The Plain of Greyhawk is the great fertile region south of the Free City, home to farmers and dotted by a handful of towns and villages, each with its own mayor, council, or feudal lord. The entire region is nominally under control of the Directing Oligarchy of Greyhawk, a group of “co-equal oligarchs”, who dispatch … Read more
Weather is baked into the DNA of Greyhawk, going all the way back to Dragon Magazine #68 (and subsequently, the Greyhawk Glossography). The Glossography appeared in the 1983 World of Greyhawk boxed set, and includes a full weather generation system. Almost every campaign I’ve run over the last 30+ years used that system, with the … Read more
My gaming group’s World of Greyhawk campaign has run, on and off, for 30 years. This post looks back at the history leading to my current campaign, Greyhawk ’76. 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 … Read more
On Day 2 of the RPG Campaign Tour Challenge, we get to meet our guide to Greyhawk ’76: Alain the Wanderer, Knight of Murlynd and fantasy/western gunslinger. 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 … Read more
Just as I was itching to get back to writing on Nuketown, along came the perfect series of writing prompts Barking Alien’s Barking Alien’s RPG Campaign Tour Challenge! For 28 days in February, the challenge asks folks to share the details of one of their RPG campaigns. Let’s kick things off with the Day 1 … Read more
The key to virtual play is crafting a online Dungeon Master’s Toolkit that works for you. Just like my physical dungeon master’s toolbox, the online one makes my life easier. It cuts down on prep time, creates robust visuals for battle maps and illustrations, and keeps me focused. Adventure Prep Battle Map Creation Virtual Tabletop … Read more
Christmas has come and gone. I wrote this post back in December … and then promptly forgot about it. Having remembered it, let’s see what showed up under the geek tree in 2023! Video Games Role-Playing Games Books Technology
Rather than just go with my gut instinct for “favorite RPG of all time”, I decided to run the numbers. The numbers are, admittedly, a bit skewed. D&D 3rd Edition includes a bunch of d20 supplements (at least, those who survived my 3e purge) including hardcovers and splat books. I don’t have nearly as many … Read more
Forge of Fury is my favorite published adventure, for sheer playability through two generations of gamers. The first time I encountered it, the Forge of Fury formed the foundation of our dwarven Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition campaign. We all played dwarves intent on reclaiming the forge for our clan, eventually re-establishing a hidden dwarven … Read more
From a marketing and design perspective, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. After 4e split the fan base, 5e reunited it by streamlining the game, resurrecting elements that people loved, and bounding the math so that bonus stacking (and the GM/player arms race it forced) was no longer a thing. It runs fast at low, mid, … Read more