Adventurers Wanted
Being a GM is a big job: you need to be familiar with the rules (or at least know where to find them in the reference books), create engaging challenges for your players to solve, and weave it all together in an interesting story that will capture the imagination. If you're lucky enough to be… Continue reading Homebrewed: Campaign Prep Guidelines
Animals are a common theme across the spectrum of folklore and fables, with many animals presented as embodiments of certain virtues: Foxes are clever Owls are wise Lions are proud There are positive and negative characteristics for most of the creatures...except for the Snake. In most western storytelling, our friend Snake is associated with qualities… Continue reading Serpent’s Redemption
As you may have seen, I just recently started streaming RPG content on a shiny new Scriv the Bard Twitch channel! It's been an exciting new adventure that I look forward to continuing each week, though it certainly isn't without it's growing pains. A few people have asked me for advice/general tips for new streamers,… Continue reading Feeling Twitchy: Thoughts on Streaming
There are a lot of things to love about "the world's greatest role playing game", the heroes and the villains, the treasure found and friends made along the way...but nothing so valuable as the party's evolution from humble beginnings to champions of legend. Narratively, it's fairly easy to see this change. New perspectives and growth… Continue reading Awarding Experience
If you tuned into our first inaugural Scriv-tival Twitch stream last weekend, you'll have seen our Scribbler-built NPC, Bridget Boulderfall! Bridget is a Gnome Paladin who has trained all her life to become a dragonslayer and avenge the sacrifice of her eldest sister. She's determined, principled, and has a habit of jumping to conclusions...we had… Continue reading Bridget Boulderfall, Community-Built NPC
We've had a few worldbuilding posts at this point, focused on things like language, culture, and just general tips...this time we're looking at ways to approach your worldbuilding at the onset, along with some pros and cons to both methods! Top-Down Have you ever used Google Earth? Or at least looked at a picture of… Continue reading Worldbuilding: Top-Down or Bottom-Up?
In case you missed the news on my various social media accounts, we're celebrating the end of our first year since beginning this adventure!!! Exactly one year has passed since this site began with the first blog post: Adventures for the Family: What I learned from DMing for Children. Since then, I've released new articles… Continue reading Celebrating the First Anniversary with Scriv-tival 2019!
So your party has rescued an adorable baby owlbear...now what? D&D gives you an avenue for exploring a lot of things that are unattainable in real life: magic, interplanar travel, defeating ancient liches...all with an animal companion by your side! Mechanically, there are only a couple of classes that come pre-structured for having a "pet",… Continue reading D&D for Kids: Party Animals
Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.John Muir Have you ever looked up at a particularly old tree and just...wondered? Wondered at how long it's been there, how many things it has seen...and how much more it will see as it continues to witness the passing of the world and lives… Continue reading Sacred Trees
Alright, raise your hand if you have more characters than you have campaigns to play in... ...yup. Me too >_> Can anyone blame us though? There's so much excitement in creating a brand new PC. A blank slate full of promise. The chance to create the hero you dream of being in a world of… Continue reading D&D for Kids: Character Building