Author Archives: Brent
Semi-Monthly Map: The Abandoned Temple of Arazhuul
The Abandoned Temple of Arazhuul is a large dungeon complex that was taken over by several forces. As the PCs delve deeper, they will find themselves in several very different environments. Arazhuul is a goddess of order and civilized pleasure, and the symmetrical design of underground complex exemplified this aspect of the goddess. A few years ago, a … Continue reading
Rules for Establishing Dangers Near a Town
Let’s say the PCs are headed towards a small town, out in the middle of nowhere, that’s surrounded by dangerous monsters and ruins. Let’s further say you haven’t fleshed anything out beyond that basic concept. (Astute players will recognize this as the setup for a West Marches campaign.) What if you could build these dangers … Continue reading
Monster Monday: Lizardling Trooper of Tarakona
The savage continent of Tarakona, where draconic races battle for supremacy! What the lizardling empire lacks in creativity it makes up for in training. Its troopers train with long glaives for month after month until they can handle them as though born to them, despite the weapon’s large size. This gives the troopers up to a 10-foot reach … Continue reading
Faction Friday: The Rat Cult
The Rat Cult can be used either as a friendly faction that sends the PCs out on a mission, or as a foe that the PCs must overcome. The cult bases itself out of a hideout in the sewer system beneath the city. Edric, a young male wererat, leads the cult of a dozen disaffected youths. As a … Continue reading
How to Run a Large D&D Group (7+ Players)
/u/BoyScholar wrote in this post: I’ll be attempting to DM a module with a group of roughly 7-8 players sometime next month and I’m looking for any advice to manage the player count. First off: do it. Some advise that you either turn some of the players away (at least temporarily), or run 2 groups. I … Continue reading
What to put in your Unified GM Bag
In a previous post, I described the utility of having a Unified GM Bag: all your materials in one place. Here’s everything in my bag, with explanations: A bag of dice. My players haven’t yet figured out that they can buy their own dice, and besides, folks sometimes lose dice and it’s handy to have spares. … Continue reading
Amazingly useful tools: a Unified GM Bag
I have one big travel bag in which I store all my RPG materials (except for books and physical handouts like keys, rings, and pendants, since I have different handouts for different groups). It contains, among other things: Dice Pencils Index cards Counters Blank paper Folded paper minis Why would you want to do this? … Continue reading
Monster Monday: Lizardling Commander of Tarakona
The savage continent of Tarakona, where draconic races battle for supremacy! The bureaucratic lizardling empire fights the same way it does everything else: in an orderly, regimented fashion. Its legions are divided into units, each led by a Commander. Commanders are surprisingly active in combat. They stride into the thick of battle, the better to relay … Continue reading
Faction Friday: The Crow Bandits
The Crow Bandits can be used either as a friendly faction that sends the PCs out on a mission, or as a foe that the PCs must overcome. This group of outlaws wears crow-feather cloaks and uses trained wolves. They live in an abandoned temple, where their leader, Lathir Featherfall, found an old store of reagants and a spell … Continue reading
Lizardlings, the Civilized Kobolds
The savage continent of Tarakona, where draconic races battle for supremacy! Created to serve dragons directly as their day-to-day servants, lizardlings are intelligent, highly regimented, and focused on honor and recognition. The lizardlings developed by far the most established civilization on the wild continent of Tarakona, with large, terraced wooden cities and palaces that stretch … Continue reading