Nibbling on toes in the graves of dead kings,
Scratching up surfaces; it’s the small things,
Sneaking through shadows with magical rings,
These are a few of my favourite things.
from the goblin operetta, “Discordant Ditties”
Obviously, I need to work on this blog-thing, since I have not posted in something like three months. Even though my web-design guru (more on Harish below) tells me I should be posting every week. But since that is not going to happen, I will pinky-swear that I will post every month. The next post, in March, should be just in time for the release of the third Lost Kingdom of Gardzyka adventure, “Muster at Kharn Turuhm.”
But in this post, I want to talk about some of the most useful, interesting, and inspiring resources that I’ve discovered on the web since I resumed TTRPGing about three years ago, at the height of the pandemic. I’d take a 40-year hiatus from gaming – I started and stopped with the original D&D and AD&D, and I still maintain a small shrine to the Great Gygax. Things are a lot different today, when a few google searches can turn up all kinds of D&D and 5e adventures, campaign settings, and handy advice.
First up is Creighton Broadhurst’s Raging Swan Press. Broadhurst’s own site doesn’t seem to have been updated in about five years, but still contains lots of tips for players, GMs, and game designers. Raging Swan Press is loaded with stuff – as well as campaign settings and adventures available for purchase, there’s a marvelous “Sunday Supplement” to which you can subscribe, loaded with helpful dungeon dressings and monster lairs to make your sessions more interesting. The ultimate resource available for purchase is the Dread Thingonomicon and its sequels, with suggestions for pretty much any setting you can imagine. The main reason Raging Swan gets first mention is because I love the old-school art, and this was one of my first discoveries when I resumed gaming.
Hipsters and Dragons is another great site, loaded with tips for players and GMs. There are lots of fun tables for things like critical fumbles, magic items, and how to run entertaining combat encounters. Look beyond the menus at the blogs: there are loads of interesting tips scattered throughout.
Finally in the TTRPG resources, take a look at Tabletop Joab. There are lost of tips for players and GMs, reviews, and analyses of all the various classes, spells, and critters you might want. Most of the focus is on official D&D material. For some reason, Joab is relying on fey rather than the much more sensible goblins to maintain the site, but nobody’s perfect.
I promised more on my web guru, Harish Gautum. I took three modules on the “ABCs of Digital Marketing” from Harish in fall 2023 at CNC, and through that, developed this version of the Zara Sea Games website, which is way better than the earlier version. I’d encourage anyone building or promoting their website to check out Harish’s site and watch for his course; it should be on offer again in the fall of 2024.
Until next time, have fun gaming, and give goblins the respect they deserve!
