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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?
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Sometimes ice-spitting or fire-breathing but always head- regenerating nightmares of bedtime stories and epic quests, the hydra is a challenge for any company of heroes. Use these lists, to add depth and flavour to the hydra dens in your campaign.
Read MoreThe squat, reptilian basilisk has the terrifying ability to transform its prey into stone before shattering the statues into edible chunks to feast upon. Use these lists, to add depth and flavour to the basilisk’s dens in your campaign.
Read MoreIdyll seems like the perfect place to live, but subtle signs something is not right are scattered throughout the village. Why are the residents reluctant to leave the village’s precincts? Why are there so few children in such a prosperous place? How has the village stayed unspoiled with the wasteland surrounding it? Why is the seemingly empty Wardens’ Lodge that once served as the centre of law for Idyll so ominous? Those who investigate Idyll’s mystery too deeply may discover plane-shattering secrets. Whether the curious can capitalise on these secrets is yet another question.
Read MoreOne of the most commonly encountered forms of undead, ghouls—and their more powerful brethren, ghasts—are rightly feared by adventurers for their paralysing touch and disease-ridden fangs.However, it often seems ghouls end up as nothing more than generic, bland enemies. That’s a shame as their appearance and accoutrements could provide clues as to their fate and inject more flavour and detail into an otherwise standard combat encounter.
Read MoreWhat makes an exciting, memorable encounter? Are four orcs in a chamber whose only purpose is to guard a chest and get whacked to death by the PCs good design? Absolutely not.
Thousands of words have been written about the mechanics of encounter design. Such mechanics are undoubtedly important, but there are other, foundational aspects of good encounter design a GM should consider when designing an adventure and its constituent encounters.
Read MoreI’m not trying to start a fight. Instead, I’m trying to understand what common problems GMs face when preparing or running our games.
Read MoreI’ve written before about how to be a good gamer. Sometimes it’s fun—and useful—to look at the other side of the coin. Sometimes it’s worthwhile thinking about how you could ruin a gaming session. Knowing what ruins a gaming session makes it easier to avoid doing those things.
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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.