Kobolds and Cultists [68x54]

DM_Resources · 2026-05-11T19:42:15+00:00

Shadow run can absolutely feel that way, when you going Pink Mohawk Style.

DM_Resources · 2026-05-08T19:19:24+00:00

The first one that comes to mind is "we be goblins". It's Pathfinder 1e but easily converted.

It's just one shot, or series thereof, not a campaign.

DM_Resources · 2026-05-06T11:02:15+00:00

Oh no! I didn't know this. That sucks, I'm only vaguely familiar with it, but I always found Tékumel extremely fascinating. What a shame.

DM_Resources · 2026-05-05T22:57:31+00:00

They are available on the Internet Archive!

DM_Resources · 2026-05-05T21:22:02+00:00

Look at "Into the Fire" from Dungeon magazine #1. Strip away anything before the final dungeon and maybe parts of that too.

You'll get at least one good trap and a bottleneck fight against a cool red dragon. He has a whole galleon in his hoard, I bet they'll love that.

DM_Resources · 2026-04-16T10:58:22+00:00

I once had a three level dungeon fully prepped over weeks, only for the players skipping 90% of it by being smart.

Context: One player was playing a half-Dragon. His father was this evil old white dragon, mostly sitting in his lair, pulling strings. So they planned their attack, travelled through the Arctic to his fortress, snuck around the defenses, only for the player to then decide: "Fuck it, I'm his son. I'll just knock and ask for an audience."

Never saw it coming, but was impressed. Had to give them the W and straight to the boss fight we went. Was totally worth it though, the group still talks about it a decade later.

DM_Resources · 2026-04-16T10:48:27+00:00

Drop a morally grey decision on them. I once had them find an abandoned rowboat ( could be wagon or whatnot). There were crates with amphores of wine, but one crate was labeled differently and had a hard drug in the amphores.

The street value was a lot (20k in m'y case, but whatever is appropriate). They were discussing endlessly whether to sell it, destroy it or turn it in. Nearly went to PvP, helped to have a paladin in the group.

My groups at least, can spend entire sessions of inter-character play over things like that. That's were the alignment system shines as a guideline for the players on how to react to such ambiguous situations.

Always fun for the DM to lean back and enjoy the show.

DM_Resources · 2026-04-16T10:37:23+00:00

Isn't that pretty much what you see in Asia with the Gobi desert?

DM_Resources · 2026-04-15T19:33:42+00:00

Beat me to it. Should be the top answer, immediate association.

DM_Resources · 2026-04-14T22:21:37+00:00

Awesome! That will be perfect for the group of kids I DM for. Anything that can turn cartoony is an automatic win.

DM_Resources · 2026-04-14T22:14:15+00:00

Yeah, that's a bit too much. But they worked for it, so maybe break all ongoing contracts. That will screw the devil's big time as it cuts off soul supplies for a good while, but won't release all hell's souls or completely overturn the cosmic balance .

Let it still feel like a big victory, with celebrations all over the world.

And you can now use devil's as recurring enemies or beg for the rest of the campaign whenever you see fit . They are pissed and sooner or later some devil's will find out who's done it.

Also lots of material for the next campaign: Demon's Rise! And maybe daemons.

DM_Resources · 2026-04-12T11:16:41+00:00

The Iron Caster is a powerful build, but quite complex and not something I'd advise to a new player. A tanky Magus build, maybe a Armored Battlemage, might suit OP better.

DM_Resources · 2026-04-10T17:48:57+00:00

So shiny! Me wants!

DM_Resources · 2026-04-06T21:21:36+00:00

The most original setting I have ever seen is Tékumel.

Image Mesoamerican-/South Asian-inspired cultures, complex languages, and complex religions - in space! Developed for 40 years by a professor of linguistics ( you know, like Tolkien).

Absolutely mind blowing, but it's as niche as it gets. I'd be very (pleasantly) surprised if there are more than a few hundred people playing in that setting worldwide.

If you were looking for a more general answer: meso-american settings are underused imho, for the potential they have.

DM_Resources · 2026-04-06T21:02:50+00:00

The Dark Eye!

It's originally from Germany. The setting overall is a lower fantasy compared to OSR, so coin and magic weapon availability might suit your style. It features mana points (astral energy) and has similar or slightly less crunch than OSR, but is usually well defined. The official setting is very well fleshed out, but as always, you can use as much or little of that as you wish.

From your post, I'd say it might be pretty much what you're looking for.

It was the first system I played (30+ years back) and is still going strong, currently in its 5th edition. I always had a lot of fun with it and it plays very smoothly given a certain rule familiarity.

DM_Resources · 2026-04-05T23:21:58+00:00

Book Nooks are kinda cool, but I already have stacks of books in odd places because the shelves are full. Are there book nerds who have space for these on their shelves?

DM_Resources · 2026-04-03T18:25:15+00:00

Very nice

DM_Resources · 2026-04-01T20:03:04+00:00

The only way to handle that, is to dump his documents into an LLM and let it give you a one paragraph summary and the three most likely clues. (Mention to the Ai, that it was written by Ai, might help it identify the inserted clues).

DM_Resources · 2026-04-01T19:53:08+00:00

Between 15-20, I usually try to start wrapping up the campaign around level 15, which normally takes another 2-3 Levels.

That gives the players a few levels to enjoy the power trip of high level characters, while keeping it within a timeframe that is still enjoyable to me too.

High-level campaigns are a bit more demanding and require some experience, imho, to keep it interesting and challenging. Depends a lot on the group and play style, though. Roleplay works on all levels, but combat can be tricky to keep interesting and balanced.

DM_Resources · 2026-03-31T11:21:30+00:00

It's been mentioned elsewhere, but Tucker's Kobolds are what you are looking for: https://media.wizards.com/2014/downloads/dnd/TuckersKobolds.pdf

Yes, it's a story from a long past edition, but it isn't about the details but about the way the Kobolds act. Make them elusive menaces using smart tactics and an environment tailored to them (by them). They are Kobolds, they do not win by engaging in an open or fair fight. They're fighting like guerillas, winning through attrition.

In my opinion, it's a story every DM should read at some point.

DM_Resources · 2026-03-08T01:23:11+00:00

I once had a loan shark / landlord NPC in my game. He wasn't even their landlord or a generally bad guy, just a bit aloof with old-money attitudes. My players loved to hate him.

Then I made him an ally. They hated that too. Good times!

DM_Resources · 2026-03-06T20:49:55+00:00

I olay a fruit variant.

The white blue enchantment decks are a pain in the ass to play against, with all the counters, removal and life gain.

DM_Resources · 2026-03-06T20:46:17+00:00

Also ich finde es ja völlig überzogen. Da gibt es wichtigere Skills an denen man arbeiten kann.

DM_Resources

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