I make a lot of Dungeon Age stuff. One-shots, campaigns, classes, fiction, RPGs, settings, monsters, items, you know, everything. But I want to hear from you guys about what you really want, what you really use, what really helps you have amazing games.
First up, DMs and GMs and Referees, game runners of all stripes:
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And now my players…
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And last but not least:
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I have a couple of books set in the Dungeon Age world of Harth, and the most recent one was Wayward Magicians. It’s technically a sequel, but you don’t need to read the first one. Which is convenient. Because I think Wayward Magicians is pretty darn good. And I just updated it.
[ Amazon | DriveThruFiction ]
When I first began creating the dying world of Harth, I had a lot of undeveloped ideas. But those ideas continued to evolve as I published more stories and more RPG adventures. And now I have a much clearer idea of this Dying Earth, Hollow World, Fantasy Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland. So now we have a new edition of Wayward Magicians to explore those ideas.
Wayward Magicians is about a woman named Ziva who used to be an elderly holy cleric and is now a young magician possessed by demonic ichor (that talks to her). It is also about a man named Malachi Draas who once tried to open a portal into the “world below” and accidentally released a horde of city-devouring demons, making him the most wanted criminal of the desert cities. Ziva and Malachi don’t like or trust each other, but together they venture down into Harth to stop the demons and discover some of the strange history of their geriatric world.
I’ve published 27 novels. Some are decent. I think this one might be Good. The writing is tight and evocative. Different chapters are from different points of view, but always moving the main story along. It’s got a little Howard pulp and a little Moorcock acid in it. It’s weird and tragic and silly. And the best part: the chapters are short!
You can get Wayward Magicians on Amazon (for Kindle, $3) or on DriveThruFiction (in multiple formats, Pay What You Want).
Aha! I did it! I finished a thing!
The Essential Classes for 5E PDF is just for you 5E players out there. I have created four (4) original character classes for you guys: the Mercenary, the Necromancer, the Occultist, and the Spyder.
I created these four classes because they reflect some of my favorite characters and archetypes from mythology, literature, comics, film, and games.
These classes feature some original mechanics that make the classes more thematic and cinematic. Features tend to be very situational. Some abilities work automatically without a roll. None of these classes use traditional spells.
These classes were not designed to be balanced with other classes (although they are very effective when they are in their element!). They were designed to evoke specific fantasy roles and heroic abilities from mythology, history, literature, and film. They were designed to be fun!
But these classes may not be for everyone, and that’s okay too!
I hope you’ll check out the Essential Classes for 5E on DriveThruRPG. It’s only $4 for 4 classes, which is pretty good. Plus it has outstanding art by Oleg Khachkovskiy (instagram)!
So, my attempts to get all of my projects under control have been highly mediocre. As you may have noticed, I wrote and published an entire little one-shot that was most certainly not on the To-Do list. But that’s okay!
Here are the things that are definitely happening this fall!
A hugely detailed campaign setting in the orbital vampire city of Araveshti, where you can explore countless ancient towers and ruins full of the best sci-fi tropes and references my aging brain could conjure (including Alien, Predator, Gundam, Akira, and The Thing).
That’s right, you can kill the Unseen Hunter and use its gear to defeat the Void Beast Empress, and then pilot the vampires’ Dragonsbane Armor to slay a space dragon, or use a shriveled psychic vampire child to figure out that the lonely dog next to the crashed space ship is a deadly shapeshifting ooze!
If that’s your jam.
Status: Currently in layout and editing. Which is taking FOREVER. Because it is LONG.
Playtesting was rough! I ended up completely scrapping the original 6 classes and designing 4 entirely new classes, which are much, much better. They are the Mercenary, Necromancer, Occultist, and Spyder. They are detailed, unique, and thematically flavorful. They are not at all balanced (because who wants that?).
But they are very fun! The core mechanic for their special (very situational) abilities is that there is a 1-in-6 chance of the ability failing and causing you damage, otherwise it just works! Easy peasy.
Status: Currently in layout and editing, and waiting for artwork.
…and last but not least…
Yes, my homebrew game is now (probably) brewed enough for you to play! It’s called HARTHBREAKER because it is my fantasy “heartbreaker” and it is set in my dying world of “Harth”. It is basically a classless fantasy PbtA game. No damage rolls. No armor. No math. Just tons of in-game fiction. Your mileage will obviously vary.
The 40-page guide contains about 6 pages for the players and 30 pages for the Game Runner, which is mostly d66 tables full of tools for generating villains, magic items, villages, and quests. It is super good for generating zero-prep games. It is super good for new players, and for young players. It is super good for having fun with your friends. It is not at all good for simulationist wargamers (sorry!).
Status: Currently in layout and editing.
A new Dungeon Age adventure is now available on DriveThruRPG.
Last week, my 10yo daughter asked me to run a one-shot with her, and we did, and it was great. And then I asked her if she wanted to help me write an adventure, and she did, so we did. She designed some monsters and magic items, some rooms, and a villain and a plot, and I wrote it all up. This is that adventure.
A grieving widow in the forest begs you to save her baby. A hedge witch has taken the infant down into an old imperial vault where she uses the child’s Chaos tears in alchemical potions.
And who knows what old treasures might still be hidden in the vault?
Unless it’s not that kind of vault…
This is a one-shot dungeon delve. The players have the opportunity to be classic heroes, fighting villains and saving babies. They also have the chance to loot a small dungeon for treasure.
…and they might be horribly mutated into bizarre monstrosities.
I said “might”!
This is a quick and easy one-shot you can run on its own, or inserted into a campaign. Like all Dungeon Age adventures, it is full of original monsters and treasures. And its especially full of potions and mutation effects, which should make your game extra memorable!
It’s only $2 on DriveThruRPG, and she doesn’t know it yet, but my daughter will be receiving her half of the cut! So I hope you’ll check it out, and I hope you and your table enjoy Imperial Vault 19.
I have fallen into a trap.
I have started too many projects.
The bad news is that this is slowing me down. The good news is that I’m going to finish all of them. Eventually.
In no particular order, here they are:
Orbital Vampire City. The “sequel” to Orbital Vampire Tower, this urban campaign setting is an entire city full of vampires, in space. There are over 40 detailed locations so far, various mutant vampires, sad aliens, monstrous aliens, weird aliens, vampire hunters, giant vampire mecha for fighting star dragons, and a star dragon. Probably coming this year.
Rogues of Carcassay. A sprawling, filthy city (sandbox campaign setting) of dungeoneers, alchemists, oracles, mercenaries, horror cults, zealous crusaders, warring wealthy Houses, reclusive Corpse Lords, insane hermits, and all manners of creatures spread across a hundred locations. We played in (and under) Carcassay for months and had countless bizarre plots and discoveries and battles. Maybe coming this year.
Six Essential Classes for 5E. I have designed and am currently testing six simplified classes for 5E. These are the Berserker, Hunter, Mercenary, Necromancer, Priest, and Witch. Each is built around a Core Ability, and all of the rules for each fit onto 2 pages (no spells). The idea behind each one is to give a player a very thematic and unique character that is also very easy to learn and run, with no mechanical decisions to make, just flavor options. For instance, the Berserker is a shapeshifter (you choose the creatures) and the Priest can invoke Plagues (you choose the vermin or material), but at each level, the range or power is clearly stated. Obviously, these classes are not for everyone, just folks who want something simpler to run. Probably coming soon.
The Dungeon Age Roleplaying Game. Yes, the long-rumored gaming system that I keep mentioning may actually come to light! Playtesting with both adults and kids continues to go well. What is it? I mean, basically it is a stripped down version of Dungeon World. No moves, just rolls and player creativity, three stats, and 2d6. It’s not for everyone, but everyone I play it with seems to have a great time. Probably coming this year.
Secrets of the Silt Sea. A seafaring campaign setting with adaptive, evolving island mechanics so that every game’s version of the Silt Sea is unique. A misty world of giant crustaceans and crocodilians. Probably coming later.
Gunwitches and Gilaraptors. A grasslands campaign setting of ruined cities and roving dinosaurs, and undead. Partly inspired by North American cryptids and legends. Probably coming later.
That’s all! Did anything catch your eye? Anything sound good?
Like it says on the tin, this weekend there is a sale on 13 Weird One-Shots. The price is reduced to $5.99! Get it while it’s hot!
There is a new Dungeon Age adventure available on DriveThruRPG today in both 5E and OSE formats! Go check out Battle for Carrion Vale. It’s grim. It’s dark. It’s gritty. It’s…grimdarkgritty.
“This morning, the forces of Law and Chaos clashed at Castle Yennagor. The battle raged all day, but as darkness fell, a cataclysmic explosion destroyed most of the castle and leveled both armies. Now, as night claims the vale, flickers of life return. Survivors make camp, flee the field, or continue the fight. Scavengers creep over the dead. And one question remains unanswered: what happened inside the castle?”
This is a dark sandbox adventure. Players take the role of battlefield survivors. They can choose which side they are on (or neither), and they can choose their goal, such as to escape the field with their lives, to plunder the dead, or to reach the castle and finish the mission.
The map is a sort of point-crawl with 30 locations. It looks like this:
You can show the map to your players because the Location names only describe what the PCs can see or hear as they move about the battlefield. If the PCs travel along the dotted paths, they can move quickly and safely. If they choose to move across the wilderness (off the paths), then they take longer to move and roll for a Random Encounter with one of the factions of Law and Chaos that are roaming around the valley.
There are 30.
At each Location, the players can Search the battlefield for supplies. There is d66 table of things they can find, which include all sorts of useful or ruined weapons and armor, medical supplies and food, gravedigging gear, magical items, and lost animals.
Also at each Location are the actual battlefield wreckage and survivors that make up the encounter, including magicians casting spells, war-mounts dying in the mud, eldritch visitors from the stars and the future, thieves looting the dead, monsters eating the dead, necromancers recycling the dead, warriors adding to the dead, and lots more dead.
I told you this is a grimdarkgritty adventure.
The Army of Law has brought the Silveri soldiers, who are your all-purpose good guys who just want to do the right thing. They aren’t very strong, but there are a lot of them. Law has also brought the Crusaders of Virune, who are extremely passionate about killing the forces of Chaos. Be careful around them.
The Army of Chaos has hired Jassinar mercenaries, who don’t care about cosmic politics at all but they are definitely worth their high price. Chaos also hired the Tharite corsairs, flamboyant desert pirates who are less than reliable. Chaos also tricked the Ngadi rangers into helping out.
Of course, lots of other people are here in Carrion Vale who have no allegiances. Watch out for the Plague Warriors, the Thieves Militant, the Last Folk, and three horrible old women, to name just a few.
There are 70+ new magic items in this adventure, including weapons of Law and Chaos, specialized gear for rangers and assassins, hideous devices of bone and iron, unusual musical instruments, and a very dangerous bile sac.
There are 30+ new monsters and creatures in this adventure, including a wide variety of wizards and warriors, vampires and werewolves, aberrations, undead, and some very sad little demons who might have been watching Voltron and gotten some strange ideas.
Check out Battle for Carrion Vale on DTRPG, and let me know what you think about it.
13 Weird One-Shots on DriveThruRPG
Hey everyone, I made a thing! The question is, should I try to sound like a well-established professional or a friendly go-it-alone artist? (seriously, I don’t know anymore)
Option 1: Dungeon Age Adventures is proud to announce the release of “13 Weird One-Shots“, a collection of tightly written and beautifully illustrated dungeon delves and mysterious investigations spanning 93 unique locations, 69 original magic items and treasures, and 71 all-new deadly monsters. Available in separate modern (5e) and old school (OSE) formats.
Option 2: Hey, everyone! After months of writing, drawing, and playtesting, I can finally announce that “13 Weird One-Shots” is now available on DTRPG. I had a ton of fun creating these one-shots, and my players had a blast running through them using a couple of different systems. It has tons of new monsters and treasures, plus saintly shrines, eldritch altars, and weirding water. There is something for everyone in this collection.
Here’s the Table of Contents (adventure titles):
I don’t know, take your pick. At this point, I’ve accepted the fact that I’m just not very good at shilling my stuff. Either way, check out some of the art I did:
I hope you’ll check it out: 13 Weird One-Shots on DriveThruRPG
Contrary to what you may have heard or what I may have said… Star Dragon Rage is now available for OSE as well as 5e.
Going forward, it is my intent to create an OSE and a 5e version for each product, which will definitely include the upcoming “13 Weird One-Shots” early next year.
Check out all the Dungeon Age adventures on DriveThruRPG.
