Clik here to view.
Hexcrawls Kinda Suck
Hexcrawls kinda suck, don't they? Or at least, the best hexcrawls are never as good as the best dungeons. You can probably name your favorite dungeons, but can you name your favorite hexcrawls? What...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Okay I Fixed Hexcrawls Now
After attacking a beloved institution last week, the only acceptable follow-up is to describe how it could be improved. It's a graceful and useful transition.I'm sure that's what your mom said when...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dungeon: Castle of the Gribblies
I've been reading some of Jennell Jaquays' old stuff, like Night of the Walking Wet. It's very good, but it's also horribly formatted, as if layout was performed with scissors and glue. (Because it...
View ArticleClik here to view.
GLOG Class: Bioweapon
I got this idea from mad gods on bear blog.Crab Evo from Kagaku Sentai DynamanA thousand soldiers were slain. Too many to be tragic--this is just a fact.Their bodies were ground up and mixed together....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Deconstructing Healing, Potions, and Shrines
Potions kinda suck and I can prove it.Potions Suck #1Healing potions kinda suck the fun out of the game for me. I know most OSR games don't allow them to be purchased, which is good, but a lot of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Deconstructing Random Encounters (+ Spirits of the Underworld)
If you're not interested in theorycrafting you can skip to the Spirits of the Underworld section, which is hopefully immediately useful to your game.This time I'm not looking at how we determine when...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Random Ship Encounters on the Sea of Fish
So over 10 years ago I said I would write a follow-up to this blog post and I never did. So this post is dedicated to DM_Lazenby who brazenly called me out on it last week. You're correct, Lazenby....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lessons from Elden Ring
I know I’m late to the From Soft party, but I’ve finally beat the Elden Ring DLC and after a couple hundred hours in that game I finally have enough opinions for a blogpost.Many people have written...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lessons from Elden Ring, Part II
This is a continuation from this post.Anyway, here are some more things you can do to make your tabletop game more like Elden Ring.DO Give Players The Element of SurpriseWhen you’re playing Elden Ring,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Werewolf Rule
Ever since the nose-blind apes succeeded in driving them away, wolves have carried their hatred in their guts, like a cold embryo. Humans are slow, stupid, and nearly deaf and blind. And yet they...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Monster Checklist
Okay, so you’re writing up a monster entry. Run through this checklist to make sure that you haven’t missed anything.#1. The concept should be unique, compelling, and communicable.You probably have a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pennetra (New Combat System)
Okay, here’s a new combat system. I’m calling it Pennetra because I had to write the word ‘Penetrating’ like 10 times in this post and other potential names like Penetrox are already taken by...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Monstrome
So I've been writing like I used to--just sitting down and writing for 5 hours straight.This shit is exhausting. I don't know how I used to do this back in 2015.Anyway, I decided to start putting...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tower in the Wasteland v2
I recently asked my patrons what posts deserved a sequel and Tower in the Wasteland was one of the first replies. So here's an updated version of that dungeon. It's 12 pages now, so roughly twice the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Angelmen (+ Monstrome v2)
AngelmenAngelmen are tall, beautiful, and gaunt. Every single one has alabaster skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. They look like angels. They sometimes drape themselves in loose clothing, but more...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cailish Andorum
BosperoI’ve sure you’ve heard many stories of Cailish Andorum, and his great sin. However, I suspect that few of you know how it begins, or that it took almost a full century before Andorum was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Morlocks (& Monstrome v3)
Progress on my bestiary continues. I've completed Monstrome v3! New monsters:MorlocksOgresSkeleton JelliesThank you Louis, Claytonian, Jake, and Anon for pointing out all of my typos.Anyway, here are...
View ArticleClik here to view.
d6 More Dungeon Merchants
I reread some old blogposts today. Holy shit, remember the horses I did with Chris McDowall? Those were great.The d6 Dungeon Merchants post was also a good one. I think it deserves a sequel.Players...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Door Monsters (+ Monstrome v4)
Monstrome v4 is complete. New in this version:Barlutra (Giant Otters)Smirches (pure evil shaped like a bird)Wolves, Etc."Mundane" AnimalsDoor MonsterLoctus . . . plus cooking and alchemy rules, for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Paladin of Hell (+ Monstrome v5)
Work continues of the Monstrome. I'm now on v5. You can read itHEREFeel free to comment on any typos or confusing parts.I've added Crafting sections (on top of the Cooking and Alchemy from v4)....
View ArticleCrowdsourced Dungeon: Blue Sky Temple
I joined Bluesky last month and decided to pretend that it's actually G+ and the year is 2015. This means that I'll be trying to have conversations, but it especially means crowdsourced content. I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Brain Worms
Your blade pierces his heart and the man reels against the dungeon wall before collapsing against the floor. A few seconds of labored gasping and then perfect silence. You start looting the body....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mushroom Men & Monstrome v6
Monstrome v6 is now complete. It's up to 60,000 words and approaching book territory, which is cool. MONSTROME v6New monsters include:Mushroom ManFlying WormGremlinI'm actually proud of all 3 of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Blue Sky Temple, Revised
Last week, we made a crowdsourced dungeon on Bluesky. It was fun and it yielded a cool dungeon with a lot of good ideas mashed together.This week, I decided that I was actually going to run it. So, I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Hungering Dark
Go into the earth, and reality will walk alongside you. Walk further, and you will eventually be walking alone.The world is plastic down there. Tar Lath Lien has explained that the Underworld is the...
View Article