KIROKAZE
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ojovivo
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Janaina Medeiros
Love Begins
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
izzy's playlists!
JBB: An Artblog!
if i look back, i am lost
Kaledo Art
blake kathryn
Sade Olutola
Misplaced Lens Cap
祝日 / Permanent Vacation
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todays bird
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda
Not today Justin
★
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@jamchef
The final version of this project! I’m super happy with how it turned out, I went with the blue color palette as that’s what me and my class mates ended up liking best but in the future when I have time I want to make a version with the red palette too. I also want to figure how to get this on a real sweatshirt.
Ko-fi
I would buy the heck outta that as a sweatshirt. Or better yet, pyjamas!
Multiclassing... With Style
Your character is close to levelling up, and you’re thinking about taking a level in another class. That’s great! However, let us not forget that this is a roleplaying game, and therefore this new character development deserves some narrative attention.
The Guild of Fifty One Hands does share secrets with anyone off the street.
The Archfey Council will not grant to power of the natural world to those it deems unworthy.
The Circle of Seven will not train an unlearned plebe to manipulate the fundamental elements of the universe.
You must first prove you are worthy of the powerful abilities associated with this new class. For each class (in the 5th edition PHB) you will find a list describing trials you may be set to prove your suitability for training.
Barbarian (1d6):
Survive a night in the gulch with only a spear
Capture a live bison (or similarly large beast) with only a rope
Cross the river at the rapids
Using only your bare hands, touch together the two ends of an iron rod
Turn the granite sculpture in front of the palace to face the opposite direction
Beat up a bear with your bare hands
Bard (1d6):
Compose a sonata in the style of a famous composer
Construct your own instrument
Perform at every inn Brognar Dovecap played at on his final tour
Recite the epic tale of Gray Wolf from memory
Sit through the entire 28 hour “Ode to Warm Milk”
Get a groupie
Cleric (1d6):
Translate a page of the Mad God’s Tome
Acquire the ingredients for incense and prepare it
Read the scripture cover to cover
Learn the fundamentals of the morningstar
Work for a time as a beadsman at the local alms-house
Finish all the paperwork in your to-do bin
Druid (1d6):
Learn the hunter’s last rites and perform them after slaying a bull elk
Allow a bird to nest in your cupped hands
Cultivate the notoriously fickle winter ivy without using magic
Earn the trust and friendship of a myconid colony
Return a defiled place to a state of natural health
Beat up a lumberjack
Fighter (1d6):
Learn the basic defense and attack forms
Win a medal in the King’s Melee
Apprentice under a blacksmith for a time
Learn the art of diplomacy
Read through Muin Wild’s ‘'The Art of Conflict”
Defeat the galloping hordes AND one hundred bad guys with swords
Monk (1d6):
Do 10,000 pushups
Learn meditation under a master
Give up your worldly possessions
Learn to perform a tea ceremony
Fast for a fortnight
Learn crouch with tigers and hide with dragons
Paladin (1d6):
Provide palliative care to the dying
Seek out a wanted criminal and convince them to amend their ways
Commit to a vow of silence, chastity, or poverty
Compose your oath and commit it to memory
Undertake a pilgrimage
Spoil a shady plan by being a huge stick-in-the-mud
Ranger (1d6):
Retrieve the herbal ingredients for an antidote before the poison overwhelms you
Capture and train a bird of prey
Climb to the peak of a mountain
Construct your own bow
Track down the cause of a blight afflicting the nearby forest
Escort some needy halflings to the nearest elf settlement
Rogue (1d6):
Steal the Red Wolf’s signet ring
Spring The Pig from the local jail
Brew a potent poison
Walk atop the city wall from one end to the other
Craft a set of skeleton keys
Go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line
Sorcerer (1d6):
Trace the history of the dragon bloodlines
Inscribe on your skin the tattoos of magic channeling
Read the Manual of the Planes
Pen a thesis on each of the four natural and seven supernatural elements
Construct a wand
Fetch water and perform other menial tasks for an Arcane Master without using magic
Warlock (1d6):
Retrieve a lost relic for your patron
Capture and tame your familiar
Perform a moonlit sacrifice for your desired patron
Craft your pact weapon
Destroy a relic belonging to a rival patron
Start a cult
Wizard (1d6):
Identify an artifact without the aid of magic
Master the process of growing crystals
Read through all seventy-seven tomes of Arcane Foundations
Learn the fundamentals of life, death, undeath, and false life
Perform the rituals required to convert a regular cauldron into a suitable potion brewing vessel
You put on your robe and wizard hat
Big fan of this idea
Spooky Forest Encounters
I’ve been playing darkest dungeon lately. I love the tone and would love to emulate it at the table.
You’re walking in the woods. Fog muffles sight and sound.
A crumbling sepulchre is half sunk in the earth.
The husk of an old tree is surrounded by scorch marks.
The bloated corpse of an ogre lays in the ditch.
A makeshift shrine is littered with animal bones.
A ring of blue mushrooms encircle the skeleton of an elk.
A broken and rusted greatsword is half buried in the mud.
A black dog barks frantically in an empty clearing.
Weeping cuts through the gloomy woods.
A raven croaks and caws while tearing into a dead rabbit.
Ragged and soiled clothing is draped over the trees.
A canvas sack soaked in blood is strewn in the road. The contents are gruesome and unrecognizable.
A ghostly figure stares out at you from deep in the forest.
13. The skin of a humanoid is stretched out like a canvas. 14. A large oak tree with a dark, gaping hole. A hand extends welcomingly from it. 15. A zombified squirrel holding a nut is caught in a thorny bush. It sees you and holds the nut protectively. 16. The shadows ahead, that you were hiding from turn out to be an adventuring party who have abandoned their quest and are trying to flee the forest. Should you move to talk to them they scream in terror, seeing who you are doesn’t seem to calm them. They look around horrified before heading off again. 17. A shadow fall over you and giant talons grasp from above the treeline. Should you seek it, you find shelter in an old Elm. After a while it starts raining and you can’t hear the bird squawks anymore. 18. Your cloak gets caught on a branch, after reflexively struggling you get loose to find there’s nothing there to get caught on. 19. You and your companions emerge from the fog ahead of you. 20. The rain momentarily stops, as the clouds part, and the sun shines through. Which is strange since the sun set a few hours ago. 21. Lounge room decor, in the middle of a misty forest. Nothing strange about that. 22. Dead men and women hang from the trees and children run about playing. You get the sense being spotted would be bad. 23. A nearby scream cut short halfway through. 24. You find pieces of what’s left of the adventure party from 16.
Reposting to reference later
As promised, here is my guide for Magical Plants.
I know it took long, I’ve got my studies to blame for that.
There’s also a variant rule on the first page for those of you who want to use this alongside my Creating Magic Items guide.
Picture from Google.
Enjoy! :)
Reblogging for reference later
The world’s tiniest dragon must defend his hoard, a single gold coin, from those who would steal it.
Suggestion: The dragon’s definition of “steal” is somewhat loose. It still allows the coin to be used and bartered and change hands–but on one condition: the dragon must be with it at all times.
They become a familiar sight in the marketplace.
“Here’s your change, ma'am. One gold piece.” The merchant holds out a palm, on top of which rests a tiny, brilliantly colored creature clutching a single gold coin.
“That’s a dragon,” you say dumbly. “One piece… and a dragon.”
“Yes.”
You cautiously reach out and attempt to take your change. You tug. It holds. You tug harder. The dragon lets loose a tiny, protective growl.
“Ma'am–no, ma'am, you have to take the dragon, too.”
“Sorry?”
The seller notes your dubious expression. “Not from around here, are ya?” They shrug. “Them’s the rules. Take the coin, take the dragon.”
They wait expectantly. Wondering how the world has so suddenly gone mad, you slowly, slowly hold out your hand.
The dragon perks right up. It scampers from their palm to yours with the coin clamped in its jaws and scales your sleeve with sharp little claws.
“Have a nice day, ma'am,” the merchant says. “Spend him soon, now, you hear? At another booth, if you can. He likes to travel.”
From its perch upon your shoulder, the dragon lets out a happy trill.
Bonus: the coin eventually passes to the rogue in a group of travelling adventurers. The dragon becomes the mascot of the entire group, and they lay out a small pile of coins for him to sleep on every night, clutching his coin like a teddy bear.
This is a D&D story and we all know it
Awwwww….
Reposting because I love this
The adventurers buy a map to a dungeon, only to find that all the monsters have already moved out, traps are already sprung and it's been thoroughly looted. Repeat this several times until they realize that all dungeons with a known location are already beaten.
42 character development questions!
PHYSICAL PRESENCE AND GESTURE. 1. How do they move and carry themselves? Pace, rhythm, gestures, energy? 2. How much physical space do they use, active and at rest? 3. How do they position themselves in a group? Do they like to be the center of attention, or do they hang back at the edges of a crowd? 4. What is their size and build? How does it influence how they use their body, if it does? 5. How do they dress? What styles, colors, accessories, and other possessions do they favor? Why? 6. What are they like in motion–in different environments, and in different activities? What causes the differences between these? 7. How do they physically engage with other people, inanimate objects, and their environment? What causes the differences between these? 8. Where and when do they seem most and least at ease? Why? How can you tell? 9. How do they manifest energy, exhaustion, tension, or other strong emotions? 10. What energizes and drains them most? 11. How are they vocally expressive? What kind of voice, accent, tones, inflections, volume, phrases and slang, and manner of speaking do they use? 12. How are they bodily expressive? How do they use nonverbal cues such as their posture, stance, eyes, eyebrows, mouths, and hands? DISPOSITION AND TEMPERAMENT. 13. How do they greet the world — what is their typical attitude towards life? How does it differ in different circumstances, or towards different subjects? Why do they take these attitudes, and why do they change? How do these tend to be expressed? 14. What do they care deeply about? What kind of loyalties, commitments, moral codes, life philosophies, passions, callings, or spirituality and faith do they have? How do these tend to be expressed? 15. What kind of inner life do they have — rich and imaginative? Calculating and practical? Full of doubts and fears? Does it find any sort of outlet in their lives? 16. Do they dream? What are those dreams like? 17. Are they more shaped by nature or nurture — who they are, or what has happened to them? How have these shaped who they’ve become as a person? 18. What kind of person could they become in the future? What are some developmental paths that they could take, (best, worst, most likely?) what would cause them to come to pass, and what consequences might they have? What paths would you especially like to see, and why? CONNECTIONS WITH OTHERS. 19. How do they behave within a group? What role(s) do they take? Does this differ if they know and trust the group, versus finding themselves in a group of strangers? Why? 20. What kind of individual relationships do they have with others, and how do they behave in them? How are they different between intimate relationships like friends, family, and lovers versus more impersonal relationships? 21. What kind of relationships do they tend to intentionally seek out versus actually cultivate? What kind of social contact do they prefer, and why? 22. How do people respond to them, and why might these responses differ? 23. How do they respond to difficult social moments? What makes them consider a social situation difficult? 24. How do they present themselves socially? What distinguishes their “persona” from their “true self”, and what causes that difference? 25. What do they need and want out of relationships, and how do they go about getting it? 26. How do they view and feel about relationships, and how might this manifest in how they handle them, if it does? ACTIVITIES AND PREFERENCES. 27. What do they strongly like and dislike, in any category? Why? 28. What are they likely to do if they have the opportunity, resources, and time to accomplish it? Why? 29. What kind of activities, interests, and hobbies do they have? What significance and impact do these have in their lives, both positive and negative? 30. What is their preferred level of activity and stimulation? How do they cope if they get either too little or too much? 31. Is there anything that counts as a “dealbreaker” for them, positively or negatively? What makes things go smoothly, and what spoils an activity or ruins their day? Why? 32. Do they have any “props” that are a significant part of their life, identity, activities, or self-presentation somehow? What are they, how are they used, and why are they so significant? How would these props’ absence impact them, how would they compensate, and why? THINKING AND LEARNING. 33. How do they learn about the world–what is their preferred learning style? Hands-on learning with trial and error? Research, reading, and note-taking? Observation or rote memorization? Inductive or deductive reasoning? Seeking patterns and organization? Taking things apart and putting them back together? Creative processing via discussing, writing about, or dramatizing things? 34. How do they understand the world–what kind of worldview and thought processes do they have? Why? 35. How and why do they internalize knowledge? What effect has that had on them? 36. How much do they rely on their minds and intellect, versus other approaches like relying on instinct, intuition, faith and spirituality, or emotions? What is their opinion on this? 37. Have they had any special education or training that colors their means of learning about or understanding the world? Conversely, do they lack some kind of education considered essential in their world? What kind of impact has this addition or lack had on them? 38. Is there anything they wish they could change about their worldview or thought processes? What, and why? 39. What sort of questions or thoughts recur in their lives, either specifically or as a theme? Why are these never answered, or answered permanently to their satisfaction? 40. What do they wonder about? What sparks their curiosity and imagination, and why? How is this expressed, if it is? FREE FOR ALL. 41. What associations do they bring to mind? Words or phrases, images, metaphors or motifs? Why? 42. I have a question of my own!
Reposting for future characters
How To: Develop Your Characters
I think we’ve all been in the situation where we want to write about a specific character but have no idea how to approach it. For some reason, despite them being your own character, you have no idea how they would act or what they would say in a certain situation. Sometimes, if you even write about your character(s) at all, when you read it back they seem fake or 2-Dimensional. Unrealistic, if you’d prefer.
In this post, I am going to give you some exercises to get past hollow characters and help develop your writing.
1) Empty Their Pockets
Pretty simple. Think of what your characters would have in their pockets on a day-to-day basis. It doesn’t have to be anything super extraordinary, of course. Just start writing some everyday items down and think about whether your character would have these items in their pockets.
Let’s take a look at one I did for my characters earlier. (sorry that just sounded like something from Blue Peter)
For example:
Character A’s Pockets Contained:
pack of gum, empty pack of cigarettes, library card, NOKIA brick phone
So, here a few things you can tell about Character A simply through the items in their pockets. They visit the library often, meaning that they probably have a high interest in reading (this also could be a sign of intelligence). Judging by the fact Character A has both a pack of gum and cigarettes this could indicate a potential smoking habit, chewing gum is a known way for helping people quit smoking. The pack of cigarettes could show that they are not very good at restricting themselves and could in fact be addicted and finding it hard to cope with smoking. Finally, the NOKIA brick phone shows how they may want to feel connected to people or want to allow their friends/family members/whoever to be able to contact them but have no desire to get the latest model of phone or perhaps believe that having such a device would distract them unnecessarily.
When doing this exercise, think about key objects which portray certain details about your character! Try not to overthink it too much, write whatever comes to mind and put it down on the page! After writing down a couple objects, go back through them and feel free to edit out items you think are unnecessary or add items which you think would suit the character.
2) Go Through Their Daily Routine
Again, another easily explained exercise. Go through a regular day in your character’s life, try and do this exercise as if it was happening before whatever events occur in your story or novel. This way it makes it easier to understand your character before they met a secondary character in the novel or before whatever events happened in your writing which may affect their routine. You don’t need to include every single detail in your description, just brief notes or key events which occur during their day would be fine. You can make it as short or as long as you wish, maybe don’t just do it for one day in your character’s week perhaps do it for multiple days.
Does their routine change during the week? What time do they wake up? What time do they go to sleep? Are they punctual with going to work? Do they do any other activities outside their day-job? These are the kind of things you may want to ask yourself when writing it.
3) Give Them Fears/Phobias
Everyone fears something: whether it be a phobia of spiders or oblivion, everyone has a fear. Giving your character a phobia makes them seem more realistic, it allows your reader to easily relate to your character.
However, just having a phobia for the sake of it doesn’t help develop your character at all. If you give them a terrible phobia of snakes and they come across a snake and suddenly within moments are able to get over their fear just like that, it’s not a phobia. It’s more of a mild inconvenience than anything else. The reader needs to feel convinced by their fears, they would feel more dissatisfied with your writing if they felt the character could dismiss anything and everything than knowing them being confronted by their fears could be a possible problem. Besides, it would give them no reason to motivate or encourage the character if they knew it was impossible for them to be defeated by anything. Still, this does not mean that your character has to be destroyed by their fear. There is a very big difference between simply dismissing your character’s fear and perhaps overcoming it in the future.
An easy way to write your character possibly overcoming their fear in the future is that when they first encounter that fear, add an element of chance or fate into it. For example, if a character were to move to get away from the creature which may be coming towards them; in the process of getting up, they could slip which could cause their legs to lash out towards the creature. The sudden movement may just be enough to scare the creature away, this way it does not appear to the reader as ridiculous or uncharacteristic courage but instead accidental bravery. This sudden revelation that the character’s horrible fear may not be as all powerful as they first thought could be the first step for them to slowly overcome that fear.
Don’t believe me? Let’s think about this for a moment. Imagine your character, let’s call them the Protagonist™, is stuck in a terrible situation. It doesn’t matter what the situation is but let’s say it’s something which involves them being trapped in a room with a snake. I’m going to give you two examples, both involving the same situation.
Example #1: Protagonist watched with wide eyes as the snake slowly slithered towards them. The snake paused for a moment, it hissed lowly as it waited for Protagonist to move, waiting for the right moment to strike. Not hesitating for a single moment, they suddenly realised how dire the situation was and jumped to their feet. Their heart pumping wildly as their body was filled with adrenaline, they were terrified yet they had to do something. Protagonist grabbed the nearest thing to them and stepped towards the snake.
“Get away!” They threatened, “Get away!”
Example #2:
Protagonist watched with wide eyes as the snake slowly slithered towards them. The snake paused for a moment, it hissed lowly as it waited for Protagonist to move, waiting for the right moment to strike. The blood in Protagonist’s veins ran cold as the snake grew closer and closer, Protagonist couldn’t move. They begged and screamed on the inside to move away, to get away as far as possible. They had lost all control of their movement, their fear had consumed them. They were frozen to the spot and could only watch as the snake widened it’s jaw, ready to bite down on it’s prey. It widened it’s jaw once, twice - suddenly, Protagonist gained back their instincts. Fleeing seemed like the only realistic option and seconds before the snake could chomp down on their ankle, Protagonist stumbled to their feet. They stumbled backwards into a puddle of water which had pooled behind them and their ankle rolled as they slipped, their legs accidentally lashing out towards the predator. The snake recoiled backwards in shock before deciding that the risk wasn’t worth it: it quickly retreated back to it’s nest, disappearing from Protagonist’s view.
Now, hopefully you see what I mean. I think we can all agree that the second example is a lot better than the first one.
4) Create Their Flaws/Bad Habits
No one is perfect, this includes your characters.
If you’re finding it challenging to think of any flaws, try to think of some bad habits. It doesn’t have to be anything so terribly bad that’s it’s illegal. Think simple when it comes to this exercise. It can range from anything between chewing their nails to swearing.
It might help to try and develop these bad habits into possible flaws or weaknesses. If your character keeps biting their nails that might be a sign of nervousness or anxiety. So, creating bad habits might be a good way to show a certain trait your character may possess.
Flaws are important as well. Let’s be realistic, if no character had any flaws then every single book we read would be filled with a bunch of characters which are exactly the same. Besides, what’s a hero without it’s villain?
So, to give you a few ideas, let’s go back to superheroes. Maybe a hero is so set on doing the right thing that they lose sight of what they want? Perhaps it gets to a certain point where they can’t handle that hollow feeling inside of them that they grow arrogant, selfish or even stubborn? There’s a story for you right there.
Not only that, by giving your characters flaws it is possible that you could work that into your story somehow. This way, not only will you get to show off your amazing character development, but it could also be an exciting point in your storyline.
Write down some ideas, think of flawed personality traits and just write them down! Try to write down at least five straight off the bat, for each one you don’t like you should think about why it doesn’t suit your character. You’re bound to find one flaw you’re happy with!
5) Write Some Scenarios
Now that you’ve developed your characters, go ahead and write them in your story! If you think you still need a bit of practice, try writing something about them being in a certain scenario. It could be anything from ordering their favourite coffee to being trapped in a prison: just write it! Try not to think about it too much, just do whatever feels write (I unintentionally made that pun but i’m not deleting it).
It doesn’t have to be long either, just a couple paragraphs would be fine. Try to focus on body movements and interior thoughts, it would be ideal if your character was on their own in the situation: that way you can get to know the character on their own a lot better. No other characters means no distractions. It’s just you, the wonderful author, and your character - there is an endless amount of possibilities for you!
Have faith in yourself too! Nobody knows your brilliantly developed characters better than you do, so here’s your chance to show them off! If you’d like a second opinion, write something about them and give it to a friend/parent/random stranger etc. to read! If they don’t want to, make them read it anyway!
I hope this helps you all in developing your characters!
Happy writing!
- jess
I know it’s aimed at authors, but posts like these can help get a handle on a PC or NPC that you are having trouble with.
Honestly, as both a writer and a DM, these are really helpful tips.
Reposting for reference
Common Occupations in the Middle Ages
Almoners: ensured the poor received alms.
Atilliator: skilled castle worker who made crossbows.
Baliff: in charge of allotting jobs to the peasants, building repair, and repair of tools used by the peasants.
Barber: someone who cut hair. Also served as dentists, surgeons and blood-letters.
Blacksmith: forged and sharpened tools and weapons, beat out dents in armor, made hinges for doors, and window grills. Also referred to as Smiths.
Bottler: in charge of the buttery or bottlery.
Butler: cared for the cellar and was in charge of large butts and little butts (bottles) of wine and beer. Under him a staff of people might consist of brewers, tapsters, cellarers, dispensers, cupbearers and dapifer.
Carder: someone who brushed cloth during its manufacture.
Carpenter: built flooring, roofing, siege engines, furniture, panelling for rooms, and scaffoling for building.
Carters: workmen who brought wood and stone to the site of a castle under construction.
Castellan: resident owner or person in charge of a castle (custodian).
Chamberlain: responsible for the great chamber and for the personal finances of the castellan.
Chaplain: provided spirtual welfare for laborers and the castle garrison. The duties might also include supervising building operations, clerk, and keeping accounts. He also tended to the chapel.
Clerk: a person who checked material costs, wages, and kept accounts.
Constable: a person who took care (the governor or warden) of a castle in the absence of the owner. This was sometimes bestowed upon a great baron as an honor and some royal castles had hereditary constables.
Cook: roasted, broiled, and baked food in the fireplaces and ovens.
Cottars: the lowest of the peasantry. Worked as swine-herds, prison guards, and did odd jobs.
Ditcher: worker who dug moats, vaults, foundations and mines.
Dyer: someone who dyed cloth in huge heated vats during its manufacture.
Ewerer: worker who brought and heated water for the nobles.
Falconer: highly skilled expert responsible for the care and training of hawks for the sport of falconry.
Fuller: worker who shrinks & thickens cloth fibers through wetting & beating the material.
Glaziers: a person who cut and shaped glass.
Gong Farmer: a latrine pit emptier.
Hayward: someone who tended the hedges.
Herald: knights assistant and an expert advisor on heraldry.
Keeper of the Wardrobe: in charge of the tailors and laundress.
Knight: a professional soldier. This was achieved only after long and arduous training which began in infancy.
Laird: minor baron or small landlord.
Marshal: officer in charge of a household’s horses, carts, wagons, and containers. His staff included farriers, grooms, carters, smiths and clerks. He also oversaw the transporting of goods.
Master Mason: responsible for the designing and overseeing the building of a structure.
Messengers: servants of the lord who carried receipts, letters, and commodities.
Miner: skilled professional who dug tunnels for the purpose of undermining a castle.
Minstrels: part of of the castle staff who provided entertainment in the form of singing and playing musical instruments.
Porter: took care of the doors (janitor), particularly the main entrance. Responsible for the guardrooms. The person also insured that no one entered or left the castle withour permission. Also known as the door-ward.
Reeve: supervised the work on lord’s property. He checked that everyone began and stopped work on time, and insured nothing was stolen. Senior officer of a borough.
Sapper: an unskilled person who dug a mine or approach tunnel.
Scullions: responsible for washing and cleaning in the kitchen.
Shearmen: a person who trimmed the cloth during its manufacture.
Shoemaker: a craftsman who made shoes. Known also as Cordwainers.
Spinster: a name given to a woman who earned her living spinning yarn. Later this was expanded and any unmarried woman was called a spinster.
Steward: took care of the estate and domestic administration. Supervised the household and events in the great hall. Also referred to as a Seneschal.
Squire: attained at the age of 14 while training as a knight. He would be assigned to a knight to carry and care for the weapons and horse.
Watchmen: an official at the castle responsible for security. Assited by lookouts (the garrison).
Weaver: someone who cleaned and compacted cloth, in association with the Walker and Fuller.
Woodworkers: tradesmen called Board-hewers who worked in the forest, producing joists and beams.
Other medieval jobs included:
tanners, soap makers, cask makers, cloth makers, candle makers (chandlers), gold and silver smiths, laundresses, bakers, grooms, pages, huntsmen, doctors, painters, plasterers, and painters, potters, brick and tile makers, glass makers, shipwrights, sailors, butchers, fishmongers, farmers, herdsmen, millers, the clergy, parish priests, members of the monastic orders, innkeepers, roadmenders, woodwards (for the forests). slingers. Other Domestic jobs inside the castle or manor:
Personal atendants- ladies-in-waiting, chamber maids, doctor.
The myriad of people involved in the preparation and serving of meals- brewers, poulterer, fruiterers, slaughterers, dispensers, cooks and the cupbearers.
By Lise Hull READ MORE
Reposting for later use
Ideas for non-combat encounters/events
For when you want some variety for your tabletop RPG. These events will also give your players a chance to use character skills they don’t often have opportunities for.
Natural Disaster - Have the town the PCs are in catch on fire and see what they do! Do they cut their losses and run? Do they heroically try to save trapped townspeople? What do they do about the aftermath? Natural disasters are an interesting challenge because there can be lots of danger and drama without necessarily having a villain. It may also get your PCs to use skills they don’t commonly have a chance to. You could also try floods, earthquakes, raging storms while at sea, etc.
Powerful Fortress - Put one of your party’s goals in a location where they won’t be able to prevail through combat alone (Example: a fortress where they are vastly outnumbered). Your players will have to rely on either stealth or guile (or both) to accomplish their goal. The pacing of such events can be frustrating to some players, but few sessions are as rewarding as a creatively executed heist or infiltration.
Dangerous Crossing - Give them a dangerous physical obstacle to overcome. A canyon, or a raging river, or quicksand or an old battleground littered with traps and mines.
Festival - Have the PCs encounter a festival or tournament! With lots of contests! This could be a good opportunity for them to build their fame and fortune (especially if you allow gambling). Some of my favorite sessions have involved festivals.
Entertainment - Put the PCs in a situation where they have to entertain someone. What do they come up with?
Letter - Have one of the PCs receive a letter, either from an NPC they’ve dealt with before or from someone involved with their backstory. This is a good way to make the consequences of their actions seem more real. You can also use it to introduce new plotlines/sidequests.
Crafting Challenge - Put the PCs in a situation where they need to craft something in order to accomplish their goal. Maybe they need to make something in order to fix a mechanism? Or in order to satisfy some local gift-giving custom? Or they need a forgery? Maybe as part of an exchange for something else they need?
Lost and Found - Have your PCs discover someone or something that is clearly lost. Maybe they find an infant in the wilderness. Or a key with a strange inscription, or some kind of talisman. Throw in a clue or two to present your players with a tantalizing mystery.
Inhospitable Wilderness - Have the PCs go somewhere it’s an effort just to survive. A barren desert, a treacherous swamp with poison gasses, a forest so dense the ground never sees the sun, or even the bottom of the ocean. Test their endurance and survival skills!
Dinner Party - Have the PCs be summoned to a formal event! Test them on the battlegrounds of social grace and etiquette! Even better if it’s in a dangerous environment or an alien culture.
Thief - Have something important stolen from the PCs. See how they handle it.
Needle in a Haystack - Give the PCs something very difficult to find. Like a single specific housecat in a sprawling metropolis, or a legendary weapon of which there are many fakes/copies.
Really, if you need any more inspiration, look at your player’s character sheets and see if they’ve invested any points in a skill they haven’t gotten to use much. Then invent a challenge they could feasibly use that skill for. If you can’t think of a situation that could be helped by an Appraise, Craft: Calligraphy or Handle Animal check, you need to practice your own creative problem solving skills!
Reblogging for later
is there a template for your/any boss enemies that i could use? I have a great idea for a boss for my players to battle, but i have no way of getting it on an easy-to-understand sheet/format!
Try out The Homebrewery, as a starting point. I don’t use it often, myself, but it’s a very helpful resource. Here’s a general statblock I just drafted in it:
The Homebrewery saves in PDF form, but you could also take a screenshot of the block.
Good luck, and feel free to send in another ask if I wasn’t clear enough!
Great formatting reference
I will continue to build upon this list as time goes on. For now, I hope you find something useful!
Worldbuilding Prompt of the Day Tag
Brainstorming Series Posts
Magic Systems, Part One
Magic Systems, Part Two
New Species
New Worlds
New Cultures
New Civilizations
Politics and Government
Map Making
Belief Systems & Religion
Guilds, Factions, Groups
War & Conflict
Species/Races
Creating long-lived species
Evolution of sexual reproduction in fictional species
Writing in a world without humans
Developing Fantastic Races (Link)
Creating Realistic Aliens and Their Worlds (Link)
Language
Languaging
Handling “Foreign” Language Within the Narrative
Developing Ancient Languages
Astronomy/Planetary Physics
Multiple Moons Effect on Planet
Controlling the Biomes on your World (with Science!)
Controlling the Gravity on your World (also with Science!)
Giving Your World Fantastic Skies (Link)
Why Tatooine is Plausible: Orbitary Mechanics of Binary Star Systems (Link)
What if Earth Had Two Moons?
Geology/Land
Map Making Photoshop Brush Set
How to develop a country when you don’t know where to start
Useful Geography Descriptors
Creating a World with Realistic Terrain
Forest types (aesthetic)
Laying out Villages and Towns
General Worldbuilding
Tips and Ideas for Writing Post-Apocalypse
Words for sections within a city
Using Characters as Worldbuilding Tools
Creating Unique Cultures
Prioritizing Worldbuilding Details In the Narrative
Filling in the Details
Worldbuilding when there’s no “world” present
Weaving in the Details (Link)
Creating Realistic Cultures (Link)
Being a God of Your Own World (Link)
How to Create a Fantasy World (Link)
Worldbuilding/Writing Quotes Tag
Random
My personal writing playlist
Writing Pregnancy, Labor, and Birth (Link)
Using Indexes and Guides in your Novel
Writing in Multiple Points of View
How to Edit Your Own Writing (Link)
The Ultimate Guide to Worldbuilding (Link)
Avoiding Deus Ex Machina
Helpful Generators
Vulgar - Conlang generator
City Generator
Seventh Sanctum - expansive SpecFic generator
Deity Generator
Guild/Clan name generator
Planet name generator
Random map generator
More personalized map generator
Saving for later
Do you have any suggestions on how to make Dungeon Crawls more.. exciting or have a better atmosphere? Rather than just "The hallway extends 20ft and turns left.." I love dungeons, but as a DM it feels like my delivery is.. bland.
Lots of DMs struggle with this, and for good reason.
Dungeons are the most mechanically straightforward aspect of the game besides combat, and the immediate shape and contents of them is more pressing to players than the atmosphere.
But, there are some simple ways to make your dungeons more atmospheric. Here’s my proposed solutions, both a long thinky one and a fast random one:
I think that dungeons should thought about as ‘once functional spaces’. Every place in the world has a purpose for which it was built, even if it’s a weirdo crazy one. Dungeon rooms should almost always be more than just treasure, traps, and monsters.
For example, temples have cloisters, treasuries, storage rooms, waiting rooms, choirs, sanctuaries, apse, washing rooms, etc. Each of these rooms has specific objects and furniture inside them, as well as different acoustics. They get decorated with frescoes and murals or hanging art or sculptures. They’re cultural places. Think about them as physical spaces that people would use.
Now imagine something happened in them, long ago. Why is this place a ‘dungeon’ and not still used? What event caused it to be abandoned? A battle? Plague? Was the place cursed? Come up with that and you can seed the rooms with small historical details: evidence of fights, skeletal remains, treasures hidden so they could be reclaimed later (but never were).
Now add the effects of time and nature. Fabric rots, metal rusts, stone erodes and crumbles. Plants and roots push stone tiles aside, and water seeps in and floods deep places. The passage of ages scours away history and purpose. Now, your once functional rooms don’t appear so functional, but their purpose can still be intuited.
Now add some new tenants. Monsters are always the first to reclaim abandoned civilized spaces: goblins make shantytowns out of old human ruins, beasts make warrens in sepulchral tombs, small dragons and basilisks favour places with statuaries and abandoned treasures. No matter the space or its original purpose, monsters move in and call it home. Sometimes multiple species of monsters…and then they fight or argue over sharing space.
So now your dungeon has a vivid look and feel. The important bit now is to think about how that imagined space sounds and smells.
With every room and hallway, imagine how its history smells. Is it acrid or pungent? Smokey or mouldy? Does it smell surprisingly pleasant? If so, that’s often a worrisome sign, because it means something sentient might already be there.
Audio can clue players into a space faster than any other description. Wind whistling indicates access to the surface…or a much deeper cave. Dripping denotes water (you hope). Creaking could mean doors…or ghosts. Large spaces echo, and sounds warp and distort the further away they are. There’s even different kinds of silence. There’s an empty, lonely silence that comes with long dead spaces, or the claustrophobic close silence of small spaces.
Appeal to your players senses besides sight. Describe what rooms smell, sound, and even taste or feel like. This is a surefire way to make your dungeon rooms stand out. For example:
“You enter a 20 by 20 foot square room. It’s a stuffy old parlour. Pushing the door open you immediately smell something caustic and sour, but you don’t see an immediate source. All the furniture is rotted, but some of it looks smashed. You can hear the faintest scraping of something against the wall in the adjacent room”.
If that seems like a lot to write, try something like this: Reveal each bullet point as the players inquire about them, or when they make Perception checks:
Parlour, 20 ft square room.
The room feels uncomfortably thick and stuffy.
All the furniture is rotted out. Some of it is smashed. Evidence of a fight.
Smells caustic and sour. The smell comes from under a tattered rug. It’s beholder puke. 50gp if collected and sold to the right buyer.
Scraping sounds from the cloaker in the next room.
So maybe you already have a pretty basic dungeon and you need to make each room (or block of rooms) less boring. Here’s my handy set of sense tables:
Random Room Sensations:
For each room you want to enhance, roll four dice (a d12, a d10, a d8, and a d6). Your rolls will determine what’s up with this room. Every time you roll a result, cross it out and replace it with a new one you come up with.
Smells (1d12):
Sickly sweet, like rotting fruit or wilting flowers.
Musty, like old people and expired cologne.
Tangy, like body odour and grime.
Dusty, the choking scent of age and ghosts.
Foul, like waste and death; something unholy.
Crisp, like freshly cut grass or unchecked plant life.
Soggy, the lingering smell of still water and flooding.
Pungent, like rot and decay.
Spicy, like herbs and dried ingredients, aged.
Electric, a faint aroma of ozone and metals.
Earthy, like fresh dirt and clay, mixed in with the copper of blood.
Roll again twice, both smells clash together.
Sounds (1d10):
Claustrophobic silence.
Deep, echoing silence.
Low moaning or groaning.
Creaking of wood in the distance.
Faint, maddeningly indistinct whispering.
Faint, maddeningly indistinct whispering in a language you don’t know.
Metal scraping against metal, rhythmically.
Dripping of some kind of liquid onto stone.
Dripping of some kind of liquid into more liquid.
Roll again twice, both sounds are present.
Touch Sensations (1d8):
Dryness on the skin, chapped lips and dry eyes.
Cold dampness, water beads on metal items.
Humidity, clothes become hot and heavy, metal feels colder.
Dry heat, throats become parched, skin itches.
Pressure change, ears pop and noises distort.
Static tingling, hair stands up on end, goosebumps.
Unholy chill, shivers, goosebumps, a sense of unease.
The feeling of being watched, an uncomfortable presence.
Kinds of Darkness, if applicable (1d6):
Grey, distant darkness that yields to lantern light.
Cloying, smothering darkness that seems to draw close to you.
Eerie still darkness that feels like it holds endless monsters.
Calm, still darkness that invites restfulness.
Flickering, shifting darkness where the room seems to be moving.
Impenetrable darkness that makes darkvision endowed races feel at uneasy.
I hope all this helps make your dungeons a little less boring. The dungeon tables in the back of the 5e Dungeon Master’s Guide from @dndwizards is also helpful in this regard.
Saving for later
Disappointed Adventurer Dana
Dana isn’t taking any of your bullshit.
This is my new favourite
This would be awesome to play through.
amazing
Would totally try this as a weekend dungeon delve
Is there a step by step guide to build a village, town or city for a DND game? I have trouble getting my ideas down on paper. I feel a guide may help.
This is how I make mine:
Pick if I want it to be coastal, in a forest, desert, etc.
Pick a cool name.
Decide if this town is mostly for passing through, or if major things are happening here.
Decide if they’re cut off from other towns or near others.
Decide on population, race majorities and minorities.
Pick how the town makes money, what are its imports and exports if any.
Who is the leader? How do people like them?
What is the towns major problem? Starvation, rats, monsters, etc?
How strict are the guards? Do the villagers trust outsiders? Do they hate any race or class?
Come up with a bar, inn, weapon, and armor shop name and staff for each. If they’re known for anything, what are they known for?
How does this town get along with outsiders/other towns?
Any well known locals? What are their names, what are they known for?
If your players are good, evil, or neutral how would the townsfolk react? How would your players react here?
A lot of times some of this info is never asked about from my players. I recycle and use that info for other towns if need be. Half the time no one asks about the armor shop, or the potions shop. But its nice info to have on hand.
I also sometimes make mini flash cards detailing the important bits like:
Inn: Sleepy Fellow. Run by Ma. 5 copper a night. Worlds best pillows, they’re always stolen. Ma is sick n tired of it and will gut any thieves.
Here are some little extra tips and tools, too.
Plan your city around your landscape. If its a thin and spindly island, you’re not going to have a ton of open space. If the city is in a desert, there are probably very tall walls to keep the sand from blowing in, or the houses might be below ground, etc.
Here is a cool map maker to help visualize things.
Think about what you’d typically find in a town. Inn, bar, and leather working shops will be basically anywhere. Larger towns will for sure have armor, weapons, potions, etc. Farmer’s markets, hospitals, etc. are also usually present.
What kind of town is it? Is it peaceful, do they forage and lack trade routes? Is the town large, have a large guard presence?
How does the town make their money? Hunting, gathering, self sustaining, making crafts?
I use this sometimes to give me town ideas. I don’t really hit generate tbh, just the options alone help me out a lot.
How can your town serve the quest[s] and your players? Is it the main place where quests are given/done? If so, it might need to be more fleshed out. If they’re just passing by you don’t need a lot of detail. Maybe just one quirk or two to make each town unique. e.g. “Every Thursday is bring your pet to work day” for the local guards.
Reposting for later
When the bard uses intimidate
When they roll a 20:
When they roll a 1:
never not reblog the angry dooting=_=
When the enemy is a better bard than you
@nerdybuddha
