Skill Check: Sleight of Hand

When they see the phrase "sleight of hand" written under the skills section of their character sheet, the one and only thought most players have is, "Oh, that's how good I am at stealing crap." But could there be more to it than thieving? Of course there could. I'm writing an article here, people. What makes you think I would have started typing if I didn't have a plan?

78 Nouns for Settlement Names

When it comes time for you to establish a settlement (town, city, farm in the middle of nowhere), adding an adjective to the great proper name you spent all afternoon coming up with can flesh out the town in your mind as well as make the full name that much more exciting for your players.

A List of Dead Body Loot Ideas

When it comes to robbing the dead (well, that's what we're doing, isn't it?), it's surprising how monotonous it can be. Gold pieces are universal and can be exchanged for anything, but how many +3 swords or Pauldrons of Insert Cool Thing Here should your players be forced to carry around with them? Once again, Griswicks has a definitive list of loot so complete that your players will leave no bone unturned.

Funny Tombstone Epitaphs

So, your evil mage summoned a gory cemetery from the Netherrealms and your players entered it without hesitation. So far so good, you thought, until suddenly the characters began to read the tombstones and you weren't really expecting them to take time out from their busy schedule of obliterating Liches to examine your handiwork. Luckily for you, I've got you covered.

Top 40 Bard Songs

Even the best bards get stage fright every now and then. Sweaty palms. Frozen brain. Lute askew. If you're having trouble choosing which of the sweet tracks in your repertoire will kill at your next impromptu concert, here's a top 40 list of bardic vinyl burners that will slay 'em right where they're standing.

73 Ways to Bypass a Guard

Ever have that one guard who refuses to leave his or her post? Even sleeping guards can cause an adventurer problems if their apnea kicks in. Here is a partial list of potential paths past that pesky protector.

Building Better Locations: Relationships

When it comes to building a better realm for your players to play in, the most often overlooked aspect of location building is the relationship our dungeons/towns/ports have to the world around them. If you don't spend time nursing these relationships, your locations will feel cold and fake.

A Better Kind of Long Rest

When your player characters first arrive in a town, they may be invited to stay in the palace of the king or camp with guards outside the city walls. However, barring a plot-specific reason why their accommodations are already taken care of, how can "we take a long rest" become more than just hit point dice rolls? Can resting be an adventure all its own? I think it can.

Map of the Day: Malford's Launch

Malford's Launch is a growing ferry stop located on the primary route that runs up and down the east coast of the local region. The ferry connects the town to Malford Island -- approximately six miles offshore. While the ferry has been around for over a century, the town has been growing impressively over the past decade as a result of residential growth on Malford Island. The ferry is run by the local liege lord and is quite mundane compared to the power struggles between original residents and immigrants elsewhere in town.

Item of the Day: Watchroot

Deep within the jagged mountain passes of Larmore, there exists a special flower with the ability to recover what has almost been lost. While the name of the scientist who discovered this plant has been lost to time, his or her contribution to modern alchemy cannot be put into words. Recovery of these flowers is difficult for all but the most experienced of mountaineers.

Culture of the Day: Lumpfzball

The most exciting sporting events in the kingdom are the massively popular Lumpfzball contests. Held every year at the end of winter, Lumpfzball is a cross between jousting and dodge ball.

Random Name Generator #1

I'm always interested in helping other game masters with some quick resources they can use in a jam. This is a random name generator that you can use to placate your players when they get too curious about "shopkeeper" and his personal wants and desires.

99 Ways to Circumvent a Locked Door

So, you just failed your "unlock the door" check and you're desperate to see what's on the other side of the door. Could it be a cache of weapons? Could it be a cache of armor? Could it just be some cash? You may never know because the dice refuse to cooperate.

But the one thing about table top role playing games is that game masters LOVE creativity. And if you use your noodle to circumvent the locking mechanism in some unusual way, they'll probably make sure that whatever is on the other side of the door is equal in impressiveness to the solution you used to solve their problem.

Item of the Day: Royf's Coif

The legendary illusionist Mallard Royf performed across the whole of the land -- traveling from city to city to showcase his sleight of hand skills. He was particularly well known for a dagger throwing feat where he would juggle eight daggers high into the air -- only to have one come down awkwardly and "pierce" him straight through the skull. He then would "pull out" the dagger and show the crowd how he was "miraculously" unharmed.

Hierarchy of the Day: Nature Demigods

Presuming that each god in a pantheon has a series of demigods, titans, and other such creatures under his or her purview, what would such a hierarchy look like for a nature god who was in charge of all things wild and woolly?

Dungeon of the Day: Hidden Pantheon

A pantheon (not the Parthenon) is a collection of gods. It comes from the Greek "pan" (meaning "all", like "pandemic") and "theos" (meaning "gods", like "theology"). Today's dungeon is a temple jammed into the base of a ravine. It's haunting beauty cleverly tricks unsuspecting adventurers in and then destroys them with guile. It's simple design allows you to stock it full of any kind of gods/creatures you'd like and then fit it snugly into your world.

Dungeon of the Day: Goblin Mine #1

The goblins are at it again. Having discovered a small but pure vein of iron near a small village, they have taken up residence, enslaved several of the villagers to work as laborers, and scared everyone else away from the area.

Item of the Day: The Sword of Everfrost

The Sirens of Everfrost were a coven of dangerous mages who lived deep in the mountains of Cyldar. Their intoxicating chants bewitched many an adventurer, causing the doomed fighters to stand in place until they were imprisoned by the elements in icy stalagmites. For those fortunate few who were immune to their charms, the Sirens were more than capable of defending themselves using ancient elemental magic.

That was until the adventurer Justain Dandelar discovered their secret lair while exploring the mountains. Her unique path through what was to others impassible terrain gave her access to a deeper part of the Siren's realm -- where she found the Hallucinosis Orb that controlled the frosty witches. After speaking to the orb and beating it in a contest of wits, the Orb crumbled to dust releasing the sirens who gratefully fled the valley after rewarding Dandelar with The Sword of Everfrost -- a magical weapon with a thirst for warmth.

Puzzle of the Day: Lockpicking Wheels

I personally find rolling to determine the success or failure of a lock picking event to be too impersonal and since picking locks in real life is a monotonous skill that requires hundreds of hours of staring at a metal face plate to fully appreciate, I would never consider handing a player the ripped-out lock from my front door and saying, "Here, have at it!"

Can we construct a physical puzzle that simulates the aligning of tumblers and the spinning of a combination lock in a way that makes a lock-picking event more fun and engaging? I think we can.

The Problem with Published Modules

Flexibility in the face of unforeseen change is a fundamental part of what makes TTRPGs fun. Sadly, published adventure modules are, in my opinion, deeply flawed by the very fact that they are designed to send players down a strict path of content without consideration for player input.

In a game genre where the word "railroading" is as dirty as any four-letter offering you can muster, published modules openly embrace this design flaw and turn it into a full-fledged game mechanic.