Mutant: Year Zero — Late to the Zone, Still Eager to Explore
Some tabletop RPGs make a big splash when they release and then quietly settle into the background. Mutant: Year Zero is one of those games I somehow managed to miss at launch—but the more I read about it, the more convinced I am that it’s...
Under the Dome: Seasonal Superstitions & Omens
What people fear when the year turns cold. Under the Dome, winter doesn’t just strain resources.It strains belief. When the light dims, when chaos storms linger longer on the horizon, and when people spend more time listening to the city breathe around them, patterns begin to emerge....
Blood on the Dice: An Experimental System for Faster, Brutal Combat in D&D
One of the quiet truths about modern D&D is that combat, while tactical and cinematic, is often safe. Characters are resilient. Enemies are bags of hit points. Fights can stretch across an hour of real time without ever feeling truly lethal. That’s great for heroic...
Zoo Mafia: Seasonal Superstitions & Omens
Reading the Signs on the Longest Night In the Zoo Mafia world, the calendar doesn’t just mark time—it marks danger. As the year drags toward its darkest stretch, when the nights grow longest and the cold presses in close, the animal underworld becomes restless. Deals slow. Guns...
Seasonal Superstitions & Omens in Aether Skies
When the Sky Begins to Speak In Aether Skies, the changing season doesn’t bring comfort.It brings signs. As the year turns and the sun dips to its lowest angle, something strange happens above the floating cities. The clouds—normally chaotic, storm-torn, and formless—begin to align. Lines appear where...
How News Travels in a Fantasy World
Beyond Rumors, Ravens, and Magical Whispers Happy New Year. As we turn the calendar to celebrate the new year, I ask how news travel without technology. In a fantasy world, information is power — and how that information spreads can shape politics, adventures, and entire campaign...
What Are Runes in D&D and how can they be used?
At their core, runes are magic given form through symbols. Unlike spells that are spoken, gestures that are fleeting, or prayers that are answered in the moment, runes are prepared magic. They exist before activation and persist after use, often carrying meaning, history, and consequence. Runes...
The Scarfbinder: A Rogue/Monk Textile-Mage for Winter Adventures
A Character Concept That’s Equal Parts Cozy, Deadly, and Mysterious Some characters wield blades, others wield spells…But the Scarfbinder weaves their power from soft winter fabrics—scarves, ribbons, sashes, and enchanted wrappings that dance like living things. Part winter vigilante, part traveling mystic, the Scarfbinder roams icy markets...
Under the Dome: The Quiet Purge
The magic doesn’t care how clean you look. The Dome doesn’t scrub the body anymore. It learned long ago that flesh is easy to lie to. Instead, the end of the cycle brings something quieter.Colder.More precise. No sirens.No lines.No public ritual. Just a knock at the door. Because chaos doesn’t always...
Winter’s Gifts: Cold-Themed Feats & Seasonal Session Perks for D&D
Winter in tabletop roleplaying isn’t just a backdrop—it’s a mood. Snow muffles sound, cold tests resolve, and survival becomes as much a story beat as combat. Whether your party is trekking across frozen tundra, celebrating a midwinter festival, or battling horrors beneath aurora-lit skies, winter...
Zoo Mafia The Great End-of-Year Cleanse
Not a celebration—an enforced purge, reset, or ritual cleansing. In the human world, the end of the year is about reflection, resolutions, and fresh starts.In Zoo Mafia, it’s something far more dangerous. It’s the Cleanse. No champagne. No countdown. Just hoses, bleach, locked gates, and nervous crews scrambling...
The Great End-of-Year Cleanse for Aether Skies
When Survival Demands Fire, Forgetting, and Sacrifice There is no celebration at the end of the year in Aether Skies.No fireworks. No feasts. No shared countdown beneath a hopeful sky. Instead, there is smoke. As the final weeks of the year drag on and the storms below grow...
Happy Crit-mas! A D&D Celebration of Critical Success
Because nothing says holiday cheer like rolling a natural 20. Every December, dice goblins across the realms gather around their tables, clutching shiny math rocks and whispering prayers to the Dice Gods. And in this most sacred season—Crit-mas—we celebrate the greatest gift a player can receive:The...
Building Anticipation & Managing Expectations in Roleplaying Games
One of the most powerful tools at a roleplaying table isn’t a stat block, a plot twist, or even a perfectly balanced encounter. It’s anticipation. And given the time of year, I thought it an appropriate topic to discuss. Anticipation is what makes players lean forward in...
The Holly Herald: Keeper of Green Through the Long Winter
When winter tightens its grip, the world does not only need warriors and wardens. It needs reminders. The Holly Herald is a bearer of evergreen magic—one who carries living proof that the world has endured worse than this cold. Their wreaths, songs, blessings, and rituals are not...
