List of More Campaign Ideas

One of the most exciting and yet difficult parts of hatching a campaign is the idea. A good idea can keep your motivated and focused, and a bad idea can stall your campaign before it even starts. So what makes a good campaign idea? The most important factor is that you care about it. I've proposed a list of campaign ideas before, but what it none of them tickles your fancy? Worry not; here's 25 more campaign ideas to get you started. 

1. Explorers discover a previously unknown civilization deep in uncharted territory. While people flock to the new region for its resources and new wonders, the players are called on to council with the discovered civilization. A noble representative of the land contracts the players to determine who the people are, what their intentions are, and what the noble should do about them. 
2. Visitors from another dimension arrive one day to inform the players that an incursion is on its way. They are here to warn the party that invaders are coming to dominate the plane of existence, and only if the players can follow the messengers back to their dimension and prevent the attack. (The other dimension could be another plane of existence, outer space, or just a doppelganger version of the reality you play in.)
3. An evil god has possessed the leader of a powerful city, and the possessed ruler is using their influence and power to strike against the good-aligned gods' temples and followers. A good god reaches out to the party for help, promising heavenly rewards if the party will defend the innocent people and work to free the leader of possession. 
4. Natural disasters devastate the settlements throughout part of the land, and the common people there have become obsessed with survival in the harsh new world. This involves some people turning on each other, and the remaining leaders in these areas are asking the players for help protecting innocents and fighting to restore the stability of the area. The party may be able to rebuild society. 
5. In a great war, the king has died valiantly in battle. His eldest son, only 10 years old, is to be sent to the capital and endowed as the new king. The party is tasked with transporting the boy to the capital despite all the late king's enemies knowing the kingdom is vulnerable. The party would also be tasked with preparing the boy for adulthood with training. 
6. The party is onboard a ship which wrecks, and they survive, ending up on a small island. They must explore the island and its strange wildlife, build themselves a place to live, and create a plan for getting off the island. But as they plan, they find that something or someone on the island wants to keep them there. 
7. A scientist has begun experimenting on people, trying to genetically improve them. His early attempts have gone horrifically wrong; as he has obtained more unwilling specimens, people have begun to notice the disappearances. Investigation of the reports leads to finding a dead experimented-upon person, and the scientist proves both elusive and persistent in his goal. 
8. A daring adventurer has assembled their ragtag crew, the players, for a daring adventure: going to the center of the earth and returning with its energy captured. In order to make the journey, the party will need to obtain a ship, defeat any lurking beasts underground (or in the Underdark), and return safely. 
9. A worker from a large construction company goes to the public to say that the company has been using slave labor for years, and the worker is killed days later. The party is asked by an industrialist who owns a competing construction company to investigate and expose the company for what it is. The private army employed by the company will complicate things for the party. 
10. A god explains to one of their most devout followers that a change has come, and now all gods' powers are proportional to the number of people who worship them. As news of this spreads, new groups and cults arise to take advantage of the change. A god approaches the players and asks them for help to reverse the change. 
11. A new settlement is set up on the edge of the frontier. In the middle of the night in the settlement, massive creatures move around outside of town. The leader of the townsfolk hires the party to investigate what these strange beings are and convince them to leave the townsfolk alone. But the strange beings have a request of their own . . . 
12. A family reports that their house is being haunted. The players are called upon to deal with it. This includes investigating the haunting, fighting undead, and blessing the area. But when they do, a similar haunting is reported the next town over. As the party deals with these hauntings, they are heading towards a major city. Will the players be able to figure out what's going on before the ghosts get where they're going? 
13. The players are all prisoners in a terribly harsh prison camp. The leader of the camp is cruel and tortures the prisoners who he has an excuse to. A fellow prisoner has a plan to escape the camp, but it will take cunning to create makeshift tools, charm or bribe guards, and make a run for it. But even then, the players will have to brave rough terrain and return to civilization. 
14. A wise old woman in an ancient clan is killed by a spirit, and the wise woman's family needs help setting her death right in the spiritual realm. The players are called upon to investigate the murder, seek vengeance against the spirit, and travel through the spiritual realm to find the wise woman and set things right. 
15. The poet laureate of a distant country has been sent to your players' country, and they are to act as the escort and protection for the poet. They will have to help the poet navigate the new social world of the land they are visiting, protect the poet from assassination attempts, and indulge the poet's many whimsical requests "for inspiration." 
16. During an especially tense political season, one candidate calls another "a worshipper of evil gods," sparking a flurry of similar accusations thrown at practically every candidate. The candidates seek a third party to investigate the candidates and determine who is engaged in evil worship and who is lying in their accusations. 
17. A cryptozoologist is seeking to create an encyclopedia of supernatural monsters ranging from the confirmed magical beast to the legendary beasts of fable. The players will act as guides, protectors, and escorts for the cryptozoologist, occasionally having to do battle with yetis, beholders, and dragons. 
18. A bustling city which is being overrun with crime is facing a new problem: a rise of vigilantism. Overzealous mobs have begun targeting social outsiders in addition to the criminals they set out to address. The players are brought in by the local government to get the mobs under control and train a new guard force; they are also needed to face incursions from a nearby bandit camp. 
19. One morning, one out of every four people in a small town disappears from the earth. The players are among those left behind, and a group of survivors asks the players to help them determine what happened and why. Investigating the disappearances may reveal the workings of a sinister enemy, a celestial event, a dimensional monster, or simply a bizarre mystery. 
20. A wartorn region's citizens are in need of aid, and the players are responsible for delivering it. They will have to travel into the region, defend themselves from raids and attacks, and defend the innocent people. They may even be able to help rescue civilians or broker peace with the warring factions. 
21. Drought conditions destroy much of the farms in an area, and farmers can tell that the soil damage is more permanent than will support them. A mass of farmers hire the party to help them move together as one large caravan. The party will have to help them navigate, protect them from enemies, sustain the caravan's needs, and help them establish themselves in greener pastures. 
22. A gang (the party) plans a job involving conning a disgraced lord out of their jewel collection. They must plan the heist by investigating the lord and his staff, finding a buyer for the collection, and actually pulling the heist. But the party must be wary, for the different members of the lord's staff may be helpful or malicious. 
23. A leader has come to prey on their peoples' best interests, and a group of revolutionaries want to bring about change. They hire the party to sabotage the leader's interests and government; the party will need to perform reconnaissance, fight the guards and soldiers from the leader, and help to support the new regime's leader. But how will the new leader be?
24. The immigration of a group of people into a new area has caused an outbreak of vicious disease. The party seems to be immune to it, so the locals hire them to tend to the sick. But when the players investigate, they find that a strange storm struck them while they traveled, and some of them believe they became sick during the storm. The players must investigate this strange illness. 
25. An elder has mastered the art of meditation and can now control matter with their mind. They are fearful of their death meaning the loss of this advance, so they try to teach it to the players. But when the players learn the meditation and begin to practice it, they are transported to a foreign dimension with fearful enemies. 

There you have it--25 more ideas for campaigns. Hopefully, you've got something churning for your next campaign. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: how to create an interesting villain, a guide to epochs of history in my homebrew setting, and multiple descriptions of common items for variety. Until next time, happy gaming!

Back to the homepage (where you can find everything!)

How to Use Character-Building Exercises for Development and Fun

Everyone at the table benefits from richly characterized characters. The player who describes their character in detail is the player who has the greatest potential to develop story moments into powerful narrative. This also inspires other players to develop their characters as well. And at the same time, posing character development questions to your players not only pushes them to get specific with their characterization, but also creates an atmosphere of fun as the players try to one-up each other with facts about their characters. All it takes is starting each session with a fact about each character. 

This idea comes from the fantastic D&D podcast Dungeons & Daddies. Each episode of their podcast begins with each player (and the DM) offering what they call "Dad Facts." Each of the party's characters--all dads--get the game started by sharing a specific piece of information about them. Oftentimes, these facts are funny; sometimes, they are meaningful; other times still, they are both. The folks who make the show have discussed on multiple occasions how helpful these "Dad Facts" are. They say that beginning the game by thinking in detail about their characters helps them get into the game. It also gets their creative juices flowing--they have to get in touch with the part of their brain that creates narrative details before the game has even begun. And for listeners, "Dad Facts" can be one of the most entertaining parts of the show. So why not adapt this idea to your game? 

Implementing this idea is simple. When your group sits down to play, explain that before you start the game proper, you'll be asking for each player to share a detail about their player. (Details on good things to share below.) It's a good idea to start this exercise for the first time with your strongest roleplayer so that the other players can get a sense of what a good answer looks like. If a player shares something that is vague, ask them a more specific question to have them clarify in a more precise fashion. Your goal is to unveil something that is either surprising (people would not have guessed this fact about the character) or so fitting that it's entertaining (people could have guessed it, but it's more extreme than imagined). Oftentimes, players will piggy-back on each others' facts, and you'll end up with everyone in the party's position on some minor issue. This works great. The more the facts bring the party together, the better. 

Let's talk about what makes a good fact to share. Specificity is key. We don't want a player to say something like, "I like killing monsters" or "I fight using spells." This is pretty obvious and doesn't make the character seem more unique. More specific versions of these would be "I enjoy killing gnolls" or "My favorite spell is Magic Missile." But these are still not very specific or unique. A better version of these would be "I was once mugged by a group of gnolls and now I don't trust them" or "I once used Magic Missile to knock a priest's hat off his head." These would work as good beginner facts--they tell us something about the character and are specific enough to be interesting. 

But these facts don't need to relate to the game in such direct ways. A strong fact to share is simply choosing what a favorite is for the character. Favorite food and drinks, favorite books and plays, favorite memories with friends and family, favorite physical objects (clothing, items, trinkets), and what things in our modern world (films, shows, video games, trends) would be the character's favorite if they lived here and not in a fantasy world--these are all good options. But just picking a favorite is not enough. Your player should describe why that thing is their favorite. A short anecdote about the character's connection to these favorites is the best way to handle these types of character facts. 

On that note, the best kind of character fact is normally a micro-story. Pick an idea/topic and think about how your character would feel about it. Then reverse-engineer a short story about that character and how they interacted with that idea/topic. For example, you have a cleric with guilt problems and a twisted sense of justice; choosing an idea/topic, I come up with "how does this character respond to miscarriages of justice?" So in the end, I tell a short story about how my cleric once saw someone get away with assaulting an old woman in the neighborhood; in response, he tracked the guilty party down in the middle of the night and administered a worse beating than the old woman got. This works well enough, but I can shine it up a little more. I can add that my cleric was found out for his attack on the guilty party, and the church the cleric worked for transferred him to a smaller town where he could cause less trouble. Now, everyone at the table has a clearer sense of who my cleric is--and I probably do too, even as the character's creator. 

It's important to note that even though some of these character facts are more colorful, specific, and interesting than others. And that's okay! It's not a competition. The players should feel when making these facts that they are collaborating on a joint portrait of the party as individual people, not that they have to outdo each other's efforts to characterize their characters. Once you've all shared a character fact, you can roll right into the game, secure in the knowledge that everyone is thinking in-character and creatively. 

For the GM of the game, you have a few options. In Dungeons & Daddies, the DM shares a fact about his real-life self, all of which are humorous. When in comparison to the players' facts, these funny anecdotes seem larger-than-life and suit the tone of the show. But I would suggest an alternative for most games: the GM should pick an NPC who has been particularly at the center of the campaign or session for a while, or someone who is about to become more notable in the story, and share a fact about them. This way, the GM can characterize NPCs (like most GMs want to but hesitate to do for sake of the progress of the campaign) at their discretion and without spending in-game time delivering information about that NPC. You might also as GM have your facts be about the gameworld, as though it is a character itself. Again, this provides an opportunity to fill in worldbuilding details in a way that doesn't slow the game. 

So, to review: by asking your players to deliver one fact about their character per session, you can get your players thinking in-game, set them into creativity mode, consistently develop characters over time, start sessions with a bit of in-game fun, and inspire some laughter or pondering in the rest of the group. For such a simple commitment (just one fact), the results are remarkable. I highly recommend adding this small idea to your campaign, as it will not only improve the game, but also bring the players closer together. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: a one-shot based on the movie The Warriors, a profile on literature in my homebrew setting, and rules for commanding and sustaining armies. Until next time, happy gaming!

Back to the homepage (where you can find everything!)

Spicing Up Encounters: No More Blandits

You know the scene: your players are moving from one part of your story or world to the other, and it's time for an encounter. Your players grow excited at the rumblings of combat, and you unveil the enemies they're about to face off against. It's bandits. (Or goblins. Or whatever typical enemies typically make up the encounters in your world.) How exciting is this the third time it happens? Even with strategic details that change, some players are going to get bored fighting against the same old bandits (or blandits, as I call them) before too long. But you can mix these encounters up and provide something exciting for your players with just a bit of creative thinking. Read on for ways to create more memorable encounters. 

There are a few ways that you can spice up encounters. You can completely change the enemy type (while still staying within the story you're telling), you can create unique types of enemies, and you can mix enemy types to create new versions of foes for your players. Each one creates novelty in a different way, and that's important; the human brain craves novelty, so providing it to your players will make your game appeal to them on a deep level. Let's get into the first method. 

You can completely change the type of enemy your players normally face. Let's say that you're dealing with a campaign about small towns being targeted by bandits. Your players have faced a number of bandits, and some of the charm of fighting bandits has begun to wear off. You might mix it up in a small or a large way. Let's say that the next town the players visit is a port city--now, rather than bandits, you can translate the idea to the setting and make them pirates. Now you have the opportunity to have a chaotic pirate battle that allows you to use some bandit tactics and motifs but give them a new face with the pirate design. Similarly, a mountain settlement might feature mountaineers who fight with distance weapons like bows and polearms, and a town of poor folks might have a farmers' militia with farming tools as weapons. Perhaps a deep forest community fight like hunters rather than skirmishers, and a supernatural twist could surprise your players with lycanthropic fighters. These are all minor changes, basically akin to putting a new video game skin on the same character; and yet, each of these twists on the blandit changes the way that the enemy fights, and thereby the tactics that the party will need to use to defeat them. With this method, you get to keep your encounters simple but keep them varied. 

You could just as easily create unique types of enemy. Let's say that you've run a few encounters with bandits or some comparable enemy, and again you need to mix things up. So we'll create different types of bandit. Think about the way most video games work: there isn't so much one enemy you fight, but an army of enemies with varied skills and weaknesses. You can reproduce that in your game with just a few small twists. Below is a list of several types of enemy you can create that have distinct abilities to make them more unique: 

• Tank: These enemies are covered in heavy armor, perhaps finely-made armor, and perhaps cobbled together from whatever was available (pots and pans, sheet metal, washboards, etc.). Because of their armor, they don't move quickly, and most of their strength is used wearing the armor, so they don't deal loads of damage. But they will be hard to hit (at least an 18 or 19 Armor Class), and that will make dealing with this enemy a greater challenge than simply being a bandit. 
• Sniper: These enemies are not particularly well-defended; rather, they use speed and maneuverability to stay out of reach of the players. From that distance, they use ranged weapons to deal damage that cannot be answered. A lot of GMs will keep ranged weapons out of the hands of enemies, but a few well-placed snipers can give the players a much harder time with the group than they anticipate. 
• Explosives Expert: These enemies are neither heavily defended nor prepared for a long fight; their strength in combat is that they can deal heavy damage to a number of players at once. You can equip this enemy with classic in-game devices like Alchemist's Fire or your take on a rudimentary explosive device. Whatever the nature of your device, it should be something that can deal lots of damage suddenly, making these enemies targets your players must quickly deal with. 
• Commander: Oftentimes, GMs operate groups of enemies like they operate with a hivemind; every NPC knows what's going on across the battle, and the GM's knowledge of tactics is uniform across the group of enemies. You can avoid this conundrum and spice up battle by adding a commanding character who calls out strategic maneuvers and may even be able to provide small buffs to the other enemies. They are not the best combatants, but they are capable of turning the tide of a battle. 
• Rogue: So often in battle, all of the enemies take formation and fight openly without variation. You can change that with rogue NPCs, enemies who can use stealth to disappear from combat and reappear only to sneak attack a party member. Like the Sniper, these enemies are not well-defended, but they use maneuverability to make the most of their attacks. You can have these enemies disappear by positioning them behind cover and then rolling Stealth to leave cover unseen. 
• Weapons Experts: Sometimes, even just adding an interesting weapon to an NPC can be enough to set them apart from standard sword-and-shield blandits. A bandit with a reach weapon is considerably different from a bandit with an axe; a bandit with a whip will mix up combat entirely. Take a look at some of the more exotic weapons and use them to spice up your enemies. Players will remember "that guy with the pike" better than you might anticipate. 

These are just a few variations and enemy types. I recommend also describing these enemies as having distinctly different physical appearances. Tanks and Weapons Experts may be big and muscular, where Snipers, Rogues, and Commanders would be smaller but also have specific uniforms: Snipers and Rogues might want different kinds of camouflaged whereas the Commander wants something that sets them visibly apart in battle. I also recommend having your enemies communicate verbally in battle, suggesting maneuvers and calling out player strategies; not only does this make the enemies more challenging and realistic, but the players will be deeply engaged when the enemies are responding to their strategy in real time. 

A final note about these enemy types: as you can probably tell, most of the enemy types above are basically classes from D&D. That's intentional; just as player characters have distinct skills and fighting techniques, so should the enemies in the world. If everyone just smashes swords together over and over, your players are bound to get bored with encounters. By mixing up combat with the same variation that players get to enjoy, we can keep the game balanced and keep our players guessing. 

If you want to mix enemy types together, you can use both of the methods outlined above to create memorable enemies. A bandit with a sword has nothing on a pirate explosives expert or a hunting sniper or a mountaineer with a halberd. Any of these twists on normal enemies creates novelty for your players, which keeps them engaged. 

Some folks might counter that it doesn't make sense to have a smattering of enemy types--why would a pirate, a hunter, a mountaineer, and a rogue all work together? That's essentially what the party of player characters is, though. The variety of classes makes a party stronger and more ready to deal with anything. Similarly, a strong crew of bandits might employ various experts to improve their odds of success. 

You might also mix up your encounters by having different groups of enemies take different strategic approaches. The party might encounter skirmishers, tanks, a pincer attack, a balance of ranged and melee approaches, bandits who focus on spellcasters or healers, or enemies who strike and retreat, strike and retreat. These strategies make enemies more unique, as the battles themselves will change in response to the strategies. 

I also like to add some flair to my encounters by giving the enemies magic items. An enemy cleric with Bracers of Armor is a formidable foe; a bandit with a bastard sword that lights enemies on fire must be taken seriously; an enemy who can summon an ally to fight with them changes an encounter completely. 

Ultimately, it all comes down to this, though: encounters should mean something. If you're not playing a combat-based game, you don't really need encounters. If you are running a combat campaign, encounters should be varied and exciting. Increase the power of your enemies and develop them beyond just a type. This guide can help as a starting point, but to further develop them, start thinking about what you want the enemies to be like. Memorable foes have complexity, so give them more personality than just opposition. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: what to offer in city marketplaces, why roleplaying is the height of gaming, and how to build a player stronghold. Until next time, happy gaming!

Back to the homepage (where you can find everything!)

List of Villain Ideas

Not every campaign has to have a villain, but most do. And those that do need a compelling villain--their actions are what drives the story, after all. Thanks to thousands of years of human storytelling, we've seen just about every villain that might exist, in fiction at least. Coming up with an interesting hook for your villain is a key part of planning for your campaign. So I've created a list of 15 Big Bad Evil Gals/Guys (BBEGs) that can add an interesting dimension to your game. 

The list below is partially composed of BBEGs I have run in the past, but is composed mostly of new ideas specially created for this list. I'm including enough basic information to be able to extrapolate a campaign with; if you want resources on how to do that, look no further. But if like me, you prefer to do it yourself, here are some ideas to get you started. 

1. The Anarchist Royal: This member of the royal family of a burgeoning kingdom (I opted for princess) has learned about anarchy and grown to resent their family's power over their subjects. They have designed a way to destroy the kingdom from within. Their end goal is to destroy all possibility of the kingdom continuing and make efforts if possible to incite the people to rise up. I had my version of this BBEG commit to her ideals so much that she intended to die with the rest of her family to break the royal lineage. You might have this BBEG look to the party for help and not explain what their motives are, revealing their true intentions as a twist later in the campaign. The party will have to deal with investigation of conspiracies, diplomatic interactions, stealthy maneuvers, and a range of political questions about the storyline. 
2. The Artifact Collector: This studious BBEG may not even be evil in your campaign; the idea is simply that a specific person has uncovered information that that suggests a powerful artifact is hidden in some way. They have become so obsessed with the artifact that they will sacrifice anything to get it. Their end goal is to collect the artifact and be the first to use its power. In my version of this BBEG, the collection of the artifact was preceded by finding a series of related artifacts with clues that led from one to the next. Your players might race to collect the artifact before the BBEG can, or they may oppose them in some other way. The powers of the artifact may be why the BBEG is seeking it, or its powers may be a mystery and all they know is that it is highly powerful. The BBEG should be cunning and try to sabotage the player characters. The party will have to deal with discovering lore, tracking the BBEG, solving riddles, completing dungeons, and dealing with powerful magical forces. 
3. The Angry God: This god or demigod's agenda has been disrupted by the player characters. They are furious about this and want to punish the player characters for their meddling in divine plans. This BBEG's range of abilities makes them both formidable and interesting as an enemy, and discovering ways to get the upper hand on them will be a big part of dealing with this BBEG. Their end goal is to make their plan happen, and to rage against anything that gets in their way. In my version of the BBEG, I had an iteration of Gruumsh demand that the player characters help him and torture them when they didn't immediately do so; although I didn't initially intend this god character to be the overarching BBEG of the campaign, he was so persistently evil that my players loved to hate him. This BBEG should be intimidating and show off the lore about gods in your world. The party will have to deal with learning about the gods, dabbling with magic, protecting themselves from the divine, looking for allyship with other powerful beings, and using charismatic skills to deal with the BBEG. 
4. The Necromancer Commander: This powerful necromancer has developed a spell which changes the stakes of violence in-game--they have cursed the player characters, and any living humanoid they kill will be instantly raised as an undead warrior. Now the players cannot freely kill anyone or face the necromancer's wrath. They have designs to cast this spell on other powerful people in the world in order to build an army. They may even be working on an amplifying spell that would make the effect target all people. Their end goal is to conquer as much of the world as possible using their undead army. I suggest making the undead warriors that rise from killed people significantly more powerful than the person who died: the undead should have roughly 1.5x the killed person's abilities, but you could go as high as 2x if you wanted a more difficult and tense game. The party will have to deal with tense combat, strategic decisions about tactics, learning how to counter the necromancer's spells, protecting NPCs, and gathering abilities to better combat the undead. 
5. The Veteran Who Hasn't Moved On: This ex-soldier once fought in a conflict that changed them. They lost the war, but that didn't mean the war ended for this BBEG. They're bent on going out and single-handedly winning it now. Inspired by my homebrew world's Magic War, this BBEG uses their skills as a soldier to wage guerilla warfare against those they perceive as enemies. Their agenda depends on what their war was fought over; in mine, the war was about whether magic should be free, regulated, or abolished (the free advocates won), and so in my world this BBEG would be an old abolishment soldier who's striking against prominent magic users in their community. Their end goal should be an escalating series of attacks that culminate in some important public figure, as part of their agenda is making a public statement. I suggest making this BBEG a stealthy one so that part of the story can be your players discovering their identity and tracking them. To that end, the party will deal with investigation, tracking, interviewing witnesses, learning about the conflict the BBEG served in, and tense surprise combat. 
6. The Beastmaster: This BBEG can come from a variety of backgrounds: Druid, Ranger, Wizard/Sorcerer/Warlock to being with, but anyone who has learned some magic will work. This BBEG has mastered the ability to control animals. They can turn mundane animals into frightening creatures and convince even familiars to join their cause. Their end goal is to command an army and give animals dominion over humanoids. This BBEG may be aggressive and attack settlements where animals are harness for work, or they may be quietly massing an army of creatures somewhere out in the wilderness. Fighting with the Beastmaster means also fighting an array of controlled animals. The party will have to deal with natural magic, an array of transforming enemies, the ethics of killing controlled animals, and fighting to keep their animal companions by their sides. 
7. The Knowledge Eraser: This BBEG may be deranged or simply bent on an extreme idea; in any case, they seek to destroy stores of knowledge all over the land. I suggest using a magic user for this BBEG, which would allow them to cast fire spells to destroy entire libraries. They strike first at local libraries, targeting unique texts, and work their way up to the greatest stores of knowledge in the world. Their end goal is to free humanity from its undue reverence for history by destroying any trace of it. They might also focus on magical texts as an effort to reduce the potential of spellcasters. The party may be enlisted by civic authorities to investigate the destructions of texts, or they may encounter the BBEG themselves while dealing with texts. The party will deal with the various lore of your world, discussions of the value of historical records, investigating an elusive person, speaking with experts about the lost information, and learning about the different cultures in your world. 
8. The Mad Scientist: This inventor character can be whatever interpretation of a mad scientist you prefer, but here's my version. This BBEG has spent their life tinkering with gadgets and gizmos and has had a revelation: their inventions could change the world. But their attempts to promote their inventions haven't worked, and now they intend to convince the world of their genius by force. Their end goal is to punish those who underestimated them, attain renown, and implement their inventions in society. The exact nature of this BBEG's inventions is up for grabs. I opt for someone who specializes in mechanical clockwork devices, who has a collection of intimidating homunculi to use in combat. These handy devices can hold the party off while the BBEG escapes for another encounter pretty easily. You can also justify pretty much any invention you like to push the story along by using fantasy logic. The party will deal with interesting combats, a variety of strange ideas, gauging the public awareness, questions about the validity of the BBEG's inventions, and lots of appearances from the BBEG's homunculi. 
9. The Corrupt Official: This character holds a position in government and appears to be an upstanding member of the law. But secretly, they are corrupt to the core. They siphon official funds, they pull strings to get favors, they control people through their rank--and it's damaging the settlement they govern. Discovering the source of the corruption could be the core of the campaign, but you could also choose an openly corrupt official who's hard to get to for your BBEG. You can choose a smaller town if the atmosphere of fewer people being more directly impacted works better for your story, or a larger city if you want to really focus on the mystery of the corruption. Their end goal might simply be to amass wealth and power, or they may have a more concentrated agenda like obtaining a higher post or running competitors out of town or business. This is a more storytelling/roleplaying campaign, but you could add some combat by having the BBEG hire mercenaries to fight the party. The party will deal with political intrigue, investigating the government, the experiences of the common people in town, questions about what to do to fix the government, and lots of opportunity to portray a truly slimy BBEG. 
10. The Reclaimer: This character began as a very normal person, but they suffered a great loss and prayed for help. They received a blessing from their god and became instantly powerful, and their god tasked them with reclaiming a lost temple. That temple now lies at the heart of a thriving city that now uses the temple to worship a different god. Their end goal is to destroy the heathens who profaned the temple and reestablish the worship of their god. This BBEG has a very different flavor depending on which god you choose for them: an evil god means fighting against hatred and injustice; a good god means that the repurposed temple in the city has been diminished (but if the party is evil, it would function as normal); a neutral god makes the whole question of reclaiming the temple much more of a debate. As with others on this list, this BBEG may begin as an ally or questgiver, only to reveal the truth of their mission only after the party has cooperated. The party will deal with questions of morality, navigation of both dangerous and highly populated areas, learning lore of the gods in your world, fighting a variety of divine creatures, and negotiation with the gods. 
11. The Ultimate Planner: This character can come from any background, but they are remarkable for their intelligence, foresight, and practicality. Whatever happens, they have already foreseen it and prepared accordingly--they are never taken off guard. In terms of actual presence in the game, the players should always be able to approach this BBEG, but will always be foiled by a last-minute action that required planning in advance. Your players storm in and cut off all the exits? This BBEG has installed a trapdoor that leads to a tunnel and their escape. You'll keep your BBEG one step ahead of the players until the finale, when they critically miscalculate and the players triumph. Their end goal can be flexible, but by way of example that honors the planning skills of the BBEG, let's say that they want to use their judgment to maximize everyone else's life, effectively dictating their actions and erasing free will, which the BBEG doesn't see as a problem because efficiency is more important. The party will deal with trying to get a step ahead, anticipating the BBEG's actions, questions about free will, lots of planning of their own, and plenty of surprises from the BBEG's plans. 
12. The Mistaken Medium: This character has made a living from their magical ability to discern things that cannot be seen. They often read fortunes and foretell their clients' challenges. They have seen a striking vision of a world that terrifies them: they believe an important public figure (perhaps the leader of a settlement) will cause the apocalypse with a future decision. They become bent on stopping this from happening, and at any cost. Their end goal is to prevent the world ending by assassinating this figure. The party might catch onto this BBEG's actions when the BBEG kills someone close to the leader in an effort to derail them; investigating the murder leads to the BBEG's trail. This BBEG might be able to predict the party's coming for them or may use their gifts to intimidate the party. They may also share their visions in order to convince the party they are helping. The party will deal with omens of the apocalypse, protecting a public figure, investigating the BBEG's trail, questions of fate, and whether the party believes the BBEG. 
13. The Urban Terrorist: This character lives in a big city and has been run down by city life. Think of the main characters from movies like Taxi Driver and Falling Down, people who have gone rotten and lash out violently. This BBEG is filled with hatred and they take it out on the signs of decay around them. Their actions may still be percolating by getting into bar fights intending to kill someone, and they may have moved onto more devious actions like poisoning the water supply or burning down buildings with people inside. Their end goal is murky even to themselves--they only know that they will feel even worse if they don't destroy something or someone. The biggest struggle in dealing with this BBEG is in finding them in the sprawling city and being able to tie them to their crimes. The party may be contacted by city officials looking for help or may chance upon the site of one one of the BBEG's attacks. The party will deal with doing dangerous work surrounded by bystanders, questions of morality, depictions of rough city life, tracking work, and grappling with meaningless violence.
14. The Specimen Collector: This depraved individual has ceased to consider themselves a part of humanity; in their minds, they are a god among humanoids. But their interest in the lower forms of life around them has driven them even madder. This BBEG is on a quest to catalog the differences between individual humanoids, and they do so by capturing people, experimenting on them, and preserving the body for a grand display of their work. Their end goal is to have incontrovertible evidence of their theories about anatomy and biology, and they crave the approval of a particular expert on genealogy. The party's time with this BBEG may begin when the first few people get abducted by the BBEG, or it may be when the expert on genealogy is contacted by the BBEG--their disgust at the BBEG's work inspires them to contact the party for help. The party will deal with disturbing scenes of experimentation, learning about the game's lore for the different races, questions of scientific ethics, anticipating the moves of a deranged person, and investigating disappearances and murders.
15. The Harbinger: This individual was raised in a highly religious household and came to fear their god. In my world, this would fit well with the Dalton Church of Pelor, a dark version of the sun god who requires sacrifices to rise each morning. This BBEG, after being raised in such a dark and disturbing worldview, has lost sight of reality. They believe that the animal sacrifices are no longer enough to satisfy the hungry sun, and they commit to sacrificing one humanoid each day. Their end goal is to preserve the earth by indefinitely sacrificing people. This makes this BBEG especially committed to their goal. Dealing with this BBEG means that the party will be investigating a string of disappearances or murders; you could also have the party see the BBEG kill someone and get away and have the party learn about the extent of the crimes as they investigate. This BBEG might have been killing people for only a day or two before someone catches on, but you might also decide he's been at it for a month before people in the busy city really notice. The party will deal with investigation of disappearances and murder, religious lore from your world, questions about belief, disturbing scenes of the sacrificial church, and the potential for involvement from the gods in your world. 

That's 15 different BBEG ideas. If an idea appeals to you, run with it. Feel free to change anything at all to better suit your world, your story, and your take on the BBEG. Remember that a compelling BBEG is one you can portray in an exciting way, so be sure to use ideas that you think you could perform well for your players. And of course if your players are interested in one of these ideas, it's hard to go wrong by giving them the villain they really want. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: a one-shot based on Alice in Wonderland, naming conventions in my homebrew setting, and the value of individual introduction sessions for a campaign. Until next time, happy gaming!

Back to the homepage (where you can find everything!)

Technologies to Be Available in Your Gameworld

Your gameworld can be characterized by any number of features. The way you treat magic in the game is one of these features, and another is how you characterize the setting. The intersection of these ideas is where you define the technologies in your world. The tech you decide to include will not only add characterization to the world, but it will also define what is and is not possible in the world. And importantly, technologies also create storytelling opportunities, as players can use these technologies to get ahead in the story. Below, I've developed a list of technologies you can deploy in your game; read on for ways that you can develop your gameworld's technologies to intensify your game by restricting or expanding the tech available. 

Before I get into the list, I want to draw attention to one of the ways that technologies have affected my games. I have seen players use new technologies to develop cutting-edge businesses, and I have seen them deploy technologies for the sake of exploring new ideas. In Listen Check, for instance, a gnomish inventor had developed a device which stored as a simple paperback book, but which could grow and take the form of various pieces of furniture. The players all invested in this inventor's device--Soren in particular poured funds into the project--and not only were they able to rebuild their home out of these transforming pieces of furniture, but they became quite rich from their investments. You can see how even one invention can change the course of a story. 

More recently, I developed several inventions for the mystery campaign. I designed the list of inventions as a letter from the inventor Lyssbetonk Cogswagon, who was offering the player characters the aid of one invention to help them in their investigations. That letter includes a total of 11 technologies, including simple ones like an automatic field plower and an automated assistant (both of which stand to shake things up in most campaigns), but also more notable devices, like anti-gravity boots, a weather controller, and something called an Undoer, which allows the wearer to travel back in time five seconds, leaving the rest of the world behind. In the context of the campaign, these technologies are world-changing to a certain extent, but the real idea here is that the inventions are part of the mystery--the player characters have to determine which inventions are involved in the conspiracy and be able to counteract them. So you see that technologies can serve purposes other than simply changing what actions are available; they can also contribute to the story you're telling. 

So let's get into some specific technologies. Deploy these in your gameworld however you see fit, recognizing that technologies change what players are capable of in your world. The players' uses of technology will surprise you. My mystery campaigners ended up asking for help with a Liquid Multiplier to turn a single healing potion into hundreds of sellable doses of healing potion--that's something I didn't anticipate. So, with the recognition that technologies can disrupt your game in the same chaotic fashion as any other ability granted to the players, let's consider some technologies for your world, moving from least to most transformative (and considering eliminating taken-for-granted technologies). 

1. Purified Water: In medieval times, water was not reliably clean, and most folks just drank ale, which was easier to reliably safely produce. In your world, you can develop the technology of purified water to allow people to safely and reliably drink pure water if you so choose. But you can just as easily rule that purified water is outside the realm of possibility, and portray people as drinking ale as a safer alternative. Clean water also has a huge impact on agriculture, and you might play in a world where people preserve water for crops and drink other things to ensure a good harvest. If you include pure water in your game, consider only the most upscale establishments the holders of pure water. 
2. Agricultural Harvesters: In medieval times, harvesting crops was an arduous process, but today, complex devices make the process much easier. Your world can share this development: inventors eager to reduce labor in the field can create rolling machines which pluck any crop from the ground and store it. You might have one all-in-one device handle all crops, or a specialized machine for each crop; the device could be cheap enough to be revolutionizing agriculture, and it may be expensive enough that most farmers must save carefully to afford one. Whatever you choose, these harvesters will be game-changers which will multiply the free time of farmers who have it. 
3. The Printing Press: This is not a wild invention in the way that many TRPG inventions are wild--this technology simply determines the spread of information in your world. It's worth considering how popular the printing press is in your world so that you understand how many books there are and thereby what the average person knows about a given topic. I've decided that the printing press is relatively new in my world, but gaining considerable traction, so that printed books have only just become popular and widely available. You might also run a world with no printing press in order to keep written records rare. Printing press availability also affects libraries and newspapers, so make this choice carefully. 
4. Clocks and Watches: Clocks are one of civilization's earliest inventions, but early clocks were unwieldy and large. You might rule that only such large clocks exist in your world, but you can push the line of technology in either direction: you might rule that clocks generally do not exist at all, meaning that player characters must approximate time by the sun's position, or you might rule that clocks are so useful that the technology of timekeeping has rushed to meet demand, and there are even small watches which can reliably keep time. Determining the commonness of timekeeping can help to characterize your world and put pressure on time-related activities. 
5. Musical Instruments: Instruments in a traditional D&D world include period instruments like lutes, lyres, and harps, but these instruments don't have to be the full range of musical possibilities. In the mystery campaign, Montana plays a guitar even though the instrument wouldn't be invented until the very end of the medieval period. But musical expression in the game is more about self-expression than historical reenactment, so you can have in-game characters develop modern instruments. In my world, halflings are renowned as experimenters in the world of music, so I could easily determine that halflings invented the guitar and other instruments to satisfy my players. 
6. Plumbing: Traditional medieval worlds have only the most basic hygienic inventions; science had not yet shown us that disease thrives in unhealthy conditions, and so people did not have things like plumbing yet. But I like to think that magic increases the capabilities of engineers, and that the kind of wealth disparity that exists in my world would lead to the development of technologies that only help the rich. So why not include basic plumbing? The wealthy have the ability to fill a bathtub without carrying water, they can use more sophisticated technology than an outhouse, and they have running water to wash their hands. This opens a narrative possibility of a disease that affects mostly the poor, but the rich have immunity because of their plumbing. 
7. Photography: The ingredients required for early photography were all commonly available to people in medieval settings; the daguerreotype, the earliest publicly available photography method, required silver, iodine, and mercury. In a world with plentiful apothecaries, each of these substances would be relatively easy to find. So why not include photography in your world? These early photographs take time and resources to create, so using it would still require a person to work hard for the fruits of their labor. This would introduce changes into the way that persons of interest are tracked, as perfect reproductions would be available to the public.
8. Use of Existing Magic as Technology: This is one of my favorite ways to make my gameworld more interesting. Consider the magic that exists in the world and how those spells would supplement other aims. In my homebrew setting, powerful wizards are employed by a courier service to teleport couriers all across the continent. Thus, from this spell, there is a whole business that keeps the world informed and connected. The above example of Listen Check uses this format too: the furniture inventor was using a shrink/enlarge spell paired with engineering for his devices. If you have an idea for how a spell might affect the world, keep imagining the details until you know how it affects the world. From there, you'll soon have a unique way for magic to express your world's details. 
9. Flying Machines: As far back as Leonardo da Vinci, there are designs for flying machines. You might introduce a variety of flying machine in your world, and you have lots of options. You could go with the single-person design that da Vinci developed, an early biplane which could hold a passenger or two, or something else entirely. I include this idea because flight is at the heart of the human imagination going back as far as we can remember, and it seems only natural that people in the gameworld would strive to fly as well. With limited flight, travel changes drastically, and all manner of new complications arise--consider how dramatic a skill check to keep the device in the air would be. 
10. Social Programs: I'm writing from the United States, where social programs have long taken a backseat to "economical freedom," but that doesn't mean that your gameworld can't have them. In my homebrew setting, gnomes have a very socialistic government, so they use magic and extensive recordkeeping to provide everyone in their society with the resources they need. Technology gets used in this system: every gnome has a personal artifact, like a ring or a card-shaped metal plate, which can be scanned by a government official before providing aid in order to track social programs. Gnomes' roles as inventors also mean that these social programs take advantage of some of the highest-profile devices in the known world. 
11. Fortune Tellers and Mediums: In the real world, fortune tellers and mediums are people who we can't really be sure have any contact with the supernatural. But in D&D, with the existence of spells like "Weal or Woe," fortune telling is a pretty exact science. Because spellcasters and other mediums have access to very real magic and information that lies outside of everyday life, people in the gameworld would come to rely on them for accurate information about what lies ahead. Where fortune tellers in our world are a "special occasion" type of visit for most of us, fortune tellers in D&D might be a regular visit for all manner of people. These figures can provide your game with dramatic tension, storytelling opportunities, and memorable predictions. 
12. Communication Devices: One of the greatest factors that makes our modern world different from a medieval setting is the speed of communication. Today, we can send a text message almost instantaneously to someone on the opposite side of the world, but a D&D setting usually requires you to travel to the location of who you want to speak with. I like to imagine that people within the gameworld sense that communication could be sped up and use magic with technology to change that. Perhaps your communication device is like an early telephone, with a whole structure that must be wired to its connection, and perhaps your communication device is simply an earpiece that allows the wearer to speak with whoever has the matched earpiece. Whatever you decide, speeding up communication and removing proximity from the equation will change the pace of your adventure and intensify the relationship of whoever your characters speak to. 
13. Magic Identifier: In a world where magic runs rampant and people afflicted with spells may not know how to counter them, it makes sense that someone would develop a mechanical device which can identify magic. This device, which I imagine as a scanner similar to a tv remote control, can confirm that magic has been cast on a person and can potentially diagnose the exact spell used. In conjunction with the treatment of a professional, this device could free the person from any manner of magical effects and curses; additionally, it frees up a range of identifying spells for the professional to use to help people. The Magic Identifier is likely a one-off invention by an enterprising individual, but you could also have it somewhat mass-produced if your gameworld considers magic to be as much a liability as a benefit. 
14. Gunpowder: The ingredients of gunpowder were freely available to people in medieval times--saltpeter, charcoal, and sulphur all occur pretty regularly in the world, especially from miners. I'm not suggesting that you give your D&D players full-on firearms--that would be quite a different game altogether. Rather, gunpowder can be used in small explosive charges, allowing your player characters to build bombs. Of course, just because the ingredients of gunpowder are available doesn't mean that they're easily available, and you can ration how much your players have access to in order to keep them from overwhelming all their enemies with explosives. 
15. Resurrection: There are a number of spells directly dedicated to raising fallen characters. These spells are designed so that the players don't have to lose their characters if they die, but the spells create story complications that can be difficult to deal with. Years ago, I had a party split in which one half of my players decided to kill a king and the other half decided to defend the king. One of the assassins succeeded in regicide, and the cleric on the defending party wanted to resurrect him. How could I decide between the split parties? I had to invalidate one side or another. I decided that "Resurrection" as a spell could only raise the king for one week, at which point he would permanently die--a sort of compromise. I mention this because "Resurrection" has unintended consequences when applied to NPCs. If "Resurrection" is widely available in your world, it should exist in a way that reflects the societal impact of death being escapable. If it's widely available, there should be spellcasters who specialize in casting the spell almost exclusively. If you reduce the power of the spell like I did, remember that it needs to be consistent across your gameworld. 

That's 15 ideas for ways that technology (especially paired with magic) can be a part of your gameworld. You can and should consider the ways that other elements of the game would affect society and other technology, and if you do so, you can turn any idea into a working technology in your world. Remember to have your world reflect the change made by the technology, as this is often the most important and interesting way it will show up in your game. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: an argument against min-maxing, an age calculator for D&D races, and a one-shot based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Until next time, happy gaming!

Back to the homepage (where you can find everything!)

Temple Descriptions for Each Deity

In Dungeons & Dragons, the gods can be constant figures. I've written before about my homebrew rules for gods, and they stand the chance to be major forces in your gameworld. But whether the gods are important figures in your game or not, temples are an everyday part of living in a D&D world. People within the world know that deities exist and can exert forces on the world, and they devote time and energy to the worship of these gods. The temples they build are perhaps the greatest display of how people commit to the gods. This list describes the standard design of each god's temples, and you can use its format to design temples for the deities in your campaign. Read on for the full list. 

The general thing to keep in mind when it comes to designing a deity's temple is two-part: who is the god, and how do common people interact with them? A temple design should take into account both ideas. My list below contains the 19 canon deities from D&D 3.5 (the gods who feature in my gameworld), but let's use an example from outside that selection by way of example. The Eastweald campaign initially featured a cleric/rogue who worshipped the Silver Flame. The Silver Flame is lawful good, associated with the domains of Good and Protection, and their favored weapon is a longbow. The Silver Flame speaks through a proxy, the Voice of the Silver Flame. We can use this information to create a temple for the Silver Flame.

For starters, the building should be orderly and structured, as the Silver Flame is aligned to law. There should be lots of regular angles and a sense of solidity. Let's say that the temple itself is shaped like a hexagon when viewed from above; that shape is evocative to me of structure and regularity. The Silver Flame considers Protection one of her domains, so at least part of the function of the temple should be to help good people. To reflect this, we'll have a sanctuary room where out-of-luck people can request help. The detail of the longbow could be ignored, but we might also use it to decorate the temple; the icon of the Silver Flame resembles an arrowhead, so we might have a stone longbow with a crystal arrowhead adorning the temple. Finally, we have the detail of the proxy; unlike other temples, where people come to worship in their own way, there will be a staff of clerics who work at a temple of the Silver Flame. There should be a speaker to interpret the Silver Flame's teachings, defenders of those seeking asylum, and a caretaker to keep the temple functional and clean. 

Of course, not all temples will be built the same way. That depends as much on the intention and resources of the temple builder as on the deity's characteristics. But by creating a framework for what a temple generally looks like, you can provide your players with the general description worked out for the temple and tweak the details depending on the specific temple. Just as architecture descriptions can spice up the game for your players, descriptions of temples can make inherently magical and remarkable places actually seem as legendary as they are. Let's move on to the temple descriptions:

Boccob

Temples of Boccob are exceedingly rare, and the deity is essentially uninvolved in the affairs of humanoids. A few temples exist, and they are quiet, small, secretive places. The only publicly known temple of Boccob exists in the city of Talon Gorge, where religious freedom is taken very seriously. Temples of Boccob are more often libraries of secret knowledge than actual temples of worship.

Corellon Larethian

Temples of Corellon Larethian are places of social integration, as elves of all classes and backgrounds come together to thank Larethian for the everyday blessings the elven god is believed to bestow. Small communities build their temples to Larethian in simple designs, often rectangular buildings just big enough to accommodate the community. Larger communities build their temples in crescent moon shapes, with the main temple area in the largest part of the building and supplemental rooms in the smaller edges of the building. Clerics of Corellon Larethian are often on-hand to provide healing and blessings to members of the church. The greatest temple of Corellon Larethian is in the elven capital of Mishara, and it is one of the most visited temples in the known world, as it serves as a pilgrimage for elves all over the continent.

Ehlonna

Temples of Ehlonna rarely appear in settlements, and when they do, only at the edge of the smallest towns. The temples themselves are usually built in circular shapes with windows all around the building. A few temples of Ehlonna have fine stained glass scenes in their windows, depicting nature and animals. Temples of Ehlonna never have assigned clerics; followers of Ehlonna are self-sustaining and turn to the god directly for help rather than using an intermediary. The floor of these temples classically has the emblem of Ehlonna carved in, and the temples are more often wood than stone. Wildlife around temples of Ehlonna tend to be more peaceful and stronger than normal creatures and plants.

Erythnul

Temples of Erythnul are kept secret at all costs. Only devoted followers of the god of slaughter learn the locations of these temples, for fear that protectors of the Good would discover and ransack the temples. Temples of Erythnul most often appear in mid-size to large cities, carefully disguised as abandoned buildings and shady businesses. Inside temples of Erythnul, there is nearly always a basin filled with blood; the blood slowly is consumed by Erythnul and must be replenished with fresh kills, and if the basin goes completely empty, the temple loses its tie to Erythnul. Temples of Erythnul take the form of twisting and turning buildings with snaking hallways that disorient even regular visitors. No one works at temples of Erythnul, and it is considered the joint duty of all parishioners to keep the temple at its best. The most frequently-visited temple of Erythnul is in the industrial city of Ringsdale, where the basin of blood has never been emptied in over 250 years.

Fharlanghn

Temples of Fharlanghn exist in major cities, but most lie on major and minor roads across the continent. Travelers can recognize these temples by the symbol of Fharlanghn depicted on the outside; the door of any temple of Fharlanghn bears the simple icon. The temples themselves are sometimes more akin to camps than buildings; Fharlanghn's temples are open air and have only basic architectural foundation. Outside each temple of Fharlanghn is a circular path which is meant to remind followers that every journey keeps going. Visitors to these temples often walk around this path when encountering the temple as a good luck charm, and it is considered bad taste to skip walking in the circle, even in a hurry. No one tends to temples of Fharlanghn, and it is the responsibility of any traveler who stops by to tend to the cleanliness and order of the temple.

Garl Glittergold

Temples of Garl Glittergold appear in major and minor cities where gnomes are plentiful; the largest is in Vestry, the gnomish capital, and it is among the most extravagant temples in the known world. Temples of Garl Glittergold are built of stone with significant gold inlays; the more gold, the finer the temple if considered. At least one gold cloud is standard in all temples of this deity. Moreso than most temples, those of Garl Glittergold take in funds from parishioners, mostly in the aim of providing public services to the less fortunate. A temple of Garl Glittergold generally has at least 3 people who work there: a healer, a public servant, and a community leader. The pentagonal buildings that form temples of Garl Glittergold are as much public service organizations as they are spiritual centers.

Gruumsh

Temples of Gruumsh are hard to find outside of the orcish homelands of Grob, where they appear commonly--though there is a Common Worship Charter allowing people freedom of religion, there is still concern about the evil orcish god's influence spreading. Temples of Gruumsh are built generally in round designs in stone, and the eye of Gruumsh is uniformly depicted on the floor of the temple. In the orcish lands, many temples of Gruumsh also function as armories, but this function is eliminated in other humanoid lands. Orcish temples of Gruumsh are worked by both a spiritual leader and a combat expert; in other lands, only the spiritual leader appears, but often quietly working in the role of combat expert as well. The greatest temple of Gruumsh appears on the island of Grob, and the combat expert for this temple is also the Ragnar (or prime leader) of the orcish people.

Heironeous

Temples of Heironeous were once among the most popular in the land, but over the last 300 years, people have become less concerned with fabled good-versus-evil and more concerned with day-to-day blessings, which are not the domain of Heironeous. The remaining temples of Heironeous are sites where only the most committed do-gooders congregate to work together on their goals. The temples themselves are usually two-story stone buildings; the first floor is a grand temple adorned with fine metalwork, and the second story serves as a home for the staff of the temple. The staff consists of both a spiritual leader and a philosopher; the spiritual leader tends to healing and questions of faith, while the philosopher is responsible for ensuring that the church changes with the times and reflects both current values and tradition. The greatest temple of Heironeous exists in Finiel, a half-elven city which has stood as a beacon of good values for generations.

Hextor

Temples of Hextor were once difficult to find when his brother Heironeous was more popular, but recent decades have seen a small surge in the popularity of Hextor. Temples of Hextor are kept somewhat secret to protect the identities of their evil members, but that is increasingly changing with time. A temple of Hextor is a small, square building with no windows and a steel door. Inside are chairs for public gatherings and a granite altar engraved with Hextor's holy symbol. These temples generally have one person working there: the cleric of Hextor is responsible for caretaking the building, community outreach to gain new members, conveying Hextor's wishes to the community, and any other tasks necessary for the prospering of the temple. The greatest temple of Hextor lies in the port city of Torga, where many government officials are secret worshippers of Hextor.

Kord

Temples of Kord are sites of celebration and competition more than traditional temples. The temples themselves are mid-size round buildings with the symbol of Kord etched into the floor, but only serious spiritual questions are considered inside; most of the temple's work happens in the street in front of the temple. Nearly all temples of Kord have enormous public squares where follower wrestle, share feats of strength, and discuss how to deal with public issues according to their code. A temple of Kord generally has one servant: their role combines caretaking and spiritual guidance with community outreach, as followers of Kord take a protective stance over their communities. The great temples of Kord are in Grob (the orcish capital) and Underhar (the dwarven capital); Grob's temple is the physically largest, and Underhar's temple has the most parishioners.

Moradin

Temples of Moradin are among the most architecturally unique in the world. While some modest temples constructed in small communities build the structure in common shapes, most temples of Moradin are built in the outline of Moradin's anvil. These temples generally have four rooms: a public worship area, an area for the poor to request assistance, quarters for the clerics, and a library of religious texts. The temples of Moradin are among the most heavily-staffed: there are generally at least three healers, two religious leaders, several caretakers, and an entire group of trainees for temple leadership. Temples of Moradin are highly integrated into their communities. Because of the large staff of temples of Moradin, collections for these temples are usually higher than most other temples.

Nerull

Temples of Nerull, once considered the most ghastly of all temples, have become increasingly popular in recent years. Public perception of the deity has changed from a malevolent reaper to a caretaker for a natural process, and so temples of Nerull have begun to appear in some communities with close relationships to nature. Because most of Nerull's temples are relatively new, their architecture is markedly different from other temples. Temples of Nerull are built like apartment buildings: there are several private rooms available to parishioners rather than a collective space for worship (due to the private nature of a relationship with Nerull). These temples are tended to only sparingly by a caretaker, who is responsible for keeping the temple clean for new visitors, and this caretaker often has another job to sustain themselves. The greatest temple of Nerull exists in the mid-size city of Such, where gnomish and halfling beliefs about death and nature have given rise to a population of Nerull followers.

Obad-hai

Temples of Obad-hai occasionally appear in cities as shrines for travelling nature enthusiasts, but most temple are located in the wild. City temples of Obad-hai are simple wooden buildings with a shrine inside, as well as a few plants to make the place more natural. But wilderness temples of Obad-hai are wild things; resembling oversized pagodas, these simple structures do not bear the holy symbol of Obad-hai as other temples adorn with symbols of the corresponding deity. Rather, they are partially curated and partially wild collections of plants. Travelers who arrive at these temples are invited to use the present plants for potions and salves if they wish, and it is common practice for visitors to plant a new plant or at least tend to those there. No one tends to temples of Obad-hai, although some dedicated followers check on the temples often. The greatest temple of Obad-hai resides just west of the gnomish capital, Vestry; in the heart of the greatest woods of the continent, this temple of Obad-hai stretches for nearly a mile and has been tended to by thousands.

Olidammara

Though temples of Olidammara do not have the evil reputation of other temples like Erythnul's, temples of Olidammara nonetheless remain secretive. Every major city, and quite a few minor ones, has a temple to Olidammara, though most residents in those cities do not know about it. A temple of Olidammara always appears as an unremarkable building, such as an abandoned shack or a nondescript house. Inside, however, will be a collection of masks in homage to Olidammara's holy symbol. No one works at temples of Olidammara; it is the responsibility of visitors to tend to the temple themselves. No dues are expected from visitors, but they do have the responsibility to work to keep the temple secret and functioning. Word of these temples spreads by word of mouth from rogue to rogue. The greatest temple of Olidammara lies in Curagon, the halfling capital, and this specific temple has an enormous mask formed from dozens of smaller masks.

Pelor

There are two distinct types of temples of Pelor: temples of Pelor, the sun god, and temples of the Dalton Church of Pelor, a violent reinterpretation of the deity.

Temples of Pelor vary more than most gods'. Small communities, especially farmers, build simple temples to Pelor in the hopes that he will smile on their agricultural work. Healers in small communities also worship Pelor, and these small temples always have a dedicated healer and spiritual guide. Larger cities' temples to Pelor are more concerned with the healing element of Pelor's powers, and they often have closer to three healers on hand. In fact, the most reliable way to receive healing in the world is to head to a temple of Pelor. Fine temples depict Pelor's holy symbol in gold on the wall of the temple, but simpler temples use brass or a similar metal. The greatest temple of Pelor exists in Talon Gorge, where it serves large communities of farmers and healers alike; this temple stretches for two city blocks and employs at least 5 healers at any given time.

Temples of the Dalton Church of Pelor exist only in settlements with large populations of the line of humans known as Daltoners; this generally means that the Daltoner capital (New Dalton) and nearby communities are the site of these intimidating temples. These temples are built to be huge and imposing, with a fierce and perhaps even cruel image of Pelor staring down from both the inside and outside of the temple. Daltoners pour as much wealth and status into their temples as possible, including making solid gold symbols of Pelor to decorate the temples with. Like other temples of Pelor, there are quite a number of people employed by a Dalton Church of Pelor temple: a Cardinal, several underlings and servants to the Cardinal, a small deployment of healers (who charge considerable amounts for their work), and a fleet of caretakers who keep the temple shining. Most temples of the Dalton Church of Pelor demand sacrifices on a daily basis (almost always a farm animal), and these temples have special areas for both holding the animals and sacrificing them.

St. Cuthbert

Temples of St. Cuthbert are simple affairs, and they have only recently become more common as the recently deified god has gained notoriety across the land. Most temples of St. Cuthbert are built of both wood and stone for a sturdy construction, and steel versions of his holy symbol hang from the walls of these temples. Only one person works at a temple of St. Cuthbert: a single devotee of the god works around the clock to perform all duties necessary to the temple. Healers who worship St. Cuthbert have been gaining increased popularity, and in some communities, temples of St. Cuthbert are used for healing as much as temples of Pelor. The greatest temple of St. Cuthbert exists in the city of Ringsdale, where residents have built a gaudy cathedral to the deity, who has chosen to avoid associating with the temple because he is uncomfortable with the extravagance of it.

Vecna

A temple of Vecna was once a relatively common sight, but as public cooperation has become an increasingly popular motivation for the people of Evanoch, the value of secrets has changed. The average temple of Vecna exists hidden within or just outside of major cities, but a good number of Vecna's followers simply create their own secret makeshift shrines to the god. When public temples do exist, they are sprawling buildings with unassuming appearances. Most often, a door will lead to a series of hallways or underground tunnels, and the building will look abandoned. But after searching the building's tunnels and hallways, followers of Vecna will discover a shrine with a symbol of Vecna, usually needlepointed or crocheted. The greatest temple of Vecna exists on the outskirts of the elven capital in a city called Cintan; there, an entire abandoned mine system houses a shrine to Vecna and a magical library of secrets reside, as well as a holy symbol formed by a preserved hand and eyeball.

Wee Jas

A temple of Wee Jas is hard to find. Evil gods' temples are elusive because they must be secret, but Wee Jas's temples are on the wane. Where once Wee Jas claimed as followers most who revere the life-death cycle, many of these followers now claim Nerull as their god. As a result, spellcasters are the most common among Wee Jas's followers, and they are known for keeping their religious lives secondary to their education in spellcasting. Nevertheless, temples of Wee Jas exist across the continent here and there, mostly outside of major cities. A temple of Wee Jas is built in a circle, with a large skylight placed at the center of the building. Etched into the floor is a clockface, and the skylight's sunlight functions as a timekeeper. Most temples of Wee Jas are unattended, although a few of the bigger temples get regular attention from dedicated followers. The greatest temple of Wee Jas is in Mishara, where it is a part of the great Misharan Library; people are able to research in the library and request help with anything else at the temple.

Yondalla

Temples of Yondalla are sites of joy; these wooden buildings resemble oversized houses, meant to make parishioners feel at home. Inside the temples, there is little to indicate that it is a temple at all--only the crest of Yondalla hanging from the wall gives it away. Otherwise, the temple is just a large living room, where parishioners come to socialize with their communities and work together to solve community issues. While the other racial deities generally frown on other races visiting their temples, Yondalla openly invites all people to take part in her bounty and maternalism. Generally, temples of Yondalla have one official working: an elder woman from the community who administers healing, advice, spiritual guidance, and whatever support she can. Temples of Yondalla are supported by donations from the community, but people are expected to contribute only as much as they can. The greatest temple of Yondalla is in Curagon, the halfling capital: this enormous round building can hold up to 200 people and was built to be large enough for non-halflings, who have to stoop down to enter most temples of Yondalla.

That's 20 different temple descriptions, all matched to the deities they represent. Now when my players enter a temple, I know exactly what they're walking into and can describe it in a way that makes the scene more detailed and memorable. These temple descriptions can be especially helpful if you have a character in your party who is particularly religious or is a cleric. And your homebrew gods can have unique temples with just a bit of work like what I've set down above. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: details on agriculture in your gameworld, how to design a one-shot from a movie, and how to create player character notes as an in-game document. Until next time, happy gaming!

Back to the homepage (where you can find everything!)