Some recent blog posts for your delectation....
B5 Horror on the Hill Finished!
Dreams in the Lich House recounts a marathon campaign through the classic B5: Horror on the Hill, run in Shadowdark over the span of a year. Major highlights include the infamous dungeon trap that forces parties ever downward and a nervous, climactic fight with a young red dragon. The account is packed with tactical DM advice, from orchestrating the pivotal trap encounter to handling victorious but underprepared adventurers. The anecdotal style is highly relatable for anyone eyeing an old TSR module or contemplating open-table play for reliability. A must-read for practical campaign pacing and handling module conversions.
Building Bastionland – A Career Retrospective
Chris McDowall reflects on his decades-long journey from humble beginnings in rural England to ENnie-winning independent game designer highlighting the slow, organic process of growing an RPG business. McDowall details his iterative publishing experience, the challenges of self-employment, and community engagement across Into the Odd, Electric Bastionland, and Mythic Bastionland. Beginners will find encouragement in his philosophy of taking time, refining a recognizable “voice,” and valuing small, consistent audience growth over meteoric launches.
Character Studies – Dododecahedron
This article examines how three modules (Kidnap the Archpriest, Lorn Song of the Bachelor, and Witchburner) build NPCs to fit their narrative needs. Skerples’ approach favors minimal, easily-scannable bullet-points optimal for information gathering; Zedeck Siew’s descriptions hinge on evocative visuals and dialogue; Luka Rejec crafts microfiction that infuses every NPC with lived-in pathos. The author distills best practices including actionable motivation, succinct description, and unique interaction style for GMs interested in dynamic roleplay and character-driven scenario design.
History Resources for Your Games (Sea of Stars)
Sea of Stars RPG presents another wide-ranging list of historical oddities, each ready for campaign inspiration: art forgery detection, the story of Rose Mackenberg’s spiritualism exposes, the vibrant restoration of Egyptian temples, ancient Pompeii graffiti, and even 19th-century fudge origins as a college subculture food. There’s practical utility here for GMs worldbuilding unique NPC backgrounds, settings, or adventure hooks grounded in the messy realities of our own past.
Cthulhu Quickies, Delta Green Dangers, and a BRP Starter Pack
Refereeing and Reflection surveys new Call of Cthulhu and Delta Green supplements, noting design strengths, historical challenges, and issues of adaptation from Lovecraft’s problematic fiction. No Time To Scream and other scenario packs are praised for beginner-friendly structure, but also critiqued for sometimes messy handling of history and period racism. Particularly insightful is the commentary on how adaptations should either acknowledge or thoughtfully subvert their pulp origins, a relevant point for anyone running horror games or adapting classic material.
First Look: Dragon Delves Adventure Anthology
Burn After Running offers an enthusiastic “first look” at the new D&D Dragon Delves anthology, focusing on its structure and presentation. Each adventure centers on a distinct dragon and features robust adventure summaries, clear level recommendations, and bold art from a variety of illustrators. The book’s organization is praised for facilitating pickup play, one-shots, and duet (one player, one GM) scenarios. Highlights include inventive low- and high-level quests, placing dragons and their story potential front and center for a refreshing change of pace.
On Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (Take on Rules)
Take on Rules discusses Susanna Clarke's Piranesi (a very good book!), focusing on its strange, magical world and parallels for RPG narrative structure. The book's use of mystery, limited perspective, and enchanting environment offer ideas for GMs seeking to build immersive, player-driven explorations or weave labyrinthine settings into their campaigns.
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