rootring
rooted in blogs, linked in a ring52 Monsters
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On the ring since 2026-04-24
Latest activity 6w ago
325 posts
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For the August RPG Blog Carnival, on the theme of Roll for Initiative… Next Tuesday at 7pm?, hosted by of Dice and Dragons. Thoughts on time, both within the sphere of the game...
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Q is for Quandary. Tough decisions and compromises. The lesser of two evils. Trade-offs. You can have a fun game on a railroad, no doubt. I don’t believe you can have an...
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Magic items! Make ’em weird and see what happens. Today’s theme: Fire. It’s sweltering summer in this hemisphere, so let’s go with a classic while it’s too hot to think. Flame...
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P is for Plains. Another environment to explore, after the sweltering jungle and remote islands, and near and dear to my heart like the Upper Midwest. A little bit of...
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Part fifteen, adapting the B/X spell list to Whitehack. Magic-User/Elf, 3rd level. Is it just me, or are we veering into territory where spell effects are powerful and not...
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Back from travels in the UK, just trying to keep my head above water. Let’s see what’s been drifting about the blogs in the meantime. rootring Prev Random Directory Next...
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O is for Orcs. Those lovable, cuddly monsters who descend upon the civilization of humankind in relentless hordes to pillage and burn everything that is beautiful. Or maybe...
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Magic items! Players want them. I want entertaining and strange ones to populate my treasure caches. Win-win? Today’s theme: The Senses. A reminder that description of a...
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For the July RPG Blog Carnival, on the theme of Small Gods, Saints, and minor divinity! Split hosting between Seed of Worlds and Sea of Stars, which I guess makes either Sea of...Linked by the ring
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N is for Neutral. The alignment middle ground, not the zone where you move the gear shift from one gear to another. I haven’t driven stick in over a decade, but the muscle...
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Yeah, this has bupkes to do with what this blog’s about, but who cares? Mel Brooks is 100 years old today, and that’s fucking brilliant. Happy birthday to one the most...
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I fully admit that I don’t use diseases much at my table, but I wish I did more often. So, to that end, six foul infections that can complicate the already messy adventuring...
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A contribution to the RPG Blog Carnival for June 2026, on the theme of Cyclopes, Ettins, Hill Giants, and Ogres from Advantage on Arcana. Because I assume that you all, just...
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M is for Moons. Three of them, discussed previously, wandering through the sky. In the premodern era of the campaign, the state of astronomy is essentially Ptolemaic, an...
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You could run a serious, long-term Mausritter campaign set entirely within the confines of a Yorkshire train station. Dangerous wilderness down on the platforms. Shops full of...
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The penultimate, number nine of the undead! Yet another odd monster to fill a necessary void in my campaign, a different tack when considering how love and attachment can cause...
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Big month elsewhere, with family vacation overseas and all the chaos that brings. Not keeping up on blog stuff, that’s for sure. Good thing I can pre-schedule posts – this...
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L is for Law and Order, the structures of society which exercise power and control. Depending on the context and your place in it, these can be anywhere on the spectrum of good...
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Short version first: I believe that your fictional world deserves its own night sky. To that end, I have put together a tool to help you create one for your campaign. Make a...
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K is for Kyronycht, whatever the hell that is. Because no one knows what one of those is, except me. Let’s be clear: my players have had a frightening run-in with a kyronycht....
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Hey, I got m’self a spot on the ROOTRING by elmcat! Spread the love a little and click around if you have the time. See the links in the sidebar to the right (depending on your...
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Magic items! Mysterious solutions to a problem not yet encountered. Who wouldn’t want to stuff their pockets with possibility? Today’s theme: Growth. With the northern...
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J is for Jungle. In a more sensible ordering system, this would have been near the beginning, but alphabetical order is where we’re at. Why the jungle? Why not the Arthurian...
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Part fourteen, adapting the B/X spell list to Whitehack. Magic-User/Elf, 3rd level. Here we examine three spells beloved by my players, at least as long as they’re the ones...
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I is for Islands. Varying the wilderness environments expands the possibilities of exploration. Sure, plenty of adventures can make good and extensive use of a pseudo-Welsh...
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Look, April’s the roughest month around here. The spring semester’s needs amplify, kid sports take off, the garden demands attention, and everyone – apparently? – still insists...
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Number eight of the undead! We’re in niche territory now. This is a creature distinct to my campaign, but probably adaptable elsewhere with the proper polishing. What we have...
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H is for Halflings, those diminutive humanoids beloved by the Tolkien crowd. While the usual style is to have hobbit-y halflings, pastoral Shirefolk with an aversion to...
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Part thirteen, adapting the B/X spell list to Whitehack. Cleric, 2nd level and Magic-User/Elf, 3rd level. In which I attempt to think of two alternate versions of Dispel Magic...
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G is for Goblin Economy, the essential markets which sustain the adventuring lifestyle. Returning to the city, that paranoid place of authoritarian control and walled...