Villain Playbook: The Master Thief — Creating a Memorable D&D Villain
Some villains conquer kingdoms. Others destroy cities or manipulate entire populations into doing their bidding. The Master Thief takes a different approach. They walk into the most heavily guarded vault in the kingdom, steal something everyone believed was untouchable, and leave before anyone realizes what...
The Matrix Teaches Dungeon Masters to Build Worlds Worth Questioning
What if the king wasn't really the king? What if the gods weren't responsible for the miracles their priests performed? What if the ancient prophecy that had guided your entire campaign was a lie? And what if the world your characters had spent months exploring...
Aether Skies: The Horizon Wyrm — Predator of the Lost Skyways
The skies of Aether Skies are filled with wonders, but not all of them are meant to be discovered. Beyond the thirteen floating cities, where established trade routes give way to unmapped aether currents, enormous creatures move through the clouds. Some are little more than...
The Lich Historian: What Does a Lich Do When Adventurers Aren’t Around?
Monsters have lives of their own, not always poised to fight adventurers. Last week we took a glance at the Gelatinous Cube Janitor in our D&D Monster Jobs series. But lets move from mindless to brilliant. When most adventurers hear that a lich has been spotted...
Under the Dome: Psionic Academies – Post Apocalyptic Fantasy D&D
In our last article, we explored Arcane Colleges and the role magic plays in keeping civilization alive beneath the Domes. From growing food in underground farms to maintaining the magical defenses that protect entire cities from the Chaos Storms, arcane spellcasters do far more than...
What Ghostbusters Teaches Dungeon Masters About Supernatural Adventures
There are plenty of movies about heroes who save the world from supernatural evil. There are far fewer about heroes who have to figure out how to capture that evil, pay the bills, repair their equipment, and convince the authorities that the giant marshmallow creature...
Smuggling Across Territory Lines: The Dangerous Business of Moving Contraband in Zoo Mafia RPG
Last week in Zoo Mafia, we explored the perfect getaway route and how a successful crew needs more than a good plan to escape with the score. Knowing the territory, using animal abilities, calling in favors, and having a backup plan can make the difference...
Aether Skies: The Wreck of the Crimson Horizon. An Arcana punk adventure for any RPG
Last week we ventured into Aether Skies and the Lawless frontier of Skyway Outlaws. But today we are going in anpther direction. Here's an adventure story to drop into any RPG with magic and airships The skies remember every ship that fails to return. Some disappear into...
The Gelatinous Cube Janitor: What Does a Gelatinous Cube Do When Adventurers Aren’t Around?
Adventurers don't tend to think much about what happens after they leave a dungeon. They kick down doors, fight monsters, disarm traps, smash suspicious furniture, loot treasure chests, and eventually defeat whatever unfortunate creature happens to be guarding the final room. Then they head back...
The Seven-League Boots: D&D’s Ultimate Travel Artifact
In our last installment of Legendary Artifacts Reimagined, we explored the Sword of Damocles, the legendary blade that reminds anyone who seeks power that there is always a price for sitting at the top. Unlike most of the artifacts in this series, the Sword of...
Battlezoo Bestiary: Elemental Storm Review | More Than Just Another Monster Book
I love making monsters. As a Game Master, I've spent a lot of time creating my own creatures, tweaking existing stat blocks, coming up with strange abilities, and generally asking the question, "What if this monster could do THIS?" So when I get handed a new bestiary,...
Under the Dome: Arcane Colleges. Magic makes might n a Post Apocalyptic Fantasy Setting
In our last article, we explored Monster Hunter Guilds, the people who make a living dealing with the creatures that threaten life beneath and beyond the Domes. Some monsters crawl out of forgotten tunnels. Others are summoned by people who should have known better. Some...
What the Ocean’s Movies Teach Dungeon Masters About Running Better D&D Heists
The Ocean movies are a a journey in and of themselves. The chaos of their heists in incredible. And speaking of Chaos. Last week we too inspiration from even more chaos. Pirates of the Caribbean is controlled chaos at its finest. There is a moment in...
Aether Skies: Skyway Outlaws and the Lawless Frontier
The known skies of Aether Skies have thirteen floating cities. They have merchant guilds, established trade routes, airship laws, military organizations, sky ports, and people who make their living keeping the great vessels of civilization moving between those cities. But civilization has limits. Beyond the trade routes are...
The Goblin Inventor: What Does a Goblin Do When Adventurers Aren’t Around?
Adventurers have a pretty simple idea of what goblins do. They raid villages. They steal livestock. They build traps. They swarm unsuspecting travelers. They live in filthy caves and make life generally unpleasant for everyone around them. And sure, goblins do plenty of those things. But somebody has...
