"Miseries of London: Going out to Dinner" by Thomas Rowlandson

Who Can it Be Now?

Adventurers should always expect the unexpected but, as referees, how often do we deliver on that premise? Often we lean on the strange and unusual to produce moments of shock but, sometimes, the more shocking thing isn't what the players don't know but what they know, or thought they knew, delivered in a completely unexpected […]

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Makeshift: Constructing Things in Troupe

This is not a post about crafting, really (sorry, not sorry), but about building things for purpose in a constrained time window— such as a raft to cross a river, a ladder for climbing out of a pit, or a temporary shelter to wait out a storm. Character building We’re going to treat the constructions […]

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A Potpourri of 1d6 Tables

Because sometimes (such as having to catch-up on a month-long blogging challenge), one table or topic is not enough! Specialized Medicine Some hurts might require specific reagents for healing. 1d6 What Where Rarity 1 An herb Mountain slopes Very common (4-in-6 chance) 2 A flower Shaded vales Common (3-in-6 chance) 3 A root Secluded meadows […]

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Overwhelmed!

In West Marches style games, a mechanic is sometimes used on occasions when a Character is unable to return to the hub town before the end of a session. It involves rolling on a table to determine the Character’s fate. Call me a softie but I don’t like the idea of outright killing a Character […]

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Polygraph machine at the Israeli Police Heritage Center

Lie to Me

How can you tell if someone is lying to you? In popular media, it seems so simple. In real life, it's much more complicated. That said, we're not playing life here, we're playing games! If a player asks whether their character sees any signs that the NPC they're dealing with is lying, we can roll […]

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King Lear Casting Out His Daughter Cordelia (Shakespeare, King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1)

Into the Unknown

Unraveling mysterious is one of the great pleasures of playing tabletop roleplaying games: figuring out who kidnapped the archpriest and why, unmasking the hidden mastermind behind assassinations across the kingdom, locating the powerful artifact thought lost, or any number of other questions great and small. As a Referee, mysteries are fun too, if you can […]

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Kitab suwar al-kawakib al-thabita (Book of the Images of the Fixed Stars) of al-Sufi

Looking up at the Dark

Since time immemorial, folk have lifted their eyes to behold the star-studded darkness of the firmament at night, saw the movements of planets, stars, and other celestial bodies as they wheeled across the dome of the sky and wondered what significance this cosmic dance had for their lives. Let's roll some dice and find out! […]

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"Parke of the Artillary" by William Hogarth

Advanced Pathfinding

Finding the right path can make traveling through the wilderness easier. Of course, the emphasis here is on the right path. A wrong one can lead nowhere... or worse. When the party is looking for a path, let's roll some dice to see what they find. Use the following tables as guides. If the party's […]

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"The Squire's Kitchen" by Thomas Rowlandson

Flavor of the Moth

I haven't had the stomach yet to watch Delicious in the Dungeon (aka Dungeon Meshi) but I've heard enough about it to know that eating monsters is a major element of the anime (and manga). Knowing nothing about it works in that universe, I thought it might be fun to throw together some tables to […]

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On the Origins of PCs

The origins of things, including folk of different sorts, can say a lot about your world. It can feel daunting to build out origins but they are rewarding, once they’re done. They can also be short. I like 1d6 tables. Six is a good number of options that isn’t enough to wrack the brain to […]

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