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Double doors almost always guard areas of great importance. Often throne rooms, subterranean chapels, crypts housing the remains of important personages and similarly important locations lie beyond. Thus, such dungeon features are often well-built, sturdy and ornately decorated.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreWith the immediate horror of the OGL fiasco kind of behind us, Raging Swan Press hurls itself like a starving panther into February.
Read MoreDungeon doors come in many different shapes and sizes. Doors are one of the most basic dungeon features and as such can offer clever explorers vital clues to what might lie beyond.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreWhile often crafted to represent beautiful people, ferocious beasts, heroes or deities, fountains also serve a vital function by providing fresh drinking water. Fountains in a dungeon or cavern setting may be artistic creations of the current or past occupants, altars to deities (fair or foul) or something else entirely.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MorePools add an element of mystery to a dungeon. In their often murky depths, they can hide both treasure, monsters or other secrets. Dungeon pools can be magical or mundane. Some are naturally occurring with swiftly flowing water, while others feature elaborate fountains, traps or other features. It is a brave adventurer who willing steps into unknown waters.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreWealthy or powerful individuals may have elaborately decorated sarcophagi dripping with gemstones, precious metals and other decorations. These treasure-filled tombs are certain to be guarded with fiendish traps or deadly guardians to keep out would-be grave robbers.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreStatues come in many shapes and sizes and are a staple of most dungeons.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreWith all the controversy over the upcoming OGL changes and Wizard’s recent statement that supplements already released will be unaffected by the upcoming license (whatever form it takes), it seems jolly sensible that I should bring forward the release of several large compilations we have in the design and development pipeline.
Read MoreI've received many questions in the last week about the leaked draft of the OGL 1.1 and its effect on Raging Swan Press.
Read MoreStairs come in many shapes and sizes, including steep, gradual, precipitous and spiral. Stairs in dungeons don’t even have to be made of stone—some can be of wood, bone or other magical or fantastical substances.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MorePortcullises are imposing obstacles for adventurers. Their grid-like construction offers a glimpse of what lies beyond while providing defenders a powerful position from which to strike at interlopers.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreA new year—a new beginning—beckons. It seems appropriate, then, to start the New Year with a new line of books.
Read MoreConcealed and hidden doors are a requirement for any suitably interesting dungeon, building or ruin. A secret door is generally a deliberate part of the dungeon crafted when the place is constructed. Concealed doors are somewhat more mundane, and can easily be added later.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreSecret doors are prolific in literature and even more ubiquitous in fantasy gaming. Rare is the dungeon crawl that doesn’t feature a handful of cunningly hidden secret doors. The challenge is in making each door a unique experience worth a few moments of wonder instead of just another excuse for a search check.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreChests, or more accurately their contents, are most adventurers’ favourite dungeon feature. Chests represent their hard-earned reward after days in the dark, exploring new terrain and overcoming challenging foes. Therein new and shiny discoveries await, equipping the heroes for even greater challenges.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreWells are important places in dungeons—a well might be the only readily accessible source of drinking water in the entire place. Given most dungeon denizens require water those controlling a well can become wealthy and powerful charging others for the water they draw. Thus, a well can also be a source of much conflict between the dungeon’s denizens as they all seek to gain control of such an important resource.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreAltars dedicated to dark, forbidden powers are a staple of many fantasy dungeons. Here, evil high priests officiate over bloody, blasphemous services or cultists gather to worship their terrible patron. Such locales are thus often an excellent place to find and slay said evil-doers or to recover their hidden treasures. A few such locales have even established a tenuous link with the deity itself, and strange, odd effects occur in their immediate vicinity.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreChristmas is coming, which makes December a busy month at Global HQ—we’ve got four weeks’ worth of releases to get out the door in only three weeks! We’d better get cracking!
Read MorePits are a lurking danger that have spelt the doom of countless adventurers. Pits can be used to kill, injure or trap intruders, block progress or prevent escape. An explorer trapped in a pit with no way of getting out is at the mercy of the first creature or character to discover their predicament.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
Read MoreDrow, terrors of the Ebon Realm, normally stay away from the sunlit surface lands yet sometimes they wander too close. Setting up outposts near the surface they sneak forth to capture slaves to carry back to their subterranean home.
A free GM’s Resource for any fantasy roleplaying game.
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