Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes fully fleshed-out notes, music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

We're back at it again with another Fully Prepped Mini-Campaign; Dragon of Icespire Peak, A level 1-6 Adventure that's a bit frosty! This is part of the Essentials Kit; released between Dragon of Stormwreck Isle and The Lost Mine of Phandelver all created by WoTC.

Dragon of Icespire Peak is a bit different from the other two I've prepped; not only is it more of a sandbox, but it also has the ability to be run with just one player which is a huge plus for those of you who can't get larger groups together! I'll be incorporating the recommendations from both Bob the World Builder and Sly Flourish along with my own tweaks to make this one of the best experiences you can have running this Mini-Campaign!

If you've used my previous notes you'll know that I take adventures such as these and do all the difficult and time-consuming book-to-session conversions so you don't have to! I do my best to include ambiance for every scene, custom battle maps, handouts when needed, spell sheets, encounter sheets, and more!

This may all sound familiar, but seeing as this is a Starter/Essentials Kit, I think it's important to reiterate:

• Read the Adventure: I know surprising, but it can be extremely confusing when you don't know where everything leads to.
• Consider the needs of your group: As you've heard or are about to hear a million times, every table is different. If you plan on combining this with a campaign, you'll have to make tweaks here and there.
• These notes aren't meant to be the end-all-be-all: Tweak to your heart's content, and don't consider any of what's written to be set in stone. For me having notes like this helps give me the confidence to go off the rails and follow along with what my players want. It helps me understand where things are meant to go and why. Having that understanding allows me to guide the players and create other new and interesting stories. These are all things that will come with experience, though, so don't freak out and enjoy the journey!

Without further ado:

• Google Docs Notes for Part 1 Phandalin: DM Notes
• Link to: Phandalin Playlist
• Link to: The AAA Collection

Included in The AAA Collection is:

• A Word document with all my notes including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
• Custom Map of Phandalin

Over 5 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,
Advent

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes fully fleshed-out notes, music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

Don't Say Vecna is a level 20 One-Shot by Michael Galvis and Mike Bernier that will have your players tasked with investigating a wizard tower that mysteriously disappeared from the Material Plane. Their exploration will reveal the forbidden secrets three scholars discovered and what fates befell them. Will your player be able to handle the might of Vecna!?

Fortunately, even if they can, there's a modified stat block to really throw the full power of the Arch-lich himself!

*Estimated Session Length: 4-6hrs

*Important Note: If using the revised statblock it is recommended to allow your players to pick the following Magic items:

• Legendary/Artifact x1
• Very Rare x2
• Rare x3
• Uncommon x 4

Without further ado:

• Google Docs Notes for Don't Say Vecna: DM Notes
• Link to: Don't Say Vevcna Playlist
• Link to: Don't Say Vecna PDF (Original D&DBeyond Post)
• Link to: Revised Vecna Statblock
• Link to: Vecna Dossier
• Link to: The AAA Collection

Included in The AAA Collection is:

• A Word document with all my notes, including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
• Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks organized neatly, along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP
• Revised Vecna Statblock for those who want a greater challenge
• Custom Maps of Cientia Tower

Over 5 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

If you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,
Advent

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes fully fleshed-out notes, music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

Dragons of Stormwreck Isle, is a level 1-3 Adventure, the most recent Starter Set, and successor to The Lost Mine of Phandelver released by WoTC. In it, your players will sail to Stormwreck Isle, an island shaped by an age of conflict between Chromatic and Metallic Dragons. They'll be able to befriend kobolds, explore fungal grottos, fight those twisted by Orcus, and perhaps save the very island itself!

Have your players create their own characters or jump right in using the Pre-Gens that are built with backstories integrated into the plot!

If you've used my previous notes, you'll know that I take Adventures such as these and do all the difficult and time-consuming book-to-session conversions, so you don't have to! I do my best to include Ambiance for every scene, custom battle maps, handouts when needed, spell sheets, encounter sheets, and more!

This may all sound familiar, but seeing as this is a Starter Set, I think it's important to reiterate:

• Read the Adventure: I know surprising, but it can be extremely confusing when you don't know where everything leads to.
• Consider the needs of your group: As you've heard or are about to hear a million times, every table is different. If you plan on combining this with a campaign, you'll have to make tweaks here and there.
• These notes aren't meant to be the end-all-be-all: Tweak to your heart's content, and don't consider any of what's written to be set in stone. For me having notes like this helps give me the confidence to go off the rails and follow along with what my players want. It helps me understand where things are meant to go and why. Having that understanding allows me to guide the players and create other new and interesting stories. These are all things that will come with experience, though, so don't freak out and enjoy the journey!

Without further ado:

Index & FAQ:

Dragons of Stormwreck Isle:

• Part 1 - Dragon's Rest
• Part 2 - Seagrow Cave
• Part 3 - Cursed Shipwreck
• Part 4 - Clifftop Observatory

Over 5 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,

Advent

I really like the rules to this system. Especially the 3d6 method of rolling

Be a DM

Make the Bad guy of the Region a Merchant that sell useful stuff with a trade-off

Create connections with the players so that when they discover he's the bad guy from the start they are shocked

Have your players try and steal all his stuff and start the fight with the Bad guy in his Dangerous Form 3 sessions ahead of what you predicted

They just wanted the Kart to make it easier to travel around

Welcome to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

The Lost Mine of Phandelver is a classic, one of the very first Mini-Campaigns that new DM's run. Heck, it's part of the starter set after all! The issue though, as with many other modules, is that it doesn't describe the best way to transform the contents of the book into an actual session. The Book-to-session conversion can be difficult. Between figuring out when things should happen, understanding motivations and even balancing encounters.

Well fortunately for you 99% of that work is done! Only a few things are really left:

1. Consider the needs of your group. As you've heard or are about to hear a million times, every table is different. If you plan on combining this with a campaign you'll have to make tweaks here and there. (Bonus points if you include your players' backstory)
2. These notes aren't meant to be end-all-be-all. Tweak to your heart's content and don't consider any of what's written to be set in stone. For me, having notes like this helps give me the confidence to go off the rails and follow along with what my players want. It helps me understand where things were meant to go and why. Having that understanding allows me to guide the players and create other new and interesting stories. These are all things that will come with experience though, so don't freak out and enjoy the journey!

Included in my posts are:

• A Word document for each part of the LMoP with detailed notes for running a perfect session including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
• Special PDFs for every encounter. This includes all the enemies' stat blocks organized neatly along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP.
• Additional PDFs for allies and commoners
• A variety of maps for each part of the campaign
• Spell lists for all relevant fights
• Handouts for various spell scrolls throughout the campaign
• A playlist for each part of the Mini-Campaign!

Without further ado:

Index:

The Lost Mine of Phandelver Index

• Part 1 - Intro and Cragmaw Hideout (DM Notes Only Link)
• Part 2a - Phandalin
• Part 2b - Redbrand Hideout
• Part 3a - Reign of Iron
• Part 3b - Thundertree
• Part 3c - Cragmaw Castle
• Part 4 - Wave Echo Cave
• Part 5 - Side Quests

Over 5 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,

Advent

At the risk of triggering one or more unanswerable RPG discussions that occur over and over without end, here is a terrific post about unanswerable RPG discussions that occur over and over without end:

https://www.indiegamereadingclub.com/indie-game-reading-club/ten-unanswerable-evergreen-discourses/

In RPG and fantasy, we are often faced with a situation where the existence of gods is an empirically confirmed fact, rather than a matter of belief. Two extremes can be distinguished in the representation of these entities (note – I do not claim that all creation adopts one of these two extreme points of view). On the one hand – the trend adapted by e.g. most of the settings for D&D – gods are personification of certain values professed by people, not infrequently they are even „born” from the faith of mortals or at least derive power from it/are shaped by it – gods described as „good” are simply good in the conventional sense of the word, they sincerely care about their followers and you know what to expect from them. On the other side, we have motifs that can be considered taken from Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythology – the gods are incomprehensible, distant beings, completely unconcerned with human worldviews and so-called „good and evil”, mostly indifferent to humanity (and if by chance their paths intersect with humanit’s ones, humanity is screwed) – at the same time, it is not uncommon for most mortals to be unaware of their existence, instead worshipping imaginary, more anthropomorphic deities tailored to their emotional needs.

In this article, I wanted to present deities standing somewhere in the middle – entities whose goals, yes, are not fully understood by mortals, but nevertheless close enough to human morality that worshippers can find some commonality (real or imaginary) with their patrons. These gods are usually directly interested in some way in the lives of their worshipers – although not necessarily in the way those worshipers would like. At the same time, I wanted each description to contain a hook, an important point where the devotees’ understanding of the deity diverges from its real nature – and whose discovery could be a significant twist.

Rest of the book is avalaible for free, here: https://adeptus7.itch.io/twisted-gods . I invite You to read and discuss. And if You have Your own "twisted gods" I invite to share.

"Twisted Gods" - few concepts for an insipiration"

In RPG and fantasy, we are often faced with a situation where the existence of gods is an empirically confirmed fact, rather than a matter of belief. Two extremes can be distinguished in the representation of these entities (note – I do not claim that all creation adopts one of these two extreme points of view). On the one hand – the trend adapted by e.g. most of the settings for D&D – gods are personification of certain values professed by people, not infrequently they are even „born” from the faith of mortals or at least derive power from it/are shaped by it – gods described as „good” are simply good in the conventional sense of the word, they sincerely care about their followers and you know what to expect from them. On the other side, we have motifs that can be considered taken from Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythology – the gods are incomprehensible, distant beings, completely unconcerned with human worldviews and so-called „good and evil”, mostly indifferent to humanity (and if by chance their paths intersect with humanit’s ones, humanity is screwed) – at the same time, it is not uncommon for most mortals to be unaware of their existence, instead worshipping imaginary, more anthropomorphic deities tailored to their emotional needs.

In this article, I wanted to present deities standing somewhere in the middle – entities whose goals, yes, are not fully understood by mortals, but nevertheless close enough to human morality that worshippers can find some commonality (real or imaginary) with their patrons. These gods are usually directly interested in some way in the lives of their worshipers – although not necessarily in the way those worshipers would like. At the same time, I wanted each description to contain a hook, an important point where the devotees’ understanding of the deity diverges from its real nature – and whose discovery could be a significant twist.

Rest of the book is avalaible for free here: https://adeptus7.itch.io/twisted-gods

Maybe a good video for anyone curious about what TTRPGs are.

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible! With Easter fast approaching, I've prepped a Bunny Day Holiday Special:

From the creator of The Night Before Wintermas comes another level 5 Neutral/Evil One-Shot. Set in the same town as the original; your players will once again meet with Quentin Happyjoy who is getting into the confectionery business. Apparently, there's a lot of money in fat kids, especially when your toffee is 80% nicotine. He wants your players to cripple his competitors, House Estyr, makers of the world-famous "Chocolate Ovoids", by staging a heist on their heavily secured and fortified bank.

Will your players be able to come together to sneak or smash their way through the banks' defenses and come out with The Egg of Estyr?

This One-Shot has quite a lot to it. Your players will have multiple options when it comes to how they would like to tackle this heist which each leads to a very different experience. Theirs a full town to explore as well, with multiple unique vendors and magic items. I'm genuinely impressed with all there is to do!

I've also improved the design of the puzzle and included a section for handouts to make this session that much more immersive! I hope your players have as wild a time as mine did!

*Approximate time to complete

• Speed Run - 2hrs
• Quiet Option 4-6hrs
• Loud Option/Full Completion 6-8hrs

Without further ado:

• Google Docs Notes for The Egg of Estyr: DM Notes
• Link to: The Egg of Estyr
• Link to: The AAA Collection

Included in The AAA Collection is:

• A Word document with all my notes including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
• Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks organized neatly along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP
• An updated and improved puzzle along with a guided solution
• Spell Cards for Guards
• Organized Tables
• Handouts for both Heist Pathways

Index:

Other One Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns:

• The Lost Mine of Phandelver - Click Here
• Dragons of Stormwreck Isle - Click Here
• The Wild Sheep Chase - Click Here
• The Delian Tomb - Click Here
• The Haunt - Click Here
• We Be Goblins - Click Here
• Scarab of Death - Click Here
• Don't Say Vecna - Click Here
• The Egg of Estyr - Click Here
• Into Ivy Mansion - Click Here
• Wolves of Welton - Click Here
• To the End of Time - Click Here
• A Most Potent Brew - Click Here
• Moon over Graymoor - Click Here
• The Drunken Treasure - Click Here
• Curse of Strahd - Click Here (W.I.P)
• A Wild West One-Shot - Click Here
• A Grimdark Adventure - Click Here
• D&D vs Rick and Morty - Click Here
• The Wizards Treehouse - Click Here
• A Prison Break One-Shot - Click Here
• A Holiday One-Shot (2023) - Click Here
• The Barber of Silverymoon - Click Here
• The Tavern at Death's Door - Click Here
• L'Arsène's Ludicrous Larceny - Click Here
• Shadow of the Broodmother - Click Here
• The Night Before Wintermas - Click Here
• Grammy's Country Apple Pie - Click Here
• Delivery Witches Apply Within - Click Here
• A Deep and Creeping Darkness - Click Here
• The Secret of Skyhorn Lighthouse - Click Here

If you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,

Advent

https://www.modiphius.net/en-us/pages/discworld-adventures-signup

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1990557

TTRPG history (for over an hour, mind you).

I'd just listen to this while you're doing other things.

cross-post: https://lemmy.world/post/12428174

I know that eventually the answer is "whatever I want" but I would like to hear what others think.

There's an MCT oil rig on Baltic Sea. Anarchists from Kronstadt noticed peculiar data transfer some time ago going there and managed to hijack the place. Then they transmitted message that they are an eco terrorist group (I did not specify which one to my players) and demand MCT to stop polluting. After that, folded the satellite dish to buy some time for the decker and rigger to look around the host.

Now, from a point of, for example, TerraFist. An oil rig nearby is in disarray, none of their contacts in other groups say they're doing it. And MCT HTR is definitely on its way.
Does it make sense for them to come to the rig and make contact/make sure it gets disabled/make trouble for HTR?

I think their appearance has potential to turn this job into a nice chaotic clusterfuck and opportunity to show my players some variety of the world (they would definitely come on a yacht going superspeed with help of a spirit).
But does it make any sense at all for anyone besides me?

Rascal News is a subscriber-funded source of RPG-related independent journalism: https://www.rascal.news

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

Delivery Witches Apply Within is a level 3 One-Shot for 1-2 players. Inspired by Studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki and Kiki's Delivery Service your player will meet a strange black cat who leads them to the Kat and Cake Bakery where they'll try to prove themselves worthy of the title Delivery Witch by delivering a set of packages. These aren't just any ordinary deliveries, throughout you'll run into a slew of interesting characters and events including a druid posing as a cat, a silver dragon, mists that try to teleport you elsewhere, and ghostly apparitions!

Brittney Hay has done an absolutely fantastic job creating this One-Shot. You really feel like you're in a magical lighthearted world. This One-Shot is a far cry from my usual preps, being for only 1-2 players you'll have the opportunity to really engage your players. The music is right from Kiki's Delivery Service and blends perfectly with your adventure! I couldn't be happier with how this one turned out!

This One-Shot is from an anthology of One-Shots inspired by Studio Ghibli; Eyes Unclouded, If you like this one I'm sure you'll find plenty more to fall in love with! Perhaps if this is popular enough I'll consider prepping even more of them!

*Average Sessions Length: 2-3hrs

Without further ado:

• Google Docs Notes for Delivery Witches Apply Within: DM Notes (Preview)
• Link to: Eyes Unclouded PDF (One-Shot Within)
• Link to: Delivery Witches Apply Within Playlist
• Link to: The AAA Collection

Included in The AAA Collection is:

• A downloadable copy of all my notes, which includes links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
• Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat block organized neatly, along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP
• A Battle Map for the City

Index:

Other One Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns:

• The Lost Mine of Phandelver - Click Here
• Dragons of Stormwreck Isle - Click Here
• The Wild Sheep Chase - Click Here
• The Delian Tomb - Click Here
• The Haunt - Click Here
• We Be Goblins - Click Here
• Scarab of Death - Click Here
• Don't Say Vecna - Click Here
• The Egg of Estyr - Click Here
• Into Ivy Mansion - Click Here
• Wolves of Welton - Click Here
• To the End of Time - Click Here
• A Most Potent Brew - Click Here
• Moon over Graymoor - Click Here
• The Drunken Treasure - Click Here
• Curse of Strahd - Click Here (W.I.P)
• A Wild West One-Shot - Click Here
• A Grimdark Adventure - Click Here
• D&D vs Rick and Morty - Click Here
• The Wizards Treehouse - Click Here
• A Prison Break One-Shot - Click Here
• A Holiday One-Shot (2023) - Click Here
• The Barber of Silverymoon - Click Here
• The Tavern at Death's Door - Click Here
• L'Arsène's Ludicrous Larceny - Click Here
• Shadow of the Broodmother - Click Here
• The Night Before Wintermas - Click Here
• Grammy's Country Apple Pie - Click Here
• Delivery Witches Apply Within - Click Here
• A Deep and Creeping Darkness - Click Here
• The Secret of Skyhorn Lighthouse - Click Here

If you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,Advent

D&D branding to get both more irritating and delicious.

Anyone want to guess which six “classic” adventures will be in the Staircase thing?

Can you help me figure out what game this was? I saw it being played a couple times but only for a minute as I wasn't part of the group and just was in the area for few minutes each time (common room at school).

It was the mid-80s and a group of older students were playing an RPG they referred to as Persona.

It seemed to not require dice and characters were normal people living in NYC.

I know a lot of the guys were into d&d (as was I) but some girls were playing that had no rpg experience and liked the game because it was based on discussion and not so rule based.

I don't recall dice.

There was a rule book and it had a black and white cover that I think had a guys portrait (neck up, face turned sideways, I think).

Any ideas?

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

The results are in and I'm excited to announce that Nyx and Alanna (AJ) are the 1st and 2nd place winners of Advent's One-Shot Challenge! The goal was simple, to find people who could prep in a style similar to mine so that I could work with them and expand Advent's Amazing Advice! I was blown away with the results and I'm proud to show you what they've come up with!

The Delian Tomb is a Level 1 Introductory One-Shot based on Matt Colville's first episode of his Running the Game series on YouTube.

This adventure begins in the backwaters of a small kingdom, it's a quiet place...most of the time. Recently, there has been an influx of goblins in the region and some of the foul creatures have even begun attacking the farms in the outskirts of the village. Your players are all friends, just traveling through, in search of adventure. It isn't long before they find themselves mixed up in the business of Goblins and pursuing a kidnapped child into the depths of a long-forgotten tomb. This is their opportunity to prove themselves, and to rescue someone in need...if they can survive the perils of The Delian Tomb!

Below you'll find the winner's notes updated by me with all the tweaks and formatting you've come to know and love.

Without further ado:

• Google Docs Notes for The Delian Tomb (Nyx): DM Notes
• Link to: The Delian Tomb Playlist (Nyx)
• Link to The Delian Tomb PDF: Version 1
• Link to: The AAA Collection + Original and Second place versions

Included in The AAA Collection is:

• A Word document with all my notes, including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
• Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks organized neatly, along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP
• Spellsheet Handout for the Goblin Shaman
• Custom Maps (Credits: u/sladank, uchideshi34 (Jon), grant1derlin, CragtheLAD)

Index:

Other One Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns:

• The Lost Mine of Phandelver - Click Here
• Dragons of Stormwreck Isle - Click Here
• The Wild Sheep Chase - Click Here
• The Haunt - Click Here
• We Be Goblins - Click Here
• Scarab of Death - Click Here
• Don't Say Vecna - Click Here
• The Egg of Estyr - Click Here
• Into Ivy Mansion - Click Here
• Wolves of Welton - Click Here
• To the End of Time - Click Here
• A Most Potent Brew - Click Here
• Moon over Graymoor - Click Here
• The Drunken Treasure - Click Here
• Curse of Strahd - Click Here (W.I.P)
• A Grimdark Adventure - Click Here
• A Wild West One-Shot - Click Here
• The Wizards Treehouse - Click Here
• D&D vs Rick and Morty - Click Here
• A Prison Break One-Shot - Click Here
• A Holiday One-Shot (2023) - Click Here
• The Barber of Silverymoon - Click Here
• The Tavern at Death's Door - Click Here
• The Night Before Wintermas - Click Here
• L'Arsène's Ludicrous Larceny - Click Here
• Shadow of the Broodmother - Click Here
• Grammy's Country Apple Pie - Click Here
• A Deep and Creeping Darkness - Click Here
• The Secret of Skyhorn Lighthouse - Click Here

It was such a fantastic experience working with others on this! You'll see plenty more of Nyx and Alanna in the future!

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers, Advent

I made this thing for a game jam. Its 12 weird patrons for spicing up your player options with a healthy dose of chaos. This kind of thing is maybe not that useful for most, but I'm giving it to y'all anyway. I mean somebody out there probably wants to make a deal to serve a taxidermied unicorn.

Questions or feedback appreciated.

I settled on using Zotero (meant for academia, but whatever, it does what I need) for cataloguing/organizing my ttrpg pdf hoard and I'm trying to set up some top-level tags to make it a bit easier to sift through what I'm looking for. One set of tags will be genre tags (fantasy, sci-fi, horror, etc), with another level below that for sub-genre (cyberpunk, supernatural, low fantasy, post-apocalyptic, etc).

Another set of top-level tags will focus on the actual types of books/products one might see for an RPG. These are just all the terms I've come across before, setup in a hierarchy that makes sense to me, though sometimes terms aren't used consistently across different RPG lines. Since some products can straddle multiple genres/categories, I'm hoping tags will help make it easier to sort through everything. Does this set of categories/sub-categories make sense? I'm still at the early stages of just importing everything into a library, so I'm sure there's categories I've not thought of or considered.

• Core Rulebook (books required to play)
  • Player Handbook (this might straddle the line between core and supplement)
• Supplement (books that expand the rules/setting)
  • Sourcebook
  • Bestiary
  • Splatbook
  • Adventure/Scenario/Module
    • Campaign
  • Setting
• Accessory (mostly non-book related items)
  • Cards
  • Maps
  • Fiction
  • Music/Audio
  • Screens
  • Sheets
    • Character sheet
    • Rules/Cheat sheet
    • Misc sheet
• Resource (more for general books on RPGs, system-agnostic)
  • GM aid
  • Player aid
  • Educational
  • Tables

Did you know there is an online forum for tabletop role-playing games that has been around since the early 80s, and which still is active and operating? Admittedly in a much diminished state than a…

I've been searching around for a way to organize my TTRPG collection of pdfs (numbering in the thousands to tens of thousands) and haven't really found a silver bullet for it yet. Everything I've looked at has some sort of weird thing that's off about it that doesn't seem to make it ideal. Is there something out there that others are using that works well? Here's what I've looked at so far:

• Folder system: This is what I'm already using and it's serviceable (PC), but it really doesn't give me any tagging function and so it's hard to organize based on genre or come up with really any categories outside of just alphabetically naming folders based on the RPG name, then putting whatever subcategories I need as folders below that. It just feels so clunky going about it like this. Being able to organize/search via tags just seems like the way to go.

• Calibre: This gets recommended everytime, but honestly I'm not interested in duplicating my library of +10,000 pdfs and following their organization system. The desktop app looks ugly (which is apparently fixed with Calibre-web but still requires the desktop app).

• Jellyfin: Really not geared towards books in general, it's functional but not great for it. This may end up being what I fall back to if I can't get anything else working.

• Kavita: Looks nice and works nice EXCEPT it has some weird ass naming convention with regards to numbers in the folder/file names. Only top-level stuff can contain numbers, everything below has to have roman numerals? Such a weird thing that just breaks it for me.

• Komga: It looks nice and works nice, but is more geared towards comics, and thus doesn't work so hot with RPGs with multiple categories (Core rulebooks, Scenarios, Settings, etc), since I tend to break those out into different folders. It ends up treating sub-folders as a different series altogether, so it sort of demands that you just keep everything in the same folder.

• Ubooquity: Tried it, it ran like ass on my machine and didn't seem to do as good a job. Making updates in the folders themselves took awhile to propagate and it just overall didn't seem to work well for how I wanted to use it. I just didn't particularly care for it.

• Zotero: It's actually more meant for academic journals and such, but it could be used for organizing TTRPG pdfs, though not sure how well it scales up once you start throwing thousands of pdfs at it. Downside though is that it's not as flashy as some of the others, it doesn't display book covers and you have to create additional objects for each item. You also can't just add tags to the PDFs themselves, you have to create an additional 'Book' object and attach the pdf to that item, then add whatever tags/notes/metadata you want to add. I haven't figured out how to automate the process and the one item I tried where it automatically found it, it created a 'Journal Article' and renamed it based on the authors of the book (which it did correctly find), which is not ideal for going through thousands of items. I just want it to keep the file names in most cases as I've already gotten most file names where I want them.