Time for a free map! I love drawing maps for Dungeons & Dragons adventures. I have far too many, though, so I like to give away my hand-drawn maps when I can. This is one I made for a friend a while ago. Super-Fortress! The PCs are at war, invading a towering super-fortress to unseatContinue reading “Free Fantasy Map – Super-Fortress”
Tag Archives: Role Playing Games
Free Map – Forest Cliff
Time for a free map! I love drawing maps for Dungeons & Dragons adventures. I have far too many, though, so I like to give away my hand-drawn maps when I can. This map is 1750×1750 (25×25 squares), in grid and non-grid versions, perfect for Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds! Forest Cliff The party makes itsContinue reading “Free Map – Forest Cliff”
Free Map – Dwarven Mine Camp!
Time for a free map! I love drawing maps for Dungeons & Dragons adventures. I have far too many, though, so I like to give away my hand-drawn maps when I can. This Week: Dwarven Mine Camp You know how it is, the party sees that interesting cave entrance just off to the side ofContinue reading “Free Map – Dwarven Mine Camp!”
Murder on the Dance Floor – Dealing with Dissent in TRPG Games
What do you do when players cause dissent in your game? (And believe me, even if it hasn’t happened in one of your games yet, it WILL happen.) Here’s a few suggestions: Establishing Ground Rules Make sure you set ground rules about behaviour in your session zero, such as being respectful of others, allowing everyoneContinue reading “Murder on the Dance Floor – Dealing with Dissent in TRPG Games”
Free Map – Desert Outpost Ruin
Time for a free map! I love drawing maps for Dungeons & Dragons adventures. I have far too many, though, so I like to give away my hand-drawn maps when I can. Select you preferred version below: with a grid for home games, or grid-less for Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds! Desert Outpost Ruin This desertContinue reading “Free Map – Desert Outpost Ruin”
Free Map – Wasteland Ruins
Time for a free map! I love drawing maps for Dungeons & Dragons adventures. I have far too many, though, so I like to give away my hand-drawn maps when I can. This map is grid-less, perfect for Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds! Wasteland Ruins I created this map for the final showdown between Demogorgon andContinue reading “Free Map – Wasteland Ruins”
Curse of Strahd: Weeks 21-24
Hi all, Over the last few weeks I’ve been posting some warts-and-all email summaries of the Curse of Strahd campaign I ran in 2017. This is the first campaign I started sending summaries to players by email after each game (I was a bit lazy prior to that). Some of the summaries may be dull,Continue reading “Curse of Strahd: Weeks 21-24”
Free Map: Wizard’s Manor
Time for a free map! I love drawing maps for Dungeons & Dragons adventures. I have far too many, though, so I like to give away my hand-drawn maps when I can. This map is grid-less, perfect for Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds! Wizard’s Manor This single-story manor was built on a clifftop overlooking the seaContinue reading “Free Map: Wizard’s Manor”
Free Map: Lava Rift!
Time for a free map! I love drawing maps for D&D adventures. I have far too many, though, so I like to give away my hand-drawn maps when I can. This week: Lava Rift! Gotta love lava! I made this map for an Out of the Abyss campaign I finished not long ago, but youContinue reading “Free Map: Lava Rift!”
Review – Pathfinder 2e Gamemastery Guide & Advanced Players Guide
I’ve really fallen behind in reviews of the excellent Pathfinder 2e (P2e) products I’ve been buying. Here’s two brief reviews to make up for it: Anyone who has bought the P2e Core Rulebook will know it’s a hefty tome, both in size and price. I know Paizo (the company that makes the game) was tryingContinue reading “Review – Pathfinder 2e Gamemastery Guide & Advanced Players Guide”
Free Old School Map: Walled Town
Time for a free map! I love drawing maps for Dungeons & Dragons adventures. I have far too many, though, so I like to give away my hand-drawn maps when I can. This week: Old School Walled Town! I drew this map many years ago and I think it still holds up. This frontier walledContinue reading “Free Old School Map: Walled Town”
Laidback DM: OP Characters and the Players Who Love Them
Every DM knows one. Some know many. What am I talking about? Players who spend their lives working out the best options to make themselves the most powerful (or “optimised”) characters in the game. But is there anything wrong with that? Here’s some pros and cons you might want to think about, followed by someContinue reading “Laidback DM: OP Characters and the Players Who Love Them”
Free Map – Labyrinth Tunnels
Time for a free map! I love drawing maps for Dungeons & Dragons adventures. I have far too many, though, so I like to give away my hand-drawn maps when I can. This week: Labyrinth Tunnels I drew this map for a recent Out of the Abyss campaign I ran. It’s a section of theContinue reading “Free Map – Labyrinth Tunnels”
Laidback DM – Theater vs. Grid
As a DM I like to run combat different ways. Sometimes it’s with miniatures and pawns on a 1-inch square grid. Sometimes it’s all in the imagination, what we like to call ‘Theater of the Mind’ (TOTM). Here’s the pros and cons for both: Grid/Battle Mat Pros: * Precise – allows players and DM toContinue reading “Laidback DM – Theater vs. Grid”
Laidback DM: Pawns vs. Miniatures
When I run face-to-face (IRL for all you young whippersnappers) role playing games, I like using a grid and pawns for combat (that’s not to say I don’t like using Theater of the Mind – I do, I just prefer using grids for larger scale battles). In some games I’ve used combinations of pawns andContinue reading “Laidback DM: Pawns vs. Miniatures”
RPG. A poem.
My game is never done Or lost or won Even when the final die is cast And the last Player upon this infinite stage Writes their page Another memorable tale It’s safe to say That lives on in mind and soul The final The ultimate And ever-lasting Goal. For more Poetry, click here. For moreContinue reading “RPG. A poem.”
Laidback DM: Virtual Tabletops and The FTF gamer.
So, you’ve never played D&D or your preferred role playing game online before? Now’s the perfect time to do it. I was a virtual tabletop virgin. All my games were face-to-face (FTF) and the idea of playing a game specifically designed for FTF social contact on a computer didn’t appeal to me at all. IContinue reading “Laidback DM: Virtual Tabletops and The FTF gamer.”
Laidback DM: Raw Dice and Partying on the Edge
I know you’ve been there, no doubt many times: a planned encounter, meticulously balanced to allow the party a measure of challenge, but one that you know they should get through reasonably well. And then: amazingly bad dice rolls; the astoundingly poor use of abilities; the splitting of the party at the worst of times;Continue reading “Laidback DM: Raw Dice and Partying on the Edge”
Laidback DM: Pathfinder 2e Reviews – Bestiary Battle Cards
The Pathfinder 2e Bestiary Battle Cards are a heavy box of 450 large-sized monster cards for GMs who run live games. Every monster in the P2e Bestiary book is included, the more powerful ones sometimes spanning two cards. Each card is 4 x 6 inches and has great artwork from the Bestiary. As a DMContinue reading “Laidback DM: Pathfinder 2e Reviews – Bestiary Battle Cards”
Laidback DM: Pathfinder 2e Reviews – The Show Must Go On
Right on the heels of the Age of Ashes Adventure Path comes Extinction Curse. I’m very impressed at the way Paizo churns out adventures for their products every month, especially when they are all of such excellent quality. Each one is packed full of new monsters, spells, feats, magic items and lore, and the packagingContinue reading “Laidback DM: Pathfinder 2e Reviews – The Show Must Go On”
Laidback DM: P2e Review – Bestiary Pawn Box
I love combat on a grid, but minis are too costly and take up too much space. I prefer to use pawns for this reason and Paizo makes some of the best. I recently bought the new Pathfinder 2e Bestiary Pawn Box, which is absolutely huge. It contains 378 pawns featuring every single monster fromContinue reading “Laidback DM: P2e Review – Bestiary Pawn Box”
Laidback DM: P2e Review – Broken Promises
Time I got back to reviewing some Pathfinder stuff! I’ve been buying literally everything, so here’s my opinion. All good things come to an end, and this final adventure in the Age of Ashes Adventure Path pulls no punches. It’s for 18th-20th level characters and features some pretty hard challenges. An assault on the PC’sContinue reading “Laidback DM: P2e Review – Broken Promises”
Laidback DM: Taking the Roll20 Plunge…
I’ve always played tabletop role playing games (TTRPGs) face-to-face, ever since I was knee-high to a tadpole, a loooooooooong time ago. Yes, I have a background in information technology; yes, at one point I could program…stuff; yes, everyone always came to me at work to fix their computer issues (“Have you tried switching it onContinue reading “Laidback DM: Taking the Roll20 Plunge…”
Laidback DM: SHOTGLASS ADVENTURES 3: BLACK MERIDIAN HEART in Print/Digital
SHOTGLASS ADVENTURES 3: BLACK MERIDIAN HEART is now available in digital PDF and print from DrivethruRPG! 136 pages of awesome, mind bending adventures and campaign materials for 5e and OSR role playing games! Published under the OGL, inside you’ll find: · 10 one-shot adventures of all varieties – investigation, dungeon crawl, planar, puzzle, quest, roleContinue reading “Laidback DM: SHOTGLASS ADVENTURES 3: BLACK MERIDIAN HEART in Print/Digital”
Laidback DM: P2e Review – Against the Scarlet Triad
Time I got back to reviewing some Pathfinder stuff! I’ve been buying literally everything, so here’s my opinion. The 5th adventure in the Age of Ashes Adventure Path progresses characters from 15th-17th level. It’s time to face the Scarlet Triad in their home town of Katapesh, battling a Wendigo in the town of Flinderplain andContinue reading “Laidback DM: P2e Review – Against the Scarlet Triad”
Laidback DM: P2e Review – Fires of the Haunted City
Time I got back to reviewing some Pathfinder stuff! I’ve been buying literally everything, so here’s my (short) opinion. The Age of Ashes Adventure Path continues with this adventure for 12th-14th level characters. The PCs use one of their portals to get to the underground Dwarven city of Kovlar and the nearby haunted city ofContinue reading “Laidback DM: P2e Review – Fires of the Haunted City”
Vantage Point. A haiku.
From this vantage point Worlds beyond reality Call to adventure For more Poetry, click here. For more of my poetry, check out Poetry for the Sad, Lonely and Hopelessly Endangered and The All or the Nothing, available in print or e-book formats. Click here to find out how to get your copy.
Laidback DM – Free D&D 5e Adventure
Hi all, Here’s a free copy of one of my adventures from Shotglass Adventures volume 1. It was a winner in the 2019 One-Page Dungeon Contest. This image is 1200 dpi so you can view it easily on tablets and PCs. Just right click on laptop/PC or hold your finger on the image on yourContinue reading “Laidback DM – Free D&D 5e Adventure”
Laidback DM – Running Big Parties
Nope – this isn’t a post about hosting huge drunkfests the whole street will remember. But nerdfests? Bring it on… There’s a reason most modules are written for four players. Over time this was considered the average number of players most DMs could get together for one game session. Times have changed though, and withContinue reading “Laidback DM – Running Big Parties”
Laidback DM: Pathfinder 2e Reviews – Lost Omens Character Guide
I’ve been buying most of the Pathfinder 2e products, so I may as well review them. Paizo has a monthly release schedule for their products, which is great for those of us with collector mentalities that like to have everything (but terrible for our erstwhile budgets). I was pretty impressed with the Lost Omens WorldContinue reading “Laidback DM: Pathfinder 2e Reviews – Lost Omens Character Guide”
Laidback DM: SteveStillStanding.com 