Adding a sentient magic item? Be careful!

Armoured man looking at sword. Photo by Imad Clicks via Pexels

Intelligent swords have been the stuff of fable, and in D&D since the start. I thought it would be cool, but I wish I'd known this before I started...

Revising Lockpicking in D&D?

Revised lock-picking rules for D&D 5e. In an earlier post, I lamented how trivial picking a lock felt in a session. I've explored alternatives and rules; time to come up with a proposal. So here you are.

Tavern – RPGaDAY 2025 Day 3

#RPGaDAY2025 Day 3 - Tavern Starting an adventure in a tavern with a hooded stranger? How cliched! But that's not necessarily a bad thing. And don't forget how much your tavern can communicate.

How do you run Mass Combat in D&D?

D&D is designed for combats with a handful on each side. So how do you scale that up to larger numbers? Here are various suggestions, from the DMG, @slyflourish, @louanders, #TalesOfTheValiant, and the #BECMI Companion set

The Joy of Consequences

How often do you let unintended consequences of your players’ actions drive a storyline? Here I talk about an unplanned storyline which grew out of thinking about what the characters had done.

Running a City (in your TTRPG)

How do you run a city? I’m not talking about advice to mayors and city councillors. This is a role-playing game blog, after all. I’m talking about making a city the centre of your campaign and adventures. Regular readers of my blog will be aware that my current campaign is based in the city of … Continue reading Running a City (in your TTRPG) →

One D&D Playtest 3 – The Cleric, and updated Ardling, Dragonborn and Goliath

This is one of my posts on the evolution of D&D. See here for other related posts. This is my next post in the series looking at the 10th Anniversary next edition of D&D, which Wizards are playtesting bit by bit. As before, you can sign up to the playtest via D&D Beyond and download … Continue reading One D&D Playtest 3 – The Cleric, and updated Ardling, Dragonborn and Goliath →

Are your players having fun?

Are all your players having fun? Roleplaying games can be challenging, frustrating (particularly when the dice go against you), thrilling, exasperating. But they are a social pastime, and everyone should leave most sessions thinking “well, I’m glad I took part.” I recently made a big mistake. I forgot to think about that extra word “all” … Continue reading Are your players having fun? →

RPGaDay week 1

RPGaDay 2022 prompts RPGaDay is back for the 9th year. After the previous couple of years being fairly abstract prompts, this year they have returned to very directed questions. You can see them all in the graphic. I’m not sure how relevant some of the questions later are to me, but I’ll make a start … Continue reading RPGaDay week 1 →

Safety Tools in RPGs

Role-playing games can be a lot of fun, and a great way to spend a few hours exploring a different life and different experiences. But due to the topics they typically encompass – violence, theft, monsters, demons, devils, spiders, bugs, relationships, different tribes/races/species and their interactions, conflict, Mrs Cake, slood, celery and more – they … Continue reading Safety Tools in RPGs →