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!
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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.
The Customs Tower overlooks the docks. From its lofty roof, the dockmaster notes the coming and going in his domain. He then despatches his servants to collect the appropriate fees, excises and taxes. Scorch marks on the tower doors speak to its master’s popularity.
Read MoreThe World’s End boasts a gigantic mural depicting a kraken chasing a sailing ship over the edge of the world. Mariners of all types come to the inn to drink, swap stories and find a new berth. Two talkative parrots roost on the common room’s rafters.
Read MoreThe Gilded Anchor caters to rich merchants, their agents and guests. This member’s only club is a place of business and fine dining. Vigilant door wardens keep out riffraff and non-members. Vast fortunes have been made and lost at the Gilded Anchor.
Read MoreThe Bucket and Chain tavern stands hard against the docks. Popular with unsavoury nautical types, it features in many dark tales of smuggling, murder and odd religious beliefs. A wide brick-walled well in the cellar leads to a sea cave under the docks.
Read MoreRaita’s Candles opens at dusk and closes at first light. Its owner, Tuure Raita (NE old male human), prefers working at night. The shop’s cellar displays a macabre collection of lifelike waxen figures. Tuure shows his work to those paying for the privilege.
Read MoreDiagon Alley runs parallel to the docks. Heaps of fishmongers’ leavings and so on make this a foul-smelling, slippery place. The stench of rotting fish, excrement and worse keep most folk away. It is a good place for dark doings and secret meetings.
Read MorePenna’s Grave stands in a hollow by the trail. Fresh cut flowers often appear on the low burial mound, no matter the weather. Folklore tells of a silent, grey-hooded figure seen kneeling at the grave. Recently, an apple tree has sprouted from the mound.
Read MoreHideaway Mine stands beyond a huddle of ivy-clad stone buildings. This abandoned old tin mine is haunted, locals say. Bandits sometimes use it as a lair, but seldom stay long. The mine’s flood-prone deeper galleries intersect with a subterranean lake.
Read MoreEl’s Mere was once a shallow, marshy lake. El’s Mere Way skirts the site. Local tradition has it that a young man, El, drowned while swimming in the lake. His ghost appears on the anniversary of his death to moan of his fate to any he encounters.
Read MoreCutt Quarry has been almost abandoned for decades. The mad introvert Kildork Cutt (NE male dwarf) dwells therein. The madman carves elaborate, disturbing sculptures into the cliffs, for an unknown purpose. Sometimes, people disappear near the quarry.
Read MoreCrumblestone Castle is cursed. Abandoned after its occupants sickened and died, it is a shunned place. Now even the place’s walls and towers have a leprous aspect as stone flakes away from the structure. Rank, noxious weeds fill the ruin.
Read MoreBone Mill stands by a river flowing through an old battlefield. Sometimes, bones washed out of ancient burials foul the mill’s mechanism. Sometimes these remains awaken from their long slumber, and undead beset the mill.
Read MoreWiomet’s Tower juts skyward from atop a bluebell-cloaked hill. Dense stands of hawthorn surround and fill the decaying tower’s sunken ha ha. Built for an exiled widow, the ruin is a gloomy place despite its idyllic surrounds.
Read MoreWarren Lodge—devastated by fire long ago—stands stark atop a grassy bank a half-mile from the road. Only crumbling walls and a fast-filling cellar remain of the grand house. Many rabbits dwell in the surrounds; here, hunting is good.
Read MoreThe Wishing Tree throws its vast crown over a busy crossroads. This elder oak is a shrine to Behron, god of travel, and many weary folk rest in its shade. A hoard of coins—offerings for a safe journey—stud the tree’s glimmering trunk.
Read MoreThe Mason’s Arms stands near Tumblestone Quarry. Walled apple orchards surround this popular traveller’s inn, which is famed for its rough, dry cider. Vast murmurations of starlings swoop and wheel over the inn, at sunset during the winter.
Read MoreHierophant’s Path winds along a steep, wooded ridge overlooking the road. Local legend has it the adherents of an elder nature cult wore the path which ends on a craggy bluff. A singular monolith of rough hewn stone stands atop the bluff.
Read MoreDunstan’s Hall offers a warm fire and cheery welcome amid the ruin of an old church. Dunstan uses the church’s crypts for storage, and a crumbling wall and graveyard surround the inn. Rumours (inevitably) tell of hauntings, lost treasure and more.
Read MoreThe Three Maidens—ancient, worn obelisks of unknown origin—form part of the Blind Fiddler’s wall. Faint, illegible carvings cover the stones where they protrude into the street. Unknown to most, a fourth Maiden comprises part of the tavern’s cellar wall.
Read MoreThe Blind Fiddler offers cheap beer, sour wine and wild times. Raucous laughter, drunken singing and wild yells often come from this ramshackle tavern. Kuura Tuntia (N male human), the gregarious alcoholic owner, welcomes any with coin. Drinking here isn’t for the faint-hearted.
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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.