaDay 2020 prompt 17 – Comfort
I've seen a good few people part ways with D&D recently, and I completely get it. There's some real issues with the way it's being run and how things are being handled by the company that own it, but I haven;t managed to walk away yet. I've tried out a good few other games over … Continue reading RPGaDay 2020 prompt 17 – Comfort
RPGaDay 2020 prompt 15 – Frame
OK, I'm going to take a moment to give you a quick rundown of my current Saurial/Planescape idea. It's only been a short while, but it's changed some. I may have added in some Spelljamming... Whoops! So, the current framing idea/elevator pitch looks like this: The PCs are wandering the Great Bazaar in Sigil. They … Continue reading RPGaDay 2020 prompt 15 – Frame
RPGaDay 2020 prompt 14 – Banner
As part of the session zero for the Song of Ice and Fire RPG, the players are tasked with building a noble family to be the centre of the game - they can be attendants, young nobles, venerable maesters, and so on.The catch is, they are any of the big noble families we pay much … Continue reading RPGaDay 2020 prompt 14 – Banner
RPGaDay 2020 prompt 13 – Rest
So, do we talk about the D&D rest mechanics, or taking a break from tabletop gaming? Or how other games handle rests? I guess I'll talk a bit about how I handle rests.I've been mostly inspired by various homebrews that change how things work, add in extra levels and things.Here's what I do currently: - … Continue reading RPGaDay 2020 prompt 13 – Rest
RPGaDay 2020 prompt 7 – Couple
I wasn't sure what to talk about for this prompt, but I had a couple of ideas!(I'll wait for your delighted guffawing to subside...) I'm currently working on a couple of new things. First, I'm trying to pull together some ideas for a Planescape adventure involving Saurials.Saurials are basically Dino-people who had been used as … Continue reading RPGaDay 2020 prompt 7 – Couple
RPGaDay 2020 prompt 6 – Forest
A lot of my homebrew settings feature forests in a prominent role. I'm not entirely sure why that is - maybe it's a western fantasy trope that's stuck in my head? (Murkwood?) Cambria is similar in some ways to Dark Sun, but very different in others. It's a planet-wide (ish) cityscape that's fallen into disrepair … Continue reading RPGaDay 2020 prompt 6 – Forest
RPGaDay 2020 prompt 4 – Vision
So, it seems like everyone has darkvision? It's a complaint I've seen people bring up a lot. At this stage, off the top of my head, Humans and Halflings don't have it, but most people do. So... how do we beat the complaint? There's options, certainly.Do I want to make the game harder? Maybe. I'm … Continue reading RPGaDay 2020 prompt 4 – Vision
RPGaDay 2020 prompt 2 – Change
Times change, things change, rules change. It's weird that we'd have to spell that out. So, I'm going to ignore the pretty obvious 'changes in D&D' topic for now, since I've covered it recently. I'm going to use this prompt to look at different ideas I've had and how they might affect changes to stuff … Continue reading RPGaDay 2020 prompt 2 – Change
Ability Modifiers from Class and Background
There's been a lot of talk about this all over the place for a while now.Here are my current ideas of how I'd like to make the removal of racial ability modifiers work. I'm replacing 'race' here with 'ilk'. Even if you don't agree with the idea, please understand that the word 'race' carries all … Continue reading Ability Modifiers from Class and Background
Draft One Page Campaign Opener – Frostpunk
"The old story goes that the world was once a garden, pleasant and mild, neither too hot nor too cold, and at this time all of the peoples of the world were created.This ain't that world no more. Two great powers rose, and fought, one led by the God of Winter, one by the Goddess … Continue reading Draft One Page Campaign Opener – Frostpunk
Thoughts on 5th Edition in 2020
Inspired once again by Dungeons and Possums, I'm going to give a quick rundown on my thoughts of the game almost six years after it was released. I know that there are problems surrounding the game itself but currently it's my only game in town as far as being able to play goes so I'm … Continue reading Thoughts on 5th Edition in 2020
Dungeons and Dragons Session Zero for 2020
I brought this up a couple of times during the RPGaDay 2019 prompts, but I need to actively plan my next DM session zero, whenever it might be, and think about what I want to bring to it. First and foremost, let's talk about the big topic going around at the moment - fantasy races.I … Continue reading Dungeons and Dragons Session Zero for 2020
A couple of additions
I've added a couple of pages to the site over the last little while - Firstly, a list of additional material to be used when I'm building Planescape games, on top of all of the official stuff written in the 1990s. I'll be adding to this as I go, and I'm thinking about what other … Continue reading A couple of additions
Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 29
"Evolve" It kind of goes without saying that over time my gaming style has evolved. The world around me has changed, I've changed, I've learned new things and done new things, so my games in 2010 would be nothing like my games in 2020. OK, maybe a bit alike. I'd still be running them, I've … Continue reading Late to the party: RPGaDay 2019 prompt 29
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