Writing by Kyle Critcher
Essays on tabletop roleplaying, homebrew design, and what actually happens when the dice hit the table. Posts live here and on Substack.
Natural 1
A natural 1 does not have to sink the scene. How the worst roll on the die becomes the moment everyone retells later, and why leaning into failure makes for a better game.
Read on Substack ↗Ravenloft: The Horrors Within
A DM's first look at the new 5.5e Ravenloft expansion: the Domains of Dread, running horror at the table, and the two new subclasses worth embracing.
Read on Substack ↗Old Gods Made New
Homebrewing Old Gods of Appalachia into 5.5e: setting, monsters, encounters, and the lessons that turned up along the way.
Read on Substack ↗Thing to Keep in Mind
What in the world am I doing here? A short note on why this blog exists and where it is headed.
Read on Substack ↗Not sure where to start? Roll for a topic.
These are the ideas I am chewing on for future posts. Give the die a roll and see what the dice gods have in store.
Or browse all 20 topics
- Crit Fail! Finding fun and meaningful story moments in failure
- Two Sides to Every Story: Creating a meaningful motivation for the BBEG
- Session Zero: When to use it and when to jump right in
- Sources of Inspiration: Official sourcebooks, third-party designs, and adapting other media
- 5e vs. 5.5e
- High Fantasy, Low Fantasy, or Somewhere in Between: What it means and how to choose what is right for your homebrew
- Pantheons: Where do deities fit into your game?
- Dice, Players, Action (Economy): How lairs and legendary actions can be the equalizer
- Dungeon Crawling: Which classes and subclasses get the most mileage, and who gets left behind
- Classic, Widely Used Monsters: How to give players something familiar but still surprise them
- Other TTRPG Systems: There is more than just D&D, believe it or not
- Legend Lore Series: Mages, fey, and others who get spells named after them (a TL;DR)
- Noteworthy GMs and Players Everyone Can Learn From
- I Want to Play, but Where Do I Start?
- Sandbox vs. Railroad: How much is too much?
- Minis, Meeples, and More
- Flavor Town: What flavor is, and what can actually hurt the game
- Setting DCs: What skill or save to ask for, and when not to ask for a check
- Material Plane, Feywild, and Shadowfell: A casual overview
- Crit Success! You've finished a campaign. What's next?
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