Bard of Valiant

A good survival game will have a variety of survivor societies and community-based settlements and groups. One of the more interesting and dynamic of these groups are the predators.
Predator societies are based around the hunting of other survivor groups. To a predator, a measure of one’s value and status in the community is his hunting [...]

Taverns are a staple of many fantasy games. Roll 2d6-1 and pick one of these encounters for this week’s game.

When the players walk in, everyone at each table in the common room is drinking through straws from a bucket in the center of the table.
Every inn and tavern in the town stops serving drinks at [...]

We’re a visually oriented species and cool pics for a game really add to the atmosphere. That said, urban decay is the watch word of any post-apocalypse game.
When I saw these 20 pictures, I was blown away and my mind began churning out encounter ideas for each scene. I want to know what lives in [...]

Image via Wikipedia

Source Inspired by the real thing, found here.
Details
Players will probably not see the small dimples in the ground or smell the faint stench seeping up through the dirt, but that’s the only warning a large, red fleshy plant is about to spring up from under them and try to turn them into lunch.
The [...]

My tabletop fantasy game recently acquired three new players, two of whom will be able to attend tonight’s game.
My problem? How to tie them into the party without having everyone meet in the bar, or for this game the equally cliche situation of having another PC hire them to tag along, which is how the [...]

Image by Akbar Simonse via Flickr

Castles are a gaming staple. Most medieval towns in a fantasy game will have a castle in or near it somewhere.
I’m something of a heretic myself, Castle Greyhawk, often considered on of the worst modules ever written, is one of my favorite adventures.
However, if you want a castle that’s a [...]

Image via Wikipedia

First, I have to tell you, having spent 3 years of my life in tornado alley, no one is going to ignore one of these anywhere near them. They sound like a freight train on steroids and destroy everything they touch.
Second, they don’t touch everything. Oh, thank god. What this means is that [...]

Let’s face it, if you’re going to go through the trouble of inserting prophecy into your game, you’ve planned on it coming true in some form – whether it’s going to be an actual event, a clue to a new adventure or even just some background flavor.
The problem?
Experienced players know this.
So give prophecy a chance [...]

Someone the player characters need to interact with is in the midst of a garden of carnivorous, sentient being-eating plants. Somehow, this person isn’t being eaten and the PCs need to figure out how to get to them without a) being devoured or b) calling attention to themselves.
The person in the garden is carrying an [...]

Image by ifijay via Flickr

As usual, this is system neutral, just drop in some stats and release!
Description: Almost 3 feet long, this narrow-waisted predatory insect has 4 wings in 2 pairs of 2. Coming in a variety of colors ranging from black to brown to yellow, these wasps have only a vestigial stinger.
Ecology: Spider-eating wasps [...]