Steading of the Hill Giant Chief as an Adventure Environment

Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, one of the first “adventure modules” produced for Dungeons & Dragons, has many things that fascinate me. One of those elements is how it is presented: not as a scripted piece of action, but as an environment to explore and interact with. This is the format of many of the early adventures, which make few assumptions about the actions … Continue reading Steading of the Hill Giant Chief as an Adventure Environment

merricb@yahoo.co.ukJune 11, 2021June 11, 20214 Comments

D&D, Mork Borg

The Map and the Mapper

I played Mork Borg the other day. For those unaware of Mork Borg, it is a role-playing game inspired by early editions of Dungeons & Dragons, set in a world that is dying, and where the lives of its inhabitants are likely to be unhappy and short – especially if they are the player characters. The game presumes familiarity with D&D or similar games to … Continue reading The Map and the Mapper

merricb@yahoo.co.ukMay 1, 2021May 1, 2021Leave a comment

D&D, D&D 5E, Design

Combat, Vulnerability, and Hit Points

I have been thinking about how combat works in Dungeons & Dragons 5e, and – as with many modern versions of the game – it is no longer a game of attrition. In the early editions of the game, healing magic was hard to come by. (A seventh-level cleric in AD&D with a 16 Wisdom can heal at most 7d8+1 hit points per day). And … Continue reading Combat, Vulnerability, and Hit Points

merricb@yahoo.co.ukMarch 20, 2021March 20, 20213 Comments

D&D, Design

The I in Team

One of the early Dungeons & Dragons adventures suggested a ratio of 40% fighters, 30% magic-users, 20% clerics and 10% thieves for a good proportion of character types on that adventure. It is a ratio and a concept that has stayed with me: the ideal of the party that can take on all challenges! Back in those days there was a smaller selection of classes, … Continue reading The I in Team

merricb@yahoo.co.ukMarch 15, 2021March 15, 20211 Comment

D&D, Design, Play Advice

Empty Rooms, Mapping, and Pacing

I recently finished running my players through some of Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, which I had used as part of our campaign quest to find the Rod of Seven Parts. In the early days of Dungeons & Dragons, the designers expected the players to create a map of their explorations. (The DM could gain much humour by comparing the player map to their own). … Continue reading Empty Rooms, Mapping, and Pacing

merricb@yahoo.co.ukMarch 14, 2021March 14, 2021Leave a comment

Link to Icewind Dale adventure on Amazon

D&D, D&D 5E, Design

Who is the Standard Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer?

Adventurers in Dungeons & Dragons come in all shapes and sizes and can have any number of backgrounds. However, for the purposes of many published adventures, designers tend to assume a certain type of adventurer. That type is the mercenary adventurer. That is, an individual who makes their living by selling their services. And their services are their strong sword arm or their ability with … Continue reading Who is the Standard Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer?

merricb@yahoo.co.ukFebruary 19, 2021February 19, 2021Leave a comment

Curse of Strahd, D&D, D&D 5E, Design

On Running Published Adventures

I love published adventures. Investigating them has proved some of the most rewarding times I have spent with Dungeons & Dragons. However, I recognised that running published D&D adventures is not to everyone’s taste, or possibly even ability. There are distinct differences between running an adventure written by someone else and one you design, and you should choose the path you enjoy more! However, even … Continue reading On Running Published Adventures

merricb@yahoo.co.ukFebruary 18, 2021February 18, 20213 Comments

D&D, D&D 5E, Design

Monsters and World-Building

Monsters do not need innovative mechanics to be interesting. The difference in the statistics between kobolds, goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, gnolls, bugbears and ogres in original D&D (and AD&D) is minimal. What makes them different? Culture, organisation, and story. This isn’t to say that monsters shouldn’t have interesting mechanics, but they’re not the only consideration. With any monster, when I am designing a scenario, I would like … Continue reading Monsters and World-Building

merricb@yahoo.co.ukFebruary 8, 2021February 8, 2021Leave a comment

Board Games, D&D, D&D 5E, Design

Player Elimination in Board Games and TTRPGs

If you have an ability in a game that has a chance of eliminating you from the game if you use it, what does that then do to the game? What does it do to the enjoyment of the other participants? Older board games were very fond of player elimination – where you could stop playing the game when your position was overrun. And these … Continue reading Player Elimination in Board Games and TTRPGs

merricb@yahoo.co.ukFebruary 5, 2021February 5, 2021Leave a comment

D&D 5E, Design, Play Advice

Using Deities in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign

The original presentation of deities in Dungeons & Dragons is unusual. It was a short description of their combat abilities and not much more. And the book instructed you not to use them in combat, which was odd. Justin Alexander recently talked a little about it in his blog, The Alexandrian. Later games, especially Runequest, paid a lot more attention to the deities and their … Continue reading Using Deities in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign

merricb@yahoo.co.ukJanuary 9, 2021January 9, 2021Leave a comment