While I was working to transfer Reloaded from GMBinder to an Obsidian website recently, I had a bit of creative downtime - after all, I was spending all of the time I would have spent writing tinkering with HTML and CSS instead.
Some people spend downtime relaxing. Instead, I decided - as one does - to revise the entirety of the 5th Edition ruleset from scratch, starting with pl...
The VOD for Workshop #24 is now linked on the Bronze Masterpost! This workshop includes:
Enjoy, and don't forget ...
2023-11-07 21:56:45 +0000 UTC View Post
After several weeks of work, you can now access Curse of Strahd: Reloaded as a proper website! The new site has:
This is the fifth in a series of regular posts providing updates on my progress in drafting and editing the new Reloaded guide. You can find all previous posts here.
No updates on the draft guide this week, but the website version of the guide is nearly done! Since my last update, I...
2023-11-01 11:15:12 +0000 UTC View PostBy popular demand, I've published a new four-page reference sheet on How to Use ChatGPT—what it is, how it works, and how you can best make use of it.
While the final segment of the reference sheet is about using it in DMing, the bulk of the PDF is a generic, general-purpose guide to understanding and using LLMs in the age of AI, so hopefully it'll be generally useful a...
2023-10-26 22:48:44 +0000 UTC View PostIn the RAW Curse of Strahd module, Vasilka, the Abbot’s planned “Bride of Strahd,” is no more than a flesh golem. With an Intelligence of 5 and an inability to speak, “she” (more “it”) is an object given the semblance of life, but without true consciousness. She’s learned “etiquette” from the Abbot, but has no personality, no sentience, and no autonomy besid...
2023-10-24 12:47:27 +0000 UTC View PostAnother week, another update! This is the fourth in a series of regular posts providing updates on my progress in drafting and editing the new Reloaded guide. You can find all previous posts here.
This week had a slower pace of progress, largely because I spent a good portion of it beginning the transition fr...
2023-10-23 01:04:50 +0000 UTC View PostApologies for the belated update! This is the third in a series of (hopefully) regular posts providing updates on my progress in drafting and editing the new Reloaded guide. You can find all previous posts here.
Before I leap into this post's updates, a brief announcement: Due to the difficulty of maintaining...
2023-10-15 15:52:37 +0000 UTC View PostThe VOD of Patreon Discord Workshop #23, titled Using ChatGPT & Obsidian to Prep Your Campaign // Advanced Monster Statblock Design, is now available on YouTube!
You can access it by visiting the Bronze Masterpost. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!
Cheers,
Dragna
I’m trying something new with these devblogs - largely to try and keep to a more consistent publication schedule. Instead of writing them up after the fact, I’m going to use them as a workspace to brainstorm problems I’m currently facing, then clean them up for publication once I’ve figured out a solution. I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments or on the Discord! 2023-10-04 12:52:01 +0000 UTC View Post
This month's Patreon Discord Workshop will take place on Sunday, October 1 at 1 PM Eastern, and will feature the following topics:
Why doesn’t the revised Reloaded give Ireena Kolyana a power boost?
Arc X of Re-Reloaded, codenamed Tatyana’s Legacy, provides a capstone to Ireena’s arc: By traveling to Berez and visiting Marina’s Monument, Ireena is able to view the tragedies of her past lives and achieve self-actualization by rejecting the Dark Power...
2023-09-28 12:15:55 +0000 UTC View PostThere's a quote from Game of Thrones said by Lord Stannis Baratheon, one of multiple candidates vying to win the throne of Westeros by conquest. After a notable defeat, he journeys north to the frozen wastes beyond the Wall, where the Night's Watch is currently trying to resist a zombie invasion. His decision is fueled by a single realization: "I w...
2023-09-14 11:23:16 +0000 UTC View PostThis is the second in a series of weekly posts providing updates on my progress in drafting and editing the new Reloaded guide. You can find all previous posts here.
Since last week's update, I've completed the following additions to the guide:
This is the first in a series of (hopefully) weekly/fortnightly posts updating folks on my progress in drafting and editing the new Reloaded guide.
Since the public release of Act II: The Shadowed Town and version 2.0.4 of...
2023-09-05 01:37:26 +0000 UTC View PostI've just published the two most recent Patreon-exclusive Discord workshops on the Bronze masterpost. They include the following sections:
Workshop #21
Skill challenges are weird.
To understand why, let’s rewind a second to D&D 4th edition, way back in Ye Olde Yonder Years of 2008-2013. 4e made a lot of changes to the standard D&D model that had emerged with 3e and 3.5—some of which were well-received, and many of which received lots of backlash.
One of 4e’s more understated changes was the addition of “ski...
2023-08-27 23:10:30 +0000 UTC View PostWelcome to the first installment of a (hopefully) weekly update series in which I share my progress with the revised Curse of Strahd: Reloaded guide, as well as my projections for upcoming releases and future developments.
First, the Vallaki Update™ (a.k.a. Reloaded v2.0.4) released this Wednesday, following several months in development. If you missed...
2023-08-26 15:56:29 +0000 UTC View PostThe next Patreon Discord workshop will take place this Saturday, August 26 at 1 PM Eastern. It will include the following two topics:
Be sure to join the Discord to att...
2023-08-25 02:07:44 +0000 UTC View PostI'm excited to announce that the public release of the revised Curse of Strahd: Reloaded's Act II: The Shadowed Town—a comprehensive guide to the multiple narrative arcs that will unfold as your players explore Vallaki—is now...
2023-08-23 23:28:44 +0000 UTC View PostWhen I first started writing this devblog more than a month ago, I didn’t realize just how much IRL obligations would keep me away from my Patreon work. While I’ve been able to finish Act II: The Shadowed Town in Curse of Strahd: Reloaded, and begun work on my new Challenge Rated encounter-building webtool, I’ve bee...
2023-08-11 22:35:27 +0000 UTC View PostHappy August! Sorry I've been a bit MIA for a while, but I'm back with a whole host of new content goodies. Today in particular, I've posted four new reference sheets to the DM's Toolkit:
When I last posted an update on Curse of Strahd: Reloaded two weeks ago, I was confident that I would be able to publish the first two arcs of Vallaki—the Tome of Strahd and St. Andral’s Feast sometime this week or next.
Ho...
2023-07-24 15:58:53 +0000 UTC View Post
The third public release of the revised Curse of Strahd: Reloaded is now live!
This new release contains Arc C: Into the Valley, including the road to Tser Pool Encampment and Vallaki, and a host of additional updates and edits...
2023-07-10 18:09:08 +0000 UTC View PostHello! If you're confused as to why you're receiving this email from me, it'll all make sense in a moment. (If you're currently a paid member of my Patreon, feel free to disregard all this.)
So—Patreon just added an option allowing Patreon creators to offer a free community subscription that allows users to sign up to receive free "community" posts in their email inboxes.
I ...
2023-07-05 17:57:02 +0000 UTC View PostI've added the first of four new reference sheets to the DM's Toolkit. This reference sheet is a guide to Using Exposition, discussing the six purposes and seven types of exposition.
You can find it linked in the Bronze masterpost or in the #reference-sheets c...
2023-07-05 17:44:33 +0000 UTC View PostIn the original Curse of Strahd module, the Fiona Wachter’s Wish special event provides them with a simple task: kill Izek Strazni. The players are given no guidance as to how to accomplish this, and no follow-up. Their sole responsibility is to find Izek (though it is unclear how) and beat him ...
2023-07-02 19:42:06 +0000 UTC View PostOne of the most frequent questions I get from readers about Re-Reloaded is: “Why did you remove Morgantha from the Village of Barovia?”
Tangentially related, two of the most frequent pieces of advice I wind up giving to other people are “Don’t turn Argynvost’s body into a shadow dracolich,” and “Don’t have Strahd give the PCs a bottle of wine outside of Death House.”
... 2023-06-26 03:07:56 +0000 UTC View PostIt's been just over two years since I launched this Patreon—and since the first public re-release of Curse of Strahd: Reloaded three weeks ago, we've passed a monumental 200 patrons!
First—I want to thank all of you for your feedback and support, both financial and otherwise. It's thanks to your help that I've been able to dedicate this much time to my work on D&D projects and de...
Welcome back to the devblog! This week’s another two-parter, since I owe ya one from last week. Moving ahead, though, I will be setting aside a full ninety minutes every Thursday night to write these, so hopefully I shouldn’t miss too many other blogs barring an emergency (or a very shiny object), and you’ll wake up with a nice new blog in your inbox every Friday morning.
T...
2023-06-13 00:31:52 +0000 UTC View Post