Three Towns
There are three towns that exist in close proximity, each dependent on the others and close enough to get to in two or three days' ride...
Daniel Sullivan
3 min read
The Color of Magic
Each school of magic has its own color, and typically manifests in that way. Different traditions may supercede or affect this: a...
Daniel Sullivan
1 min read
Ancestral Technologies
Drow/Dyar: animal breeding through magic. Think Yuuzhan Vong. They have whips that pump ichor throughout, tipped in stingers with venom...
Daniel Sullivan
3 min read
Storm Bells
In a small portion of the open ocean there are a few hundred great glass bells hung in the air, suspended from nothing but wind. They...
Daniel Sullivan
1 min read
Star Signs II
Fantasy star signs deserve more in-depth information and attention than "you are an astrologer, you can get a +1d4 once per day." If you...
Daniel Sullivan
2 min read
Spell Visualization
Different schools of magic have different casting styles, different looks to their spells, but also their spell slots are 'visualized' or...
Daniel Sullivan
1 min read
Stellar Maps
In Spelljammer, where maps are imprecise and really more about feelings than anything else, perhaps maps between the planets are often...
Daniel Sullivan
1 min read
Ringing of the Bell
As part of a ritual or seance or something a cleric rings a handbell. Chant chant, ring, chant chant, ring, chant chant, ring. Â At first...
Daniel Sullivan
1 min read
Replica Parthenon
A stucco recreation of the Parthenon, maybe 12 feet tall. Tacky. But there's a presence there nonetheless. Tiny gods in this tiny place....
Daniel Sullivan
1 min read
Rakshasas
Rakshasa are actually fey from an area in Arcadia that mimics the hells. Despite it being, in fact, faeries, they act and look like...
Daniel Sullivan
1 min read
Infernal Quirks
Devils and demons have their own weirdnesses. Making them generic ("a marilith") is silly - these are CR (a bunch) creatures. Each ought...
Daniel Sullivan
2 min read
Principia Magica
Magic, even in games, is governed by certain rules. These are reflected in game rules and structures, but in-world they are understood...
Daniel Sullivan
3 min read
On the Subject of Hirelings
NPCs should be available through plot, hiring, Leadership-esque feats and class abilities, and as rewards for adventures. Â Because these...
Daniel Sullivan
1 min read
Nostradamian Gifting
A king left so so so many predictions, foretellings, and edicts behind that the society has not needed a king since then. Like...
Daniel Sullivan
1 min read
Monster Themes
Gaggles of beasties operate inside a thematic 'space' by being originated from the same source, or something. Â Like, why is all this...
Daniel Sullivan
1 min read
Monstrous Flaws
Give each critter a monstrous flaw, the thing that defines them as an enemy or monstrous creature. Have mechanical effects tied to it,...
Daniel Sullivan
1 min read
The Magician's Library
A good magical library has books covering a variety of subjects, many of which may be concealed or coded or only tangentially related to...
Daniel Sullivan
2 min read
Magical Gravity
Magic-users have a kind of metaphysical gravity, a weight that pulls things around them in a very real sense. A minor mage may just seem...
Daniel Sullivan
1 min read
The Life Bomb
A spell that kills someone by turning them into an explosive. When they die, they erupt and release all the energy that they'd have...
Daniel Sullivan
1 min read
Ley Lines
There are a bunch of versions of ley lines. Â Dragon Lines, ala Feng Shui. These lines are natural lines created by the movements of...
Daniel Sullivan
2 min read