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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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.
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.
Wells are important places in dungeons—a well might be the only readily accessible source of drinking water in the entire place. Given most dungeon denizens require water those controlling a well can become wealthy and powerful charging others for the water they draw. Thus, a well can also be a source of much conflict between the dungeon’s denizens as they all seek to gain control of such an important resource.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreAltars dedicated to dark, forbidden powers are a staple of many fantasy dungeons. Here, evil high priests officiate over bloody, blasphemous services or cultists gather to worship their terrible patron. Such locales are thus often an excellent place to find and slay said evil-doers or to recover their hidden treasures. A few such locales have even established a tenuous link with the deity itself, and strange, odd effects occur in their immediate vicinity.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MorePits are a lurking danger that have spelt the doom of countless adventurers. Pits can be used to kill, injure or trap intruders, block progress or prevent escape. An explorer trapped in a pit with no way of getting out is at the mercy of the first creature or character to discover their predicament.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreDrow, terrors of the Ebon Realm, normally stay away from the sunlit surface lands yet sometimes they wander too close. Setting up outposts near the surface they sneak forth to capture slaves to carry back to their subterranean home.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreCunning ambush predators, ropers lie in wait pretending to be stalagmites so their prey blunder too close to escape.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreBuried deep in the snow and ice a white dragon’s frigid lair is a terrifying locale.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreDwelling in the seemingly eternal glaciers of the far north and south and in snowy mountain ranges, frost giants work the ice itself into magnificent castles and fortifications to better suit their frozen hearts.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreImmensely strong burrowing predators, bulettes—or land sharks as they are sometimes called—live only to feed. They fear nothing and treat everything moving as food. Bulettes range over a wide area and are always on the move.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreStirges hunt warm-blooded creatures, swooping down to use their long proboscis to drain their prey’s blood. Once sated and bloated with their prey’s blood, they fly away to digest their meal.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreVicious, warlike and mercenary hobgoblins set up their military-style camps almost anywhere. The camps are not just their home but also the springboard for their campaigns.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreWild and feral orcs take over caves with little care for secrecy or subtlety. Proudly displaying their battle trophies, they taint the area with their awful, savage presence.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreThe haunted manor house is a classic adventure locale. Every town and city—and many villages—has such a locale: an old, ill-favoured house lurking amid the myths, rumours and legends of the locality.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreSavage, bestial creatures of rage and violence—minotaurs are terrifying enemies. Often solitary beasts haunting labyrinthine dungeons, or similar locales, they delight in hunting and terrorising their prey.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreWhether lurking unseen in the urban jungle, stalking the wilderness or lurking in ancient ruins, medusa are a terror to any that behold their stony gaze. Worshipped with adoration by some, their cunning makes them terrifying enemies.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreMummies, from loyal guardians entombed with their masters to power-hungry priest-kings vying for the return of their earthly powers, strike fear into their enemies’ hearts. Many ancient societies inter their dead in this respectful way in the belief that someday they’ll rise again.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreCurio shops. Flea markets. Pawnbrokers. Adventurers normally find treasure deep in a dungeon guarded by terrible monsters. Sometimes, though, the characters find treasure where they least expect it—and sometimes, it hardly costs them anything at all!
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreExtreme weather—particularly storms—has the potential to wreak havoc on a travelling band of brave adventurers.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreMalevolent beings that feed on their victims’ fear and despair, will-o’-wisps dwell in the lonely, dismal places of the world. Deserted places—bogs, fens, marshes, catacombs and battlefields—are their domain.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MorePurple worms—voracious predators—burrow beneath the ground in a near-constant search for food. These huge worms are notorious for consuming prey—sometimes entire adventuring parties—whole.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreAn isolated place, perched upon an inhospitable coast at the head of a muddy coastal path, Coldwater is not an easy, or pleasant, place to visit.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
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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.