I've mentioned previously that I had a plan for a saurial-focused D&D campaign encompassing planar travel and spelljamming. I even started a write-up for it before I got busier writing stuff I could actually publish for money.But what with the pandemic and everything, I didn't ever get around to actually building it into a game … Continue reading Notes from a shelved D&D campaign
Category: roleplaying
Designing Magic Items
I've been designing a lot of magic items recently, first with a Ravnica or Theros flavour, and now focused on domestic items that non-adventuring Dungeons & Dragons characters might use. The Magic the Gathering items were hard to think of, especially as so many had been created already. Now that I've moved on to the … Continue reading Designing Magic Items
Wrapping up the Encounter Design course
After the month of May finished, I had designed an encounter I was reasonably happy about. But! I decided not to publish it. So there were a few reasons why I ended up not finishing the encounter off to a publishable standard:1. I wasn't happy I had enough time to work on the layout and … Continue reading Wrapping up the Encounter Design course
Magic shops
I mentioned before that I was writing something involving a shop front. Well it's finally available for purchase! The Magic Shop Catalogue brings a whole load of different, system neutral ideas for stores (though generally embedded in fantasy) to populate your TTRPG games. I wrote Pawn's, a pawn shop run by a horrible man (who … Continue reading Magic shops
Dungeons and Dragons: The Gathering
I doubt many people have missed the fact that Dungeons and Dragons is going to be the basis for the next set of Magic: The Gathering. I've recently jumped on a project to add some more Magic content to to D&D with a product on DMsGuild, and it's got me revisiting some old cards from … Continue reading Dungeons and Dragons: The Gathering
Cutter’s Guide to Planar Locations II – Sigil, City of Doors
Ah, Sigil, the centre of the Multiverse, or so the locals would have you think! What can one say that hasn't already filled multiple treatises? For a city of such a small size, there must be be multiple volumes dedicated to each f its many streets, even just to detail all the exotic locales one … Continue reading Cutter’s Guide to Planar Locations II – Sigil, City of Doors
Another short post
It's been a busy few weeks so I haven't had as much chance to write the longer posts that I want to and instead you'll get a couple of shorter ones for now. The Storytelling Collective course continues apace. I just about have my encounter written, I need to sort a playtest or at least … Continue reading Another short post
Glittery Grimoires
Another book that I contributed to is now available on DMsGuild! The Glitter Grimoire fits into a gonzo D&D niche. All the spells and items are useful, but fit neatly into slapstick, silly, or prank niches.I wrote two spells for it - a cantrip called Spitball Barrage and a level 2 enchantment spell called Iggwilv's … Continue reading Glittery Grimoires
Cutter’s Guide to Planar Locations
Greetings traveller, and welcome to this humble travel guide of the sights and sites of the Infinite Planes of Existence. Within this series of reference books I hope you'll find accurate information that aids you in your journey should you choose to 'hop a portal' and hang with the 'bashers, factols, and knights of the … Continue reading Cutter’s Guide to Planar Locations
Designing D&D encounters with the Storytelling Collective
I missed the lead in to advertise it to others, but I've signed up for this month's encounter design class with The Storytelling Collective. Those of you who've been reading a while may remember I wrote my first adventure with the RPG Writer Workshop class, and the Collective is what the Workshop team have now … Continue reading Designing D&D encounters with the Storytelling Collective
Thoughts on the LevelUp 5e Playtest XV – Herald
Another class rename here - the paladin has become the herald. It makes some sense, and fits squarely the the genre of fantasy that the designers seem to be aiming at. Things that stay the same up to level 10:Divine Sense and Lay on Hands at level 1, Divine Smite at level 2, Oath features … Continue reading Thoughts on the LevelUp 5e Playtest XV – Herald
Thoughts on the LevelUp 5e Playtest XIV – Warlock
Time to move on to a fun one - I play a lot of warlocks! Hopefully that means I'll se both good and bad in the playtest. Let's see shall we? Things that stay the same up to level 10:Otherworldly Patron features at level 1 (and 6 and 10) and Pact Magic at level 1 … Continue reading Thoughts on the LevelUp 5e Playtest XIV – Warlock
Thoughts on the LevelUp 5e Playtest XIII – Cleric
I may have been a bit lax keeping up with the playtest bundles for April, but there's also been a lot more of them. So another burst of comparisons are coming your way over the next couple of weeks! Unlucky 13 brings us the Cleric. Let's see what changes have been made. Things that stay … Continue reading Thoughts on the LevelUp 5e Playtest XIII – Cleric
Ideas for altering 5e’s Inspiration mechanic
There's a lot of other takes on Inspiration out there, and when to award it and so on. I've been toying with the below in my head for a while. Advantage on a die roll is nice, but having it to use for other things would be good too. 1. I know a guyI think … Continue reading Ideas for altering 5e’s Inspiration mechanic
Planar adventuring – A Sigil for the Inner Planes
Before we start, yes, I know Sigil is the city at the centre of all the planes, but it's positioned in the centre of the Plane of Concordant Opposition, which is directly connected to the Outer Planes via the gatetowns. That means I've always thought of it as a hub for the Outer Planes first … Continue reading Planar adventuring – A Sigil for the Inner Planes
Late to A-Z April 2021 Part II
As they were so fond of saying on Star Trek, "and now, the conclusion." N - New Settings!I have a lot of game settings written up, for various different RPGs. But that doesn't mean my mind isn't coming up with new ideas, and annoyingly flows with them at that.Ideas I need to flesh out a … Continue reading Late to A-Z April 2021 Part II
Late to A-Z April 2021 Part I
As usual, by the time I realise what time of year it is, I've almost missed it!Here's an A-Z of stuff I want to think about/write about/read about/play with in the next year. A - Awakened!I'm thinking up some ideas for a D&D character that's been awakened by the spell. I haven't decided yet if … Continue reading Late to A-Z April 2021 Part I
Updating 5e – Princes of the Apocalypse
I've been spending a lot of my time recently delving in to Princes of the Apocalypse, D&D 5e's second adventure book. It was released in 2015, making it the first to release after all three of the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and the Monster Manual were out. It is... not great? I actually had … Continue reading Updating 5e – Princes of the Apocalypse
Some notes on ongoing projects
Whilst I try and get a few lengthier posts squared away, here's a quick one to say what I'm currently working on. After finishing up with Candlekeep Colleagues (now also available for Fantasy Grounds), I've been working on a long term collaboration with Czeuch. He's become something of a powerhouse on DMsGuild since starting out … Continue reading Some notes on ongoing projects
Kickstarter – a look at Scroll.io
In something of a first for me, I have to point out at the start here that I've been paid to talk about this Kickstarter project by its creator, but I was assured that I could write what I liked about it, criticisms and all.So, yeah, I guess you can keep that in mind if … Continue reading Kickstarter – a look at Scroll.io
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