Monty Python’s Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme. That is a mouthful and a half! I backed the Kickstarter, and the physical product is beautiful. It also reads well. I am not sure how well it plays, but I do enjoy the occasional distraction of the truly silly, and Monty Python’s Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme certainly fits the bill :)
If you were curious, the PDF for Monty Python’s Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme is currently the Deal of the Day at DTRPG. Normally 40 bucks! (and it isn't even a Goodman Games release) Until tomorrow morning, Monty Python’s Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme is on sale for $16 (a 60% discount). If I hadn't already backed this from the Kickstarter, I'd be all over this like white on rice, as I'm a huge Monty Python fan.
Betwixt these firm yet supple ( binary) covers, one shall find everything one needs to experience the joy of Mediaeval study, from character creation and factions to ready-to-run quests and monsters – including the French! One need not be familiar with Monty Python’s work, nor is experience with ‘role-playing games’ required. If you have experience with the latter, you are probably too silly a person to participate and should stop reading immediately.
Features:
An original rules-lite gaming system with spam.
Guidance on designing adventures with spam.
Ready-to-run quests, spam, and guidance on designing one's own adventures.
Character creation, spam, bestiary, spam, and Dramatis Personae sections.
Tables for generating all sorts of things with spam.
Original hand-painted illumination
6.2% more spam.
This is a fully licensed educational programme for serious students of History.
It is by no means a comprehensive manual for running imaginative, Mediaeval-themed role-playing games lovingly ripped off from the works of Monty Python.
Do you like swords & sorcery, but are not sure if a D20-based system is the right fit? You may enjoy the classic Traveler 2d6 system, but want to try it in a manner that isn't tied to sci-fi. Oh, and maybe you want the system to be open, under the Open Game License (OGL).
A sorcerer blasting his enemies with the power of his mind. A muscled barbarian wielding a flaming sword against the local tyrant’s thugs. A gladiator who freed himself from slavery wanders the land, righting wrongs and smashing villains. Big muscles, big swords, eldritch sorcery, powers of the mind, terrible beasts. From Burroughs to Howard to Moorcock to Italian Peplum films to those dreaming of outlandish post-apocalyptic worlds, heroes raise swords against corrupt nobles, inscrutable sorcerers, and alien monstrosities.
The Sword of Cepheus is a role-playing game in the triple “Sword” genres: Sword and Sorcery, Sword and Planet, and Sword and Sandal. In Sword and Sorcery, often amoral protagonists face vile sorcery and horrid beasts as they complete awesome adventures for gold and glory. In Sword and Planet, humans finding themselves on barbaric or decadent alien planets use their superior brawn and valiant hearts to win fame, fortune, and the heart of an alien princeling. In Sword and Sandal, often set in a quasi-Biblical or faux-Roman world, men and women with sharp wits and strong sword arms fight mythological creatures and overthrow tyrants. The common threads of all three genres are the blade-wielding protagonists who use their brawn, as well as brains, to fight foes both supernatural and mundane and undertake hair-raising, violent adventures.
The Sword of Cepheus rules include everything you need to play thrilling sword & sorcery adventures:
Streamlined skill-based 2d6 task resolution!
Customizable character generation with 12 archetypal careers for your character to undergo!
12 non-human species with their own careers!
40 unique character Traits to further personalize your character!
A wide selection of adventuring equipment and weaponry!
Simple yet intriguing rules for adventuring and exploring exciting worlds!
Fast-paced, action-packed combat - whether on foot, from horseback, or on the high seas!
A skill-based, perilous sorcery system, with 28 powerful Arcane spells and 18 reality-shattering Eldritch spells!
Risk disastrous magical mishaps and mutate as vast eldritch power flows through your sorcerous body!
95 terrible monsters for daring heroes to face!
A selection of treasures, including a selection of powerful magical artifacts!
Detailed Encounter Rules to keep adventuring exciting and fresh, for both players and Referees!
Here I am at NTRPG Con, when I should be shopping the vendor tables, and instead I'm searching Kickstarter for OSR releases. Have no fear - I'll be shopping the vendor hall tomorrow. Today, I am looking at an OSR zine Kickstarter - Fantasy RPG Zine Double Feature - Delver 18 and Runes 7.
Now, I am familiar with Delver Zine, having snagged an issue (or three) in the past, and I was pleased with what I had. I've yet to catch a copy of Runes (it's for ShadowDark, so I should snag it), but I expect it will be of the same high quality.
Print plus PDF is 13 bucks (the pair is 24). I expect I'll be backing this Kickstarter when I'm home from NTRPG Con...
The Fantasy RPG Zine Double Feature will offer up two zines for GMs and players, every other month, for a total of 12 issues per year.
Delver magazine (zine-format, 5.5 " wide x 8.5" tall) is for GMs and Players of OSR fantasy RPGs such as Old-School Essentials, Swords & Sorcery, and Basic Fantasy RPG. Runes is an identical zine-format that focuses on the Shadowdark RPG.
Both issues provide OSR content for GMs and players looking for a return to the style and feel of classic dungeon crawling; each zine provides a mix of random tables, new magic items, new spells and much more. Further, each issue provides an article of interest and an adventure complete with room descriptions, maps, NPCs and new creatures and notes for the GM on running the adventure.
I missed yesterday's blog post, what with traveling to Dallas for NTRPG Con and the fiasco that was last night's livestream. Ah well. I'll see if I can keep current going forward.
Today, we are highlighting OSE Treasures 2 at Bundle of Holding. This bundle includes the recently Kickstarted dark fantasy settingThe Shrike (currently $29 on DTRPG). Hey! Buy The Shrike at a discount and get more stuff included in the $84 valued bundle :)
A huge modular sandbox adventure setting in an abandoned fragment of Hell- a colossal blade dedicated to punishing a nameless God. The Shrike, is a heaven-harrowing thorn, a black iron mountain with serrated spires of rock and rust, that pierces the heart of the God, causing divine blood to flow and nourish life within the corroded iron and stone megastructure. The Shrike is written by Leo Hunt (the author of Vaults of Vaarn and mounds of excellent gaming material) for Old School Essentials RPG but works well for your other d20 based fantasy systems of choice.
The Shrike is a world of decay - rusted iron, crumbling stone, saltwater, blood, and fog - surrounded by a roiling ocean, a lifeless archipelago, pewter-hued clouds, seabirds, and pitiless stars. In this infernal Galapagos, players will encounter masked Devils, blood which gives life to things which should not have it, stones which give life to people who do not want it, terrible and stranded monsters, perilous locations, and wonderous treasures from across the planes.
What's Inside?
46 unique pointcrawl locations across the Shores of the Shrike, its fiery Guts, jagged snow capped Exterior, and procedurally generated depth-crawl in the surreal shifting interior of the it's heaven-harrowing Barb.
3 detailed and keyed dungeons including the waterlogged Cove of Iron Coffins, the derelict Gamigin's Starforge, and an endless masquerade ball in The Palace of the Heart, ranging from low to high level.
5 scheming factions of the diabolic Courts and mountains of detailed NPC's
3 new classes. From the shapeshifting Imp, to the Forged and Rampant Partials; made from the God's blood animating detritus and abandoned objects- molded into demon designed bodies or left to grow wild and feral.
40+ new monsters from the eyegouger finch to the auric homunculus.
37 brand new peculiar magic items
1 Nameless God impaled upon the Shrike's heaven-harrowing thorn, writhing and seeking escape.
One year ago, eldritch horrors of cosmic malevolence called the Iconnu attempted to destroy our reality.
They failed, but the attempt left the world in rapidly darkening shadow. Dead souls returned to claim living bodies, creating blood-drinking undead fiends: vampires. Bestial spirits came as well, to create werewolves, and demons formed bodies from worldly matter. Magic crashed back into the world, and mages wield its power for whatever purpose suits them. Humans called the Awakened unknowingly keep the darkness at bay.
These supernatural creatures struggle against each other and clash in the shadows, most attempting to destroy the world, but a few fighting to preserve it. And over it all, the Iconnu still lurk, squeezing the world like an eggshell.
This book includes a complete setting: a new vision of the World of Darkness.
Characters play as vampires, mages, werewolves, demons or Awakened and wield frightening supernatural powers against their own kind.
The world is the one we know, but now much darker: destruction in the central United States, nightmares coming to life and beasts roaming shattered cityscapes.
This game uses a variation of the most popular roleplaying game system in the world.
A little background. I own the first edition of The No-Prep Gamemaster, and I like it. I found that I was already employing many of the techniques described, but it did a good job of helping me identify my strengths and weaknesses as an "improv-style" DM, as I often refer to myself. Was the author's voice a little off-putting? At times, but nothing a few years of honing one's writing skills couldn't fix ;)
From what I saw in the preview, it's worth the current price of 2.99. So, I grabbed a copy of The No-Prep Gamemaster 2eand will put it at the top of my review pile for after the June Convention Season (I have NTRPG Con later this week and Central NY Con the following weekend.) I'm excited to delve into The No-Prep Gamemaster 2e and give you my full thoughts on it, but at 2.99, it qualifies as an impulse buy for any prospective (or seasoned) GM.
Are you a game master who’s short on time, overwhelmed by prep, or tired of burnout? The No-Prep Gamemaster is your solution.
This updated and expanded second edition of Matt Davids’ well-known guide offers a practical, inspiring approach to running unforgettable tabletop RPG sessions, with little to no prep beforehand.
Inside, you’ll discover:
A mindset shift that takes the pressure off GMing
How to improvise encounters and adventures on the fly
Tips for training your brain to generate ideas naturally
The power of random tables and how to use them
Ways to engage players without hours of planning
Practical reflections to help you improve with every session
Whether you’re a brand-new GM or a veteran looking to rekindle your love of the game, this book is packed with tools, insights, and encouragement to help you prep less and play more.
Let go of the guilt. Embrace the chaos. Run better games.
I did a quick check of the titles in this RPG GameMaster Book Series Bundle, and the prices range from $9.99 to $16.99 in PDF format over at DTRPG. One title in the bundle is a preview, and one is a map pack.
Using the links above helps to support The Tavern.
What makes a great Game Master? Experience, knowledge, resources, and excitement! Become a legendary GM with our all-new RPG Game Master Book Bundle. Elevate your skillset with endless insights from robust ebooks like The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters, The Game Master's Book of Traps, Puzzles and Dungeons, and The Game Master's Book of Astonishing Random Tables. Pay what you want and help support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation with your purchase!
Enjoy this all-new way to play on game night and between campaigns in this collection of 400 trivia questions all about your favorite RPGs that’s fun or peruse solo or to quiz your friends between rounds.
Test your knowledge with The Düngeonmeister Book of RPG Trivia. With questions and interesting details about the history of tabletop gaming, your favorite game genres, and the media and video game connections you know and love, this new trivia book is sure to be a hit for seasoned gamers and newbies alike.
Featuring tons of questions to test your nerd cred, including:
CHOOSE ONE: In the popular Netflix series Stranger Things, the RPG-playing kids of the main cast routinely contextualize the monsters they encounter with famous creatures of D&D lore. Which of the following creatures have the not utilized as of season 4 as a name for a monster?
Vecna
Mind Flayer
Aboleth
Demogorgon
Answer: Aboleth
TRUE OR FALSE? Studded leather armor, a favorite of RPG thieves and rogues, is based on a misreading of historical text and never actually existed.
Alright, let me start this by saying Rob is one hell of a great person, and I'm proud to call him a friend. Some people talk about giving back to the gaming community, but Rob walks the walk. Look at Rob's hexcrawl, BlackMarsh. Not only is it free to download, but it is free to use in your own projects. Rob simply "gets it."
Now it's time to expand the frontier once more with The Northern Marches, and to reveal more of the world that Blackmarsh belongs to: the Majestic Fantasy Realms.
Each regions of the Northern Marches brims with ancient ruins, forgotten magic, and factions fighting to shape the future. The Ring Islands, the Forsaken Desert, the forest of Les Gigantov, the Great Glacier, the Black Marshes, the underwater realms of the Grey Sea, all await adventurers willing to brave their dangers and plunge into their mysteries.
Together, the Northern Marches span over 100,000 square miles, divided across four 12" by 18" maps overlaid with a numbered hex grid for easy reference. Its factions, characters, histories, ruins, lairs, and cultures form a rich tapestry, creating a living world that players can visit as their characters while seeking adventure.
And yes, Rob is releasing the new setting material to the gaming community under the CC-BY 4.0 license, to be built upon as needed.
This Kickstarter funds the art and editing for the following.
A 200 page Guidebook - A detailed reference to the Northern Marches in the hexcrawl format. It covers the region’s history, religions, cultures, and locales, along with a brief overview of the larger world of the Majestic Fantasy Realms.
Travel Rules and Encounter System - Included in the guidebook is an expanded version of the travel rules originally presented in How to Make a Fantasy Sandbox. It adds greater detail to overland journeys, caravan travel, sea voyages, and adventuring in the underwater realms of the Northern Marches.
Five 12" by 18" Referee Maps - Four maps depict the major regions of the Northern Marches: the Great Glacier, the Wild North, Blackmarsh, and Northport. Each includes settlements, terrain, islands, ruins, and lairs. The fifth map combines the corner areas where the four regions meet.
Five 12" by 18" Players Maps - These maps show the geography of the Northern Marches, but only include settlements and locations commonly known to the public, perfect for use at the table without revealing hidden details.
Two 12" by 18" Overview Maps - The two maps combine the four individual maps into a smaller overview of the entire Northern Marches. One for the players and one for the Referee.
Setting Reference Document - Text and markdown documents with the text and maps of the guidebook will be released under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license (CC-BY 4.0) for use in your own projects and worlds.
I'm backing at 60 myself, and I backed one minute after it went live, and I'm only backer #8 ;P
I've said this before, and it bears repeating - I'm a sucker for settings. I rarely use any as written, but for inspiration, I find myself constantly adding to my collection.
Gods of the Forbidden North: Volume 2 details the underworld, which is an often overlooked setting. I may need to snag a copy for this reason alone. At over 500 pages, there is a huge amount of gaming material within, earning an excellent 4.7 stars with 17 ratings.
Gods of the Forbidden North is a massive, three-volume mega-adventure series written for the Old-School Essentials: Advanced Fantasy tabletop role-playing game by Necrotic Gnome. It details a campaign setting, a wilderness hex-crawl, a sprawling underworld connecting to multiple entrances on the surface, and most importantly, an enormous megadungeon.
Volume 1: The first book covers the arctic frontier's settlements, cultures, religions, and its vast wilderness regions. It includes 1 urban starter quest and 5 low-level dungeons.
Volume 2: The second book details the underworld below the continent's surface, plutonian settlements, 4 mid-level dungeons, 1 urban investigation adventure, and 1 high-level dungeon.
Volume 3: The third book explores the last undescribed hex on the wilderness map (hex 10.02) that contains the legendary Castle Thar-Gannon megadungeon, its upper and lower halls, 3 mysterious towers, and 3 vast dungeon levels. It also includes the Cyclopean City of Chaos, with 23 unique tower dungeons, plus the secret entrance into the Tesseract of Time.
The 532-page second volume is designed for a heroic party of 6-8 adventurers to begin at 5th level and reach a minimum of 9th level by the book's conclusion, although most parties will hit 10-12th level if all underworld encounters are exhausted. Though the mega-adventure was originally designed as a sandbox campaign, it also supports episodic adventure path playstyles, as well.
This second volume begins with the heroes returning to Kangkul after dealing a fatal blow to Ashuraga in the Tower Vartoriak. In “Diggers of Dul’ghuun,” the adventurers rest in a popular tavern called The Beating before heading off on their next adventure, but while therein, a small group of ravenous undead emerge from the tavern’s cellar and attack the patrons. After the party destroys them, they discover a tunnel into the caverns below the establishment. The heroes reach the massive stone doors of an ancient dwarvish citadel called Mimnohgrod and must explore its depths to determine how this attack occurred.
In “Children of the Green Light,” the heroes venture back to Valkengard to sell the treasures they’ve obtained in Vartoriak and Mimnohgrod. Lady Thora visits the adventurers. She has a new lead on her missing son, Itarus, who vanished after being kidnapped by the Graven Wolves in months past. Thora hires the heroes to find her only surviving family member. This urban investigation takes the party across multiple city districts and eventually into the Valkengard sewers where they uncover a heinous plot by a noblewoman (and secret Magoth cultist) named Lady Moranna. If the adventurers act quickly, they might rescue Itarus from the sinister woman’s clutches and eradicate the cult’s underground operations.
As the party wraps up their previous quest, they learn vital information concerning a long-standing nemesis: the infamous crime boss, Yagha-Shahn. In fact, the heroes discover an arcane means to enter the Nol’ocuul Syndicate’s headquarters. Seeking to settle old scores, the adventurers activate the Shadow Door and step inside the Tower of All-Seeing Eyes where they face extreme peril. If the party emerges victorious, they have permanently crippled the syndicate’s operations in Titherion, slain Yagha-Shahn, and taken his fabulous wealth (gold and jewels beyond measure)!
Obtaining Fire-Eye’s notes on a secret smuggling lane into the underground, the adventurers may decide to finally journey into the legendary “Malgorgia the Endless Underworld.” This staggeringly huge subterranean network of caverns, tunnels, and waterways crisscrosses the full breadth of the Forbidden North below its frigid surface. Within its shadowy depths, the heroes might find the secret entrance into the “Green Dome of Foranadoth,” the “Black City of Morgathaur,” the perilous “Malum Hateus,” and the “Brass Temple of the Magoth.” The stalwart companions also get the chance to recover both halves of the Tabot of Law, fight against two more members of the Tarngrak, as well as eradicate their ruthless foes within the Cult of the Magoth. The party might even discover secret pathways into the lower dungeons of Castle Thar-Gannon.
I am a HUGE fan of Kevin Crawford's works. When I look at the titles in this collection, I own all of them - in Print AND PDF. It is simply great stuff, and the quality speaks for itself.
Sine Nomine Coorebooks is currently available as a bundle onBundle of Holding. The Starter Collection @ 12.95includes Stars Without Number Revised Deluxe (Sci Fi), Other Dust (Post Apoc), Spears of the Dawn (African Fantasy), and Cities Without Number: Free (Cyberpunk and freely available outside this bundle)
For about 26 bucks total, you get to add in Worlds Without Number Deluxe Edition (Fantasy), Wolves of God: Adventures in Dark Ages England, the one-on-one FRPG toolkit Scarlet Heroes (Fantasy), and the horror RPG Silent Legions.
Adventurer! We've resurrected our November 2023 Sine Nomine Corebooks Bundle featuring the complete Deluxe Editions of Worlds Without Number and Stars Without Number, along with Wolves of God, Silent Legions, and other standalone tabletop roleplaying game rulebooks by acclaimed designer Kevin Crawford of Sine Nomine Publishing.
From many past offers (mostly 2013-2017) we've assembled seven complete standalone rulebooks with a huge array of system-independent sandbox gaming tools. Easily generate kingdoms and AIs, planets and pantheons, cults and factions, monsters and mechs, dungeons and starships, and tons more. These tools make creation easier for even the most experienced GM – and they make a great gift for a roleplayer new to Sine Nomine games. (To give a Bundle of Holding as a gift, log out of your current browser session, then purchase the offer using the recipient's email address.)
For just US$12.95 you get all three titles in this revived offer's Starter Collection (retail value $50) as DRM-free ebooks, including the complete Stars Without Number: Revised Edition Deluxe, the post-apocalypse SWN spinoff Other Dust (plus the free supplements Grandfather's Rain, Cult of the Still Lady, and Cult of the Wraith), and the African fantasy Spears of the Dawn. As a convenience, we also include the free version of Kevin's cyberpunk game Cities Without Number.
And if you pay more than the threshold price of $25.41, you'll level up and also get this revival's entire Bonus Collection with four more titles worth an additional $75, including the complete Worlds Without Number Deluxe Edition, Wolves of God: Adventures in Dark Ages England, the one-on-one FRPG toolkit Scarlet Heroes, and the horror RPG Silent Legions.
The whole "A Magical Society" series of releases from Expeditious Retreat Press is a goldmine for GMs of all sorts. I have a complete collection, some of them in print, and all in PDF. They are essential reading for planning and running a campaign that lives and breathes.
A Magical Society: Silk Road is a 160 page supplement detailing great overland trade routes. Borrowing extensively from the caravans of Central Asia,
A Magical Society: Silk Roadcovers a variety of topics: what factors engender great overland trade routes, what elements accompany the existence of silk roads, and how do caravans function on the road (with consideration to terrain). Due to general unfamiliarity with Central Asia, an entire chapter is dedicated to the historic Silk Road with maps detailing the major trade destinations. And last but not least, there is a trade system with over 1,000 trade goods, giving ultimate tools for economic simulation.
I first found Deadlands before it spawned the Savage Worlds system. Back then, DeadLands stood on its own. Nowadays, you'll need a copy of the Savage Worlds ruleset. Truth to tell, that shouldn't be an issue for most, as it seems everyone I know, even those who never play Savage Worlds, have copies of the Savage Worlds ruleset from one edition or another.
Gather your posse for an awesome TTRPG party with Deadlands: Reloaded. Roleplay as a squinty-eyed gunfighter or card-chucking hexslinger in this alternate-history, fantasy-based retelling of the American West before the end of the 19th century. Our Deadlands: Reloaded Megabundle offers countless hours of action-packed adventures, expansions, and more—like Deadlands Reloaded: The Flood and Deadlands Reloaded: Stone and a Hard Place. Pay what you want and help support the American Cancer Society with your purchase.
Twilight: 2000 2nd Edition Version 2.2 is an update to the original 1984 Edition for Game Designers Workshop (updated in 1993). This edition is from Mongoose. I ran a short campaign of this in my college years in the late 80s. There are lots of good memories, but I think near the end, my players were tired of always "scrounging for fuel."
The War has raged for years The high-tech ammo is almost gone. High-tech equipment is failing, piece by piece, with no spares to fix it. The front lines are held by a few grim, desperate soldiers.
The US 5th Division holds the line in Poland. Now, a Soviet encirclement has cut it off in a province ruled by ambitious warlords, local militias, and bands of marauding deserters. HQ is 200 klicks to the rear and powerless.
Your last order sets you free...
"Good Luck. You're on your own."
Here's What You Do
Generate Your Character: You select your nationality, chracter type, and your military and nonmilitary backgrounds.
Equip Yourself: use your money for weapons, ammunition, equipment, vehicles and spares.
Start Moving: You're in hostile territory. Your next encounter may be a friendly farmer, a frightened refugee, or a dangerous deserter. You pick your course of action; you decide your own fate in the chaos of World War III.
Twilight 2000's award-winning game rules provide the foundation for role-playing in the chaos of World War III.
Combat: Fast-playing, easy-to-resolve comabt system gives the feel of modern battles.
Travel: Types of travel, time scales, vehicles, encounters, maintenance, fuel, repairs.
Encounters: Dangerous environments, radiation, disease, contaminants, reasons for encounters and typical adventures.
I know. Goodman Games has been in the gaming news recently. This is a riff off of Goodman Games' DCC RPG. If you ever thought the DCC RPG would be a good fit for the Cyberpunk genre, Cyber Crawl Classics is for you.
You’re a Runner: a rigger, an infiltrator, a street samurai, a cool-headed hacker executing programs in the metaverse. You seek corruption and creds, winning it with console and chrome, bathed in the blood and filth of the oppresive, the megacorps, the police, and the artificial. There are payloads to be won deep in the Sprawl, and you shall have them.
Return to the glory days of cyberpunk with Cyber Sprawl Classics. Adventure as 1984 intended you to.
I have a genuine fondness for OSRIC. Upon my return to active gaming, when I was thrust into the DM's seat on short notice, I opted to run OSRIC. AD&D 1e is my system of choice, and OSRIC is the clone that cleans up 1e and puts it into an easy-to-reference volume. That worked well with Rob Conley's Blackmarsh (Free OSR Sandbox).
The 2006 retro-clone of first edition AD&D, rewritten and reorganized for 2025! OSRIC 3 is easier to learn, with more examples of play. This is the beginning of a new product line for Mythmere Games, to include adventure modules and much more!
OSRIC 3.0 is a tabletop fantasy roleplaying game that sweeps you back into the days when roleplaying was an art, when rules were simpler, and when epic adventuring was at its height — this is the game of the 1980s!
OSRIC is a “retro-clone” of first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.* This release is geared toward the 20th anniversary next year. Originally published in 2006, OSRIC has spawned thousands of adventures, sourcebooks, and zines — many of them distributed for free.
Are you a busy GM? Does session prep take too long? Do you never have time to work on the cool little details that bring your adventures, dungeons and campaign to life?
Fear not.
This dread compilation gives you, the time-crunched GM, the tools to effortlessly add verisimilitude and detail to 100 different types of monstrous lairs. Use the material herein either before or during play and bask in your players' adulation.
You can use the lists herein before or during your game to help breathe life into a monster’s lair. Adding depth and verisimilitude to your game helps the players’ (hopefully willing) suspension of disbelief and leads to a better game.
Use the system-neutral material herein either before or during play and bask in your players’ adulation.
This product is a Dual Format PDF and comprises two versions, one optimised for printing and use on a normal computer and one optimised for use on a mobile device such as an iPad. The download for this book now includes individual text files complete with markdown formatting for each of the Monstrous Lairs instalments presented within.
This book is compatible with every edition of the world's most popular role-playing game!
"For the sun gave forth its light without brightness, like the moon, during the whole year.” So wrote Byzantine historian Procopius of the year 536 A.D., the year the first of three catastrophic volcanic eruptions in Iceland would drop global summer temperatures by 1.5 to 2.5 degrees Celsius and herald the beginning of the coldest decade on record in 2,000 years. Migrations of Germanic, Hunnic, and Slavic tribes have swept aside and now pick over the remains of the Western Roman Empire, sacking Rome itself and establishing a network of “barbarian kingdoms” across the west. Crop failure, famine, the Justinian Plague will devastate a fractured Europe for the next hundred years. Of all the time periods called the “Dark Ages,” this is surely - both literally and figuratively - the darkest.
This historical context is interwoven with both “authentic” medieval folklore and the classic elements of 19th- and 20th-century fantasy fiction found in your typical Appendix N. This ‘Dark Year’ and all of its tumultuous events provides players and Judges a compelling backdrop upon which to project historical fantasy adventures. While based upon historical context, these are works of fiction: liberties have been taken where doing so would be entertaining. Weave fiction and fantasy as you please, and above all: Fight On!
This book contains 95 pages of rules for: expanded character creation, cultures, languages, soubriquets, mass combat, social status, equipment, estates & strongholds, trade goods & services, crime, punishment & trials, medicines, poisons, and retainers - - everything referees and players could want to set their old-school fantasy role-playing campaigns within a 6th century Europe historical fantasy setting.
I seem to collect RPG settings. Ever since AD&D 2e, with its endless proliferation of settings, it seems like I collect more settings than I'll ever use in multiple lifetimes. I have a special affinity for darker settings, like Dark Sun and Midnight, because they make heroic characters seem even more heroic in nature, as they try to hold back in the inevitable tide.
Rune & Relic Press invites you to the Lands of Formoria; a campaign setting in the world of Asterra with a rich history that has been developed through decades of game play. This guide offers a detailed milieu in which to place your adventures. It has a particular flavor, detailed locations, cultures, religions, politics, npc’s, and history. Although this book was written for use with Shadowdark the RPG. Most of the content here is system agnostic and entirely usable in other systems.
The setting of Formoria echoes 4th century dark ages Europe in flavor and theme. It lies on the northern fringes of “civilization” having been settled and colonized by civilized peoples from the Katalian Empire roughly 150 years ago. The world of Asterra was developed and written by Bryan O'Doherty over the span of two decades of actual game-play. The history of heroes and great deeds, magical items and artifacts and the current state of cultures, kingdoms and empires is the result of actual at-the-table gameplay since '99.
THE FORMORIA MAP PACK IS NOW INCLUDED WITH YOUR PURCHASE OF THE PDF!
The DOOM of the DARK is coming...
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The Black Casket of Night has indeed been opened beneath our feet, soon,
only days will remain!
I have been posting here and there about ‘Doom of the Dar...
Jackson, IL: Am I Evil? NPCs of the Satanic Panic
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Last week, I talked about running two different 80s-style teenage horror
campaigns. My Sunny Valley, OH game with Dark Places & Demogorgons and my
curren...
Free GM Resource: 1shotadventures
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[image: Free GM Resource: 1shotadventures]
I came across this blog consisting of adventures written by J.C. Connors.
The adventures are for a variety o...
Jonstown Jottings #106: Marsh Attacks!
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Much like the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition,
the Jonstown Compendium is a curated platform for user-made content, but
for ma...
Music Monday - Go Monkey Go
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This one is a blast from the past. Released in 2000 and performed by Devo,
Go Monkey Go is a tribute to Mojo Jojo, the primary antagonist of the Power
Puff...
The Singing Lake
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By Nicole Mattos, Icaro Agostino, Davide TrammaAngry Golem GamesOSELevels
2-4 After being denied recognition as the supreme lord, Severo cursed the
region,...
Dungeon Crawler Carl (book review)
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This was a fun read if not particularly meaningful. It takes place in an
RPG world that works like a televised tournament, similar to The Running
Man and...
d100 Worst Weird Inn & Guest Rooms
-
My current map with player exploration of my D&D5.5 game
Yellow is where players been and exploration has been fun
While we had 3 clerics nobody really imv...
The Great Nobility of Harry Potter
-
I am of the view that there is no pursuit that is more noble and no task
that is more worth doing than writing novels. Call me romantic; call me
delud...
Circuits and Rallies
-
I'm back from holiday! I guess coming back to familiarity after a few weeks
of novelty got me thinking.
Sometimes you repeat the same stuff over and over...
AD&D's Demi-Foot Forward...
-
AD&D's demi-humans are primarily known for their multiclassing abilities.
After all, what adventurer doesn't occasionally dream of casting spells
from th...
Adventures Dark and Deep (Lite)
-
This arrived for me today, a PoD hardback via DriveThruRPG.
Including postage, it cost me about $40 yankeebucks, so about $65 Kiwibucks.
I got it purel...
[BLOG] News on the March! Episode XIV
-
This post continues the series of brief play reports I have been posting on
Discord. This does not cover every single session (sometimes, recon and
setup...
Moldvay Basic D&D now Available in Print
-
Just a quick note that (finally) Moldvay Basic D&D is available in POD from
DTRPG – previously, only the Cook/Marsh …
Continue reading →
Abstraction in My Liege,
-
I think the aspect of *My Liege,* that could potentially put off the most
people is its lack of accounting granularity. It does not track Court
wealth in...
SoloDark: Four Drunk Priests
-
Dabbling into some solo play using SoloDark. Rolled up the party last
night. 3d6 down the line and pick the best class for the results. It was
tragic.
ht...
Consolidated AD&D Weapon Characteristics List
-
Having spent the last few days down a research rabbit hole, I ended up
compiling a chart of AD&D weapon characteristics, adding some "missing"
entries an...
Referee Sabotage
-
It is an old saw that players are bad at executing their plans. Imagine
this common scene: the party have some big job that requires planning;
perhaps robb...
The March 1636 Lantern is Published
-
Okay, The March Lantern is available. Those fast on the draw may have
noticed that I mistakenly published it as free access for 56 minutes. I
was just so ...
Gary Con 2026 Registration
-
Silver Badges get to register for events at Noon Central today (February
21, 2026). Somehow I thought I failed to register for running games this
year and ...
On a Happy New Year
-
We are about to experience the most social upheaval since industrialization.
What will that look like in sixty years?
Sinless is starting it's third yea...
Mutants and Wizards
-
Heya folks, long time no see.
I've just started working on something new called Mutants and Wizards. It's
going to be an OSE/OSR post-apocalyptic game t...
Ten Friggin Hill Cantons Wizards
-
10 Wizards of the Hill Cantons
#
Name
Description
1
Magister Dobromil the Cauterizer
Specializes in magical “cleaning” of reality leaks. Wears fou...
Rob Kuntz at Lucca Comics & Games 2025
-
If you are planning a trip to Europe (like right now) and wish to catch up
with me in person, make sure to book a detour via *Lucca Comics & Games*,
...
How do you do piracy… in SPACE!?
-
Interstellar space travel in Iridium Moons was always going to be a form of
hyperspace jump like in Star Wars or Traveller. Simply because it’s the one
for...
A long overdue hobby update!
-
Welcome back to the Vault everyone! 2025 is going by in a blur; I last
posted in February, almost started a post in March and now it's the end of
May. W...
Playing at the World 2E V2 Arrives
-
With the release of its second volume, the second edition of *Playing at
the World *is finally complete. The two books combined total well over
1,000 ...
Articulations
-
Creating house rules, custom rules specific to a local group or campaign,
has been common throughout the history of D&D. What makes an effective
house rule...
Writing playlists for all occasions
-
Hello again! Going off the idea of inspiration elaborated on by the prior
post, I also have music playing while I write my various games and fiction
pieces...
The Tarot of Pips
-
Somewhere in your dice collection is a die like this one, the humblest of
dice. Although you don't know it, this small white die carries with it a
secr...
Pirates and Necromancers, a Play Report
-
Over the Thanksgiving weekend we did a lot of gaming ranging from
“off-table” domain level stuff to some solo adventures to spell and magic
item rese...
It's been a bit
-
Hey everyone, I hope you are doing well! I've had a lot going on and
haven't had much time to blog lately. Heres a recap of gaming events and
other st...
*'s in SpaaaaaAaaaace
-
A lot of SF (including a certain 2D6 RPG grandaddy) deal with ancient
aliens taking humans from Earth and dropping them, fleas and all, on one or
more w...
Last move - to self-hosting!
-
As my vote regarding Substack in the “marketplace of ideas”, I’m moving to
self-hosting.
I’m now at (and hopefully staying for a long time at)
Blog: ht...
Clean Your Room
-
Looking back at my little blog here. That last post… wow, I was having fun
playing WOW Classic! That was August of 1999 and I was having a blast… it
was ...
Steve Jackson Interview
-
James Maliszewski recently did an interview with Steve Jackson over on his
Grognardia blog. Steve chats about the beginnings of The Fantasy Trip and
upcomi...
ToAD Monster of the Week: Crocoman
-
Now that I'm back doing the blog thing I thought I would use Tome of
Adventure Design to create monsters for The Black Hack.
Using the monster tables in th...
Strange, Dangerous, and Inhuman: The Fey and Fairie
-
When I was a boy I loved fairy tales. Jack and the Beanstalk, Puss in
Boots, Rumpelstiltskin - I devoured all of it. My fascination that there
was a strang...
Dungeons & Dragonmead Fall Schedule
-
*As you know, I run public classic Dungeons & Dragons games at **The Loaded
Die**/Metro Detroit Game Night's Board Game Nigh at **Dragonmead**, in
Warren...
Fiction in Airhde
-
On a whim this weekend, I picked up some fiction off the TLG store. *A
Houseless God & Other Tales* and *The Mirrored Soul & Other Tales*, both by
the T...
Ravensburg Reboot: Streamlined City Map
-
I mentioned in my last post how I was tweaking and reworking parts of my
Ravensburg setting. Today I streamlined the city map. The old map had lots
of redu...
The Withered Crag available now
-
I just enabled the sale of the PDF version of The Withered Crag at
DriveThruRPG a few minutes ago, and the custom print version will be
available startin...
Annihilation Rising Goes live
-
The latest in Fail Squad Games’ Quick Kick projects has gone live and needs
your support!! This project is only running 11 days and ends on 5/28/2019!
...
James's Celebration of Life
-
We could not have asked for a prettier day for James's service. It was a
bit chilly and windy but gorgeous. A heartfelt thank you to all that joined
us tod...
Trap Tuesday: A step back
-
I will get back to Tomb of Horrors soon. I found a topic that was
interesting enough to take a break. While interacting in a 5E group on
Facebook I talked ...
Let's Talk About Pacing!
-
The idea, I think, is that the RPG is ultimately about the long game. Even
rolling back to the early days of Basic & Expert, the goal of the player
was...
Profane and Profound Prep Part 2
-
This is part 2 of my work to edit my magic items for a DMsGuild release,
along with adding cursed items along the way. Here is part 1. Bone of a
Saint 8000...
Please, I don't do paid advertisements - don't ask.
-
A little note since people have asked me about this. My video channel's
*not* an advertising platform, so I'm not available for hire if you want to
promote...
New website!
-
Slowly but surely, all the content here will make its way — in updated
form! — to my new website: timbannock.com. For fairly obvious reasons, that
site wil...
Please Update Your Link!
-
If you're seeing this, it means your link to the Greyhawk Grognard blog is
out of date.
Please update your link to www.greyhawkgrognard.com (RSS feed is
h...
Total Sales for WB:FMAG
-
Hi Folks,
It's been a long time since I provided an update for the sales of White
Box: Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game.
*LULU*
Print: 396
PDF: 433
*OBS*...
How can We Destroy this Campaign World?
-
d12
1. You must trick a bard into strumming the *Chords of Fate* on the *Lute
of Annihilation*
2. Legends tell of thermonuclear weapons beneath megadunge...
Mord Mar - Session 5
-
We had another successful delve into the dungeon yesterday. The delvers:
Moira, the Magic-User
Radovan - Human Cleric (of Odin?)
Khazgar Stonehand - Dwarf ...
Bundle of Fantasy Age
-
Bundle of Holding: Dragon Age/Fantasy Age: Available until March 12. PA
Presents: Fantasy AGE Freeport live play Green Ronin in 2018 The Fantasy
Age RPG ma...
New Free PDF Module: The Hyqueous Vaults
-
A new dungeon module—written in celebration of OSRIC's 10th Birthday—by
Rebecca Dettmann, Allan T. Grohe, Jr., Jimm Johnson, Matthew Riedel, Alex
Zisch, a...
Swords & Wizardry Light: Session # 6
-
Two months after our last session (thanks to things like 8th grade finals,
a 4 year-old's birthday and party, Father's Day, etc.), we finally had our
next ...
