Bits and Bobs XXV

It's been a long time since I did a link dump, and I've got a ton of open tabs that I need to close out, so back to it!


Because it's funny, and could happen so quickly in any D&D game too...

The Redneck Tree... is just terrible.

After almost a full year, Bat of Ancient Vaults and Eldritch Secrets is back!!

Need a few magical trinkets to spice up that boring pile of gold? The Goblin Punch has you covered with 100 minor magic items.

C- over at Hack & Slash had some thoughts on Special Snowflake Settings. Personally I like the idea of Drizzt and Elminster and all the other overpowered heroes of the FR being nothing more than legends or the dime novel heroes (that they are) who don't really exist in the setting.

Healing potions are kinda boring. To the point that they're in the 5e PHB for a mere 50gp. Now, as a player I don't mind being able to pick them up for cheap, but sometimes, as a DM, I like something a little different. Eric over at the Dragon's Flagon has some healing potion variants that I'm probably going to steal for my games.

Sith Apprentice for 5e? CR2? Found appropriately enough over at Cross Planes. This guy is definitely going to show up in my Wednesday night game.

"I'm Batman!" Maybe not JLA Batman, but early career Batman? Ed the Chainsaw Chirugeon's got that background written up for your 5e game.

Want something a little less "My parents are DEAD?" in your background? How about a Country Squire or a Dandy background? Jack at Tales of the Grotesque and Dunegonesque

Speaking of Star Wars, if you enjoy the d6 version, Venger went and uploaded a revised, expanded, and updated document that is most impressive. It's definitely worth snagging. I'm considering making a hard copy for myself, though at 506 pages, it's a hefty tome.

Bits and Bobs XXIV

Zak S is a well known figure in the OSR, and one I enjoy reading most of the time. I don’t usually bother including his posts here, but he’s gone above and beyond with a 10 part art history overview that’s probably 10 times better than anything you’d get in school, if only because he ties it in with D&D, and also doesn't spend any time worrying about the minutia that no one reading his posts cares about. This post is the overview of the course. I'm linking to it here for myself as much as for you.

Eric over at the Dragon’s Flagon takes a look at hit point modifiers for old school monsters. You know, those random +1 or +3 hp that monsters got for no really good reason. Well, Eric figured out a really good reason for them!  Seriously, if you're playing an old school game, you need to read this post.

Tieflings are an interesting race. Demon-touched humans… Like many, I’m not a big fan of their appearance in 4e and 5e. I like that they’re included in the game, I just don’t like the art direction.
If you want to randomly roll some demonic features, check out this random chart.
If you're looking for more visual inspiration, this is a nice collection of images from Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque that better suites my mental image of what they should look like.

For me though, this will always be my iconic image of tieflings.

Gus over at Dungeon of Signs takes a look at OD&D’s orcs, and comes to the conclusion that orcs are actually the result of some sort of disease! It’s an amazingly flavorful take on an old standard, and one I'm stealing for my table!

Did you know 5e works with the ACK economy rules? Paul at Blog of Holding did, and now you do too!

So the party found a secret door, and you don’t know what’s in the room beyond? Elfmaids and Octopi has you covered.

Bits and Bobs XXIII

This week is the 30th anniversary of Ghostbusters. For those like me who were too young to see it in the theater, it's back on Friday! You know I'll be there!

And if that isn't enough for you, Crooked Dice Games is releasing Four Paranormal Exterminators and (a big!) Ectoplasmic Entity.

Over at Wrath of Zombie's Blog there's a gory Blood Witch class for DCC. Like most of his stuff, it's well worth checking out.

Noah Stevens of The Hapless Henchman has a nasty deep black, tissue-paper-like monster called Noctules. Not only that, but he wrote them up for Dungeon Crawl Classics, Labyrinth Lord, and Swords and Wizardry!

If the new 5th edition is more your thing right now, Ed Hackett of Chainsaw Chirurgeon has a Myconids (mushroom people) race for you to use.

Arnold K over at Goblin Punch has some Fungal Giants + Moss Men + Disease Rules that thematically fits in with Ed's Myconids, even though it's more oldschool than 5e.

Jack over at Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque has a Mourning Blade (undead hunter) class for 5e.

Feel like you need some guns for 5e? Nicholas over at Realms of Chirak has you covered.

Cult of the Dragon bore you? Worshipers of the Great Old Ones just not doing it for you? How about some cults based on superheroes from Cedric P of Hors du chaudron de Koscista Noga?

And who's letting these cultists get away with it? Maybe it's the result of some (In)Effective Policing? Luke of ANT-LERRR has some random charts to try to figure out what sort of constabulary a town has.

Turn undead is a really underutilized mechanic. What else can the cleric do with Turn Undead? Eric over at The Dragon's Flagon has a few ideas worth checking out.

Lastly, I've decided that not everything I want to share really works well in blog format, especially lots and lots of pictures, so I've created a Tumblr, appropriately named Basement of the Archmage. There isn't a ton of content there yet, and none of it will be original to me, but it's stuff that I think is cool.

Bits and Bobs XXII

If you listen to Spellburn, you know it, you love it. If you don’t, click, listen, love. Then go listen to Spellburn.

Did you ever wonder why, when necromancers can so easily animate the dead, and all sorts of other corporeal undead stalk the night civilization hasn’t just opted to cremate the dead? There’s a really good reason actually, though rarely discussed. Ed Allen over at Ruminations of a Geek has a pretty good idea why.

What do you get if you cross a redneck with a jedi? An order of psychic warriors called the Jedites. And if you want to play one in Labyrinth Lord, Nick Peterson over at Of Dice and Djinn has the call written up and ready to kick ass.

If you haven't picked up Vornheim yet (and why not??) you've still got a few hours to snag it for the low low price of Pay What You Want!

Over at Sea of Stars, there's a great post about enchanted salt weapons and armor. Timothy Brannan from The Other Side Blog, who perpetually writes about witches has an interesting Web Witch, that has no known connection to the drow.

Worth looking at for that reason alone! Familiars, the little animal helpers of witches and wizards everywhere... aren't the cute little fuzzballs they look like. Arnold K over at Goblin Punch has a very DCC style take on them.

Alchemy and potion making really should be left to the professionals, but adventurers being crazymurderhobos, will do what they do. And when they mix healing potions with orc spawning pool liquid... the results can be interesting.

Bits & Bobs: Balticon Edition

Today is the first day of Balticon, and if you’re in the area, I hope to see you there. If not, I’ve got an assortment of links for you to check out while I’m at the con.

Mark Craddock of Cross Planes write up a magical Chain Sword For OSRIC though it would work equally well in any version of D&D from OD&D to 4e. As far as I’m concerned that’s the best way to write a magic item.

faoladh of The Ongoing Campaign takes an alternate look at how Ravenloft could have been, and it’s a view I like. What if, instead of being drawn to a demi-plane, what if the effect is the result of a supernatural mood that claims a place, The Dread Mood being one of the more common ones, and manifests in a variety of interesting ways. 

The Grand Bazaar of Targenmoor Approaches! If you have a flailsnails character that likes buy, sell or trade with the most diverse group of traders this side of Sigil, to enter jousts, brawls, melees, or mecha combat, or to bet on them, check out this event between May 24-31.


How (and Why) to Talk to Villains from Brandes Stoddard over at Harbinger of Doom. This is an important PSA for a variety of reasons, and not just because the DM wants a chance to monologue.

What if what you wore had a greater impact on the game? Sure, your trusty travel clothing might be great for delivering news that you’ve killed the scourge of the countryside, but when it comes time for the feast, (and asking for a bigger reward) you might have better luck if you’re properly dressed. Patrick Stuart takes a look at this in his Silly Fashion Post over at his blog False Machine.

Not every magic sword is Excalibur (or even Sting), and not every scroll contains world ending spells. Sometimes you find the work of some deranged magic user (or juvenile apprentice). In such cases you can always roll on 1d30 Slightly Useless Spell Scrolls from Rended Press

Paul over at the Blog of Holding has an idea for how to standardize how we talk about AC, a unified notation for ascending and descending AC, if you will.

Bits and Bobs XXI

There aren't enough alien minis out there that aren't: obvious fantasy races in space (orcs, elves, dwarves, ratmen etc.), xenomorph/nids, or direct media tie-ins. To help rectify that, there is an Alien Shocktrooper Squad indigogo campaign that's wrapping up in a few days, and it could use a few more dollars/euros/gold pressed latinum strips to reach it's goal.

Here's a 100+ random complications that you can add to Keep on the Boarderlands. There are some really good ones like:

38. An arrogant, high ranking cleric comes to the keep and "fires" the chaplain for alleged sloppy observance of obsure rites. He then installs the evil priest (7b) as the new chaplain, having been fooled by flattery and gifts.
63: The Corporal of the Watch (Keep #3) is a spy for the Chaotic raiders in the forest (Wilderness #3). The Corporal is a good man, and is only betraying the Keep because the raiders have his daughter. He believes the girl to an abducted, innocent hostage, but in fact she is with the raiders willingly and is the Leader's lover.

Dreams in the Lich House has a post about the Dungeon as Estuary. It fits in really well with both the idea of evil locations from ACKS and the dungeon as mythic underworld.

Elfmaids and Octopi has 100 shonky deals in shadelport and 100 big shonky deals in shadelport.

That colony of roaches with the weird markings on it's back? It's a spell book. Seriously, check out this post on Goblin Punch. You won't be sorry. You might go insane, but you won't be sorry.

Spirit Magic for Labyrinth Lord from Brett Slocum at The Eye of Joyful Sitting Amongst Friends is a happy accident that resulted from a misunderstanding about the OSR Superstar Competition.

You might have missed it, but there was a bunch of talk about megadungeons recently. This post over at the Greyhawk Grognard captures most of it.

Speaking of, dungeons tend to be foul places full of bad air, unless of course they include some vents, like these from Fame & Fortune by satyre.

Potion side effects! from The Dragon's Flagon, because magic is weird and dangerous.

I know it's still a week away, but I'm really looking forward to this year's A to Z Challenge. I've got some stuff written up that i can't wait to share!

Strange New Worlds, here I come!

Bits & Bobs XX

Heroes in Fairy Tales are a different breed than those in other forms of storytelling, but one that ties in pretty closely with successful OSR style adventurers.

The Great Wooly Jack Raboose is just an awesome example of silly prop making simply because it's awesome.

Like the link above for the great wooly jack raboose shows, I'm a fan of props. Making something real that was just a picture in a book, or a digital model, or a silly idea is just so great. Eric Hart has gathered together a list of the 100 Best sites for prop makers. Be careful if you click through... you might lose hours, or even days.

Barrowmaze is back, and this time in a single collected volume, and with a new line of Underworld Minis.

It's about a third funded ($5,439/$15,000) with over a month to go. While I haven't gone for it yet, since I already have BMI & II, it is tempting. And if you haven't picked it up yet, now is a very good time to do so.

Over at masterminis.net there's a good discussion about some of the current news out of GW. It's been years since I bought a GW mini, which is a shame because they still make nice figures, especially the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit stuff. But their prices are just so unreasonable. Worth a read, if you're at all interested.

In celebrartion of D&D's 40th Anniversary, d20 Dark Ages is hosting a blog hop challenge in February.

I'll be joining in, but it isn't going to be a daily thing. I'll probably batch them together into groups of 7.

Bits & Bobs XIX

Dyson wrote about the Summon spell from Lamentations of the Flame Princess, a particularly scary first level spell that has the potential to go sideways very quickly. If you've never seen it, go download LotFP now (it's on sale), and come back. Ready? Ok! Did you read the spell? Like I said, scary. However doing that up on the fly can bog things down a little. Conveniently, there's this handy little generator for the Summon Spell by Ramanan Sivaranjan of Save vs. Total Party Kill.


If you've ever needed inspiration for the haunted garden of some dark elves, check out this video from Darkrose Manor.


Over at Necropraxis Brendan wrote up a variant Assassin class that makes extensive use of poisons. It's an amazingly simple execution that still manages to make the assassin demonstratively different from the thief. I've never played an assassin, or even had one played at a game I've run, but I'd give this one a try.

How often do fantasy characters ride something other than a horse? In books it happens way more often than I see at the table. I think this is because most games don't get to the level where riding a dragon, or even a griffon, tends to come up very often. But why not an elk, or a giant rabbit, or a clockwork steed? Paul over at the Blog of Holding has put together a list of fantastic steeds for low level characters. Actually, it's 2 lists, since he covers both riding mounts and war mounts.

Speaking of the fantastic, you know that orc guarding a pie in the 10x10 room? Did you ever think it might be a magic pie? Honestly, I don't know how Konsumterra of Elfmaids and Octopi manages to put out so many d100 lists. In addition to the pies, there's also d100 post crash space habitat modules and d100 forgotten temples and bleak ruins just to name a few.

And continuing on the topic of random tables, Needles of the Dark Corners of Role Playing has a Random Selection of 1d20 Sword and Sorcery Minor Treasures For Your Old School Sword and Sorcery Campaign. 14 is my favorite.

Gus L from the Dungeon of Signs has a d100 table of minor science fantasy treasures. I know I'd want #74 Undead animate human hand in wire cage. If released proves docile and an exceptional mixologist – has no other skills and cannot be ordered about.

And finally garrisonjames of Heretic Works has a nasty monster called a Malevolent Vestige. Just the creepy sort of thing to make PCs really nervous.

Bits & Bobs XVIII

People play games, and it isn't unusual for player characters to play them either. Over at Kobold Press, they've put together a list of d10. Tavern Games or Things to Bet On.

After Order 66, but before a New Hope, was The Dark Times. Darth Vader and his inquisitors hunted the last remnants of the old Jedi Order, and consolidated the power of the Empire. If you've ever wanted to play during those dark times, in the early days of the Empire, check out this fan made d6 Star Wars supplement.

Do you collect dice? Of course you do. Do you have some old dice? Did you know that they can dramatically decompose? You'll probably be ok unless you have some pre-D&D dice.

JDJarvis looks into the logistics of exploring a large hex. He calls it Hexcrawl Design, Using Scale and Finding Things

Rob Hawkins has put together some amazing terrain, and in this post he shows how to paint neon signs.

Bits & Bobs XVII

Tim Brannon over at the Other Side is hosting a giveaway in honor of his 2,000th post! You can win a copy of his new Eldritch Witchery or his older book The Witch for basic era games (which is excellent!).

Over at Elfmaids and Octopi there's a d100 chart of forgotten temples and bleak ruins, any of which is enough to springboard at least one night of adventure each. My favorite is #82. "Broken church with collapsed tower, giant evil owls and witches meet here" Fits in rather well with Tim's post... There's also a convenient set of links to all the other d100 posts he's done.

Tori Bergguist over at the Realms of Chirak wrote an excellent post on how to run supernatural killers in your game. Toni explores the pitfalls of havingyour players face immortal and near immortal opponents.

Joshua over at Genius Loci wrote up 3 iconic halloween/horror monsters for your game: Zombi Dance Troupe, White Garbed Twins, and Pygmalion.



I've mentioned many times before that I love props, and this de vermis mysteriis (mysteries of the worm) is an excellent example why.

Bones, Bits, and Bobs XVI

Reaper's done it again. Their Bones II Kickstarter wraps up today, and as of this posting they were over $2,663,837 and 139 minis and 80 bases for a basic $100 pledge. While it's not quite the deal that it was for their first Kickstarter, it's still impressive, and the add ons this year are even better than they were last time! You've got under 10 hours still to get in on this.

And if that's not enough for you, the next big stretch goal is a not-Tarrasque.

You know you want in on this...

This is an old post, but some good advice from Zak S. about How to make a D&D Sandbox.

Random Wizard put together a random map generator for that classic module B1. Every time you go to this page, you'll get a new map like this one.

Over at Geek Related there's a great review of Rule 0 over the years. I hadn't realized how differently it's been handled over the years.

Bits and Bobs XV

I know that traditionally romance in D&D games tends to be limited to "is the bar wench hot?" but the existence of games like Blue Rose suggests there is at least some interest in it. I'm actually reading a friends hard copy of the rule book, but that's a different post. What I'm sharing today is this short PDF of courtship rules from Fictive Fantasies. Why might your players want to engage in courtship, gain a spouse? Well, aside from the role playing opportunities, it also gives XP!

Wizards of the Coast published a high resolution map of Nerath, the default 4e campaign setting. I know most of my readers aren't big fans of 4e, but most of you like maps.

JD Jarvis put together an interesting chart of components necessary for wizards to scribe scrolls. I really like the fact that two different wizards scribing the same spell can have completely different component requirements.

Jasper Polane of Weird Opera posted about orc babies. The summation of his post is: Let’s get one thing straight: no orc is a “non-combatant”. He then follows up with stats for orc babies and this nearly perfect picture.

Star Wars: Rebels is coming soon, and the concept art for it looks pretty cool. I don't get why they have to introduce a new villain, since you've already got Darth Vader, but...

And if you need some disposable minis for your Star Wars (or other space opera) game, check out these free paper minis!

 This post is getting a little heavy with Star Wars items, but I've got to share this last one. First, Triumph & Despair is a blog about the newest version of the Star Wars RPG that I think I've linked to in the past. It's well worth your time to follow it if you have any interest in Star Wars type games. This post on rolling up vignettes is especially worth checking out. Dropping 5d10 gives you an adventure seed, complete with complications!

One thing that the OSR has really been lacking was a fresh, rewrite of the AD&D spell lists. Adam Taylor took on the herculean task:

OK, folks - that didn't take very long at all. Here's a shared .zip file that contains a comprehensive rewrite of AD&D spells, both for wizards and priests. Because I've renamed a lot of the wizard spells, there's a little widget on that page that lists the original name + the new one, for reference.

Plenty of new spells too.

You'll need to open the pages in a browser, and no, it won't work in Internet Explorer, because I can't face the struggle of battling whatever the hell IE is doing with it. Use Firefox or Chrome instead.

It's printable; it will look best if you turn 'Print background images and colours' on. But it will use up about 300 pages...

There's a ReadMeFirst.txt included too:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1ru2owdq20x4f1c/S-dGBbdAQT

Bits and Bobs XIV

Last week temperatures were unseasonably warm. The thermometer was in the mid to upper 80's, making it feel more like the middle of summer, rather than early fall, while at the same time the leaves are turning from green to gold and scarlet and brown. My back yard is already blanketed in a layer of fallen leaves... but weather isn't just weird, sometimes it's really weird, like in this cave system in China. It's so large it has it's own weather system!

Michael Wenmen over at Observations of the Fox has been inspired by Dyson (who isn't) and has putt together some map making tutorials. Tutorial 1, Tutorial 2 Villages, Tutorial 3 Jungle Trails.

Reaper is at it again. A week into their new kickstarter, Bones II, they're already approaching $1.5 million, and a $100 gets you 142 minis (and growing).

I'm a big fan of props, and prop building, and I really appreciate when prop builders take the time to show how they did what they did. In this case Landron Artifact's Twin Serpent Guardian Spirit Wall Relief. I'm sharing this one because the base material was sculpted out of white foam, which I've never seen used before given how weak and fragile a material it is.

Mark over at Spes Magna has a simple, but iconic spell: Virmon's Simple Repulsion for when your wizard really needs to get out of the middle of a swarm.

Bits and Bobs XIII

A lot of classic fairy tales have anthropomorphic characters, something that doesn't really show up in D&D very often. The Disoriented Ranger came up with a simple 2d10 chart to roll up anthropomorphic PCs. My first roll created a large serene rabbit, neutral in alignment. I rolled up Harvey!

Rendered Press offered up a table of 20 compete meal choices from soup to coffee.

Back in July, Gorgonmilk apparently started up a community project to write up a d30 chart of unusual gems found in the eye sockets of skeletons. Somehow, I completely missed it until I saw a post over a Rendered Press with some really interesting gems for the project.

For those of us who got in on the Reaper Bones Kickstarter, and are feeling a little overwhelmed with around 250+ minis sitting around unpainted, there are solutions. Caffineforge is hosting a Monday Miniature challenge. This past week the mini of choice was the mimic. Next week, it's the Eyebeast! *cough*beholder*cough* One mini a week isn't so tough... right?

I've been a big fan of hamsters for a while now, and when Courtney Campbell put out a call for one of his posts on the Ecology of the Spelljammer Giant Space Hamster, I was there, and I wasn't alone.

Bits and Bobs XII

It's been a while since I've done a roundup of interesting things I've found around the net. I'm going to try to make this a more regular thing...

Brendan of Necropraxis posted a d20 turn undead variant. I haven't run the numbers, but I think it would make an interesting alternative. Plus I like the idea that sometimes, even rarely, a midlevel cleric could fail to turn a bunch of zombies or succede in turning a lich.

Chris over at the Hill Cantons posted about using the maps of Pompeii as a megadungeon. I can't tell you how much I like this idea...

Notes from the wizarding world is a tumblr of pictures and story snippets from the world of Harry Potter. Kind of expanded universe type things. It's really well written, and if you're a fan of HP, it's a nice way to get a fix.

One of my favorite movies is Ghostbusters, but I've never gotten to play the RPG. Heck, I've never actually seen a copy in the wild. Today, we're in luck! Ghostbusters International has the rules for the Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheery Role Playing Game, and you can get the PDFs here.

If you didn't already know, the Temple of Elemental Evil (T1-4) is free over on DrivethruRPG. I've never played it, or run it, but for that price, it's definitely worth a download. You've got till the 28th to get your copy.

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Also, don't look for Bits and Bobs XI. I accidentally used V twice, and only just noticed.

Bits & Bobs X

Hex Maps are a perennial topic in the OSR, and there are a lot of generators out there, but if you want to make your own maps in Gimp or Photoshop, the hex icons made by the randomwizard will probably help you out.

I love everything about this version of the gargoyle, especially the art!

One of the most potent abilities a thief has, in any edition of the game, is backstabbing. Unfortunately in older editions it’s often very difficult for a thief to be able to pull it off. Tenkar has a few ideas/houserules to help with that.

Dave Taylor does a lot of fantastic stuff with minis, and given the number of mini painters who have recently acquired 240+ Bones, this tutorial on how to paint a brassy bronze is a must read.

Last year (going back a ways...) Christian of destinations unknown ran a 3.5 campaign called Quest of the Sorcerer King. While 3.5 material isn’t usually of great use to someone playing an old school game, Christian’s NPC write ups are worth the read.

One of the best things about old school megadungeons are the “special” entries. They’re a great way to add all sorts of crazy stuff for characters to risk their lives playing with. The Probability "Cooker" by Billy (who goes to Mordor) is a fantastic example of a “special” that would fit right in. It basically will transform one item into another, generally similar item.

Ghost towns are a very traditional location for adventure, but what if the ghosts are only a byproduct? What if it’s the town itself that’s the real terror?

Of course you don’t need a whole ghost town, sometimes a simple abandoned house will do as Konsumterra of Elfmaids & Octopi shows on his d100 Strange Lonely Old Houses post.

Talysman over at The Nine and Thirty Kingdoms has been working on undead monsters that scale things like ghosts, mummies, and skeletons from level 1 up to name level and beyond. The original idea was for undead monsters as PCs, but I think it works just as well if you want to have only spectral undead, or only mummies in your games no matter the level of your PCs.

Charisma, what’s it good for? In the OSR it’s for hirelings. But if you’re willing to pay stupid money, why does that matter? Really, you should be able to hire as many as are available if you want, just so long as you’ve got the gold. So if you go with that theory, what do you use charisma for? Contacts!

Magic Swords are probably the most versatile of all magic weapons, capable of having a wide variety of powers, but for all the charts to help roll that up, there’s a serious lack of magical effects which don’t necessarily have any mechanical effect.

Jeremy, of People them with Monsters has some disturbing things to say about the classic Berzerker.

Bits and Bobs IX

I love bloggers who show how they make the amazing props they come up with. For example, these spellbooks made by Janet from It's A Little Like Magic:

If you're anything like me, you've wondered how things could survive in a megadungeon environment. The tortoise Manuela managed to live trapped in a cardboard box for 30 years. So maybe not so crazy after all...

"Mad Jack" Churchill was a British soldier who fought in World War II wielding a braodsword, longbow, and bagpipe.

Joey of Metal vs Skin has a Bastard Class for Old School games. It's something of a re-imagined Bard class, and it's fantastic!

Delving Deeper has a series going about Class Guilds. I rather like his take on them, and want to point you to the Mage's Guild as a solid example.

Sticking with the arcane, Monstrous Television has a selection of house-rules for wizards in his home AD&D game that are worth checking out.

Noisms has been spending some time thinking about hexes and wilderness maps. He took those thoughts, and explored a real island, about 2.5 x 1.5 miles that would easily fit within a 5 or 6 mile hex.

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The news is now about a week old, but Google is killing off Reader July 1. I have over 400 blogs that I follow, and Reader was where I read them all. I've moved my feed over to The Old Reader, which is a stripped down version. It's running slowly, but all of my feeds are there, and they're still organized into the different folders I had them in on Reader. I think once the tidal wave of new subscribers settles down, and the servers get reinforced, it'll work really well. For the moment though I'm going back and forth making sure that The Old Reader is actually catching everything.

Bits and Bobs VIII

I know there have been many times I've wanted to see a dungeon map in 3D. There have been some really impressive examples done in minecraft, but the time and effort that takes can be off-putting, and the blocky nature of it can be limiting. Green Pilgrim over on the Cartographer's Guild has put together a tutorial for taking a normal dungeon map, and making it 3D. As an example he uses one of Dyson's maps:

and turned it into this:

What do your coins look like? Given that the dragon has likely been acquiring it's horde for a long time, chances are some of the coins are going to be old, and a little weird. Inkwell has a random chart to figure it out.

I haven't seen Hansel & Gretel yet, but the concept art for the witches is pretty damn cool.

Ever want to have a Shield/endtable of Whiterun from Skyrim? Harrison Krix from Volpin Props has a great tutorial on how to make one.

Satyre of Fame & Fortune has some magical statues for that "special" roll you got when stocking the dungeon.

And we'll wrap things up with an awesome picture of Maleficent by Nebezial

Bits and Bobs VII

Humanoids and their role in the game world seems to be the main theme of this round of Bits and Bobs.

Talysman of The Nine and Thirty Kingdoms offers up a very fairy take on goblins, and one that cleaves closely to how they are in my gameworld.

Peter of Dungeon Fantastic addresses the same issue in his post on the problem of orc kids.

And Paul over at Blog of Holding takes on kobold ecology.

Brock Cusick from The Tombs of Akrasia discusses the Orcs of his world. They're cauldron born!

The New Big Dragon over at Save Vs. Dragon has put together what I think is a really useful PDF with all the treasure types from the different early editions of D&D (Oe, 1e, BX or HB).

And speaking of PDFs, ever wonder what to do with them? If you're like me, you like having the dead tree version of your books. You don't have to go through Lulu to get it done, you can do it yourself in softcover or hardcover.

Bits and Bobs VI

It’s been awhile since I shared some of the cool things out there, and the longer I wait, the longer the list grows!

Erik of Tenkar's Tavern came up with a way to make failure (rolling a 1) a learning experience for PCs - Attacking the Darkness. Then he had some more thoughts.

Robert Morris of Back to the Keep gives a fantastic overview of paint options for painting minis and terrain. Everything from GW to cheap craft paints and beyond.

Stuart’s Strange Magic revised his Bene Gesserit Cleric Sub-Class for the 3rd time, and as before, it’s worth taking a look at!

Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque by Jack offers up table with 50 items appropriate for gothic room dressing.

Kicking down doors is a natural activity for adventurers, and The Riders of Lohan by koboldstyle has some wonderfully evocative Axe-boots.

And to wrap things up here are a couple of links on dungeon building.
Tim of Gothridge Manor has a simple d12 dungeon stocking chart, and an example of how it worked out.

On the same note, Delta did a broad examination of the different random dungeon stocking methods across classic D&D, from ODD to ADD to Holmes and Moldvay basic.

And saving what I feel is the best for last: Keith Davies put together a nice article on doing a node based megadungeon. While it isn’t the first time the topics been discussed, it’s very well written, and he's even expanded it into a whole series.