Note: Apologies for the recent shortage of devblogs - I was sick for the first half of December, and was preoccupied with the holidays for most of the rest. I should be able to return to a more consistent schedule now, though.
Note that today's blog is less about Reloaded in particular, and more about an aspect of narrative design I've been turning over in my head for the past several months - internal character arcs. This week's post will focus on internal arcs generally, ...
2024-12-28 18:22:36 +0000 UTC
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I’m excited to share the tenth public installment of my revised Curse of Strahd guide, Curse of Strahd: Reloaded. This new release contains Arc R: Trials of the Mountain, which includes:
Before I get into this week's Reloaded progress update, I want to thank everyone who voted and shared their thoughts and feedback in response to last week's blog post. While there were too many comments for me to respond to, know that I read every single one, and that I deeply appreciate everyone who took the time to respond to the survey or share their experience with Reloaded
2024-12-10 00:13:19 +0000 UTC
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This post is adapted from a longer, more self-indulgent blog post I posted in my Patreon Discord server last week. If you’re interested in reading it, you can find it here.
The most common complaint I hear about D&D modules is that they're too hard to run—and Curse of Strahd is no exception. With a sprawling, open-world c...
2024-12-06 04:08:59 +0000 UTC
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I. Reloaded Update
Since mid-November's update, I've added an additional 11.4k words to Arc R: Trials of the Mountain, bringing the arc's running total to 44.8k words and (!) 106 Google Doc pages. (For reference, the longest published arc thus far is Arc P: Ravenloft Heist, clocking in at 38.2k words and 91 Google Doc pages...
2024-12-02 22:07:41 +0000 UTC
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The newest installation of the DMG Reloaded, my prototype textbook on TTRPG game and narrative design theory, is now available via the Bronze Masterpost.
This chapter, titled Methods, discusses how verbs allow players to impact the game state, how the evolution of the game state ties into the players' goals, how the goal-strategy-tactic-verb framework fosters agency and gameplay, and how to ...
2024-11-25 22:56:19 +0000 UTC
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I. Reloaded Update
Since last Saturday's update, I've added an additional 3.4k words to Arc R: Trials of the Mountain—less than I'd like, but a decent amount nonetheless. Specifically, I've completed the following work regarding the players' post-avalanche foray through the frozen caverns of Mt. Ghakis:
Note: As I discuss at the end of this devblog, I'm trying out an experiment: rather than posting big devblogs infrequently, I'm trying to see whether I can put out more, higher-quality content by posting shorter devblogs more regularly - as frequently as once a week, if my schedule allows. (I'd love to hear your feedback on this approach, especially if I'm able to keep to a reasonable schedule moving forward.)
This particular blog is Part One of a multi-part series breaking...
2024-11-09 22:59:12 +0000 UTC
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Apologies for the delay in updates! I sadly don't have Arc R: Trials of the Mountain fully finished yet—at 30,000 words in length and 85% of the way to completion, it's looking to be one of my longest arcs yet. Even so, I've made a good amount of progress since my last update, which you can find below!
I. Reloaded Update
Since my last update, I've added an additional 11k words and made it within spitting distance of the arc's end. Specifically, I've c...
2024-11-05 14:28:32 +0000 UTC
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(this is not a curse of strahd: reloaded-related email; i apologize deeply to anyone who subscribed only for reloaded updates and doesn't want to see random marketing schlock in their inbox. i will try to keep it to a minimum. ty for your patience 🙏)
Since a number of people seemed to be interested in it, I've launched an exploratory Patreon shop where people can buy individual mentoring s...
2024-10-15 12:17:01 +0000 UTC
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I'm trying to keep to a reasonably regular schedule for these; let's see how long I can keep it up!
But first—for those who aren't aware: Kaiya, the voice of Lilissen on Curse of Strahd: Twice Bitten, a brilliant storyteller, and a dear friend, has launched a Kickstarter for her new Worldbuilder's A...
2024-10-14 12:34:11 +0000 UTC
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As you may (or may not) already know, I’m in the process of planning a Tomb of Annihilation-inspired campaign for my players. The players of my first-ever Curse of Strahd campaign gave me the module as a gift when we finished it, and I’ve been in love with Chult as a setting ever since. There’s just one problem with it.
I hate the Tomb, and I hate the Annihilation.
Tomb of Annihilation
For those who aren’t familiar with it, Tomb of Annihi...
2024-10-13 21:48:29 +0000 UTC
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It’s been eighty-four years since my last Reloaded update newsletter—or at least a solid month—so please accept my sincerest apologies for the radio silence! Have an update.
I. Reloaded Update
I’ve officially broken ground on Arc R: Trials of the Mountain, which combines the players’ ascent up Tsolenka Pass and Strahd’s tyrannical tests of their will and fortitude. It’s seven thousand words long so far and still going strong, growing by an...
2024-10-01 01:41:49 +0000 UTC
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I've officially begun work on Arc R: Trials of the Mountain! You can follow my work in the new Working Document (linked in the Bronze Masterpost), or by following my updates on the @Reloaded Drafts ping in the Patreon Discord.
More excitingly, I've also finished a full diagrammed outline of every scene and arc in Reloaded that I haven't yet written! You can similarly download th...
2024-09-15 02:22:22 +0000 UTC
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I'm excited to release the next handout in the Dungeon Master's Guide: Reloaded series on game and narrative design: Verbs!
This handout is easily the most theoretical/academic/pseudo-mathematical one I've released yet, and hella dense. It's also, however, the most fundamental, because it seeks to explain the atomic elements of gameplay in D&D, and how t...
2024-09-14 14:40:24 +0000 UTC
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In my home game, I’m currently running my players through (a heavily remixed version of) A Deep & Creeping Darkness from Candlekeep Mysteries. For those who haven’t read it, the adventure is about investigating an abandoned mine and eliminating the nest of meenlocks that still haunts it.
As I prepared for an upcoming session, I took note that my players had reached the mine and were about to enter it. The question became: What should this dungeon look like...
2024-09-08 16:55:24 +0000 UTC
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UPDATE: I am no longer accepting new applications. Thank you to all who applied!
Every new Reloaded release includes two parts: (1) a new arc; and (2) updates and fixes to old arcs. While #1 is usually what most people are waiting for, #2 is important for the host of newer campaigns steadily working their way through the guide.
Unfortunately, while #2 is generally pretty straightforward to do, there are enough edits with each release that it near-double...
2024-09-02 16:12:40 +0000 UTC
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I’m excited to share the ninth public installment of my revised Curse of Strahd guide, Curse of Strahd: Reloaded. This new release contains Arc Q: A Shining Beacon, which includes:
Recently, I played Call of Cthulhu for the first time.
The first session, aside from an assortment of introductions to NPCs and other PCs, largely consisted of exploring rooms in a mostly empty mansion, trying to uncover secrets and identify any clues that might trigger further developments in the (only somewhat unfolded) narrative.
Even though there wasn't really a clear dramatic question yet (something Bad had happened, or at least appeared to, but posed no immedia...
2024-08-20 21:36:07 +0000 UTC
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Good news: We're officially on-track to finish this thing - hopefully by Halloween. I've written nearly twelve thousand words since I started work on v2.0.9 on July 26, and Arc Q: A Shining Beacon is pretty much complete, including (1) the players' return from the heist, (2) the players' confrontation with and redemption of the Abbot, (3) the players' fight with Kiril, and (4) the lighting of the beacon of Argynvostholt.
As of last night, I've also finishe...
2024-08-09 01:44:33 +0000 UTC
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I'm currently pondering teaming up with two other writers to publish three one-shot horror adventures; they would write two, while I would write the third and edit/lead development on all three. The goal would be to create modules that, like Reloaded, are zero-prep, ready-to-run, and chock-full of good narrative and game design, including custom monster statblocks, cathartic storylines, and resonant characters.
To fund it, we'd likely run a small Kickstarter to ensure that the other wri...
2024-07-26 12:13:01 +0000 UTC
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In my previous developer blog, I discussed my proposed replacement for Reloaded's then-current plot hook to Tser Pool (and the Tarokka reading). The previous hook went as follows: On the players' first night in Barovia, Madam Eva appears to them in a dream, warns them that they're in grave danger, and tells them to come to her camp, where she can read her fortunes. This was problematic because, as a s...
2024-07-25 12:00:12 +0000 UTC
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I've published Chapter 5: Gameplay of the Dungeon Master's Guide: Reloaded on the Bronze Masterpost! This chapter discusses goal-oriented design, the process of creating meaningful gameplay for your players, and the fundamental game engine of D&D.
I hope you enjoy! Feel free to leave any thoughts, questions, or feedback in the comments below or on the Patreon Discord.
2024-07-23 00:00:12 +0000 UTC
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I'm excited to share the eighth public installment of my revised Curse of Strahd guide, Curse of Strahd: Reloaded. This new release contains Arc P: Ravenloft Heist, which includes:
Challenge Rated is the webtool version (built by open-source contributors) of my Challenge Ratings 2.0 encounter-building system. It uses a custom algorithm, using benchmarked monster and player statistics, to estimate the amount of hit points and resources the players will need to spend in a given encounter—thereby allowing...
2024-07-17 16:50:59 +0000 UTC
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Good news: Arc P: Ravenloft Heist is complete!
Bad news: To fix an issue with the Tarokka reading, I wound up rewriting almost the entirety of Arc B: Welcome to Barovia. (Yes, I know the Tarokka reading is in Arc C. TL;DR: In order to provide a clear inciting incident and impetus for the players to seek out Eva's foretelling, I now have the players arrive on the last night of the siege—and the first night that Ireena is bitten...
2024-07-08 00:50:38 +0000 UTC
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A Deep and Creeping Darkness is a short 5th Edition adventure for 4th-level characters by Michele Carter and Sarah Madsen from the Candlekeep Mysteries anthology. In it, the players are tasked by a mining company with investigating the abandoned mining town of Vermeillon and the nearby platinum mine in order to determine what caused the villagers to abandon it and determine whether it can be reopened safely. Along the way, the players can travel to Candlekeep to ob...
2024-07-03 22:55:52 +0000 UTC
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