TTRPG Blogosphere Roundup: Planescape Crews, GM Mastery, Daggerheart One-Shots, and Combat Nuance
The summer’s heating up in the TTRPG blogosphere! This week, we’re seeing inventive crossovers, campaign prep gold, crunchy mechanical debates, and that eternal search for truly useful GMing advice.
1. Planescapers with Attitude: Berkblasters
If you like your Planescape with a dash of hypercolor and chaos, Bastionland’s “Berkblasters” is for you. Following up on a Slugblaster x Planescape mashup, Chris McDowall delivers a buffet of skatepunk crews, each loosely mapped to a classic Sigil faction.
These crews are fast inspiration for anyone running Planescape, Slugblaster, or just wanting to inject some factional chaos into their urban fantasy. Each is a ready-made rival, ally, or chaotic energy in your game.
2. GMing Mastery, Minus the $1000 Price Tag
The discourse about pricey GM retreats is swirling, but Deeper in the Game cuts through the hype with practical wisdom. Chris Chinn reflects on what actually made him a better GM:
- Primetime Adventures: Master improvisation and scene-setting, learn to use player “flags” to drive play, and leverage Fan Mail as instant table feedback.
- Apocalypse World: The “right prep” and mental framing tools to keep pace with players’ chaos, plus the Agenda/Principles structure that’s now ubiquitous in indie RPGs.
- The Takeaway: You’ll grow more from running 2–3 short campaigns of the right games than any seminar. And you can get the key texts for less than $35 total.
- Bonus link: For those obsessed with dungeon design, check out Josh McCrowell’s free, organized course (also highlighted in the post).
3. Daggerheart: Into The Witherwild – One-Shot Actual Play & Advice
Over at Burn After Running: RPG One-Shots, Guy runs the new Daggerheart system through a condensed, high-action version of the Witherwild campaign frame, all in a single three-hour session.
- Structure:
- The adventure is built around Robin Laws’ “Three Fights” structure (see Adventure Crucible).
- Scenes include a river crossing under attack, tense social navigation at the city gates, dungeon delving in ancient catacombs, and a climactic boss fight at the tower’s peak.
- Practical notes:
- Detailed breakdown for scaling encounters by player count.
- Tips for running countdown clocks, managing dynamic NPCs, and keeping the pace tight in a one-shot format.
- For GMs:
- Includes advice on prepping, improvising, and adjusting for player agency and table vibe.
See the full scenario and prep notes
4. Crunch Corner: Impairing Impairing in Mythic Bastionland
In Impairing Impairing, Chris McDowall tackles the tactical side of Mythic Bastionland combat. The problem: large groups of knights can pool dice to repeatedly impair enemy attacks, making fights feel a bit too safe.
- Proposed Solutions (“Levers”):
- No Gambit Stacking: Only one impairment gambit per type per enemy each turn.
- Resistant Natural Weapons: Claws/bites can’t be impaired by regular gambits—needs a strong gambit.
- Secondary Attacks for Big Enemies: If you impair a main attack, big monsters still have a backup.
- Uncertain Initiative: Players must roll for initiative; not everyone acts on the first round.
- Why it matters:
- These tweaks are gentle, optional, and meant to preserve the game's high-lethality, decisive-combat tone.
- Good insight for anyone wrestling with action economy or “lockdown” tactics in their own games.
Final Thoughts & Shout-Outs
- Crossover Energy: The Planescape x Slugblaster vibe is infectious—don’t be afraid to blend genres and aesthetics in your own games.
- Mastery is Practice: You’ll learn more running a few campaigns with the right games than from any amount of theory or paid workshops.
- One-Shot Gold: If you’re prepping a convention game or want a template for high-action RPG sessions, the Daggerheart writeup is a model of clarity.
- Mechanics Matter: Don’t be afraid to gently house-rule to maintain your table’s intended tone and challenge.
Found something cool in the TTRPG blogosphere? Drop a link or comment below!
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