CHAINMAIL: 03.24.2024
Including - Purpose and Mystery in the Dungeon, 1983: How DUNGEONS & DRAGONS cast its spell, and The Shrike: Currencies and Trade Goods.
Purpose and Mystery in the Dungeon - poisonous cloak
A short blog post about adding small nuggets of interest into your dungeons in order to build a larger web of mystery and purpose. Your players will explore bookshelves and paintings. They will look in the corners of your empty rooms for secrets. This type of behavior is always something I hear GMs wanting more of, yet they tend to not actually have anything of value in those places. Start introducing mystery and secrets into those nooks and crannies so that your players have a reason to keep looking.
1983: How DUNGEONS & DRAGONS cast its spell | South East at Six | Retro Gaming | BBC Archive - BBC Archive
This video isn't any kind of advice or guide, but instead a blast from the past. I had fun watching this interview from 1983 with some figures in the early days of D&D that ended up having a large impact on the hobby (Specifically the British scene).
The Shrike: Currencies and Trade Goods - VAULTS OF VAARN
Including this here as a bit of inspiration. I've been thinking a lot about currency in our TTRPGs and what they represent beyond just a means of commerce. This is a cool look into the currencies of hell.
I hope these resources inspire you! If you haven't already, the best way to stay up to date with everything hothead related is to join the discord. See you next week!