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.
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!
For 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 MoreLost to time and battered by the foulness of its surrounds, the decrepit and mouldering Decaying Citadel of the Fated Warlock slowly sinks into the Salt Mire…
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreSouth of dismal Coldwater, where the land grows wild and untamed, and the endless waves of the Bitter Sea batter Ashlar’s coast, the isolated hamlet of Barrowhurst huddles hard between slick sea cliffs of grey stone and the eastern fringes of the heavily wooded, rugged and steeply-sided but round-topped Ochel hills.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreOne of Dunstone’s tallest buildings, the Tower of the Astromancer, stands on Selka Street on the north edge of town. From here, it commands unrestrained views of the Mottled Spire and the open sky.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreFeral denizens of the deepest, wildest reaches of the Tangled Forest, the Bleached Skull gnolls are creatures of atavistic desires and sadistic lusts. Ferocious warriors and terrible foes, they worship the primal, blood‐soaked spirits of the woodlands and war with their neighbours for booty and sacrifices to bury alive beneath their sacred trees.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreSakarias Venemies was a brave warrior, but something he saw on his last adventure shattered his sanity.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreStraddling a shallow ford on the Tanu River, Bywater boasts an inn, a toll house and a handful of simple peasant homes. Sometimes, interesting or odd things are washed down the Tanu River and get stuck at the ford. Some of these things are sold at the Weary Traveller Inn.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreThe tribe was founded by the legendary goblin hero Iglex Fril, who survived an archmage’s symbol of death, which slew all his companions. Iglex was intelligent (for a goblin) and became obsessed with the wizard and the arcane symbol that could bring death to so many.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreThe wizened half-goblin druid Tal Nar has dwelt alone in the deep, trackless woods for decades. An outcast from his tribe, he has led a lonely life. With only the nameless, atavistic spirits of the primal forest, roving packs of wolves and the occasional bear for company Tal has sunk deep into insanity’s black pit.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreThe characters will be far from the only folk abroad.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreBandits lurk throughout the world. Whether they are persecuted peasants forced to make a life for themselves in the woods, freedom fighters struggling against a corrupt lord, or hardened criminals taking what they want, bandits are a danger to travelling adventuring bands.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreThis savage tribe of fearless, bloodthirsty and—above all—fecund orcs dwells deep in the southern woods, far from the easy reach of humanity’s retribution.
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 adventures.
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 adventures.
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 adventures.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreA hotbed of intrigue and deception, Longbridge is claimed by not one but two nobles—Wido Gall, lord of Dulwich, and Hilduin Lorsch, ruler of Woodridge. Both desire the bridge for its ability to generate taxes and tolls.
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 adventures.
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 adventures.
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 adventures.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
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.