Welcome to the Raging Swan Press blog. Herein you’ll find resource and advice articles to make your game better. From time to time, we’ll also post exciting Raging Swan Press news!
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Having a detailed, believable setting laden with verisimilitude is the foundation of a successful campaign. That said, designing an entire world for your game is exhausting, impractical and unnecessary.
When you watch a film, do you prefer watching it in Standard Definition or High Definition?
I remember the Good Old Days when I had acres of free time to game. It was a carefree time. School holidays were epic—we’d game for days at a time. We had nothing else to do.
Designing a dungeon can be a daunting prospect. Fear not. If you follow these tips, you’ll be well on the way to designing a fun, engaging dungeon for your friends!
To be a successful GM, your adventures and settings must connect deeply with your players.
Raging Swan Press is a big fan of dressed dungeons. A dressed dungeon feels more real than an undressed dungeon. A dressed dungeon engages your players’ imaginations, promotes creative play and helps them immerse themselves in the adventure.
Games set in a richly detailed, immersive world are better than games that are not. It should come as no surprise that we are huge fans of dungeon dressing, but what exactly is dungeon dressing, and why do we keep going on about it?
Check out our recent posts, many of which include free downloads, or visit the Archive to browse all our blog posts.
Mummies, from loyal guardians entombed with their masters to power-hungry priest-kings vying for the return of their earthly powers, strike fear into their enemies’ hearts. Many ancient societies inter their dead in this respectful way in the belief that someday they’ll rise again.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreCurio shops. Flea markets. Pawnbrokers. Adventurers normally find treasure deep in a dungeon guarded by terrible monsters. Sometimes, though, the characters find treasure where they least expect it—and sometimes, it hardly costs them anything at all!
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreExtreme weather—particularly storms—has the potential to wreak havoc on a travelling band of brave adventurers.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreMalevolent beings that feed on their victims’ fear and despair, will-o’-wisps dwell in the lonely, dismal places of the world. Deserted places—bogs, fens, marshes, catacombs and battlefields—are their domain.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MorePurple worms—voracious predators—burrow beneath the ground in a near-constant search for food. These huge worms are notorious for consuming prey—sometimes entire adventuring parties—whole.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreAn isolated place, perched upon an inhospitable coast at the head of a muddy coastal path, Coldwater is not an easy, or pleasant, place to visit.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreThings are quieter at Raging Swan Press in October. After an exceptionally busy September, which saw the release of the Dread Thingonomicon, we are moving back to a more normal schedule.
Read MoreSlaver compounds are horrible places; to those imprisoned within, they are literally hell on earth. Here sentient beings are bought and sold like any other good.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreToday, the Dread Thingonomicon, Raging Swan Press’s biggest ever tome, has gone on general release.
Read MoreThe reclusive lizardfolk of the swamps and marshes live their quiet lives far away from humanity. Lizardfolk are averse to intruders and untrusting of strangers; many wanderers have found themselves served up as the tribe's main meal.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreStanding on the fringes of the vast and noisome Salt Mire, Thornhill is a miserable, hard place.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreThought of as nothing but pests and scavengers by commoners and adventurers alike, kobolds are cunning masters of ambush and stealth. Intricate traps fill their warrens to welcome foolish intruders daring to invade the kobolds' home.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreThe cruel and depraved derro scour the Ebon Realms for slaves to experiment on or victims to participate in their insane plans. Many travellers realise too late these small, weak-looking creatures should not be underestimated.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreUndead spellcasters of superlative power, lichs dwell in extensive subterranean labyrinths. As peerless necromancers, they have cheated death through the completion of a lengthy, difficult and blasphemous ritual.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreCreatures of evil, darkness and death, wraiths dwell in the dark and gloomy places of the world. They fear and are helpless in sunlight.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreSeptember is a big—nay a huge—month for Raging Swan Press. Not only have we got a new 5e adventure for you, Forbidden Isle of the Nightstalkers, but we’ll also release the Dread Thingonomicon. This is our largest and most impressive book to date. I think it will blow your socks off!
Read MoreA wrecked ship can make an interesting and memorable adventure site.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreThe maps and handouts for Forbidden Isle of the Nightstalkers are now available for free download from the Raging Swan Press store.
Read MoreThe small Braalite cult centred on the Crooked House comprises the Ilmarinen family and several of their servants.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreMasters of supply and demand smugglers carry anything their customers want (and will pay for), regardless of the law. More cunning than most, smugglers protect their holdings with threats, misdirection and traps.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
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