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Travis Miller's Blog About Sword & Sorcery Fiction and Classic Fantasy Adventure Gaming

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Category: game mastering advice

How I Use Reputation To Modify Reaction Rolls.

On April 28, 2022April 28, 2022 By Travis MillerIn game mastering advice, house rules7 Comments

I use a 2D6 reaction roll for many social interaction encounters. One of the modifiers I employ is a for the reputation of the player characters.

Make EVERYTHING More Interesting?

On April 7, 2022April 11, 2022 By Travis MillerIn game mastering advice4 Comments

Beware the pitfalls of putting too much interesting stuff in your adventure scenarios.

How Much Worldbuilding Do I Need For My Campaign?

On March 17, 2022March 17, 2022 By Travis MillerIn game mastering advice5 Comments

Focus on the thing that players are likely to interact with and what they will care about, and the rest of your worldbuilding can be made up of bullet points, quick sketches and scribbles on index cards.

Player Character continuity is not a big deal.

On February 17, 2022February 17, 2022 By Travis MillerIn game mastering advice1 Comment

Readers of my game reports may notice that characters come and go from session to session. Players in my group can't make every session. We play anyway. My general rule is that if two players can make it, we play. I have a set time every week that I run a game unless I am …

Continue reading Player Character continuity is not a big deal.

Monster Descriptions

On February 3, 2022February 3, 2022 By Travis MillerIn game mastering advice2 Comments

The fewer number of visual aids you use for your game, the more important your monster descriptions become. Here is my process for creating impactful monster descriptions.

In Defense of the +1 Sword

On January 27, 2022October 11, 2024 By Travis MillerIn game mastering advice5 Comments

There is a line of thought that referees should avoid the plain old +1 sword. The argument is that a+1 sword is not a very engaging treasure item. Some say that every magic weapon that appears in your campaign should have some characteristic that makes it more than a mere modifier to the to hit …

Continue reading In Defense of the +1 Sword

How Many Wizards?

On December 23, 2021December 5, 2022 By Travis MillerIn design theory, game mastering advice4 Comments

When I'm creating a campaign for Swords & Wizardry one of the first steps in my process are to define the groups that exist in the setting. I start with very broad strokes and ideas. In the beginning...there is swirling Chaos that becomes more clear as I make progress. I start by thinking about the …

Continue reading How Many Wizards?

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Travis Miller

I write about tabletop role-playing games, sword-and-sorcery fiction, storytelling, and heavy metal. 

The friendships I’ve forged while playing adventure games, listening to heavy music, and sharing stories saved my life and made it worth living.  

I live in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. America’s most underrated city.

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Cover of a a roleplaying game product titled "Hogwater: Village of Secrets" by Travis Miller


Hogwater: Village of Secrets is a starting location for a sandbox campaign. It includes everything you need to begin a campaign while still having the space to add your favorite old school modules or build your own. There are factions, non-player characters, unique monsters, locations, and a series of pre-written hooks for you to introduce players to the village of Hogwater and its troubles.

Immortals Inc, one of Cleveland's best Friendly Local Game Stores, keeps signed copies of Hogwater in stock. They ship to locations inside of the United States or you can pick it up yourself if you happen to be in the area. Great shop and great people. I also run special events and appear on their YouTube channel from time to time.

Buy Hogwater on Lulu in Print. Send me the receipt and I'll send you a PDF for free.

Buy Hogwater in PDF on Lulu

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