I’ve been playing and reading roleplaying games for decades now. Something I’d noticed, mostly because the exceptions stand out so much, is how static things tend to be. Specifically, encounter areas are usually pretty fixed. A stage is set and then… doesn’t change. Sometimes there are hazards present (drops from …
Much like the Tome of Adventure Design, Modiphius’s Conan 2d20 line presents a couple ways of creating and adventure. Both approaches have merit, and I’ll explore them below. Ancient Ruins and Cursed Cities This approach is very site-based. Define a location with interesting things, and adventurers will come. Summarized, the …
Technically (this is Monday, April 6) I’m supposed to be on ‘E’, and I’m just writing for April 3 (‘C’). I just now put up ‘Building My Toolbox’, the second post of the month and I’m already behind. I thought about calling this a “Cheap/Cheat Post”. It starts with ‘C’ …
As is my wont, I’m gathering tools to help me develop this campaign setting. All I really know so far are the game system (Fantasy AGE) and general tone (pulpy sword and sorcery). What tools do I expect to use to build this out? Here’s a list to start. I’m …
Long ago, when G+ was still a thing, I met and befriended a mad Glaswegian named Jason Paul McCartan. The Badger. The years since have been busy. We’ve had medical events. There have been life changes, planned and unplanned. Job and work changes. Game design and publishing setbacks and progress. …
Most of the work done on my XML Workflow has focused on process content from Word files via XML. Word is probably the most useful format by volume, because of the amount of text in varying structure. However, it’s not the only format that is of use to me. Excel …
I have been remiss. When I signed up last year to host this month’s RPG Blog Carnival, I had grand thoughts of working on Planar Trappings. My vacation was booked for October, so I figured I’d have lots of time. Instead, my brain was eaten by finally solving some problems …
My last post identified several traits I will define trappings for: accord, order, magic, and so on. Each trait can have more than one trapping. I was about to start describing trappings for various traits, then realized… … before I go into what individual trappings look like, it’s probably a …
Almost as much as pantheon design, I’ve liked exploring other planes. The first edition Manual of the Planes was one of the most fascinating books of that era to me. It showed such alien worlds. There were many other campaign setting books/box sets, but they were relatively normal. At least, …
Fiction and RPG settings within various genres often share tropes… but which tropes each setting uses varies. Fantasy settings often include aspects reminiscent of medieval Europe… but sometimes other eras or regions. A single setting can include areas with different historical or mythological influences. Some of these influences are easily …
