Motivating Your NPCs
I sometimes find my NPCs can become one-note if I'm not paying attention so I started thinking of some quick tools I could use to inject some variability into my NPCs. This is one of those tools.
The Archives
Return of the Mook
One thing I liked from the fourth edition of Wizards of the Coast's RPG was the minion. I thought the concept was great though I didn't necessarily agree exactly with the way they chose to implement it.
Rethinking the Original Attributes
Let's face it-- roleplaying characters with above or below average intelligence or wisdom vacillates between extremes of idiocy and supernatural brilliance. How do you pretend to be smarter or wiser than you actually are? Maybe there are some better character values we can measure and relegate intelligence and wisdom into the realm of pure RP.
Tests of Skill
Nothing can slow down or halt a Dungeons & Dragons game completely like a misfiring skill or knowledge check. We can do better.
For Hire
I stumbled upon a reference to a Gary Gygax short story very much worth reading for the application of hirelings. Hirelings, as class of NPC, have long been in the wane but I want to bring them back.
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Fifth Edition of **Dungeons & Dragons** has optional rules for insanity (*DMG* pages 258-260) and, since the release of the *Curse of Strahd* campaign book, I've seen a lot of gamemasters consider applying those optional rules or houseruling their own. I find the insanity rules given, and many of the ones suggested by the community, a bit problematic and so decided to offer an alternative.
Oh Captain, My Captain
I’ve published my first supplement on DriveThruRPG, it’s a charisma based sub class for the fighter that I’ve called The Captain. Conceptually, the captain is for the player who wants to play a fighter with charisma and
Class Colors
Normally I try to flesh out my thoughts to, at minimum, some degree (dubious though those thoughts might be) before posting. However, as part of NaNoWriMo, I’m trying to belt out one post for every day in the month, or t
An Emotional Rollercoaster
Normally I try to flesh out my thoughts to, at minimum, some degree (dubious though those thoughts might be) before posting. However, as part of NaNoWriMo, I’m trying to belt out one post for every day in the month, or t
X Marks the Spot
Normally I try to flesh out my thoughts to, at minimum, some degree (dubious though those thoughts might be) before posting. However, as part of NaNoWriMo, I’m trying to belt out one post for every day in the month, or t
A Simple Case of Semantics
Normally I try to flesh out my thoughts to, at minimum, some degree (dubious though those thoughts might be) before posting. However, as part of NaNoWriMo, I’m trying to belt out one post for every day in the month, or t
Grappling with OSR
I forget exactly what I was looking up but, whatever it was, it lead me to reading an article entitled “Questions Most Frequently Asked About Dungeons & Dragons Rules” by Gary Gygax and published in The Strategic Rev
Clerical Nature
There are three human classes detailed in the three little brown books. They cover a range from pure combat specialist (the fighting-man), pure magic (the magic-user), and a hybrid of the two (the cleric). That last one,
What Makes a Game OSR?
At some point, we're going to move into a post-OSR game world but, for now, what does it mean for a game to be OSR?
Poisoned
I wasn't happy with the way the OSR tends to treat poisons, so I created a variant rule to spice it up a bit.
Hireling Generator
There are loads of great generators online for virtually any need that a referee might have. It’s practically an embarassment of riches. Unfortunately, there are still times when I can’t find a generator that does exactl
Hexcrawling for Fun and Profit, Part 1
Hexcrawling is one of the artifacts from olden times that’s had a bumpy transition to the modern day. Though it’s featured rather prominently in the Tomb of Annihilation adventure book and in products like Hot Spring Isl
Hexcrawling for Fun and Profit, Part 2
Hexcrawling is one of the artifacts from olden times that’s had a bumpy transition to the modern day. Though it’s featured rather prominently in the Tomb of Annihilation adventure book and in products like Hot Spring Isl