dungeon doll

I've had this on the back burner for a while, but reading this  post about Fighters from Evie Willems of Spider Queen finally gave me the energy to finish it! Presented here is one possible way to make fighters a bit more exciting. Inspired very heavily from a Strong ability in WhiteHack 2e. I love how this ability enables a type of diegetic advancement for fighters. The flavor I've applied to it is inspired by boss souls in Dark Souls and eating monsters in Nethack. This also doubles as my take on eating monsters. *** (For fighters) When you slay a monster and consume its flesh (or its soul), you may take on an aspect of its power. Gain bonus Hit Points equal to the monster's total number of Hit Dice, and a property associated with that monster, negotiated between you and your referee. All bonuses last until you do this again. Example:  A fighter kills an ogre and consumes its soul. She gains 4 bonus Hit Points and +2 to her attack damage (the thing ogres do). She later do...

Dungeon Doll is a year old today (at least, my first post is). I'm honestly still really excited/surprised by how positive the reception has been. If you're someone who's been on the fence about making a ttrpg blog for a while, I highly recommend going for it. I also want to thank everyone in the blog space who's corresponded with or about this blog, its been very encouraging! On a slightly more serious note, I've unfortunately found out that having a social media presence isn't always great for me. I'm of two minds about it, because I love the way it enables me to talk rpgs with other rpg folks, but on the other hand I find a lot of the other aspects of being on there kind of draining. For the blog, this mostly means that I expect to post here more then I do on other socials, and that I might take more frequent breaks.  I've also been enjoying the process of writing some of my recent microblog posts a lot. Its been a nice way to practice writing more an...

If you play an elf at my table, you're actually playing a Cribswap.  They get all the same traits of Elves in od&d. *** 1,000 years ago, faeries ruled the earth, draped in leaves of gold. They crossed the skies in wild hunts, slaying beasts and men with blade of glass and helm of bronze. The faeries were driven from the surface with fire and iron. The Queen of Faeries now holds her court beneath the hills, within the Underworld. It is said that faeries cannot create life, and so must reshape it. A child was snatched from its home, taken to be made an elf, and you were left in its place. You were made to die. But you didn't. Rejected by your family, cast out by your community. Under unknowable stars you quested for meaning. You lived. You learned. You wondered. Bled and cried and scratched and screamed. What could be more human then that?

A great curved sword, hiltless. Wavy blue patterns permeate its dark steel. +1 to hit. Long ago a mighty warrior cut the Bale-Worm Sleeer in two, and a great river sprung forth from the gashed earth. +2 to hit and damage Dragons, Basilisks, and other legless creatures. Rivermouth speaks in dreams and echos. More than anything, it wants its wielder to change the lay of the land, to reorder the earth in the pattern of heaven. Second most, it wants to cut slinking things in twain and watch them wriggle in despair. When you slay a Dragon with Rivermouth, it gains a charge. These may be spent at any time to cast Move Earth, Part Water, or Lower Water. A Lawful weapon. 9 Intelligence, 8 Egoism. *** In The Caverns of Thracia there is a +2 lawful Red Dragon slaying sword. This is loosely based on a rewrite I did of that sword for a game some years back. Further Reading:  I highly recommend this recent post from Warren D. of I Cast Light! , which provides a table of demands for sentient we...

A grand construction of marble, more sepulcher then castle. Standing stark against rocky peaks, it gleams in the sunlight. The surrounding earth is dry and cracked. Nothing grows for miles around. Supply wagons arrive monthly, laden with plunder, sustaining the castle's men. 40 crossbowmen , clad in black leather, man the walls. Another 40 armoured footmen lurk inside. Boisterous mercenaries, their banners spanning the continent. If the castle is approached, a party of these mercenaries will ride out, demanding treasure for themselves and scrolls for the lady. The lady of the castle is the Immaculate Herald, a Chaotic Wizard . She is bald, her tongue is pale blue. She wears silver chainmail, as light as a feather, and wields a pair of daggers--one of dark steel, one of bone. If she is beseeched, the Immaculate Herald will cast geas upon those who would disturb her. She sends them off on fanciful quests, then forgets about them. She expects this to be a death sentence. If one wher...

A slender youth stands before two horsemen, armed and armoured. Her hair is dark and matted. Behind her stand a labourer and a coward. " We are free people. I am Jackdaw. I spilled the blood of Magnus Threefinger. " " We come on a vessel taken from our former captors," the woman behind her adds. " We seek work and shelter. We number fifteen in total." The coward says nothing. A Note This was supposed to be a summer campaign, but then a whole lot of life happened, and my summer ended up being pretty crazy. In the end, we played four sessions. Despite this, I was still very pleased with the narrative that emerged over the course of these sessions. I've collected them all here. Our story ends in tragedy.   The Campaign Luke Gearing's Wolves Upon the Coast . Run until my classes start back up (the end of summer). The Reavers fan zine proved extremely useful in prepping and running this game. Intended tone: Beowulf by way of Berserk . Soundtrack:...

A dungeon god . For a zine I'm working on. *** Its shrines are found in rotting libraries knowledge lost and left to putrefy a thrumming nest of scrolls desiccated power crawling with wasps To make prayer to It pacify the nest with torch-smoke reach in with a hand and let a gilded wasp sting sacred ink into the palm a permanent mark. A mage could earn Its blessing by offering her most precious tome to the nest, and inviting a gilded wasp to live within her. In doing so, she transcends the need for scrolls and grimoires knowledge kept by the swarm. THE BLESSED: you can eat paper but only paper the body rejects all else liquid, liquor, potion dry flesh, humming with bugs a book is enough to sate you for a week and any text you consume is known to you completely.