Last night, I ran Session 1 of my new Dungeon World campaign using Krevborna. The YouTube video is embedded at the end of this post, and we stream live on my Twitch channel. Here are my thoughts about how I did... For context, DW expects the players to shoulder more of the worldbuilding than traditional … Continue reading Krevborna – Session 1 Review
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 … Continue reading Coming back to procedural generation in D&D
Despite the way Wizards of the Coast has positioned them, I don't think that Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage really pair together very well. One is an urban intrigue and investigation campaign, and the other is a chthonic megadungeon. These have very different tones and structures, and many players will … Continue reading Dungeon of the Mad Mage lead-in alternatives
The release of Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica, as fun as it is, should be seen in the context of the Plane Shift documents that provide more Magic the Gathering settings for Dungeons and Dragons. This also included a free adventure "X Marks the Spot" for the Ixalan campaign. Among other cool things ported from MtG into D&D, it uses … Continue reading Using treasure tokens in D&D
I have asked my new Krevborna group to think in advance about the idea of lines and veils. This concept has a lot written about it, but the fundamental concepts are really straightforward. And the goal is even more so: make everyone at the (virtual) table feel comfortable and able to enjoy the game fully. Lines … Continue reading Lines and veils in Krevborna
I have scaled my Kickstarter activity way, way down over the last few years. But this one really grabbed my attention and I felt the need to back it: Nahual. (For clarity, I have no association with this project or its creators.) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1971035968/nahual-a-tabletop-rpg-of-mexican-urban-fantasy/description Nahual is a tabletop roleplaying game of Mexican urban fantasy. In Nahual you play as … Continue reading Kickstarter: Nahual (Mexican Urban Fantasy)
At some point, you've probably seen the cliched "brooding loner" character: hooded, sitting by themselves, maybe toying with a weapon. They're a strong independent adventurer with a dark past and a tortured psyche. When you look at them, you get a sullen glare in response. This character ends up not working, even when you try … Continue reading The secret to a fun roleplaying character
Once a country of picturesque villages, deep forests, and sublime mountain ranges, Krevborna is now preyed upon by werebeasts, witches, malicious fey, fiends, and the undead. The goal of adventures set in Krevborna is for the players' characters to find ways to fight back against the evil that taints the land. Someone must light a … Continue reading Adventure in the dark land of Krevborna!
A year ago, I ran a module in which the adventurers needed to get into a city unseen. They received a message to meet at a particular location outside the city; when they arrived, no contact or obvious hideout awaited them. The adventure text told the DM to have the players make a Perception roll: … Continue reading Avoiding boring failures
Technoskald's Forge 