In a Goblin Market
Backwards up the mossy glen Turn’d and troop’d the goblin men, With their shrill repeated cry, “Come buy, come buy.” –“Goblin Market,” Christina Rosetti In the last two articles in this series on the fey, I’ve talked about courtly ...
Broad City, Player Agency, and Storyline Direction
Four and three and two and one. One of my favorite shows on TV right now is a show about young female friends in New York. They navigate the challenges of jobs, money, relationships, and feminism, examining some of the ...
Make Maps | Leave Gaps – 3 Ways to Balance ...
I was thinking recently about the RPG design philosophy ‘Make Maps, Leave Gaps.’ Basically, this sentiment translates to ‘have some details, but leave space for inspiration/player interest to create the environment.’ Which, for me, has me wondering what level of ...
Running a Session Zero for a New Campaign
In a previous article I wrote about Writing a Player’s Guide for your new Campaign, but this week on the Campaign Trail I wanted to look at Running a Session Zero for a New Campaign. Tonight my regular group on ...
Domain Rulership, Part Two
Last time in the History of Domain Rulership, I studied Frank Mentzer’s Companion rules and bemoaned my lack of the Expert rules. To my great surprise, a friend sent me a copy of Expert a few hours after my article ...
The Alchemist Class for 5e
The Alchemist for 5e is now available on DriveThruRPG from Tribality Publishing! This 20 page PDF provides players with a new 20-level Intelligence-based caster class that allows players to share alchemical effects with their allies, 6 traditions updated with playtest ...
Man in the High Castle and Alternate Histories
This week on Performance Check I’m looking at alternate histories. Poor Philip K. Dick. He’s had thirteen of his works adapted, many with multiple versions, and the resulting adaptations are largely crap. Sure, Blade Runner is great, Linklater’s adaptation of ...
A Visit to the Shadowfell – Shadar-kai & More
This week on the Campaign Trail we visit the Shadowfell to look at the Shadar-kai and other inhabitants of this plane. In my next campaign (which is about to start) we’re returning to the Nentir Vale, and I am allowing ...
Fey Huntsmen and Leashed Terrors
A few weeks ago, I wrote about fey knights and the general dearth of worthy fey opponents in the 5e Monster Manual. This week, I present the fey huntsmen that lead the Wild Hunt and their beasts, the leashed terrors. If ...
Black Comedies, Discomfort, and Challenge
When I walked out of Kingsman: The Secret Service, I turned to my friend and said, “People are going to be angry about the last ten minutes.” Almost immediately, I began to read reviews and comments from people praising the ...