Campaign History – Day 5

Medieval nobles stand in the foreground, while horses and a carriage appear in the mid-ground. In the distance is an ancient city.

The RPG Campaign Tour Challenge Day 5 prompt delves into campaign history. Day 5 – Can you tell us about the campaign’s history? In the real world and within the universe. Visit Nuketown’s RPG Campaign Tour Challenge 2026 Prompts page for the rest of our challenge posts. A long time ago … in Pennsylvania I’m … Read more

Meet Alain the Wanderer – Day 2

A D&D character sheet for a Ranger / Cleric named Alain the Wanderer

On Day 2 of the RPG Campaign Tour Challenge, we get to meet our guide to Greyhawk ’76. The prompt: Day 2 – About your Tour GuideIntroduce us to a character who can serve as our guide through your campaign and its setting. Visit Nuketown’s RPG Campaign Tour Challenge 2026 Prompts page for the rest of our challenge … Read more

Invoking the Elemental Apocalypse

A collection of Dungeons and Dragons rule books, as well as a black notebook with a dragon logo.

Twenty years ago, the Temple of Elemental Evil rose, Oerth fell, and the Elemental Apocalypse began. Vortexes of power – unleashed by factions loyal to the four elemental princes – devastated the world with concurrent apocalypses; city-shattering earthquakes, nation-drowning tidal waves, forest-consuming infernos, and punishing hurricanes. Gods died, slain by the ascendent Elemental Princes who … Read more

Mac RPG Tools

A laptop computer surrounded by role-playing game source books.

I began playing Dungeons & Dragons in grade school, and I used Apple computers almost as long. I started writing up adventures on my Apple II and printing them on an dot matrix printer, took a brief sojourn into the world of Windows PCs during and after college, and then returned to the Mac with the release of Mac OS X.

RPG A Day 2022 – Share an intriguing detail from a game setting you enjoy

Cover art from the Greyhawk Boxed Set

Back in the 1990s, when the Greyhawk resurgence was under way, the great mystery of the campaign setting was … who is Philidor the Blue Wizard? Introduced by Carl Sargent in the From the Ashes boxed set, Phildor is a super-powerful wizard (25th level?) in a campaign setting where ultra powerful NPCs are not the norm. Sure, there’s … Read more

NuketownSF: Weird OSR, Lunar Landers, Dark Sky Park, Cthulhu’s Fate, Lair of Secrets, Stolen Space Shuttle Plans

A tentacled humanoid creature with wings on its back stalks across a green-tinged landscape.

ZINES | GEEK NATIVE – As good as the first: Knock! 2 is a gazette of weird OSR insight #zines #osr SPACE | CNN – The battle for the next lunar lander #space #moon SPACE | CNN – The US and Canada have a new dark sky park for stargazers to enjoy #astronomy #space #wilderness RPG | FATE OF CTHULHU – … Read more

RPG-a-Day 2021: Throne

A map of the Kingdom of Aerdy; land is green, forests are dark green, waters are shades of blue.

The Malachite Throne of the Great Kingdom is one of the legendary artifacts of Greyhawk. The seat of power of the corrupt and collapsing kingdom of Aerdy (aka The Great Kingdom), the Fiend-Seeing Throne sets the tone for the entire region. It’s also a campaign I’ve long wanted to run. Back in the day, TSR … Read more

Getting Lost in a Hexcrawl

An example of a hexcrawl map, featuring beige hills, grasslands, a large lake, and a volcano.

My current lunchtime game is Scales of Truth, a hexcrawl set in a post-apocalyptic science-fantasy setting. Think of a mashup of Thundarr the Barbarian, Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, and Mad Max: Fury Road, powered by Dungeons & Dragons. So what’s a hexcrawl? It’s a style of RPG campaign in which the game master populates … Read more

Under the Geek Tree 2018

A ton of role-playing game books found their way under the Geek Tree this year thanks to Christmas and my birthday. It was heavy on Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks, but there’s also a touch of Cthulhu … and a swig of Hellboy Firewater to wash it all down. Creature Codex (Amazon / Website) – Kobold Publishing’s Creature Codex (Amazon) is easily the heftiest of … Read more