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!
Adventurers often seem to be found in seedy dives and other disreputable drinking establishments. Whether they are hunting a thief or looking for their next job, an adventurer’s visit to such an establishment is almost certain to be eventful. Use this list, to generate minor events of interest to flesh out such a visit.
Read MoreWhile vast swaths of a noisome marsh may seem boring and unremarkable, travellers will—no doubt—encounter some things of minor interest.
Read MoreDulwich stares out across the Salt Mire towards Hard Bay, the Forest of Gray Spires at its back. Just a few hundred years old, it rests on the remnants of numerous older structures, built on a strip of dry land between the swamp and forest. One of the largest settlements in the Duchy of Ashlar, Dulwich serves as a major hub for merchants and travellers. A stout, stone wall surrounds the main town, offering protection from the dangers living in the Salt Mire.
Read MoreThe Shadowed Keep stands at the end of an overgrown trail upon a wooded bluff overlooking a steep-sided valley. A small pack of wolves dwells in the wood as does a black bear. Characters wandering the woods may also encounter small hunting parties of bandits and goblins skulking in the gloom.
Read MoreThe village of Swallowfeld stands hard against the turbulent waters of the Lonely Coast and the forbidding depths of a trackless, primeval forest. A hard, frontier place hemmed in by danger without and threatened by a lurking darkness within, the village is in dire need of doughty protectors.
Read MoreWolverton rests on the rocky shores of the far‐flung Lonely Coast. The mighty fortress Caer Syllan keeps a protective eye over its harbour which hosts ships from all over the world coming to trade for the precious metals and gems pulled from the nearby mines. A muddy, noisy place, Wolverton is home to hardy frontier folk eking a living from the earth while contending with half‐goblin tribes, packs of shadow wolves and other monsters dwelling in the nearby Tangled Woods.
Read MoreMost sarcophagi will have the name of the person interred within carved upon their lid.
Read MoreDesigned to house the dead, crypts and catacombs often include many religious features as well as decorations dealing with death and the afterlife.
Read MoreIt seems adventurers are always poking about in dusty, seemingly abandoned crypts. Often, the lairs of the blasphemous undead or the repository of forgotten treasures such places draw adventurers like moths to a candle. But not all areas of a crypt are stuffed full of undead and treasure.
Read MoreA lich’s lair is a terrible and dangerous place. Few adventurers are brave enough to explore a lich’s lair (and fewer still are powerful enough to survive the experience). Such a place should be memorable and flavoursome; this is not an average, run-of-the-mill dungeon. Strange—and perhaps deadly—sights and sounds should be the norm.
Read MoreWhether lurking unseen in the urban jungle or stalking the wilderness or ancient ruins, medusa are a terror to any that befall their stony gaze. Worshipped with adoration by some their cunning makes them truly terrifying enemies.
Read MoreFew dungeons have no features of note or interest, and the characters are likely not the first to explore its halls.
Read MoreA stone circle marks the confluence of ley lines in this bleak and broken place. Among the ancient runes and onyx pillars burn secret powers hidden by gods and men alike. But to the people of Y’taris, the stone circle is just a tourist destination for the rich. Every year, hundreds of spellcasters make the long pilgrimage to the stone circle high in the Broken Mountains. The villagers provide food, shelter, baubles and entertainment, all for exorbitant prices. Merchants bleed visitors of their gold, while pickpockets and scam artists take the rest. Y’taris is a nest of thieves. Anyone is welcome, until they run out of coin.
Read MoreSometimes the characters emerge from the dungeon laden down with bags of coins, pouches stuffed with gems and jewels and even magic items! Other times, they emerge with items somewhat trickier to sell on…
Read MoreRuined castles almost always have dungeons, burial vaults and cellars. Such locales are the favourite haunts of undead, necromancers and other foul things trying to hide from the sun’s harsh radiance. Heroes often explore such places, in search of gold and glory.
Read MoreIsolated coves, sheltered bays and sandy beaches pockmark the coast. Well known by travellers, mariners and fisherman alike such locales are often important local landmarks. In such places, smugglers can sneak ashore in the dead of night, fishermen can ply their trade and holy folk can meditate free from distractions.
Use this list, to add notable beaches, bays and other coastal features into your campaign.
Read MoreA black dragon’s lair is rarely nothing more than a dismal, sunken cave stuffed full of treasure. Black dragons are wily, cunning and in-tune with the surrounding environment. Their lairs reflect their intrinsic connection with the surrounding swamp or marsh.
Read MoreMuch of a jungle’s landscape is unremarkable and mundane; however some features become local landmarks used as waymarkers in the jungle’s near-trackless depths or meeting places.
Read MoreMost shipwrecks hold items of curiosity or value to treasure-hunting explorers. The sunken ship’s cargo is likely valuable (but bulky and difficult to raise form the deep); other treasures are far more portable.
Read MoreDuring their exploration of a sunken ship, the characters will encounter many minor features of note.
Read More
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.