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...
Aetherball Expanded: A Sport, a Stage, a Secret War
How to Turn the Sky’s Favorite Game into a Narrative Powerhouse In the floating cities of Aether Skies, few things unite people like Aetherball. It’s more than a sport—it’s religion, rebellion, and war by other means. Played in zero-gravity bowls threaded with sigils and aether currents,...
How Technology is Revolutionizing Dungeons & Dragons Gameplay (And Why You Should Embrace It)
If you're still scribbling initiative on a napkin or flipping through a spellbook mid-combat, it’s time to level up—not your character, but your game. Dungeons & Dragons has entered a bold new era, [caption id="attachment_89818" align="alignright" width="219"] Is this D20 enough for you?[/caption] and technology is the...
The Devkin: Hunters in the Chaos Sands
“They don’t stalk. They wait. Because they already know where you’re going.” The Devkin are among the most iconic—and terrifying—original species to emerge from the chaos-churned wastelands outside the dome city of Balaria. Once simple predators twisted by time and storms, these beings have evolved into...
Turning Oz into Gothic Horror (or Grimdark Fantasy)
Twisting the Yellow Brick Road into a Path of Madness and Moonlight Happy Easter for those celebrating. I thought it a little ironic that my schedule decided to do a Wicked inspired post on such a day, But you know what? Its written and I am...
Playing With Morality: Shades of Grey in TTRPG Storytelling
How to Run Morally Complex Campaigns Inspired by the Intrigue of Aether Skies [caption id="attachment_21598" align="alignright" width="300"] Aether, you know, that stuff that surrounds us...
Villains Who Shape the World: Developing Antagonists Like Vek’th and the Grind Barons
“The best villains don’t just want to stop the heroes—they want to change the world… and sometimes, you wonder if they should.” In any great tabletop campaign, a good villain isn’t just an obstacle. They are a mirror, a force of nature, a storyteller in their...
⚡🔥 Forged in Fire and Storm: Homebrewed Spells from Under the Dome
In our Under the Dome campaign—helmed by the ever-diabolical Dave—I play a sorcerer who’s just a little obsessed with fire and lightning. Velrian Blitzstorn (yes, that's the name—because subtlety is for wizards) has been blazing through spell slots and leaving scorch marks in his wake...
Aetherpunk Adventures: Combining Magic, Steampunk, and Horror
How to Blend Magical Technology and Eldritch Nightmares into a Cohesive RPG Setting Welcome to Aether Skies, a world where magic fuels industry, floating cities hover over a cursed wasteland, and unspeakable horrors stir just beyond the veil of reality. This is a world of Aetherpunk—a...
How to Run a Pirates of the Caribbean-Inspired D&D Campaign
Cursed Gold, Ghost Ships, and the Sea’s Grim Smile [caption id="attachment_89822" align="alignright" width="258"] D&D Pirate campaign gone wrong or right.[/caption] If you're dreaming of salt spray, clashing cutlasses, undead sailors, and morally ambiguous heroes, then Pirates of the Caribbean is the perfect cinematic inspiration for your next...
The Black Dragon Corruptor: Herald of Rot and Ruin
There’s something primal and haunting about black dragons—their sleek, serpentine forms, their acid-drenched breath, their lairs sunk deep in festering bogs. But what if one of these horrors was more than a territorial tyrant? What if it became a corruptive force, spreading darkness not just...
