Pathcrawling, dungeon delving, and stealth houserules in the second actual play episode of our homebrew D&D campaign, Hornless.
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(AI images done with Grok Imagine.)
Revolutionary Idea—Goblins in a Hole
Dear Gary, Which Race is Best?
Our tabletop RPG advice column, Dear Gary, returns with these questions:
- Dear Listener writes: Dear Gary, I run games (often one shots) that are made accessible to a rather wide pool of players, and sometimes get an unexpectedly large group. How do I keep everyone consistently engaged in the session and off their phones at higher player counts?
- Brian writes: Dear Gary, could you discuss the main house rules you use for your 5e/D&D games? Have you been inspired to add any rules from other game systems to your D&D games?
- Brian writes: Dear Gary, what are your thoughts on game systems that use species (or race) as class, such as basic/expert D&D (from 80s), Dungeon Crawl Classics, or others?
- Brian writes: Dear Gary, what is a game you have been eager to play but not gotten to the table?
Where to Listen
Create a Starting Village with Your Bros (Beyond the Wall)
We kick off a homebrew D&D campaign with a collaborative village and PC creation procedure from Beyond the Wall. You’ll see how it creates interconnected PCs who have a reason to be adventuring together right from the start and an interesting starting town that has more color than you’d get from improvisation or a random generator. Then we jump into our new default D&D homebrew campaign, Hornless.
Image Dump
(AI images done with Grok Imagine.)
Links
- Beyond the Wall (affiliate link): https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/113405/beyond-the-wall-and-other-adventures?affiliate_id=433586
- 5e Monster Cards (affiliate link): https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/205572/d-d-5th-edition-monster-cards?affiliate_id=433586
- Heraldry creator: https://drawshield.net/
Where to Listen
Make an RPG Set in Your State
In response to a Dear Listener email, Daniel at his Substack talks about how he came up with Alabamia (played on the pod) and how you can make an RPG campaign inspired by your own state: https://danieljosephdavis.substack.com/p/your-own-alabamia.
How to Talk to People in Middle Earth – The One Ring 2e Rules Review
IRL, when I need a Favor from Someone, I mentally assign a Difficulty Class to that Request and then look within my Soul to see what Skills I have that would help me get what I want—and it’s no different in The One Ring 2e. We go through the Council and Fellowship Phase rules, which are the last systems in TOR 2e we have yet to cover. And then we give a quick review of all the systems.
TL;DR: it’s okay but is mainly a rehashing of stuff you can find in earlier mainstream and indie games.
Links
- Mouse Guard (affiliate link): https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/60496/mouse-guard-roleplaying-game?affiliate_id=433586
- Realm Guard (hack for playing LOTR with Mouse Guard rules): https://forums.burningwheel.com/t/realm-guard-v1-7/25062
- Very useful playlist for learning the rules: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtzrTJmLT7YShtRB8JAxi46WWy4ZTslbE
- Buy The One Ring’s core rules (affiliate link): https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/370267/the-one-ring-core-rules?affiliate_id=433586
- Buy The One Ring’s Starter Set (affiliate link): https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/370370/the-one-ring-starter-set?affiliate_id=433586
Where to Listen
The One Ring 2e – Star of the Mist Part 2
We play through the climax of the starter adventure in The One Ring 2e’s full rules. We get into some of the finer points of the combat encounters and learn more about how some of the stats like hope and shadow work.
Links
- Very useful playlist for learning the rules: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtzrTJmLT7YShtRB8JAxi46WWy4ZTslbE
- Buy The One Ring’s core rules (affiliate link): https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/370267/the-one-ring-core-rules?affiliate_id=433586
- Buy The One Ring’s Starter Set (affiliate link): https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/370370/the-one-ring-starter-set?affiliate_id=433586
Where to Listen
The One Ring 2e Sample Adventure – Star of the Mist – Part 1
We play the first half of the starter adventure in The One Ring 2e’s full rules. This is mostly us getting a handle on the mechanics that were touched only lightly in the starter set, such as journeys and combats from start to finish.
Links
- Very useful playlist for learning the rules: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtzrTJmLT7YShtRB8JAxi46WWy4ZTslbE
- Buy The One Ring’s core rules (affiliate link): https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/370267/the-one-ring-core-rules?affiliate_id=433586
- Buy The One Ring’s Starter Set (affiliate link): https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/370370/the-one-ring-starter-set?affiliate_id=433586
Where to Listen
The One Ring Starter Set – Play and Review
We play and review The One Ring’s Starter Set—and we have a “Fellowship of the Wings,” a get together where you bring chicken wings and desserts with an LOTR theme.
Links
- Buy The One Ring’s Starter Set (affiliate link): https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/370370/the-one-ring-starter-set?affiliate_id=433586
“Recipes” & Gameday Pics
Possibly more to be added later:
- Wings of the Prancing Pony. Bri’ish inspired. Wings rubbed with salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika, glazed with a mixture of honey, HP sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Served with baked beans, tomatoes, toast, and Brie (Bree).
- Balrog’s Wings of Shadow. Smoked with black garlic and chili rub.
- Dead Marshes Coleslaw. A fell light is in it.
- Taters, Precious. French fries fried in locally sourced beef tallow.
- Barrow Wight White Sauce. Scary white BBQ sauce.
- Wingwraiths. Teriyaki, ponzu, black sesame.
- Balrog Balls. Cake pops.
- Durin’s Bane. Asian red chili glazed wings.
- It Comes in Pints? Tallboy ales.
- The One Ring. Cake with Gandalf the Earl Grey flavoring and caramel frosting.
- The Eye. Cinnamon cheesecake.
Where to Listen
Eight Dudes Looting Offbrand Hogwarts – Brewkessel Actual Play
We actually play Brewkessel, by Kettlesberg Games (Tom Holmgren). It’s (currently) two levels of a Hogwarts-themed megadungeon. (We also had a million players for this session, and people had to share mics; so do forgive us for any gnarly audio.)
Links
- Buy the Brewkessel module:
- Directly: (Levels 1-2): https://www.kettlesberg.games/brewkessel
- Drivethrurpg (Level 1 only): https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/372547/brewkessel-1?affiliate_id=433586
- Bryce’s review of the module: https://tenfootpole.org/ironspike/?p=7659
Where to Listen
We Recommend Brewkessel
We recommend Brewkessel, by Kettlesberg Games (Tom Holmgren). It’s (currently) two levels of a Hogwarts-themed megadungeon.
Bryce, in his review, says:
Still, this is a very worthwhile addition to a game. It’s the best Hogwarts I’ve seen. It captures the spirit of Hogwarts, and warped nature turning it in to an adventuring locale … without it being too cutesy or bizarre for the sake of bizarre. It’s a fine line to walk and the designer does a good job. I hope to see more entries.
Links
- Buy the Brewkessel module:
- Directly: (Levels 1-2): https://www.kettlesberg.games/brewkessel
- Drivethrurpg (Level 1 only): https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/372547/brewkessel-1?affiliate_id=433586
- Bryce’s review of the module: https://tenfootpole.org/ironspike/?p=7659
gg no re 
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