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Top 7 Cleric Spells for Channeling Divinity
More often than not when it comes to a fantasy roleplaying game like 5th Edition, you're going to have gods. It usually doesn't matter whether your character believes in them or not. Pantheons, deities, and celestials of all kinds reign supreme throughout 5e, and...
Top 7 Bard Spells (and their Roleplay Potential)
Bards are often the swiss army knives of Fantasy TTRPGs. Want to be a melee fighter, rapier drawn, dashing up into combat? We have a Bard for that! Want to stay on the fringes of battle, dishing out...
How to Make Merfolk “Part of Your (5e) World”
Picture this: it’s New York, 1842. You’re lining up to see the latest fad from America’s greatest showman, P. T. Barnum. You watch as he takes pride of place at the front of Barnum’s American...
Exploring Arora – TTRPGs are About the Journey
Dungeons & Dragons, the name says a lot. There are dungeons and there are dragons within those dungeons. But really, it’s what happens before you reach the dungeon that makes an adventure feel...
Win the Race: Character Creation in Arora: Age of Desolation
The world of Arora, currently being funded through the Arora: Age of Desolation Kickstarter, is something that has been swirling around in my brain for over 10 years. If I’m honest, it’s probably...
Art Direction for Arora: Age of Desolation
Do you ever wonder where all those beautiful artworks come from when browsing through TTRPG books? How does it work? How do artists get their art in there? Well, wonder no longer because our...
Running a Dark Fantasy Campaign – Party Cohesion
Villains are fun. Like, really fun. They’re fun to watch and read about, and you better believe they’re fun to play. There’s probably a thesis in that, but I’m in no way qualified to go there so...
A Dwarf Society Built on Adamantine
The Dwarves of the Bürach Empire Adamantine was a revelation, the metallic savior of the last great dwarven city. As humans overran Etharis in the Era of Expansion, dwarven lands were consumed. Even...
Wretched Stories from the Nov Ostoya Streets
There is much to see in Nov Ostoya and getting lost is common among newcomers to the city. Getting lost is also the reason that newcomers tend not to last long in the capital of the Ostoyan Empire....
Storybuilding: Monster Hunting
Not every adventure happens to heroes. Sometimes the adventurers go looking for trouble, and no adventure is more iconic than when hunting for a specific monster. Often it starts with a rumor; some...
The Monster Hunter (levels 4-8) – Grim Hollow 5e Class
The following Monster Hunter class for Grim Hollow and 5e is playtest material. This article covers levels 4-8, levels 1-3 can be found here, levels 9-14 can be found here, and further levels will...
Revisiting Warlocks from Earlier Editions to 5e
I’ve been playing tabletop roleplaying games for a long, long time. I have dice older than many of the people I work with at Ghostfire Gaming. I’ve read previous editions before 5e where there were...
Running a Dark Fantasy Campaigns – The Atmosphere Heist
In this, the second instalment of our “Running a Dark Fantasy TTRPG” blog series, we’ll explore how to capture and maintain what makes dark fantasy such an alluring genre to inhabit - atmosphere. If...
How to Keep Your 5e Party on Track Without Railroading
In Episode 4 of Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun, the characters finally break free of the City Below beneath Ostoya and drag themselves to the surface. With fresh air comes freedom, not only from...
An Update on our Pre-Orders!
Hey everyone The current global shipping situation sure has been an interesting time for anyone and everyone trying to ship anything from Point A to Point B. We have been no exception to the...
How to Run an Open World Adventure & World Anvil!
Need advice on how to get started on world building? Open world games are incredible because of how immersive they are our freedom of exploration within them! Our wonderful friends at World Anvil...
The Downcast the Heavens Sent
"Dearest and brightest angel, Before the gods died, you performed faithful service in their name. Your existence was purposeful and your light was so radiant that I am glad we never met in battle....
Monsters from Irish Mythology for 5e Adventures
Whenever a holiday or celebration comes up, it’s fun to think about related world mythologies and how one might make a 5e adventure of the creatures found within. With St. Patrick’s Day upon us,...
The Monster Hunter (levels 1-3) – Grim Hollow 5e Class
The following Monster Hunter class for Grim Hollow and 5e is playtest material. This article covers levels 1-3, levels 4-8 can be found here, with further levels coming in future articles. The...
Running a Dark Fantasy Campaign – Defining the “Dark”
Welcome to the first of five blog posts dedicated to running your tabletop roleplaying games such as 5e within the iconic and deeply atmospheric worlds of dark fantasy. The idea of incorporating...
The History of Halflings in a Realm of Giants
In a grim world of fallen gods and fading hope, a halfling is a rare candle of good cheer. Not known for their might or ferocity, they are heroes of a different sort, quietly enduring and taking the...
Navigating the Labyrinth – Environmental 5e Combat
Here we are, at the final session of our series on using Classical mythology to strengthen your TTRPG encounters. From subconscious expectations inherited from ancient narrative conventions, to...
For the Love of Adventure – A Valentine’s 5e Adventure
5th Edition Game Masters looking to add a little adventure for date night this Valentine’s Day need only draw inspiration from the romantic tales made famous by the Brothers Grimm. Love stories come...
Creating and Running Duet-Style 5e Adventures
Have you ever wanted to play a tabletop roleplaying game that requires three or more players, but you’re unable to coordinate a time that works for all your friends? Or are you searching for a fun...
Solving the Mystery – How to Run Mysteries in 5e
During Episode 2 of Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun, the party must spend a night in an Ostoyan keep with a small group of knights. The keep is locked, the night is long, and one of the knights is...
The Heritage of the Half-Orcs
Before the elves or dwarves, Etharis was ruled by orcs. From north to south, east to west, they built a nomadic empire of diverse tribes. After dominating the land for centuries they left the...
Factions of Grim Hollow
Many factions vie for control of the realms of Grim Hollow. Today we’ll consider what makes each of them a good patron, dastardly foe, or even a group that player characters may seek to join. The...
Tabletop Roleplaying Games are Good for You
Who knew gaming could bring so much good to one’s life? Seriously, the thought of doing something fun that also benefits your lifestyle is a rare thing indeed! Usually, you need to run ten miles or...
The Sphinx and the Riddle of Non-Combat Encounters
Welcome back to this blog series on how Classical mythology can offer guidance to our TTRPG encounter design! So far, we’ve talked about the power in conforming to or defying ancient narrative...
Glimpse Inside Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
Friends and fans of Grim Hollow, and honored newcomers to the worlds of Ghostfire Gaming, the time has come to begin a brand-new adventure! I’d like to officially introduce, the first ever...
The Filth Grazer – Creating a Grim Hollow Monster
There’s an old saying in RPG game design: Don’t create a stat block for creatures that you don’t want players to kill. One of the most popular books of an earlier roleplaying era was Deities and...
Yule Better Be Good – A Christmas 5e Adventure
The season of giving is upon us and what better way to celebrate it with your players than with a Christmas-themed adventure? There are plenty of 5th Edition games that feature a jolly gift-giving...
Villains of Grim Hollow – Naedre
The evils that haunt Etharis are many, though few can stand against a party of grizzled adventurers alone. In this series, Villains of Grim Hollow, I’ll draw back the curtain on some of those...
