Every group is different. A plus for one group is a turn-off for another. That being said, things that sold my groups include: • The escalation die introduces an interesting tactical choice: do you drop your big nova spell in the first round, or wait to get that bonus? (1/X)

This is the Nentir Vale, a rather cool little setting for D&D 4E. ----------------------------------------------- Imagine a world of bold warriors, mighty wizards, and terrible monsters. Imagine a world of ancient ruins, vast caverns, and great wild wastes where only the bravest heroes dare to tread. Imagine a world of swords and magic, a world of elves and goblins, a world of giants and dragons. This is the world of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. A Dark World. The current age has no all-encompassing empire. The world is shrouded in a dark age, between the collapse of the last great empire and the rise of the next, which might be centuries away. Minor kingdoms prosper, to be sure: baronies, holdings, city-states. But each settlement appears as a point of light in the widespread darkness, a haven, an island of civilization in the wilderness that covers the world. Adventurers can rest and recuperate in settlements between adventures. No settlement is entirely safe, however, and adventures often break out within (or under) cities and towns. The World Is a Fantastic Place. Magic works, servants of the gods wield divine power, and fire giants build strongholds in active volcanoes. The world might be based on reality, but it’s a blend of real-world physics, cultures, and history with a heavy dose of fantasy. For the game’s purposes, it doesn’t matter what historical paladins were like; it cares about what paladins are like in the fantasy world. Adventurers visit the most fantastic locations: wide cavern passages cut by rivers of lava, towers held aloft in the sky by ancient magic, and forests of twisted trees draped in shimmering fog. The World Is Ancient. Empires rise and empires crumble, leaving few places that have not been touched by their grandeur. Ruin, time, and natural forces eventually claim all, leaving the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game world rich with places of adventure and mystery. Ancient civilizations and their knowledge survive in legends, artifacts, and the ruins they left behind, but chaos and darkness inevitably follow an empire’s collapse. Each new realm must carve a place out of the world rather than build on the efforts of past civilizations. The World Is Mysterious. Wild, uncontrolled regions abound and cover most of the world. City-states of various races dot the darkness, bastions in the wilderness built amid the ruins of the past. Some of these settlements are “points of light” where adventurers can expect peaceful interaction with the inhabitants, but many more are dangerous. No one race lords over the world, and vast kingdoms are rare. People know the area they live in well, and they’ve heard stories of other places from merchants and travelers, but few know what lies beyond the mountains or in the depth of the great forest unless they’ve been there personally. Monsters Are Everywhere. Most monsters of the world are as natural as bears or horses are on Earth, and monsters inhabit civilized parts of the world and the wilderness alike. Griffon riders patrol the skies over dwarf cities, domesticated behemoths carry trade goods over long distances, a yuan-ti empire holds sway just a few hundred miles from a human kingdom, and a troop of ice archons from the Elemental Chaos might suddenly appear in the mountains near a major city. Adventurers Are Exceptional. Player characters are the pioneers, explorers, trailblazers, thrill seekers, and heroes of the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game world. Although nonplayer characters might have a class and gain power, they do not necessarily advance as adventurers do, and they exist for a different purpose. Not everyone in the world gains levels as adventurers do. An NPC might be a veteran of numerous battles and still not become a 3rd-level fighter; an army of elves is made up of soldiers, not fighters. The Civilized Races Band Together. The great races of the world—humans, dwarves, eladrin, elves, and halflings—drew closer together during the time of the last great empire (which was human-dominated). That’s what makes them the civilized races—they’re the ones found living together in the towns and cities of civilization. Other races, including dragonborn and tieflings, are in decline, heirs of ancient empires long forgotten. Goblins, orcs, gnolls, kobolds, and similar savage races were never part of that human empire. Some of them, such as the militaristic hobgoblins, have cities, organized societies, and kingdoms of their own. These are islands of civilization in the wilderness, but they are not “points of light.” Magic Is Not Everyday, but it Is Natural. No one is superstitious about magic, but neither is the use of magic trivial. Practitioners of magic are as rare as fighters. People might see evidence of magic every day, but it’s usually minor—a fantastic monster, a visibly answered prayer, a wizard flying by on a griffon. However, true masters of magic are rare. Many people have access to a little magic, and such minor magic helps those living within the points of light to maintain their communities. But those who have the power to shape spells the way a blacksmith shapes metal are as rare as adventurers and appear as friends or foes to the player characters. Gods and Primordials Shaped the World. The primordials, elemental creatures of enormous power, shaped the world out of the Elemental Chaos. The gods gave it permanence and warred with the primordials for control of the new creation, in a great conflict known as the Dawn War. The gods eventually triumphed, and primordials now slumber in remote parts of the Elemental Chaos or rage in hidden prisons. Gods Are Distant. At the end of the Dawn War, the mighty primal spirits of the world exerted their influence, forbidding gods and primordials alike from directly influencing the world. Now exarchs act in the world on behalf of their gods, and angels appear to undertake missions that promote the agendas of the gods they serve. Gods are extremely powerful, compared to mortals and monsters, but they aren’t omniscient or omnipotent. They provide access to the divine power source for their clerics and paladins, and their followers pray to them in hopes that they or their exarchs will hear them and bless them. ----------------------------------------------- I bet I could translate this to the sands of Dark Sun...

I like tactical combat! Maybe I should not have skipped 4E. I liked some 4E Dark Sun (if there was no 2E version 😜) One of my favorite additions is the idea that Athas once had a mirage-like Fey plane, the Land Within the Wind, but that defiling magic has nearly annihilated it. That’s a really evocative bit of worldbuilding, and I’m especially fond of how Eladrin are tied into that concept. I also like the changes to Half-Giants. Dropping the childish mindset and constantly shifting Alignments makes them feel more grounded, and I personally prefer the marbled, Goliath-like skin over the older “just really big people” portrayal. The introduction of the Primal power source, distinct from Arcane, Divine, and Psionic, does a lot of heavy lifting for the setting. It makes Druids and Elemental Priests feel more natural within Athas, especially alongside the additional Primal classes 4E introduced. Along similar lines, the Athasian elemental variants of Genasi are incredibly flavorful and fit perfectly in such an elementally driven world. I also think making Templars essentially Warlocks who form pacts with Sorcerer-Kings is a very elegant bit of design, it neatly integrates a popular class into the setting without feeling forced. And having multiple Psionic classes adds welcome variety while still staying true to Dark Sun’s identity. Finally, the digital Dragon and Dungeon magazine support for 4E included a lot of strong Dark Sun material. In particular, I’m a big fan of the reworked version of Kalidnay, it’s a standout take on the Athasian Domain of Dread in Ravenloft.

Lots of new fungal monsters for @13thAge from Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan: pelgranepress.com/2026/02/10… #13thAge

Look @gmAndiJ, another windling! This one is badass Faerie Rogue by Shadowhyvern

The Adventurers Spellbook is LIVE! And roaring. Check out all the madness and join the fun and fray here: backerkit.com/c/projects/tro…

The 11th Printing of our Castles & Crusades Players Handbook is here! Check out the new cover and tell us what you think 🔥 After a lot of consideration and polling the community, we decided it was time for something fresh. 👉 Check out our Collector's Pack, shipping Feb 21st: trolllord.com/product/castle…

My take on the 80s D&D cartoon characters…

Art by Gerald Brom

FREE Castles and Crusades Players Handbook 7th printing PDF is FREE Interested: trolllord.com/product/cc-pla… on dtrpg legacy.drivethrurpg.com/prod… please share (well, if you want, you could just go get a cup of coffee) #ttrpg #dungeonsanddragons #elf #fantasy #castlesandcrusades #free #osr

Jason Walton's final cover for the REFORGED Adventurers Spellbook is here! Check it out: 👉 Goes LIVE on Jan 20th: bit.ly/ASB_x

Pelgrane Press' latest See Page XX features a 13th Age poll. Be sure to scroll to the bottom and vote! pelgranepress.com/2026/01/07… #13thAge

OGL-Free. Restructured and refined. The REFORGED Adventurers Spellbook will feature multiple chapters of brand-new content for Castles & Crusades spellcasters. The campaign launches in January 2026! Sign up now for updates and get a FREE C&C adventure module 🔥 👉 bit.ly/ASB_x

Not sure where to place marshes on your fantasy map? Here’s your quick guide to these iconic wetlands 🌾 Which is your favorite to draw?

Mark your calendars 🏹 When you sign up for updates on Castle Zagyg, you get a free full-sized Castles & Crusades adventure module to hold you over. Who doesn't love free stuff during the holidays? Sign up to stay in the loop and make sure you don't miss out on early bird rewards when Mega Dungeon Month begins 🔥🏰⚔️ 👉 bit.ly/CZ2_x

A small change in your brush strokes can completely alter the look of the forest you are drawing on your map.

Jason Walton's new cover art for the Guide to Adventure Writing is here! Written by Dan Cross for Gary Gygax's Gygaxian Fantasy Worlds series, this volume will show you how to hook players, create lasting tension, and tell stories that your table will remember for decades. Coming soon to the TLG store!

ANNOUNCEMENT: Mega Dungeon Month 🏰 👉 backerkit.com/call_to_action… 👈 Troll Lord Games is pleased to announce that the second installment of our multi-campaign Castle Zagyg crowdfunding effort will launch in April 2026 on BackerKit as part of Mega Dungeon Month! We are so thrilled to join @GoodmanGames, @MonteCookGames, @KoboldPress, @GhostfireG, @LokeBattlemats, @RowanRookDecard, @9thLevelGames, and many other independent TTRPG creators in this epic, cross-collaborative funding event. Backers who support multiple projects receive special cross-project stretch goals! 👉 Read more here: conta.cc/4rZz2cX

The cover for Gary Gygax's Cosmos Builder is here! The entire Gygaxian Fantasy Worlds series will be available to the masses again in 2026 👀 Look for it in the TLG store! #gygax #worldbuilding

Castles & Crusades is the only #ttrpg today that captures how games used to feel ⚔️🎲 Don't believe us? Try it for yourself. Life's too short to let nostalgia stay in the past 💪 👉 Save up to 25% on your order throughout December: trolllord.com/product-catego… 👈

What's a cool name for an Ancient White Dragon?