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.
It’s always the perfect time to game, and we hope you can find something below that will help you have more fun with your friends!
Small 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.
One 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.
At Raging Swan Press, we believe that games set in a richly detailed, immersive world are better than games that are not. It should come as no surprise that we are huge fans of dungeon dressing, but what exactly is dungeon dressing, and why do we keep going on about it?
With Citadel on the Wilderlands now out in the world, our attention turns to the Late 2024 edition of Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands and the Player's Guide to Citadel on the Wilderlands!
Citadel on the Wilderlands is a flavour-rich 5e mini-campaign setting designed for low-level characters intent on wilderness exploration and dungeon delving. Designed to be easy to prepare and easy to run, Citadel on the Wilderlands is perfect for GMs who don’t have unending time to prep for the next session.
Citadel on the Wilderlands is a flavour-rich 5e mini-campaign setting designed for low-level characters intent on wilderness exploration and dungeon delving. Designed to be easy to prepare and easy to run, Citadel on the Wilderlands is perfect for GMs who don’t have unending time to prep for the next session.
Citadel on the Wilderlands is a flavour-rich 5e mini-campaign setting designed for low-level characters intent on wilderness exploration and dungeon delving. Designed to be easy to prepare and easy to run, Citadel on the Wilderlands is perfect for GMs who don’t have unending time to prep for the next session.
It’s no secret that at Raging Swan Press, we are big fans of dressed dungeons. A dressed dungeon feels more real than an undressed dungeon. A dressed dungeon engages your players’ imaginations, promotes creative play and helps them immerse themselves in the adventure.
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 MoreAt Raging Swan Press, we believe that games set in a richly detailed, immersive world are better than games that are not. It should come as no surprise that we are huge fans of dungeon dressing, but what exactly is dungeon dressing, and why do we keep going on about it?
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 MoreTowns and cities produce large amounts of waste. To keep the population healthy and the streets relatively clean, a place to dispose of all that rubbish is essential.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreThe bugbears of the Frozen Tears are believed by many to be demons. Astride their glacier toads, they prowl the frigid passes of the White Cliffs, hunting for unwary travellers.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreRarely does a thieves’ guild advertise its presence. Rather, the thieves work secretly in the shadows and use legitimate businesses as fronts to hide their nefarious doings.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreOnce the last friendly place in the so-called Valley of Tears the Hall of Nuraduum is now known by a different name of far more sinister demeanour—the Cursed Refuge. Some travellers who pass through its stone door do not emerge again, while others tell terrifying stories of the nameless horrors they encounter in the enduring dark of the old dwarven fastness. Persistent rumours tell of old treasures hidden in the place, and a few old dwarves dream of reclaiming the refuge—so that at least a fragment of long-fallen Vongyth may again be held by dwarves. Will the characters dare the rumour-shrouded refuge, or will they flee the horrors that yet lurk within?
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreFor centuries, the adherents of a strange cult have harvested the skulls of learned folk and interred them in the so-called Halls of the Undying Oracles. Thus, their knowledge is safeguarded for future generations. Now an earthquake has severely damaged the Halls. Was it a natural event, divine punishment for the cult’s blasphemous works, or is something more sinister going on?
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreEqually renowned for their battle skills and mercenary hearts, the warriors of the Mailed Fist serve anyone with sufficient coin. Heavily armoured, disciplined and well-trained, those who stand below the Mailed Fist's banner are formidable fighters capable of great slaughter. High above, their winged cavalry—elite warriors and battlecasters astride gigantic black bats—hurl missiles and spells down upon their hapless foes.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read More
It’s no secret that at Raging Swan Press, we are big fans of dressed dungeons. A dressed dungeon feels more real than an undressed dungeon. A dressed dungeon engages your players’ imaginations, promotes creative play and helps them immerse themselves in the adventure.