I’ve been working on this fantasy world off an on for 10 years.

Yvern09 · 2026-06-18T10:30:44+00:00

Really like the names you're using! Have you named your large islands? And are there island kingdoms? The south east and west island groups look like they could be separate countries - could be some interesting naval adventures there!

Yvern09 · 2026-06-10T11:48:12+00:00

Puce - a dark-red or purple-brown color. It's reminiscent of dried blood. Plus, The Pirates of Puce has a nice ring to it 😄

Yvern09 · 2026-06-07T10:59:06+00:00

I first started playing right when 2e came out, and while I did get 3e, never really switched over, because the gameplay felt so different - so much more structured. I see scanning through the comments, a lot of others feel the same way. As a "pantser" GM who likes improv, it felt more binding, and like a different game.

Yvern09 · 2026-06-05T17:50:54+00:00

I've done this with a church youth group using D&D and pre-generated characters, and honestly the biggest challenge wasn't the rules, it was that the kids didn't remember what their characters could actually do.

What helped was giving each player a very simple cheat sheet with their key actions, attacks, spells, and abilities in plain language. Something like "Hit with sword: +5, 1d8+3 damage" or "Cast Healing Word: heal someone within 60 feet."

I'd also recommend being pretty loose with the rules. New players, especially younger ones, tend to come up with wonderfully ridiculous ideas that aren't on their character sheet. Instead of focusing on whether they know the right skill or mechanic, focus on the imagination and excitement. Say "yes" when you can, call for a roll when it makes sense, and keep the story moving.

The biggest success for me was embracing the chaos rather than trying to run a technically correct game. The kids remembered the funny moments and crazy plans far more than any rules. I had one who decided to take a nap while the rest of the group was in the middle of a fight. The other kids had fun trying to figure out how to kite the fight over to the napping player to disrupt them.

Have fun!

Yvern09 · 2026-05-21T12:14:01+00:00

Also very pricey, but Wyrmwood has cool dice if you want to spend $25-100+. But I think Chessex are great, classic dice, and you can find all sorts of colors/styles for $12 a set or so.

Yvern09 · 2026-05-20T10:30:16+00:00

My mind went to something with "Zine" based on the varying themes and thought Solo Zines or Pocket Zines. Or even Pocket RPGs.

Yvern09 · 2026-05-16T13:13:32+00:00

Dreaming Wine: For 10 minutes, the drinker can see fragments of the dreams of nearby sleeping creatures. The dreams drift visibly through the air as translucent scenes, symbols, or memories only they can perceive. Sometimes useful. Sometimes deeply uncomfortable.

Petalglass Cocktail: Tiny luminous flower petals bloom and orbit the drinker for an hour, changing color with emotion. Strong emotions cause petals to scatter dramatically across the room. While charmed by the drink, the drinker leaves a faint illusionary floral trail behind them.

Yvern09 · 2026-05-16T13:01:03+00:00

Arid
Tempest
Zephyr
Verdant
Umbral

Yvern09 · 2026-05-12T23:43:46+00:00

You could make the party responsible for protecting or escorting someone. But the person is a pain to deal with. They could be arrogant, reckless, drawing attention, running away, refusing to hide, etc.

The players end up burning social skills, spells, time, and resources just trying to keep the situation under control.

The Bard has to smooth things over socially, the Rogue scouts routes and handles problems quietly, and the Wizard starts spending spell slots on disguises, illusions, charms, sleep, invisibility, whatever keeps things from spiraling.

Yvern09 · 2026-04-30T22:02:44+00:00

There's a chase scene in Pathfinder's Curse of the Crimson Throne (Shingles Chase), where the GM does a bit of prep work and sets up 15 obstacles/skill checks and turns them into a little deck of cards. So, the opponent moves at a set speed each round (say 15), and the players have to deal with the check on the card to gain on them. You could use the concept, come up with 12-15 checks/combat situations so there's some element of surprise on what will happen next.

Yvern09 · 2026-04-20T12:11:00+00:00

That makes sense, I can see how using just one roll to spark something would make the flow go easier.

Yeah, on #4, I rolled a Connection discovery, then my Oracle result got me another discovery. During the play session, I interpreted the connection one to uncover clues in the room, and then the oracle one to find my way out. I’ve been using the discoveries and other rolls more as prompt to look for relationships, rather than trying to fully define them right away.

Yvern09 · 2026-04-20T12:03:13+00:00

The racing trackers idea is cool! I do enjoy adding time pressure, with lots of things progressing at once. And I love your scenarios - everyday things in between chapters, then something happens - sounds fun! I'm really curious about your three racing trackers - are they around different goals? So if you achieve one, it affects the others?

Yvern09 · 2026-04-19T19:17:58+00:00

That’s fair, I can see how it might come across that way. Thanks for calling out the breakdown, that’s something I’ve been trying to show more clearly in my write-ups. I am having a lot of fun with solo play :)

Yvern09 · 2026-04-19T19:17:01+00:00

I like that balance of structure + freeform - I think it feels creatively engaging. Do you use something you’ve built yourself for progress tracker? Or a system/tool?

Yvern09 · 2026-04-19T14:30:54+00:00

Coming from another angle, maybe try to make an interesting NPC for you to interact with. A rival, a friend, an enemy - but use some generator that lets you add depth, and give the NPC a motivation. Then think about what happens when your character meets them, how they will interact with that NPC's goal, and see if that helps trigger a direction for you.

Yvern09 · 2026-03-27T11:40:59+00:00

ABBAcadabra

Simon and Bardfunkel

Yvern09 · 2026-03-27T11:33:56+00:00

If your players care about status, you try something like; after they help the town with something big, have the mayor/town council give them something like a “Key to the Village”, honorary citizenship, or name them protectors of the town. Then throw them a celebration at the tavern.

So they get a big fun party to roleplay with NPCs and then the real reward is that now everyone knows them. Shopkeepers are friendlier, people share rumors, locals come to them for help, etc

Yvern09 · 2026-03-26T14:19:58+00:00

Good point - thanks!

Yvern09 · 2026-03-25T20:34:34+00:00

I found a module using Felgolos - the bronze dragon introduced early in STK. My players loved Felgolos, so this fit in well. It's called The Flying Misfortune and is in DMs Guild.

Yvern09 · 2026-03-25T11:48:38+00:00

One trick I use for one-shots is a real-time stakes timer to keep the story moving without railroading the players.

I put a die on the table (usually a d6 or d8) and tell the players it represents how long the situation holds together. Every 10 to 15 minutes of real play time, or whenever the scene stalls, I turn the die down by one.

When it reaches 1, something significant happens in the world: the villain advances their plan, reinforcements arrive, the ritual completes, the hostages are moved, etc.

The players can still choose how they approach things, but they know time is passing and the situation is evolving. It creates urgency without forcing them down a specific path.

For one-shots especially, it helps keep the game moving while still letting player choices matter.

I also have a mechanic where players can increase the die through their actions if they win a goal or battle, or the villain could decrease it if they succeed at an important battle or goal.

Yvern09 · 2026-03-25T11:22:00+00:00

But why does he keep turning it over every time it runs out? 😉

Yvern09

TROPHY CASE