Why does your character care more than you do?
Let’s say your character knew a path to greater power - even godlike power. It’s not even a dark ritual, because they can acquire it while make the world better. They’d go for it, right? So why won’t you?
Give them a world that lives and breathes
Take your humble campaign. Now imagine it avoids the blunders a billion-dollar studio stumbled into. How cool is that, hey?
When hit points don’t exist
Spend a few minutes thinking about hit points and you’ll realise they don’t make sense. There’s an easy fix to most of the problems - stop thinking they always exist.
QQ&A: How to do horror
How do you add horror to D&D? The first step is seeing how you can’t.
Unboring drow: more than just cave-elves
The drow have some of the most awesome roleplaying fodder of any race. It’s a shame so many folks ignore the unique and awesome parts of the race. Here’s how to make them special.
I don’t care if my campaign offends you
I have a record for being socially progressive… so why am I ignoring impassioned pleas to end cultural appropriation? What, “because they’re ridiculous” isn’t a good enough reason?
Many alarms and a few surprises
How do your players know what’s around the next corner? “They don’t because you haven’t rolled the random encounter yet?” Bah. You don’t need randomness to surprise them - in fact, it helps if you design your worlds deeper.
The Sword of Divinity? Or the Shackles of Gold?
Concerned about giving out magic items? Worried about overpowering your PCs? No matter - here’s an approach guaranteed to add balance.
QQ&A: Beauty and charisma
This week’s question: “Why do so many people think that the Charisma stat relates to physical attractiveness?” That’s an easy one to answer, even if most folks get it wrong.
Unboring mimics: more than “gotcha!” traps
Most mimics are boring HP leeches that teach players to play in the dullest way possible. That’s a shame, given how terrifying they’d be in real life. Here’s how to add fairness, horror and even humour back into your mimics.
The rare occasion I hate individuality
Dungeons and Dragons isn’t just a game. Even games aren’t “just” games - they’re connections into something greater than even ourselves.
Star Trek’s biggest oversights
Star Trek, despite its many successes, failed on two fronts. The first is technological. The second is harder, but I show you how to overcome it.
Why do graveyards exist in your world?
At first glance, graveyards in a fantasy world make no sense. They’re a risk - an easy target for any necromancer. Here’s why your villages would have them anyway.
QQ&A: Spamming rolls
Would you homebrew a monster with high HP but no attack of any kind? No? Then why do you do that with your skill challenges?
Unboring half-orcs: more than civilised brutes
Half-orcs - the go-to race when you want to play someone savage and wild. That’s not the only way to run them, though. Here’s how to add some spice to your half-orc characters.
More than simple escapism
Tabletop adventures are “just” games, they say. I say, games are no small thing. Here’s how and why they can transform not only lives but entire societies.
My ugly, picture-free creature guide
I couldn’t have made this guide less flashy and striking if I’d tried. The dull design isn’t a bad thing - here’s why I think it’s Footprints’ feature.
Magic Rules! 7 Unboring Governments for Fantasy Realms
Sick of boring empires and monarchies? With magic, anything is possible - and that includes weird, wacky and wild forms of government.
QQ&A: Improve Help by ignoring it
I love the idea of the Help action, so why don’t I encourage players to use it? Here’s why it’s beyond improving.
Unboring tieflings: more than charismatic pariahs
Sick of demonspawn who are dull, derivative and self-contradictory? Unboring Tieflings shows what they can look like with a bit of extra spice.