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What The Owlbear & Druid Debate Misses About Monstrosities
The movie trailer for “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” dropped last week, igniting a fervent online debate. The anger arose around whether a druid can transform into an owlbear, as depicted in the cinematic rendition of the world’s most popular...
What The Owlbear & Druid Debate Misses About Monstrosities
The movie trailer for “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” dropped last week, igniting a fervent online debate. The anger arose around whether a druid can transform into an owlbear, as...
Running a Dark Fantasy Campaign – Making PvP Work in 5e
In an earlier post, we delved deep into the dungeons of how to help morally grey and downright evil characters work together in a way that keeps the campaign from falling apart like a desiccated...
You Best Start Believing in Fairies – Using Fey Folk in 5e
In 1917, two cousins Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright were playing by a stream. This was despite the protestations of Elsie’s mother who later scolded them for tracking mud into the family abode....
Crafting Immersive Dungeons – Dungeon Tiles
Hey there, my name is John Lombardi, and I run the YouTube channel Tabletop WitchCRAFT. My channel is all about inspiring and teaching all those that want to learn how to create a magical tabletop...
The Imagery of the Dreamers
If I think back to the first sensation that I know is real and true, it’s the sound of a pickaxe spiking stone as it strikes to clear a fallen shaft. I remember the scrape and tumble of broken rock...
Game Design with Blaine Simple: Fight the Blight
Do you ever wonder how an idea for a game comes to fruition? and then how this idea gets turned into a reality? Well our Boardgames Production Assistant, Mark McIntyre dives into these questions and...
Running Adventure Modules – Part 1: Well Read
Well Read: Best Practices for Reading Adventure Modules Welcome adventurer to the Running Adventure Modules blog series. Over the course of five articles, we’ll cover all the tips and tricks a busy...
Monster Hunter (levels 9-14) – Grim Hollow 5e Class
The following Monster Hunter class for Grim Hollow and 5e is playtest material. This article covers levels 9-14, levels 1-3 can be found here, and levels 4-8 can be found here. The final levels are...
Storybuilding: Expanding Salvage Rules
Perhaps the most exciting new rules to come to the Grim Hollow setting from the Monster Grimoire are the salvaging rules. With the salvaging rules, every encounter might offer the chance at...
Glimpse Inside Fables: Pirates of the Aetherial Expanse
“Hail and well-met travelers! Would you care to hear a Fable?” Since joining Ghostfire Gaming this March, I’ve been busy helping finalize our latest Fables campaign, polishing the remarkable work of...
Running a Dark Fantasy Campaign – Wretched Villainy
Every genre has its recurring threats, and those which haunt the halls of dark fantasy are unique in that their villainy must rise to meet the danger of a world steeped in darkness… without losing...
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...
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Fables Membership
$14.99 now, and $14.99 on the 1st of each month Sign up nowFables is an episodic subscription service. Each Fable comprises six episode...
