Idle Cartulary
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The Tension Jar
I don’t remember where I got this idea from, but when I ran dungeons, before the overloaded encounter die, I used the tension jar. This overloaded overloaded encounter die made me think of this. The original version of the tension die was this: When the company did something loud, risky or stupid I’d add a… Continue reading
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I Can’t Sleep and Am Thinking of Dungeons
I can’t sleep and am thinking of senses in which dungeons have stories A dungeon has a story in the same sense that a mall has a story, one I do not know and consisting the experience of its inhabitants, visitors, and it’s changing physicality A dungeon has a story in the sense that when… Continue reading
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Internal conflicts in OSR play
A few years ago I ran the AD&D DL series of modules, the Dragonlance Chronicles. They are a perfect example of the worst inclinations of the Weiss-Hickman plot-driven rail-roading modules that began with Ravenloft and continue to this day. I decided to pick it apart and place it into a sandbox. It worked. However, I… Continue reading
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Time bubbling
Timekeeping is important when you’re running multiple groups simultaneously in the same world. Doing this means you get to do half the preparation, and might get to re-use preparation on a second group. It’s pretty good GMing practice for people like me, who want to play a lot, but can’t find easy ways to play… Continue reading
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Not ancestries, factions with food preferences
I started writing this at one time, and then realised it dovetailed with a conversation that Sandro and I were having on discord about food. So I mushed them together. Ancestries are boring. Don’t use them. Instead, develop factions with each other, because they come with built-in red barrels. To do so, pull from the… Continue reading
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What’s your apocalypse?
I was writing a post about a timekeeping technique called Time Bubbling (coming soon!), and I realised that there was a worldbuilding technique that I think is essential to most fantasy worlds that we play treasure-hunting in: Apocalypsing. Don’t worry, this one will be a quick one. Most D&D-likes are post-apocalyptic. When you’re world-building, the… Continue reading
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New Years Purge
Dan inspired me to empty out the drafts folder of Playful Void so I can start fresh in the new year. Here goes: All the things I worked on this year and never finished! If you’re interested in my finishing any of these, or if you’re interested in any of these you can be inspired… Continue reading
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The Curator, a God of the Crossing
A testament for Errant. You have made a Covenant with the Curator, Magpie God, Memory-of-Things, Museum of Eternity and Edge; god eminent of the preservation of history, display of objects, recording of meaning, and reminiscence of creatures. The Curator is represented by an owl holding a pair of scales. Zealots in covenant with Curator are… Continue reading
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Mister Nook, a God of the Crossing
A testament for Errant. You have made a Covenant with Mister Nook the Bold, Tanooki King, Thief of the Stars, with a Tongue that Spoke Silver into Being. Mister Nook is represented by an inverted leaf; a silver leaf on a field of green is preferred. It is said that zealots in covenant with Mister… Continue reading
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Dungeon23: Day 14 reflection and pivot
Previous posts on Dungeon23 here and here. I’m two weeks in, and I don’t like my lovingly prepared dungeon. However, I’m really enjoying the day to day drawing and keying of the dungeon. I just got bored with this level after a week, so week two isn’t as much fun. I’m not surprised by this:… Continue reading
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