The Sins of Game Mastering # 5: The Sin of Lust
Lust’s passion will be served; it demands, it militates, it tyrannizes.- Marquis de Sade Honestly, I was a bit terrified when I first approached this sin. At first, I thought I’d side step the...
Category: Game-Mastering Advice
Legacy Items: Magic Items that Scale, Part 3.5
Note: Except for the artwork, the content of this article is designated as Open Game Content. (Click here for the license.) Part 3.5: Apotheosis Items In my previous piece on creating magic items that grow in...
Exemplary Elves Part 2: Einolar – The Wood Wardens – A Wood Elf Culture
The first elven culture I’m attempting to engineer is a version of the wood elves, based on my previous discussion about what the game mechanics tell us about elves in the new edition. I...
Gaining an Edge in the Great Bazaar, Part 3: Avoiding Trouble
Note: The text below continues from a previous article and its sequel. This installment constitutes Part III in the sequence. Avoiding Trouble There are four dangers adventurers should worry about while shopping for unusual equipment in a city:...
Gaining an Edge in the Great Bazaar, Part 2: Making a Deal
Note: The text below continues from a previous article, and constitutes Part II in a three-part sequence. Making a Deal. When you discover wonderful stuff in a marketplace — if you somehow get a great deal...
Gaining an Edge in the Great Bazaar, Part 1: Knowing Where to Shop
Fresh from a lucrative quest and loaded with gold, the adventurers have arrived in a city large enough to handle a thriving market. “I wonder if I can find someone who will sell me a...
To Invoke the Magic, Create Some Mystery
by Lash Vance This column represents a different sort of voice for the Ludus — it’s the voice of a player, rather than the voice of a DM. Do you remember the very first...
Reopening the Tavern Scene
If you flip through enough GM guidance, you see repeated disdain for one fantasy-gaming trope in particular: the tavern opening. You know the one: You’re all sitting in a bar full of tough mercenaries, enjoying...
Legacy Items: Magic Items that Scale, Part 3
Part 3: Enhanced Attunement Items I’ve now written about Reconstructed Items, portions of a larger item that carry minor powers and that have to be reassembled to reach their full potential, and about Mastery...
Richer Alignments Why most characters should have two alignments, not one
Dating back to the early days of Gygax and Arneson, alignment is an old standard of Dungeons & Dragons, one of the bits that makes D&D feel like D&D. With every new edition, however, alignment feels more and...
