The recording of the May 2022 Patreon Discord Workshop, Trajectories of Fear: How to Build a Horror Adventure, is now live on YouTube! As always, you can find it linked in the Copper or Bronze masterposts.
I...
2022-06-03 02:44:25 +0000 UTC View PostI've previously written about my reinterpretation of 4th Edition's skill challenges for 5th Edition, which you can read about here. I've found that these noncombat encounters can add a great sense of tension and challenge to exploration sequences—2022-05-30 13:19:13 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi all, and I hope your weekend is off to a good start!
I have recently decided to publish the color PDF versions of my guides publicly, and you can now find them on the Reloaded compilation post here.
In their place, I've added a new perk to th...
2022-05-28 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostThis month's Patreon Discord Workshop on Trajectories of Fear: How to Create Tension & Payoff in Horror Stories, will be tomorrow, Saturday, May 28 at 1 PM ET.
The workshop is inspired by an essay that you can read at https://nerdsonear...
2022-05-27 16:41:56 +0000 UTC View Post
As the characters turn in for a long rest, the weight of their recent trials and tribulations looming in their thoughts, they find their dreams touched by a mysterious and powerful entity. This invader, however, has only benign intentions, and weaves a mystical challenge to test and empower the party’s creativity and will.
Four fey creatures linger in the world of the dream...
2022-05-16 12:31:00 +0000 UTC View Post
I've previously written about how a novel's three-act structure can make it easier to prepare and run TTRPG one-shot adventures. Now, I'm excited to release a Google Docs template for planning any three-act adventure, from start to finish!
Why use a three-act structure?
... 2022-05-10 12:30:00 +0000 UTC View Post
The time has come to vote on this month's homebrew TTRPG encounters!
Click here or the link above to vote on:
In this short adventure for five fourth-level characters, the characters are adventurers asked to investigate the isolated mining town of Vardur—known for its rich veins of sapphire and gold—which has abruptly ceased all shipments and communications.
Yet when the characters discover a system of mysterious caverns beneath the town and a force of aberrant invaders within, c...
2022-05-06 15:42:48 +0000 UTC View Post
In this month's Patreon-exclusive workshop, I talk about the role of exposition in TTRPGs and how we can best use it to drive our storytelling at the table, as well as notable pitfalls and how to avoid them.
Efficient Storytelling is a live TTRPG workshop recorded via Discord in conversation between myself and members of the Patreon. Bronze-tier patrons and highe...
2022-05-03 21:00:28 +0000 UTC View Post
As the adventurers descend deeper into the subterranean lair, the caverns fill with stagnant, murky waters. A viscous mucus lingers atop each underground river or lake, and a vast, ancient consciousness probes the intruders’ minds. Far below, legions of enthralled slaves work to fulfill an alien purpose, their minds wholly snared by their fell master’s designs.
Will...
2022-04-19 13:06:44 +0000 UTC View PostApril's Patreon Discord Workshop has been confirmed! On Saturday, April 23 at 1 PM Eastern time, join me for a live workshop on the Patreon Discord server to discuss Efficient Storytelling: How & Why to Convey Exposition.
Feel free to drop any specific questions or topics you'd like us to cover in the comments below! Otherwise, looking forwar...
2022-04-15 01:24:18 +0000 UTC View Post
In this adventure, the characters are stalked by a pack of six wolves led by a lone werewolf, which finally attacks as the characters enter a small woodland clearing flanked by dense foliage.
As the werewolf engages the PCs, its packmates target the weakest among the party—before dragging them away to feast.
The Werewolf's Hunt is a homebre...
2022-04-12 12:30:02 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm proud to finally release the public playtest version of my wholesale revision of D&D 5e's Sorcerer class, titled The Sorcerer: Reloaded!
I’ve always been disappointed in 5th Edition’s version of the Sorcerer. While folks from older editions might view Sorcs as metamagical spell-twisters, I’ve always envisioned them as white-hot, overcharged, living batteries of pure...
2022-04-11 12:30:59 +0000 UTC View Post
In this month's Patreon-exclusive workshop, I talk about the role of character death in TTRPGs, how and when to approach it, and how to avoid—or make use of—TPKs in your campaigns.
Total Party Kill is a live TTRPG workshop recorded via Discord in conversation between myself and members of the Patreon. Bronze-tier patrons and higher can download it from the
This post has links to all of the Patreon TTRPG workshops that Copper members can currently access. Each link below will take you to the specific unlisted YouTube video that hosts that workshop's recording. Enjoy, and don't forget to vote on upcoming workshops in the Patreon Discord server!
Workshops
Work...
When the adventurers find themselves ensnared in the labyrinth of a wicked cult of Baphomet, they must use all their cunning and skill to slay the minotaur before it can hunt them down. Yet the beast is not alone: twin cultists with dark designs lurk in the shadows, fell magics at the ready, as a dark shrine burns at the center of the maze.
Will our heroes triumph and defeat ...
2022-04-05 13:16:05 +0000 UTC View Post
As the adventurers delve into the blighted swamp in search of a witch's hidden cottage, a lonely light beckons them from the misty mirk. After hours of cold, thorny travel, the prospect of a warm meal and a clean bed seems too inviting to resist.
Yet beware! For all in this swamp is not as it seems. As the will-o'-wisp lures travelers to their boggy doom, ancient warriors of ...
2022-03-29 12:17:00 +0000 UTC View PostAs the adventurers delve into the blighted swamp in search of a witch's hidden cottage, a lonely light beckons them from the misty mirk. After hours of cold, thorny travel, the prospect of a warm meal and a clean bed seems too inviting to resist.
Yet beware! For all in this swamp is not as it seems. As the will-o'-wisp lures travelers to their boggy doom, ancient warriors of ...
2022-03-29 12:15:37 +0000 UTC View Post
In this short adventure for five third-level characters, the characters are guests at the Silvercrest Lodge preparing to celebrate the Silvercrest Festival, an event set for the first day after the first full moon of the year.
Yet when a statuette bearing the curse of lycanthropy is stolen and a guest of the Lodge winds up dead, can the characters identify the killer, u...
2022-03-28 13:33:56 +0000 UTC View Post
Tomorrow, Friday, March 25 at 7 PM Eastern, I'll be livestreaming the premiere of "Murder at Silvercrest Lodge," a horror mystery adventure!
This game will be the first episode of Dragna DMs The West Marches, a monthly series of streamed homebrew oneshot adventures run by me for Platinum members of the Patreon.
You can catch the game live on 2022-03-24 14:54:03 +0000 UTC View Post
As the adventurers traverse the web of slinking alleys that threads across the urban landscape, a distant infant’s call lures them to the courtyard of an abandoned estate.
Yet when the child’s cries are revealed to be an impersonator’s lure, and the avian statuary atop the decaying eaves begins to stir to life, can our heroes escape this trap with their lives—and thei...
2022-03-22 14:17:17 +0000 UTC View Post
As they traverse a forest haunted by werewolves, banshees, and worse, the adventurers seek shelter from a sudden thunderstorm in an old, abandoned cabin a few hundred yards from the woodland road. The cabin, despite the dust covering its floors, the deteriorating state of its furniture, and the prevalence of mouse-holes in the walls, appears functional enough for a night’s rest.
<... 2022-03-21 13:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
I've released printable color PDF versions for the first three chapters of Curse of Strahd: Reloaded: the Introduction (including both "Adventure Hooks" and "Tarokka Readings"), Death House, and the Village of Barovia. You can find them linked at the bottom of the new Bronze Rewards Masterpost 2022-03-21 00:55:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey all, and hope you’re doing well!
If you’ve been lurking in the Patreon Discord over the past several weeks, you may have noticed some conversations about a few revisions I’ve been planning to make to the Patreon. This post is a formal announcement of a few changes, additions, and general tweaks that I’ll be making to hopefully make the Patreon a more useful, rewarding, and hel...
2022-03-20 14:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Next Saturday, March 25 at 1 PM Eastern, I’ll be hosting a live workshop on the Patreon Discord server to discuss one of the trickiest parts of many combat-focused TTRPGs: character death!
Join me for a live, hour-long conversation and seminar about the role of character death in TTRPGs, how to talk to your players about it, when and where to use it, how to avoid it, and the stories we ...
2022-03-19 22:42:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Starting next Friday, March 25 at 7 PM Eastern, I'll be streaming monthly West Marches oneshots live on my personal Twitch!
If you're not familiar, "The West Marches" is a type of D&D campaign where players can easily drop in and out, playing persistent characters throu...
2022-03-19 00:41:35 +0000 UTC View Post
The YouTube recording of Patreon Workshop #10, Collaborating with Players to Tell Satisfying Stories, is now available on YouTube! You can find a link to the video in the Bronze Rewards masterpost here.
Enjoy, and don't forget to vote on upcoming workshops in the Patreon Discord server!
2022-03-08 17:12:23 +0000 UTC View PostThis post has links to all of the Patreon-exclusive developer blogs, homebrew encounters, and one-page oneshots that Silver members can currently access. Enjoy!
Developer Blogs
The Road to Vallaki (Jan. 14, 2023): choosing and designing random encounters, prompting exploratio...
This post has links to rough drafts of my current projects, as well as all templates, tools, and resources in the DM's Toolkit and all Patreon TTRPG workshops that Bronze members can currently access. Enjoy, and don't forget to vote on upcoming workshops in the Patreon Discord server!
Curse of Strahd: Re-Reloaded
2022-03-08 16:47:49 +0000 UTC
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Hey folks, and I hope that your March is off to a good start! I've got some news regarding the Patreon and my own upcoming projects, so let's dive right in.
Let's start with Patreon news:
First: Gold+ tier patrons will now begin receiving exclusive access to monthly homebrew combat encounters. My goal for these is to create...
2022-03-01 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post