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
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
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!
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
Now that the kingdoms are no longer warring, there are a number of soldiers and fighters who were left with little to do. Many became guards and swore to serve and protect the people of the realm. Others with less lofty aspirations decided to splinter into mercenary groups and earn their fortunes as sellswords. Here… Continue reading Factions of Iyastera: Guards, Knights, and Mercenaries
One of the most exciting moments in any new RPG is the start of a new campaign: you have a new world, new characters, and a new story full of excitement and possibility. You have gathered your party and are ready to begin your saga, each adventure more exciting than the last, with challenges around… Continue reading Balancing Act: Campaign Prep
D&D has a lot of options for customizing a character with different abilities and personality traits, but not as much as far as built-in mechanics go for role-playing said character. At the end of the day, D&D was originally a monster hunting/sword and sorcery game that eventually adopted a more narrative focus in the most… Continue reading Game Mechanics: Character Growth and Social Engagement
There are a LOT of rules in D&D and other TTRPGs, so the thought of adding more rules and stipulations doesn't exactly seem enticing...but if you've followed this blog for a while you'll know that our approach to the game is a bit more fluid. I'm not a fan of sticking strictly to the book,… Continue reading House Rules