Are backstories misnamed?
Feel overwhelmed about writing a backstory? Not sure what to include? I don’t blame you - I blame the term for it.
Strategic communications of the gods
How do powerful beings spread their messages? Why do bards have magic powers? What if both questions have the same answer?
Playing to learn who you are
Games aren’t just games, just as stories aren’t just stories. I can’t tell you their full benefit - only why I love to run them so much.
QQ&A: Improving the tragic backstory
“… and now I’m on a quest for vengeance,” ends so many PC backstories. The bit before that can be interesting, compelling and horrifying… or boring cruft. Here’s how to make it better.
Unboring clerics: crazed lunatics who don’t care about you
Think clerics are priests with big hammers? You’re wrong. Their character build implies they’re warped, nihilistic and on the border of madness.
QQ&A: The forgotten 5e rule
Intimidation rolls don’t make sense… in most other systems. If you’re sick of your brainless killbot failing to intimidate people, you need to remember this rule.
Unboring paladins: more than killjoys
This is my shortest ever post because the fix couldn’t be easier. The paladin is this close to being exciting, but that margin drives them into boringness. Here’s the solution.
Unboring bards: more than playa characters
Bards are… well, you know. Some adventurers travel, while others get around. Here’s a surprising way to make them more fun to play while fitting better into the world.
Unboring Barbarians: more than clones of Conan
Barbarians aren’t “angry” and they aren’t all uncivilised nomads. If you’re sick of playing the same-old half-clad warriors, then it’s time to draw inspiration from history.
Bafflingly boring bros and babes
If you met a PC in real life, they’d be the most fascinating person you’ve ever come across. So why are so many of them so horrendously dull to play?
Unboring gnomes: more than tiny goofballs
Gnomes are too silly for even a semi-serious campaign. Or are they? What if the giggles and rainbow illusions are a mask for something deeper?
Unboring halflings: more than just smallfolk
If halflings are just hobbits but without the risk of lawsuits, then why do any become adventurers? Frodo was literally exceptional. Also… how could halflings, of all people, live so peacefully?
Unboring drow: more than just cave-elves
The drow have some of the most awesome roleplaying fodder of any race. It’s a shame so many folks ignore the unique and awesome parts of the race. Here’s how to make them special.
QQ&A: Beauty and charisma
This week’s question: “Why do so many people think that the Charisma stat relates to physical attractiveness?” That’s an easy one to answer, even if most folks get it wrong.
Unboring half-orcs: more than civilised brutes
Half-orcs - the go-to race when you want to play someone savage and wild. That’s not the only way to run them, though. Here’s how to add some spice to your half-orc characters.
Unboring tieflings: more than charismatic pariahs
Sick of demonspawn who are dull, derivative and self-contradictory? Unboring Tieflings shows what they can look like with a bit of extra spice.