Depthcrawl for Into the Odd

I wrote and ran a depthcrawl based largely on Numenera content for Into the Odd. Here are my exact notes for it as well as a write-up of our experience running through it.

A Litany in Scratches: Trophy Gold Conversion

The Trophy Kickstarter is almost done, although it may have concluded when you read this, and it has succeeded wildly! I will be writing part of the megadungeon in it, which is the first time I’ve done anything remotely professional in tabletop RPGs. Go support it, or check out the Trophy site for more info. …

From Us Came Dusk Adventure Front

NB: This is the adventure front after Session 1 of "From Us Came Dusk". I thought this might serve as a useful example for anyone looking to understand fronts. A video explanation can be found at the end of the post. Based on “Vault of the Blue Golem” by Dyson Logos. Additional inspiration from “Black …

Forbidden Level of the Creedhall Library

In Gothic Brunch a few weeks ago, the group determined they wanted to go do some research at a library. Now, what kind of a game would I be running if the library didn't have a secret basement with forbidden tomes and unspeakable secrets? For this map, I once again depended on Elven Tower. This …

Di Rosalba Manor

The characters in "Gothic Brunch" recently visited the manor of the Di Rosalba family while tracking a necromancer in the city of Creedhall. Knowing they'd want to poke around a bit, I used Tramur’s Lakehouse by Dyson Logos as the map. My notes and additions follow. The home is owned by a brother and sister, …

Free Dungeon Starter: Caves of Hypnos

I learned an important lesson on Saturday night about open table games: consider carefully how much you want the world to change based on one session. In my ongoing Dungeon World community game, some players wanted to return to the Dreaming Wood. This location used a mix of two Lampblack & Brimstone Dungeon Starters: "The …

Kipling’s Laboratory

In "Gothic Brunch," my Sunday streamed campaign taking place in Krevborna, the characters are currently investigating an assault by drowned zombies that walked out of the lake. Players include @EmKHansen, @TheNerdyNiffler, @PaterVoss, and @MatthewWForeman, and they all do a great job bringing different aspects of this world to life! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwKUGN3iHqE I knew I wanted them …

The GM tools I find most useful

I was talking to Variant Roles friends yesterday about GM prep tools and thinking about the ones I have found the most useful. Woodweaver's Puzzleknot by Volkan Baga Five Room Dungeons: This basically comes down to structuring encounters and making sure you have variety and some rising action with a climax. This incredibly useful tool …

Worked example of a procedural dungeon

After I wrote recently about procedural generation for dungeons, my brain kept chewing on the possibilities here. I decided to try the process outlined in the Dungeon Masters Guide (5e) Appendix A. This post will run through my experience doing that, as well as a look ahead at what could come next. Random layout The …

Coming back to procedural generation in D&D

I started playing Dwarf Fortress again recently, partly inspired by the videos produced by Kruggsmash. He does a wonderful job of extracting the story from a fortress, illustrating it in a cartoonish way, and pulling out a narrative. But a lot of that narrative comes from the game systems, influenced by player actions, through procedural generation. That …