Rondak's Oracle (Page 9)

Sign in Subscribe

Kickstarters of Note

Sadly, I don’t have so much for you this week; there was a transparent mapping thing that I /really wanted to share/ .. but by the time I found it it was looking at thirty hours to go, and that didn’t seem fair to you guys. So, we have

All the news that's fit to post

Got some news for everybody under the cut; as per usual, just trying to keep folks informed. First, I need to let you guys know we’ve been having some odd net connectivity issues here at Rondak’s Portal headquarters (such as it is), which Andi doesn’t have a

GM's Tip of the Week

I got Andi to write this one, because he’s rather better at balancing encounters than I am. Onward, to encounter design! Balancing encounters. It’s a problem every GM has faced at some point; how to set up things so that the party is challenged without being hopelessly overwhelmed,

Wudinar's Adventuring Tips

I know I mentioned situational awareness in the past. This not only extends to the specific situation an adventurer might find oneself in, but also to the generic kind of situation. For example, when infiltrating an impregnable fortress, remember that all that military machinery needs to be supported – there will

Adventure Prompt

Query of Sevens

Your mother’s library has ever been a place of wonder and strangeness, a place to get lost in other worlds, absorb knowledge and escape the hardships of the world for a time. As time passes, it becomes clear that there is more to this library than you first thought

Adventure Prompt

Question of Sevens

Every evening you come in to work on it, and the doll never seems to be in quite the same pose twice. After it is finished, dressed and painted and in all ways perfect, you turn your back to get the box in which it will be presented, and …

GM's Tip of the Week

So, we’ve been quiet on this front; if anyone has any suggestions or requests for new GM Tips, please, speak up! This week I’m going to talk about building a dungeon; not so much the nitty-gritty of designing and balancing an encounter, although we’ll cover that eventually

Kickstarters of Note

Kickstarters! I found you guys a whole bunch of random things that you might want to get into. I should note that – literally, as I am typing this! – the guys and gals at Monte Cook Games are doing a live thing on Kickstarter, answering questions and talking about Numenera. You

Adventure Prompt

Question of Sevens

Since the day of your birth, since the heavens rained down a shower of splendor and destruction, the village has not prospered. Waters have risen, fields have at once burgeoned and, more recently, suffered. What could possibly be going on?

Wudinar's Adventuring Tips

Magic frequently is finicky. Whether it’s a limited-scope divination (reading entrails only counts when an actual spell or ritual is involved) or a full Wish going awry, one can often not rely on the results of spellcasting to solve a problem. So, figure out to deal with things the

Question of Sevens

The bitter frosts make the best wines, so they say. But this year, the frosts have not been so bitter, and the wines have been poor; what could be causing it?

Kickstarters of Note

Hey, fellow Portalites. Got a couple of interesting Kickstarters for you this week; and a note for those who … well, let’s face it. No one /needs/ to know this, but I’m the sharing type, so I’m going to tell you anyway. While Bones IV has ended, it

Wudinar's Adventuring Tips

Help yourself, and the gods’ help shall follow. This might seem trite advice, but when the gods are real and take an active interest in the world, it is something to be remembered and followed – after all, noone likes a freeloader. At the same time, demonstrating resourcefulness and ingenuity leaves

GM's Tip of the Week

Going to talk world-building, and I’m going to do it with a little help from Croidure, who’s been running games in a homebrew world for a decade or more. Croidure’s take on world-building is a little different than mine; I’m more of a ‘throw it at

Adventure Prompt

Query of Sevens

As an inventor in a steampunk setting, what’s your most prized possession?

Gaming News

It’s been a while since the last time I went looking for gaming news; several things caught my eye since then: * Virtual Table Top applications: Fantasy Grounds plans native support for Starfinder. * BattleTech: Catalyst Games goes back in (game) time and fleshes out the backdrop for classic BattleTech. “Second

Wudinar's Adventuring Tips

Do not underestimate the ability to create custom magic items during downtime. Not only is doing so often cheaper than acquiring these items on the open market, they are specifically built to your needs. That said, this is a great area to talk to the GM – not every universe allows

Kickstarters of Note

Apparently, while Bones IV is running, there isn’t much else of interest. I’ve gone and combed through for the outliers, and found a couple of interesting projects for you guys to look at. And if you haven’t gone and looked at Bones IV yet … you really should.

GM's Tip of the Week

As a GM, you’ll eventually hear pretty much everything from a player, but the first time you get a player who wants to play something really different might just make you do a double take. Most times, thankfully, ‘really different’ is just going to mean ‘something outside of that

Adventure Prompt

Query of Sevens

Hope everyone is safely enjoying the eclipse today! It has long been upheld that the motions of the heavens influence those beneath; and surely the hero of our tale was born on an auspicious day. What stars aligned, what celestial bodies held influence?

Wudinar's Adventuring Tips

Magical items do not simply have their designed used: a Potion of Cure Wounds fashioned as an oil instead can see use as anti-undead grenade, for example. There are a lot of other items that could see such unintended usage, and while most of them are situational, they can easily

GM's Tip of the Week

Hey guys. We’ve talked a bit about consistency and pacing, but haven’t really covered what a GM should do in that between moment of losing a player and finding a new one. Obviously, you shouldn’t just stop; a game needs to continue. One solution is to simply

Adventure Prompt

Query of Sevens

Growing up, a fact of life has been the passing of a rite of passage. What, how.. and what lessons were learned?

Wudinar's Adventuring Tips

I spent a lot of time on the ‘dos’ of adventuring, but I should highlight at least some of the ‘don’ts’ as well. The major one is not, as you might think, splitting the party – although that is high on the list. The major ‘don’t’ is to rush

dungeon furniture

Kickstarters of Note

Not so much this week; I had a third, but they canceled the project (which is a shame, generic modular dungeon pieces seem super useful even now), and .. well. Not much point mentioning it. So, short post. As always, I want to hear about any neat kickstarters you guys might