Posts
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From Wiki to Wandcraft, and More
School-year catch-up: Latitude history on the Vikingworld wiki, two new books, the Live Villages Minecraft mod, and more work on the character sheet & card app.
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An Update on My Summer Projects
Summer progress report: MyRPG, mastery advancement, the third-build character card system, and Fires at the Fjordgate.
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The D4 Pool System
A bell-curved d4 dice pool that merges attack and damage—replacing the d20 for 5e-inspired or original RPGs.
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Hero Posters: Turning D&D Characters into Classroom Super‑Stars
Full-color “Get to Know Your Heroes” posters that put every PC on the wall and make the classroom party feel legendary.
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Card based characters?
Why full card-based characters may beat thick sheets for kids and digital-skeptical tables—and where the design is headed.
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AI can help a TON
Monsters, art, and on-the-fly improvisation: how AI tools help a non-“creative” DM (and an 11-year-old) run better games.
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Bards! You can use AI to make songs easily.
Using AI to write and produce a session song—The Ballad of Bitey Boy Brock—and how bards (and DMs) can too.
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Kids DMing: Coffee Wizard!
Students take the DM chair: one experienced kid and one first-timer run short encounters, including Coffee Wizard.
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D&D and Dungeon Mastering Beginner Resources
A practical starter stack for new DMs and players: free rules, videos, tools, and habits that actually help.
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Crafting Class Results
Student showcase night: custom miniatures and terrain from the crafting class, with photos of each creation.
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Mastery instead of XP or Milestone in D&D
Leveling by mastery of abilities instead of XP or milestones—especially useful when teaching new players.
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The story so far
Campaign recap before a new school year: the fall of Þýdal, the flight to Niðaróss, and where the kids pick up next.
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Using chatGPT to do research for D&D campaigns
Jump-starting Norse-inspired campaign research with ChatGPT—races, gods, and historical flavor for educational play.
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Terrain Crafting Paint Choices
The paints and techniques I actually use for tabletop terrain—so you can copy a working palette instead of guessing.
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Character Package Example
A complete starter package for a new fairy bard: backstory, sheet, spell cards, and portrait art ready on day one.
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Improving your game with AI Art
Using MidJourney (and similar tools) for characters, monsters, and battle maps—without letting art slow the game.
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D&D isn't a video game
Breaking the “balanced encounter” habit: how unbalanced challenges teach better play than video-game thinking.
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D&D Play Example
Deborah Ann Woll’s Relics and Rarities as a kid-friendlier play example than most streamed adult campaigns.
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D&D Resources: Great Character Sheets
Class-specific, form-fillable character sheets from DM’s Guild that beat the generic PHB page for many tables.
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Can you get kids to slow down?
Using “caesura” at the table: getting rushed young players to listen, think, and enjoy the story more deeply.
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D&D Beginners Resource: Handbooker Helper
Critical Role’s short Handbooker Helper videos—kid-shareable rules explainers without adult-campaign baggage.
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RPG Cards in Action
Spell and ability cards sorted by Action, Bonus Action, and Reaction—so kids stay engaged on other people’s turns.
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Making RPG Cards the easy way
A free browser tool plus sample wild-shape and spell decks so kids can hold their abilities in their hands.
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On Choosing a Spear as your Main Adventuring Melee Weapon
Why spears deserve a place as a main adventuring weapon—history, Viking-age campaigns, and practical table benefits.
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Making Slings Worthy
House rule: give slings shortbow ranges with lead bullets so a one-handed ranged option (and Magic Stone) is actually viable.
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On Rules Complexity: Starting Kids With Sidekicks
Why Essentials Kit sidekicks beat full class lists for new young players—and how three archetypes teach the game.
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Homebrewing monsters for kids, part 1
Turning Adventure Time penguins into kid-friendly Jotunheim foes—and why simple stat blocks win with young players.
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Kids love "parkour"
A lava-rock “parkour” set piece on Muspelheim that kids still retell—simple to run, hard to forget.
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Promoting teamwork through magic items
The Bard’s Heart: a homebrew magic item that only helps someone else, nudging young players toward real teamwork.
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What to avoid, part 2 (player agency)
Why Sleep and Hold Person can shut kids down—and practical ways to protect player agency at a youth table.
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What to avoid, part 1 (subject matter)
A parent-minded checklist of subjects to keep out of kids’ D&D—and how a graveyard mishap became a better adventure.
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Coding engaging enhancements for D&D
Roll20 macros and API scripts that add spell and attack effects while cutting table busywork—free on GitHub.
