Devil in the details

Allies, Resources, Status, and stranger things… many are the assets that the denizens of the World of Darkness possess. They help define a character and bring life to their story beyond the dots on the sheet. Yet being in the background(s) as they are, they can also be difficult for Storytellers to spotlight in a single-shot game. New players miss out on the opportunity to get a feel for this story-driven part of character building.

Can you feel the noise?

Background Noise is a short module for Storytellers who want a streamlined system for introducing Backgrounds without getting too into the weeds about the details. All Backgrounds for the corebooks for each of the six 20th Anniversary Edition lines are given a hack to facilitate quick use in one-off and/or convention games.

(follow my work at https://dice.camp/@pookagar)

The Lodestar Alpha system, where a fight with only two sides is a luxury, might be a war torn free-for-all... but that makes it a great place if you’re a mercenary outfit looking to make a living. You’ve just signed up with one, and they’re putting you to work right away. The mission is to hit a small outpost and smash it flat.

Get the job done, survive, and get paid. It’s a straightforward way of life, but that doesn’t mean it’s simple...

This is not a standalone product. You will need a copy of The Mecha Hack and The Mecha Hack: Mission Manual by Absolute Tabletop in order to play.

Unlock the Secrets of Power, Imagination, and Urban Majesty

Step into the heart of empires—real and imagined. Demons & Discoveries! Imperial Cities & Capital Realms is your essential guide to the world’s most influential cities, from the river-forged capitals of antiquity to the digital dynasties of tomorrow. Whether you’re a novelist crafting epic worlds, a game designer building immersive realms, a historian seeking new perspectives, or a worldbuilder hungry for inspiration, this book is your passport to the anatomy, mythology, and future of imperial capitals.

Discover how geography, faith, politics, and technology shape the rise and fall of great cities. Explore the palaces, marketplaces, fortifications, and social fabrics that define the pulse of power. Dive into the narrative engines of literature, animation, and games, and equip yourself with a creator’s toolkit to architect your own unforgettable capitals. From the grandeur of Rome to the floating metropolises of science fiction, this book bridges history and imagination—offering practical insights, vivid examples, and visionary prompts to ignite your creativity.

Prelude: The Allure of the Imperial Capital

• Introduction to the enduring fascination with capital cities.
• Why capitals matter in history, fiction, and worldbuilding.
• The book’s mission: to inspire, inform, and equip creators and thinkers.

Chapter 1: The Genesis of Power – Foundations of Imperial Capitals

• Rivers, mountains, coasts, and plains: how geography shapes destiny.
• Case studies: Rome, London, Babylon, Waterdeep, and more.
• The interplay of trade, defense, and cultural exchange.
• Real-world and fictional examples of strategic city placement.

Chapter 2: The Anatomy of Imperial Power – Urban Design and Social Fabric

• The imperial palace: seat of majesty and intrigue.
• Temples, sacred precincts, and the fusion of faith and rule.
• Marketplaces, guilds, and the economic engines of empire.
• Fortifications and the art of defense.
• Residential zones and the architecture of social hierarchy.

Chapter 3: Imagined Thrones – Imperial Capitals in Literature and Animation

• How writers and animators bring capitals to life.
• The epic landscapes of Ankh-Morpork, Minas Tirith, King’s Landing, and more.
• Capitals as narrative engines: setting, symbolism, and character.
• Visual storytelling and the power of architectural symbolism.

Chapter 4: Digital Dynasties – Imperial Capitals in Games

• The capital as a living, interactive entity in strategy and RPGs.
• Building, managing, and ruling digital cities (Civilization, Crusader Kings, Skyrim, etc.).
• Environmental storytelling: how games use cities to convey lore and emotion.
• Player-driven empires: customization, agency, and legacy.

Chapter 5: Architecting Realms – A Creator’s Toolkit

• Naming conventions: the sound of sovereignty.
• Crafting cultural tapestries: integrating geography, history, and belief.
• Economic systems: from breadbaskets to trade hubs.
• Infrastructure and logistics: the arteries of power.
• Creative prompts and “what if” scenarios to spark new ideas.

Chapter 6: The Future Metropolis – Capitals Beyond Convention

• Celestial cities: orbital stations, lunar and Martian capitals.
• Subterranean and aerial metropolises: engineering marvels and societal shifts.
• Digital capitals: virtual cities, governance by AI, and the rise of networked empires.
• Symbiotic cities: ecological integration and regenerative urbanism.
• The decentralization of power: distributed capitals and emergent intelligence.
• Visionary thought experiments for the next generation of worldbuilders.

HOW TO PLAY

In this Solo Adventure, you assume the role of an adventurer in a Medieval Fantasy samurai realm. You will require The Dark Age: Bushido Core Rulebook (CRB), the Dark Age: Otherworld Expansion, and any associated Expansions you wish to use, along with a pen and paper—or a word-processing document—to play.

The story begins with an Introduction, a few initial Locations, and several key Story Points. The rest is shaped by your choices. The Actions you take depend on what you see, who you encounter, and how you choose to interact. Each Action will create ripples in the world; keep a record of events and adapt the world as it responds.

As you play, you become your own Storyteller—crafting an evolving narrative shaped by fate, honor, and the unseen forces that stalk the borders of the mortal realm. Use the Character Creation rules in the CRB to craft your hero, and consult the Storyteller tools in the CRB to generate NPCs. Once you have familiarized yourself with the following sections, you are ready to begin.

_____________________________

This war is not glorious. It is precise. Across shattered plains and river-cut lowlands, two great powers bleed each other dry—not through reckless charges, but through calculation. Supply lines are severed. Bridges fall at the right hour. Retreats are planned weeks in advance. Victory belongs to those who know when not to fight. At the center of this war stands the Iron Measure, a fighting order formed not from nobles or zealots, but from survivors. Its members are trained to endure long marches, broken morale, and impossible odds. They do not chant before battle. They count. Steps. Breaths. Distances. Losses. You are one of them. The Iron Measure does not believe in destiny. It believes in positioning, timing, and resolve held under pressure. Its doctrine teaches that a single disciplined unit can unmake an army—if deployed correctly. Its commanders are feared not for brutality, but for patience. Yet even this order is straining. The war has lasted too long. Veterans are running out. Replacements arrive faster than they can be hardened. Political forces far from the front issue commands that contradict battlefield reality. And rumors spread of an enemy tactic so ruthless it ignores every accepted rule of engagement. You are given assignments that decide thousands of lives without ceremony: hold a line that should collapse, delay an advance until nightfall, eliminate a command post knowing reinforcements will never come. Every order is measured. So is every failure.

HOW TO PLAY

In this Solo Adventure, you assume the role of an adventurer in a Medieval Fantasy samurai realm. You will require The Dark Age: Bushido Core Rulebook (CRB), the Dark Age: Otherworld Expansion, and any associated Expansions you wish to use, along with a pen and paper—or a word-processing document—to play.

The story begins with an Introduction, a few initial Locations, and several key Story Points. The rest is shaped by your choices. The Actions you take depend on what you see, who you encounter, and how you choose to interact. Each Action will create ripples in the world; keep a record of events and adapt the world as it responds.

As you play, you become your own Storyteller—crafting an evolving narrative shaped by fate, honor, and the unseen forces that stalk the borders of the mortal realm. Use the Character Creation rules in the CRB to craft your hero, and consult the Storyteller tools in the CRB to generate NPCs. Once you have familiarized yourself with the following sections, you are ready to begin.

_____________________________

The world was once held together by journeys. Before courts hardened into stone and borders learned to bleed, the land was crossed by wandering champions, sworn guardians, and seekers of perfected motion. Their deeds were sung not because they won wars, but because they moved through them—leaping ravines, striking down tyrants, shattering armies with timing alone.

That age has faded into story. Now the roads are dangerous again. Across plains, cliffs, river gorges, and ruined strongholds, unrest spreads. Warlords rise where teachers once stood. Villages pray for protection that never arrives. Ancient paths—meant to test discipline and spirit—have become gauntlets of ambush and betrayal. You walk one of those paths. Whether driven by honor, defiance, or a hunger to prove yourself against the legends of the past, you travel light and move fast. Your techniques are powerful but incomplete, refined through hardship rather than formal blessing. When you fight, the world seems to stretch—steps carry farther than they should, strikes land with impossible precision, and momentum becomes a force as real as steel. Word of your passage spreads ahead of you. So do challenges. The Road of Ten Thousand Steps is not a single trail, but a reputation. To walk it is to face trials left behind by those who came before—some noble, some monstrous, all unforgettable. By the time your journey ends, you will either be counted among the stories or erased between them.

In 1976 I created and published the very first science-fiction rpg.  I called it Starfaring, and  you can still get a copy from Trollgodfather  Press.  Like most of my games, there's a certain wackiness to it, but there are also many ideas years ahead of the time.  The game featured an alien race called the Slish as a major enemy of the players.  50 years later I started wondering if such an octopoidal alien race could actually exist.  I started investigating and this is what I found out.  Pure science-fictional speculation backed by science.  This work is a little better than your average talk show--it's also well illustrated with mind-expanding art.  Of course, you have to be a genius to understand the concepts involved.  Are you capable of understanding The Rise of the Slish?-------Ken St. Andre, 2/1/2026

Tales of the Tournament — Issue 5

The Line Is Drawn

The Grand Tourney of Radia continues—but something has shifted.

In Issue 5 of Tales of the Tournament, the quiet games revealed in earlier issues begin to leave visible marks on the city itself. No laws are broken. No banners fall. And yet, neutrality bends, influence settles, and outcomes begin to feel inevitable long before they arrive.

This issue explores the moment where lawful decisions carry weight beyond the lists, and where silence itself becomes a choice.

Within these pages you will find:

• When Neutrality Fails Quietly — a pivotal ruling in the Hall of Accord and the subtle consequences that ripple outward

• Rival of the Month — Lord Marrec Calderyn, a rival who wins not by force or corruption, but by flawless adherence to the rules

• Whispers from the Crowd — the city begins to notice patterns no one can openly name

• The Lady’s Measure — a reflection on justice, obedience, and virtue when correctness offers no comfort

• Solo Toolkit: Consequences Without Verdict — narrative oracles for delayed consequences, unspoken costs, and accumulated pressure

• Hearts of Radia — vignettes showing how high decisions affect ordinary lives

• Tavern Talk — humor thins, voices lower, and someone says what shouldn’t be said

• Closing Dispatch — the season pivots, and a line is drawn that cannot be unseen

Tales of the Tournament is a monthly fiction and lore magazine set in the world of Legends of Thaloranth, blending narrative storytelling, political intrigue, and solo-play tools to create a living chronicle of Radia and the Grand Tourney.

This issue marks the transition from intrigue to consequence.

The Tournament continues.
The city watches.
And soon, silence will break.

Caravans along the old dwarven trade road between Mugfaldir and Volkholme have been vanishing—scouts report that metal constructs shaped like beasts and men are dragging wreckage into an abandoned mine shaft in the hills near Volkholme. Locals speak of the name “Thimblegrist”—a gnome inventor-turned-wizard who vanished a century ago in pursuit of forbidden “life-sparking” rune-tech. Supposedly Thimblegrist studied magic at Khirn Lodhir for a time. The trade routes must remain open and safe. Someone must stop Thimblegrist!

This is a Fantasy RPG adventure for the DCC system, though it can be used for OSR RPG systems as well.  This is best with 4-5 characters of Level 3.

Welcome to The Great Tapestry: Adventuring in the Multiverse of Terrae

A complete planar sourcebook, fully compatible with Dungeons & Dragons 5e and D&D 2024.

Across 180+ richly illustrated pages, this book invites players and Dungeon Masters alike to explore the planes beyond the Material World of Terrae.

Inside this book, you will discover:

A complete guide to planar travel, including magical transportation, portals, astral sea voyages, planar vehicles, and risk tables that bring danger and wonder to every crossing between worlds.

The Atlas of the Great Tapestry, an extensive planar compendium detailing dozens of planes, each with a strong identity, geography, metaphysical laws, and narrative potential: from pirate empires drifting through the Astral Sea to mechanical paradises, shattered dead worlds, and eternal war-planes where gods clash without end.

A deep exploration of death and the soul, detailing what happens after death, how souls travel the planes, the nature of judgment, divine claims, exceptional cases, and the metaphysical rules that govern the afterlife.

This book is designed as a standalone planar sourcebook, perfect for high-level campaigns, planar adventures, divine stories, or as a foundational reference for the Terrae multiverse, while remaining fully compatible with the core rules of D&D 5e.

Credits

This book was conceived, written, designed, and completed entirely by one author.
Every plane, realm, system, and piece of lore was crafted to bring the multiverse of Terrae to life.

Beneath the drifting snows of a frozen wilderness lie the icy ruins of an ancient temple, fortress, or outpost, long abandoned and half-buried by time and winter. Crumbling stone walls rise from the snow above, while forgotten halls, crypts, and caverns stretch below – preserved in ice and silence.

This two-level map set presents a versatile, system-neutral dungeon suitable for winter, mountain, or arctic campaigns. The upper level depicts snow-covered surface ruins, including collapsed walls and a grand, snow-choked staircase descending into the depths. Below, the subterranean level reveals frost-lined corridors, crypts with disturbed sarcophagi, ancient halls, and a breach into crystal-filled caverns that hint at deeper secrets…or the source of the unnatural cold itself.

The ruins are intentionally unfurnished and lightly described, allowing Game Masters complete freedom to adapt the site as a forgotten temple, dwarven stronghold, cult complex, monastery, or frontier outpost. Whether used as a one-session dungeon, a recurring location, or a gateway to a larger underground complex, these maps are designed to inspire exploration without imposing fixed lore.

All maps are provided in multiple formats for both Virtual Tabletop and print play, with unlabeled versions for use at the table and labeled reference maps included in the Map Guide.

What’s Included

Two large dungeon maps(320 × 280):

• Ruins — Upper Level (surface, snow-covered)
• Ruins — Lower Level (icy halls, crypts, and caverns)

Virtual Tabletop (VTT) versions

• 70 px and 140 px per square
• Gridded and ungridded PNG files

Printable map tiles(300 DPI PDFs)

• Gridded and ungridded versions
• PDFs in U.S. Letter and A4 formats

Map Guide PDF

• Labeled reference maps
• Adventure hooks and GM inspiration

System-neutral. Unlabeled for play. Designed for maximum flexibility.

Alluring Magical Powers is a d100 romantasy table of subtle, seductive abilities that shape attraction, intimacy, and emotional tension in fantasy stories.

These powers aren’t about raw destruction or battlefield dominance—they influence heartbeats, heighten senses, blur emotional boundaries, and turn simple proximity into something charged and dangerous. Each entry is designed to inspire scenes, deepen relationships, and create moments where desire, magic, and consequence intersect.

Perfect for romantasy, adult fantasy, court intrigue, fae courts, and character-driven campaigns, this table helps GMs and writers portray magic that feels personal, tempting, and meaningful.

All entries are concise, table-ready, and system-agnostic, making them easy to drop into play without slowing the story.

Suggestive themes. Romance-focused fantasy.

👉 Be sure to check out the other tables in this romantasy product line, including NPC profiles, outfits, events, and intrigue-focused tools that expand on these themes.

The Midnight Challenge

A standalone monthly adventure for Marisalor: Blades & Masks Solo Fencing Game

An anonymous challenge arrives at your dormitory door, sealed with unmarked black wax. Someone questions your reputation and demands you face them at midnight in the Forgotten Garden—alone. In three hours, you must decide: Will you meet steel with steel, uncover the truth behind the challenge, or turn this midnight duel into a political triumph?

But when you arrive at the Garden, you discover the duel has unexpected observers. What began as a private matter of honor has become something far more dangerous—and far more valuable.

This adventure includes:

• Three distinct approach paths using different skills

• The proven 3-layer solo framework adapted for academy intrigue

• Multiple resolution outcomes based on your choices

• Optional integration with recurring allies, rivals, and romance

• Complete stat blocks and challenge mechanics

• 2-4 hours of solo play

• Playable in any order as part of the Monthly Adventures series

Requirements: Marisalor: Blades & Masks Solo Fencing Game, Legends of Thaloranth Quick Start Guide

Your reputation hangs in the balance. The bells toll toward midnight. What will you do?