At home in the Underdark and in the City, the special lineage of Clawscrapper always takes enemies by surprise. Their metal hooks strike as an extension of their form, keeping their foes second-guessing. Whatever you do, don’t let them get the high ground. The kobold clawscrapper may (at first) seem to be of an entirely different bloodline compared to its more common kin. Scars (from [Read the article]
A Dragonborn Scion drifts slowly toward from the shadows. Ever increasing light reveals not a dragonborn at all, but a sewn-together amalgamation of beast and men. Your eyes are drawn to the skeletal wings, dripping with barely a film of flesh, before you feel your soul start to be torn from your body. The Dragonbone Wight is a powerful, imposing creature. Its flesh and bones were [Read the article]
So, we’ve discussed the reskinning of the many races of 4th Edition D&D. We’ve talked about making monsters unique and monstrous, and we’ve talked about ways to alter the way Magic Items are used in the game. What’s left? The fun part. Actually writing a setting – thinking about what makes up “Classic Fantasy” as a genre, and extrapolating outward from there. Let’s start with [Read the article]
Fortune Cards. You’ve probably heard of them by now. You may even been sick of hearing about them. My synopsis will be brief. Coming in February, from Wizards of the Coast, are packs of player character enhancement cards. They’re packs of 8 cards, for $3.99. Each card gives a small benefit, similar to the bonuses provided by twitter for D&D Encounters or by some utility [Read the article]
Part 1 is here. Run by the convention organizer, this Champions RPG was set in the Marvel Universe, featuring X-Men tangling with Brotherhood mutants. The GM, a great big guy with sleepy eyes, split the eight participants into two groups (good and evil), then took each group aside and assigned the actual characters. Given the size of our group, he had wisely enlisted an associate [Read the article]
The entire temple had smelled of must, a constant on your journey to the final tomb. Around one corner you can finally see the tomb door, when from all around forms of guardians spring to life. You await the smell of rot that accompanies undead, and when it never comes, you fear. The Tombsworn are more closely related to ancient orders than a race of [Read the article]
Lurking in jungles and thick caves, many eyes watch your movement – not an unusual feeling for adventurers. What is unusual is that the locals fear this creature not just because it’s deadly, but because if you survive an attack, life will never be the same again. The Amazon Spider is an oddity among beasts. At first it seems to be like any other giant [Read the article]
Good day, my fellow chummers. It’s Monday, the start of the first full week of the year, and I’d like to address you of our agenda… The Shack is sailing along, smoothly, with a few hundred consistent hits a day. I think that’s pretty good for a blog that’s not yet one year old, and I’m happy with that (hopefully, in the future, we’ll get [Read the article]
It’s that time again! And what better way to start not only the month, but the year with a nod to one of the best gaming blogs out there? Gnome Stew! You know you’ve been there, and you’ve probably wondered what they put in their stew – other than gnomes. Well, it’s the vast number of GM-related gaming articles, of course! Also, I haven’t read [Read the article]
In the final of 4 articles that deal with races in the Classic Fantasy setting, we look at taking certain D&D 4e races and reflavoring them into halflings. We’ve already talked about making monsters more memorable and monstrous, and up next we’ll give some ideas on the setting itself. For each of the following racial or subracial choices, all of the actual mechanical stats, powers, [Read the article]