Welcome to the Raging Swan Press blog. Herein you’ll find resource and advice articles to make your game better. From time to time, we’ll also post exciting Raging Swan Press news!
Check out our recent posts, many of which include free downloads, or visit the Archive to browse all our blog posts.
Everyone—even the powerful—has enemies, and the Nameless Mage was no exception…
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
We storm into February with a small flock of new resources for your gaming pleasure along with some new pages for our website.
The Duchy of Ashlar is small and constrained. Always, the forces of evil and shadow press inwards upon its borders. If it were not for a stout few, death and darkness would have long ago overwhelmed the land. Dunstone was once Ashlar's northern bulwark. Now…
Successful thieves need a fence—someone willing to buy and sell their ill-gotten gains. Like their customers, such folk must keep their true business secret, and thus, they often openly practise some other legitimate trade.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Merchants, traders, artisans, and some ordinary folk, need somewhere to store their bulky goods. Some own their own warehouses, while others hire the requisite space on a temporary basis.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Houses of worship and quiet contemplation stand in or near many settlements. Within, the occupants seek spiritual enlightenment in the service of their patron.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Centuries ago, another settlement stood where Dulwich now stands. Much of the area's ancient history has been forgotten—lost to time and memory. However, some buried or lost fragments of the past yet remain…
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreEveryone—even the powerful—has enemies, and the Nameless Mage was no exception…
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreFamed inn popular with adventurers and their hangers-on
Read MoreSuccessful thieves need a fence—someone willing to buy and sell their ill-gotten gains. Like their customers, such folk must keep their true business secret, and thus, they often openly practise some other legitimate trade.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreMerchants, traders, artisans, and some ordinary folk, need somewhere to store their bulky goods. Some own their own warehouses, while others hire the requisite space on a temporary basis.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreHouses of worship and quiet contemplation stand in or near many settlements. Within, the occupants seek spiritual enlightenment in the service of their patron.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreNormally places for the poor or the penny-wise, boarding houses offer lodgings and food; most such places offer only the barest of essentials to their guests.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreFar below the sunlit surface lie places and things undreamt of by decent commonfolk. Some such things have never seen the light of day, while others have escaped into the Underlands to escape the hated sun.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreSlaughterford has a foul reputation.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreSmall roadside shrines appear in many towns and cities. They venerate important saints, local deities, or gods without a formal church in the area and are often tended by a small group of dedicated lay worshippers.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreOne or more stables can be found in any settlement of note—and many of those without note.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreAtavistic warriors dwelling in the inner reaches of Ashlar’s Salt Mire, the Coiled Serpent tribe worship Yig—Father of Serpents—who they believe will one day consume the world. The Coiled Serpent tribe numbers about 100 or so individuals and they are an insular folk happiest when ignored by their human neighbours.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreOne or more blacksmiths can be found in any settlement of note—and many of those without note. Forging the myriad finished metal goods the populace needs to live, smiths are often respected, comparatively wealthy members of the community. Some can even fashion simple weapons.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreThere are always those willing to profit from the most odious of all trades—slaving—and to grow wealthy from other people’s misery. Most of the smugglers lurking in the dismal coastal village of Coldwater are nothing more than smugglers.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MorePlayhouses exist to entertain and sometimes educate the masses. Herein can be found jugglers, bards, singers, actors, playwrights and more. Some playhouses are magnets for those with nefarious intent, while others offer additional entertainments to favoured (or wealthy) customers.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreA shadow of their former greatness, the Orcs of the Severed Hand tribe lurk beneath the numberless boughs of the southern forests. Once a mighty and feared tribe, the Severed Hand has never recovered from its war with the retired adventurer Valentin Ironwolf.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreAre you a busy GM? Does session prep take too long? Do you never have time to work on the cool little details that can bring your adventures to life? These focused lists give you, the time-crunched GM, the tools to effortlessly add verisimilitude and detail to your urban adventures.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreThe past rarely stays buried forever, and forgotten and forbidden things have a way of finding their way back into the light.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreSlaves of their tentacled master, the Troglodytes of the Ebon Lake creep through the eternal darkness of their home searching for both new ways to reach the surface and for discarded remnants of the ancient civilisation that raised their cyclopean home millennia ago.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreAre you a busy GM? Does session prep take too long? Do you never have time to work on the cool little details that can bring your adventures to life? These focused lists give you, the time-crunched GM, the tools to effortlessly add verisimilitude and detail to your urban adventures.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read More
Centuries ago, another settlement stood where Dulwich now stands. Much of the area's ancient history has been forgotten—lost to time and memory. However, some buried or lost fragments of the past yet remain…
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.