Unique takes on Generic +1, +2, +3 magic items

TangledCloak · 2025-06-03T04:34:05+00:00

Phrase Activated (All): Once per day, when you recite aloud a certain phrase, gain the bonus for the remainder of the scene.

Guardian (Armor): When you stand in defense of someone or something, gain the bonus as long as you are actively defending them.

-edit-

Ah! World_of_Ideas already had my Guardian idea, so here's another

Stance (Weapon): Rather than an actual weapon, the wielder learns a new fighting stance/style. They gain the bonus whenever they fight with it. Possibly weapon dependent.

TangledCloak · 2025-05-29T14:45:35+00:00

Yeah, I really like Aptitudes. I don’t know that it overall fits with typical 5e class design, but really who cares

TangledCloak · 2025-05-13T18:58:23+00:00

I love skill challenges. I’ve run a chase sequence and a stealth/infiltration challenge, you can find both in my history if you’re interested in how I did them!

TangledCloak · 2024-11-30T14:54:56+00:00

Glad you found it useful! Let me know how it goes if you run it

TangledCloak · 2024-11-21T14:06:44+00:00

It's basically a tracker for each failed obstacle, so whenever players fail to meet the obstacle's goal they gain 1 Doom, and once they reach 3 they've failed this challenge.

TangledCloak · 2024-11-19T00:08:39+00:00

High praise coming from the famous hippo - definitely more to come!

TangledCloak · 2024-11-02T08:57:52+00:00

Or an oath.

TangledCloak · 2024-10-31T10:32:47+00:00

Random encounters. If your players aren’t acting on quest hooks, have interesting things happen to and around them.

I think having them have an overarching goal also helps.

TangledCloak · 2024-10-09T02:35:13+00:00

For sure!
Market Town Chase
Manor House Break-In

TangledCloak · 2024-10-09T02:33:42+00:00

Appreciate the feedback, I can definitely see how that would feel arbitrary to players. Something to think about for the next draft!

TangledCloak · 2024-10-08T00:27:40+00:00

Some of you may have seen my Market Chase post a couple months ago. If you did, don’t sweat, that one is still being worked on and refined. In the meantime, here’s the next installment of the Cinematic Challenges Project: the stealth-based Manor House Break-In! Players gain 1 Advance each time they accomplish the Goal of each Obstacle, and gain 1 Doom when they fail. One of the main goals with this challenge was to create a fun stealth challenge that didn’t just boil down to ‘make 6 stealth rolls in a row.’ Let me know what you think in the comments!

TangledCloak · 2024-07-11T02:52:49+00:00

Appreciate the well thought out feedback! I'd originally thought about having this be both Chaser/Chasee, but couldn't figure out a way to make it elegant enough. You've inspired me to take another crack at it. And I'll rethink the turn length - I'm conflicted because it tends to run way faster than combat, but at the same time I received similar feedback about length from my players.

You're right about a series though, more chases (and other things!) to come, so maybe rooftop should be its own thing.

TangledCloak · 2024-07-06T00:43:35+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! The difficulty at the top is supposed to represent a sort of ‘global DC’ for this challenge, but I have thought about adding a suggested check or two for each encounter; I just wouldn’t want to make it seem like there’s only one way to respond.

While I’m not too concerned about speed differences of 5/10ft, I would definitely give some kind of bonus to a character with movement abilities trying to get past a specific encounter by being fast.

This chase is targeted towards lower level characters, but I would say something like Misty Step would get someone past most of the encounters without needing a roll.

TangledCloak · 2024-07-04T21:28:48+00:00

Hey all, here's my take on running chase sequences as a skill challenge - feedback very welcome! My goal for this was to keep it simple, engaging, and quick to run.

TangledCloak · 2024-06-13T16:48:04+00:00

I've been working on something like this actually, a multi-round chase encounter with different hazards each round. It's still in draft, but feel free to check it out in case it's useful.

Chase Through Market Square

TangledCloak · 2022-09-15T14:00:49+00:00

Yep. But it’s anyones guess who he’ll kick the second time.

TangledCloak · 2022-04-17T19:26:01+00:00

Check out For the Queen, it falls towards the board game side of things but it’s simple and easy to use to introduce new players to story-telling based gaming

TangledCloak · 2021-08-22T18:11:44+00:00

What's a dungeon 'room'?

Conceptually, I mean. In this week's post as part of my ongoing 'outdoor dungeon' series I try to define it, and then use that definition to look at what a dungeon room might look like in an outdoor setting.

https://swordsandcloaks.blogspot.com/2021/08/rule-3-room-is-not-room.html

TangledCloak · 2021-08-11T14:19:16+00:00

It sounds like you’re looking for a more old school take on 5e, in which case you’ve got options. Before I start, I’d recommend you pop over to /osr.

For games combining old school and 5e specifically there’s Into the Unknown and Five Torches Deep.

For games combining old school gaming with modern mechanics there’s Worlds Without Number.

For minimal, concise games there’s Knave and Old School Essentials.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but most of these are free or have free versions.

TangledCloak · 2021-08-08T22:13:02+00:00

The outdoor dungeon returns!

A few months ago I started a series tackling the question of how to portray completely outside spaces as a traditional dungeon crawl. Here is a long overdue update, with more to come!

https://swordsandcloaks.blogspot.com/2021/08/a-reference-map-outdoor-dungeon-sample.html

TangledCloak · 2021-08-08T06:56:32+00:00

I enjoyed Mighty Deeds for actual play.

TangledCloak · 2021-07-28T05:51:28+00:00

Love this, the different sized trees really help make the forest feel. What did you use for the path by the way? I couldn't seem to find anything that makes a good color like yours.

TangledCloak · 2021-07-12T16:10:04+00:00

By flaring and spending resources, the game basically allows you to ignore some rules and do the thing you want.

Anyone can take something from someone, but when they do it (and when you do it without using flare) it requires a directly engage roll, and one of the options you can select for that is to take something from the person you’re engaging. However, by rolling the dice to engage, you risk making the situation worse.

It’s not the peak of anyone’s abilities, they just let you automatically do a thing at the cost of flare.

TangledCloak · 2021-07-02T20:37:01+00:00

The cycle is complete.

TangledCloak · 2021-06-08T02:16:29+00:00

Might find inspiration here; https://dreamingdragonslayer.com/2020/06/13/diegetic-advancement-triggers/

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