Shifting Flesh and Altered Forms: How to Transform Your D&D Character’s Body
From claws and wings to shadow-skin and monstrous might—build the form that matches the fantasy [caption id="attachment_54364" align="alignright" width="300"] When it comes to the magic power of words this merfolk knows what I'm talking about. [Art by Howard Lyon][/caption] One of the coolest parts of Dungeons &...
The Bulette Reforged: Unleashing Elemental Terror Beneath the Earth
Because sometimes, a land shark just isn’t terrifying enough… The bulette—often called the “landshark”—has been a part of D&D monster lore since the early days. It's a burrowing brute, all armored plates, snapping jaws, and raw subterranean aggression. A classic low- to mid-level menace, sure—but let’s...
Smoke, Grind, and Grit: Designing Grind-Powered Vehicles for Under the Dome
“Tires are for cowards. Real engines scream when they drink grind.”—Rassa Coilbite, skiffwright of the Slag Market The wastelands outside the dome cities are hostile, irradiated with chaos storms, crawling with monsters, and pocked by sinkholes, living fungus, and bone-sanded dunes. On foot? You're prey.On a...
The Ice Queen Cometh: Turning Disney’s Frozen Into a D&D Adventure
An unexpected castle, a cursed storm, and a world on the brink of being frozen solid… Okay, we know—it’s a little cheesy. But take off the mouse ears and squint a little, and Disney’s Frozen is one heck of a campaign hook. A sudden, supernatural winter....
Crime Ecology in Zoo Mafia: What Happens When a Mob Boss Falls?
In Zoo Mafia, the game is built on shifting power, fragile alliances, and the looming threat that nothing — and no one — is permanent. The jungle may have its laws, but Furton City has its own: survival, loyalty, and territory. And in a setting...
Making Your Ship a Character: Living Skyships in TTRPGs
Designing Vessels with Souls, Secrets, and Stories In Aether Skies, the ship isn’t just where your characters sleep. It’s a crew member, a home, a secret-keeper, and sometimes a goddamn mystery. Whether it’s cobbled together from driftwood and dream-forged hull plates or powered by an unstable...
Beyond the Lute: 8 Real-World Instruments That Belong in Your D&D Game
Expanding Your Bard’s Toolkit—One Exotic Sound at a Time Let’s be honest—the instrument list in the Player’s Handbook is… fine. Lute, pan flute, horn. Serviceable. But Dungeons & Dragons is a game of infinite worlds, strange cultures, and magical invention—so why are we stuck with the...
Chronicles from Beneath: Natural Disasters & World-Altering Events Under the Dom
"You don't live under the Dome—you survive it."—Common saying in Crystalia’s Outer Warrens The lands under the Dome are not defined by calm days or gentle nights. They are shaped, scarred, and reborn through catastrophic upheaval. The truly terrifying truth? These disasters are not rare. They...
Running a Star Wars-Inspired Game in Dungeons & Dragons
“In a Realm Not So Far Away…” May the Fourth Edition Its May the Fourth so I figured I would throw this out there. Sure I know that there is a Star Wars RPG, and other games that might be even easier to play a Star War...
Power and Politics: Mob Bosses & Mayhem – Running Your Own Crime Syndicate in Zoo Mafia
In Zoo Mafia, power isn’t just about muscle—it’s about maneuvering. While street fights and heists make headlines in Scarborough, the real game happens behind closed doors, in smoky speakeasies and under neon-lit bridges. Running your own crime syndicate isn’t just a role—it’s a campaign-defining experience...
Making Madness Fun: Sanity, Corruption, and Consequence in TTRPGs
Embracing the Eldritch in Aether Skies Without Breaking the Game In Aether Skies, madness isn’t a punishment. It’s a storyline. A consequence. A transformation. The deeper your players explore cursed ruins, commune with unknown entities, or push Aether too far, the more their reality warps—and the...
Fur, Fangs, and Firearms: Running a Zoo Mafia Campaign in D&D
What if The Godfather was run by a pride of lions? Or if Goodfellas played out in a city run entirely by humanoid animals—sharp-suited raccoons, crocodile hitmen, and owl accountants cooking the books by candlelight? Welcome to the Zoo Mafia, a campaign theme that fuses the...
The Mystery of the Missing Adamantine Dragon (And How We Can Fix It)
WizKids recently dropped a heavy hitter into the world of miniatures with the release of the Adult Adamantine Dragon from their Pathfinder Battles line, and honestly? The fine folks of Wizkids sent me one of these glorious minis for me to talk about and add...
Adventure Hook: The Night Hunt with Devkin in Under the Dome
"The storm does not choose the strong. The storm chooses the willing. Tonight, we hunt to see who is willing to become more."—Huntmaster Z’Kala before the Trial of Stormblood Last week I introduced you to my creations of the Devkin. With Displcaer Beasts being my favorite...
✨ The Wandwright Between Worlds: Meet Eravan the Wand Maker
Across the fractured realms, through shimmering portals and ever-turning planar tides, there walks a figure in velvet and starlight. His boots are never muddy, though he treads through swamps of elemental muck. His satchel jingles with bones of extinct dragons, feathers from dream-born phoenixes, and...
