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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Normally 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.
Far 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.
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.
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!
The 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 MoreWindy Corner is a busy junction. Here, three roads meet, and chaos ensues. It is often jammed with carts, wagons and frustrated pedestrians. Thieves and cutpurses stalk the crowd while pedlars sell refreshments of dubious origin from battered handcarts.
Read MoreVappu Aikio (CN female human) paints strange, otherworldly vistas of disconcerting aspect. Dwelling in a cramped, rundown garret Vappu is always short of money. Consumed by her art she cares little for her appearance or health. She seeks a patron.
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.
Read MoreVentla’s Lament threads its narrow, crooked and gloom-shrouded way through the slum. Named for a streetwalker found dead years ago it is a fetid, dangerous place. Desperate, predatory folk live in the tottering houses flanking the alley. The watch never come here.
Read MoreTuure Raita (NE old male human) sculpts lifelike waxen figures which he paints, dresses and displays in a back room museum of his chandlery. Some figures depict normal folk. Others take more blasphemous, disturbing forms. Tuure emits a faint miasmic scent.
Read MoreThe Bard & Pyre is a place for serious and quiet drinking and gambling. Brawls are frequent, and deaths not unheard of, in this cellar tavern. Its dour owner, the ex-pirate Ari Tapo (NE male human), hates singing, dancing and music.
Read MoreThe Broken Path meanders passed scores of once well-to-do homes. High walls pierced by locked or bricked-up gates flank the path. Overshadowed by hoary trees, moss and weeds grow thickly in this cobbled, little-used alley.
Read MoreSipi Vihas (CN male human) walks with a bad limp and rails against the injustice that put him in that cart’s way. A self-proclaimed genius he has many views on many things, but few friends. Sipi wears old, stained robes. He rarely shaves or washes.
Read MoreKaleva’s Cuts hides a dark secret. Kaleva is a Braalite cultist and uses his butcher’s shop to dispose of his sacrifices’ remains. The shop backs onto a rowdy pub and the noise from its taproom masks any odd sounds coming from Kaleva’s workshop.
Read MoreDead Man’s Court huddles within a ring of lofty, dilapidated tenements. A covered passage cuts through each building to the shadow-filled, cobbled court. Corpses discovered here with shocking regularity spawn lurid rumours of ghosts, vampires and cultists.
Read MoreRusi Niera (N old male human) “worries” about the local whores and works tirelessly to save them from themselves. A wealthy merchant this clever letch professes deep religious beliefs, but is a hypocrite and bounder. Skinny and bald, Rusi dresses well.
Read MoreCoppers offers a vast array of wares. Disorganised, piled-high shelves fill the shop’s dingy interior, and everything costs less than a silver penny. Albin Panu (LE old male human) owns the place and has a reputation as a peerless skinflint.
Read MoreAatami Himottu (CN male half-elf) cuts a dapper figure in his fine red doublet and matching hose. A fop and a dandy, Aatami fancies himself a master with a rapier and loves duelling to first blood. A thin scar on his left cheek adds to his look of derring-do.
Read MoreBlood Alley runs behind a row of butchers, chandlers, tanners and other foul-smelling businesses. Blood, offal and other unidentifiable things make the muddy ground slick. Heaps of rotting, stinking rubbish, and swarms of voracious rats, makes this a place to avoid.
Read MoreAri’s—cramped and dingy as it is—has a reputation as a place where anything can be had. Most assume this basement-shop is a thieves’ guild front, and they’d be right. The pale and skinny owner, Ari Osma (CN male human), drives a hard bargain, and never forgets a face.
Read MoreAhti Leino (N male human) broods over past failures and future disasters. Wracked by inadequacy, Ahti is a taproom regular, enthusiastic brawler and drunkard. He is bald and has shaggy eyebrows, bulging arms and a solid paunch.
Read MoreDandy’s Way is a notorious trouble spot. This gloomy, shoulder-width wide alley runs between two rough taverns. It is a handy cut-through, if no one is coming the other way. Visitors should be wary of what lies underfoot, in this fetid rubbish-strewn alley.
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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.