In previous posts, I’ve said how much I enjoy savage fantasy — fantasy adventures set on the primeval edges of the world, where life is cheap and magic is weird and dangerous. Conan’s Hyboria, Warhammer’s Old World, and Dark Sun are rife with savage potential. Sandbox adventures are especially appropriate for savage fantasy. A sandbox […]
Over the last few years, I’ve written over a dozen free horror adventures that you can find on this website. They range from horror adventures that span unusual historical settings, to takes on rare genres (at least in RPGS) like 80s slasher films and 1950s retro cheese. In that time span, I’ve also discovered new […]
In our modern era of generative AI, cybercriminals, and tech company failings, and the metaverse as far away as ever, I thought it would be a good time to dive into the genre that has been one of the most requested since I started this blog — cyberpunk! Not having played a cyberpunk game for […]
It occurred to me recently that the best, most classic RPG adventures come from a small handful of genres. Fantasy has a dozens of classics, horror has even more, and even science fiction has some fantastic ones, especially if you count the Traveller and Star Wars D6 ones. One genre that clearly does worse than […]
Horror makes for one of the best genres for one-shot RPG adventures. Horror adventures are usually short, with many of them easily able to be finished in just one night. Horror characters are usually archetypical and fun to play. Roleplay a crazy old cat lady for a campaign? No way! But for one night, where […]
Last year, I did a fun game design experiment where I asked Call of Cthulhu fans what some of the most underused and forgotten Lovecraftian monsters were. I then took one of those obscure creatures — the alien Insects of Shaggai — and wrote an entire adventure around them. Centering an adventure around a monster […]
This month, I followed the trail of some good one-shot adventures, and discovered two fantastic ones that are worth checking out… especially if you’re a fan of the undead (and honestly, what kind of GM isn’t…?) Spoilers ahead! Tomb of the Savage Kings – Classic Mummy Horror Dungeon Crawl Classics has a fantastic collection of […]
I’ve written a lot of adventures for this site over the years – twenty-seven in all! Somehow, I also find time to run other adventures, too. I recently had a blast running Goodman Games’ Tomb of the Savage Kings for Dungeon Crawl Classics, my favorite OSR game, which was only improved by the appearance of […]
I have sometimes found great inspiration when I am angry at the failed promise of another RPG adventure. As Yoda might have said, “anger leads to hate, hate leads to inspiration.” Years ago, I signed up for a one-shot Star Wars adventure at a local convention. The adventure sounded great — the PCs were a […]
Those of you who have read this blog know that I’m a big fan of cliffhanging pulp action. I think it’s one of the best genres for one-shot adventures — exotic locales, big villains, and fast-paced action! Plus, players are already familiar with the conventions, since it takes place in the real world and everybody […]