Reflecting on mounted combat in Shadowdark
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Last week, I DM'd my Horselord of Tanishorn one-shot from EruditeZINE No. 1 aka "WARHORSE". I was curious about fleshing out the mechanics and rules for my new Knight Lancer Class and Jousting, plus mounted combat rules as well. The one-shot has the PCs mounted,...
North Texas RPG 2025 was a hit!
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Attending the heralded North Texas RPG Con in Dallas, Texas was a goal for me this year, and I can honestly say the reputation and hype around this event were well-deserved. I just got home to Houston yesterday, and I am worn out. Only had...
Merry Mushmen’s Knock! #5 Zine is coming
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]RAISE THE ALARM! THE FRENCH ARE COMING! From France, the Merry Mushmen publishes fantastic third-party supplements for TTRPG and several that can be used with Shadowdark RPG. I am a big fan of their Knock! zine series of fanciful and esoteric tables and articles for GMs....
Make an easy d66 table for exploration
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I believe that travel and exploration can be an entertaining part of your TTRPG. And most RPG and OSR systems are woefully lacking with fun, playable mechanics for effective travel and hex crawls. It takes a little organization, planning, and flexibility. I have always enjoyed GMing...
Awesome medieval melee combat in RPGs
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Director Roman Polanski brought Shakespeare's "Macbeth" to the big screen in 1971. And the final fight sequence of men in plate armor with swords, axes, and daggers is still one of the best ever caught on film. It shows the grit and ingenuity of two men...
New Shadowdark Tee
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Whoa! New Shadowdark tee for North Texas RPG Con. I am guilty on two fronts. I am a closet nerd I am a dad. So, I make dad jokes. Checkout that slick new tee from The Arcane Library. I will be sporting this beauty at North Texas...
Using Shadowdark to flesh out NPCs
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our Monday night YouTube livestream with Tim Shorts, Flint Fireforge, and Vance A. was all about NPCs: How do we create them? Where do we find inspiration? And, how we use them in our #TTRPG sessions. When I need a quick NPC, I look no further...
Do we need a Caller in Shadowdark like D&D in the old days?
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]If you've played tabletop RPGs for a while—especially old-school D&D—you might have heard of something called the “caller.” It’s a role that’s kind of faded out in most modern games… except, maybe not entirely. While Dungeons & Dragons has moved on from formally using a caller,...
Making a BIG dungeon map for your table
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Check out how Flik Silverpen makes an easy, large-scale dungeon map perfect for your TTRPG group! I mentioned in an earlier post that I am no artist. I still love to use hand-drawn maps whenever possible. As kids playing D&D in the 70s-80s, we always used...
Joined Joe the Lawyer to celebrate 3,500 subscribers on YouTube
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Many of us who play D&D in all its iterations, Shadowdark, Old School Essentials, Castles & Crusades, etc know @JoeTheLawyer from YouTube and other social media platforms. Joe is a vocal advocate for the OSR and appears in many OSR circles on YouTube. Here is...