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...
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...
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 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...
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...
🎪 The Carnival of Chaos: Twisted Spectacle Under the Dome
In the strange, crumbling lands of Under the Donea, where Chaos storms of all kinds punch holes in the world and magic bleeds like oil from a cracked lantern, there are whispers—always whispers—of The Carnival of Chaos. No one remembers when it first arrived. No one...
Shadowsteel and the Price of Power – Our Under the Dome Saga
If you’ve been following our channel for any length of time, you’ve probably heard us talking about our Under the Dome campaign—our high-octane, motorcycle-riding, chaos-fueled adventures through a world that constantly tries to kill us. We have a bunch more articles on Under the Dome,...
Crafting Dangerous Terrain: From the Sea of Blades to the Bog of Eternal Acid
In the unforgiving world of Under the Dome, terrain itself can be a lethal adversary. Whether it’s the jagged, ever-shifting dunes of the Sea of Blades or the caustic quagmire of the Bog of Eternal Acid, the environment shapes not only how battles are fought...
Gladiators, Racers, and Rogues: Non-Combat Challenges in TTRPGs
How to make skill-based, narrative-driven encounters as thrilling as combat. Tabletop RPGs are often defined by their combat mechanics—but what about the high-stakes, high-tension moments that don’t involve a single sword swing? [caption id="attachment_28702" align="alignright" width="192"] Arguably the most famous mul in D&D lore, Rikus was a...
Dreamscapes and Nightmares: Designing Memorable Dream Realms
I love diving into characters dreams when I play D&D and other tabletop RPGs. It is a clear way to bring out back story and work on those charcter goals and plot points. And at times it can even [caption id="attachment_59059" align="alignright" width="232"] The ogre magi...
Races of Resistance: Creating Unique Playable Races for a Gritty Setting
How to Build Grounded, Adaptable Species for Darker, Wilder Worlds In gritty, post-apocalyptic, or chaos-wracked settings, traditional fantasy races can sometimes feel out of place. Elves who live for 700 years and perfect art forms don’t always mesh well with rusting spires, toxic rain, and mutant-hunting...
Chaos Magic and You: Designing Unique Magical Mechanics for Your Campaign
Chaos magic introduces an element of delightful unpredictability to any tabletop RPG campaign. It upends player expectations, sparks creative problem-solving, and can shift a carefully orchestrated scene into unexpected chaos. Inspired by the Under the Dome campaign, where chaos magic shapes much of the world,...
Exploring the Aether Skies: A World of Magic, Espionage, and Horror
Starting in the near future Nerdarchist Dave will be returning to the world we started making years ago for a campaign on the channel. We have three videos talking about it already on the channel with more to come. We also did a full fledged...
Faction Wars: Integrating Gang Politics into TTRPG Gameplay
How Gang Rivalries Shape Player Choice, Storytelling, and the World of Crystalia In many tabletop RPG settings, factions act as power players in the world’s social, economic, and criminal ecosystems. Whether they’re noble houses, religious sects, corporate overlords, or underground crime syndicates, factions provide conflict, intrigue,...
