Bard of Valiant

Whatever RPG rules you choose, it’s really all about the dungeons and the dragons, isn’t it? In 2007 we visited Slovenia and got a full dose of both. Slovenia is just south of Austria, across the Alps. The alpine scenery is fantastic, with an emphasis on the fantasy. Walking up the valley to Predjama castle, [...]

My wife and I first visited Portugal about fifteen years ago. The visit was tagged onto a trip to Spain. Ironically, it turned out to be the highlight of the trip. This past August, we finally made it back to Portugal for a more thorough exploration. Our focus was on the castles and other historical [...]

I’ve been fortunate enough over the last twenty years to indulge some of my interest in things medieval through travel in Europe. Visiting castles, ruins, ancient sites, and festivals has really enhanced my gaming experience. As a player, it is easy to conjure up images of narrow, cobbled streets and crowded markets. As a GM, [...]

Last night our party faced a god. This was the whole goal of the current adventure, something everyone knew was coming for several weeks and was looking forward to last night.
Well, I thought everyone was looking forward to it. It turned out there was a huge discrepancy between how I, as the Game Master, viewed [...]

The core vocabulary of RPG rules, both tabletop and computer-based, revolves around some basic concepts that are understood across rule systems and genres. In creating my homebrewed rule system, I was not interested in trying to reinvent the wheel, but rather to leverage that core vocabulary.
Six standard character abilities that act as guidelines to the [...]

Getting your players involved in your setting can take work but an effective rule of thumb is, don’t answer all their questions. If you leave holes in the setting, players are going to ask questions about it.
Don’t answer these for them.
Instead, tell them you’ve deliberately left some things about the world vague so that they [...]

Written by Bedmyr (Darius099)
Having found the Heiress and hints of Bedmyr’s past, the party was faced with a tough decision. Return with the Heiress now, or search for further evidence of Bedmyr’s lost betrothed?
Though it was a serious force of will, Darius managed to drag Bedmyr along, finally coming safely to the surface and arranging [...]

A new contributor here at Bard of Valiant, Anarkeith is a fellow Steven Brust fan from Seattle, WA. This post is in response to Lord Oz’ discussion on an a la carte system for 4E. Anarkeith has an Obsidian Portal page which can be found here.

A few years ago I was running a stagnating 3.5 [...]

I was reading this post on RPG Athenaeum about why introducing a treasure map in your game can lead to fun and profit. this got me to thinking about how to make one and what the elements are of a good treasure map.
Who hid the treasure? Answering this question is going to answer more, such [...]

Zach was the runner-up in the Bard’s contest about modifying adventures. It was a terrific entry and the choice was difficult. You can read the winner’s post here.
Having gamed with some of the people in my extended gaming circle for as long as I have, I can usually tell what parts of a module or [...]