The Creepy Crimson Horror Artwork of Kult
Swedish supernatural horror role playing from the 1990s haunts us with bones and belts.The Best and Worst Covers of Heavy Metal's First Decade
Steve and Zack look back on the best and worst of the first ten years of Heavy Metal Magazine covers.The Battle of the Stupidest Rifts Characters
Steve and Zack battle to see who can find the stupider character class in Rifts.Rifts World Book: South America (1994)
Steve and Zack celebrate the World Cup with a Rifts-style trip to South America.The Weirdest West Art of Deadlands
Steve and Zack follow the trail into the Deadlands and have a look at some of the weirdest and worst art from the game series.The Questionable Art of BattleTechnology Magazine
Steve and Zack look back on some of the questionable artwork from the BattleTech magazine.Achtung! Cthulhu Adventure: Catch-666 (Part 3)
Steve and Zack return to the windy alps to battle cosmic evil in the finale of Catch-666.The Winners of the 'Hard Ticket to Baghdad' Art Contest
Steve and Zack announce and discuss the winners of the Hard Ticket to Baghdad art contest.Achtung! Cthulhu Adventure: Catch-666 (Part 2)
Steve returns to World War 2 where he discovers a sinister vault and receives an impossible radio transmission.Achtung! Cthulhu Adventure: Catch-666 (Part 1)
Zack takes Steve on an adventure into weird World War 2 courtesy of Achtung! Cthulhu.RIP the Ultimate Warrior, Cosmic Horror Fighter
Steve and Zack remember Ultimate Warrior and remind you about their contest.The Call of Contestlhu: Hard Ticket to Baghdad
Steve and Zack announce their new 1990s Call of Cthulhu themed art contest.The Lollapaloozicon Random 1990s Cthulhu Adventure Generator
Need a quick adventure idea for your 1990s Cthulhu campaign? Steve and Zack have you covered.Call of Cthulhu '1990's Handbook' - Saved by the Yith (part 5)
Kurt Cobain and gang finally learn the truth behind Morton Downey's evil scheme.Call of Cthulhu '1990's Handbook' - Saved by the Yith (part 4)
Eazy-E enlists the help of an unusual ally to escape police and crash a presidential debate.Call of Cthulhu '1990's Handbook' - Saved by the Yith (part 3)
Clues from Courtney Love lead Cobain, Left Eye, and Eazy-E to the Salton Sea, where they encounter horror and danger that leads them closer to the truth.Call of Cthulhu '1990's Handbook' - Saved by the Yith (part 2)
Kurt Cobain battles ghouls, Eazy-E investigates a Chi-Chis, and Left Eye blows up a strip mall.Call of Cthulhu '1990's Handbook' - Saved by the Yith (part 1)
Kurt Cobain and friends must thwart a sinister presidential bid by Morton Downey Jr.WTF, D&D's Gamer Holiday Gift Guide
Steve and Zack have scoured the Internet and brought back some of the greatest gamer gifts for the nerd in your life.The Lamest Super Heroes of 'Heroes Unlimited: The Justice Machine'
Steve and Zack look at some of the lamest characters from a classic Heroes Unlimited source book.Vicious Turtles & Rampaging Eskimos: The Best of Pulp Cover Artwork
Steve and Zack appreciate some of the finest pulp art this side of a Nazi snapping turtle portrait show.Call of Cthulhu '1990's Handbook' - The Invisible Pattern (Part 3)
Eazy-E, Kurt Cobain, and Left Eye tighten the noose on the cult threatening to unleash a nightmare in our reality.Call of Cthulhu '1990's Handbook' - The Invisible Pattern (Part 2)
The Call of Cobain continues. Kurt battles ghouls, Eazy-E researches ancient texts, and Left Eye experiences a vision of burning doom.Call of Cthulhu '1990's Handbook' - The Invisible Pattern (Part 1)
Cthulhu in the grunge era! Steve as Keeper contends with Zack's celebrity team of investigators.The Macabre Fantasy Artwork of Ray O'Bannon (Part 2)
Lowtax returns to conclude our exploration of the macabre and mysterious artwork of Ray O'Bannon.The Macabre Fantasy Artwork of Ray O'Bannon (Part 1)
Zack and special guest Lowtax take a look at the artwork of an undiscovered master of the macabre.Star Wars D20 Original Adventure: The Empire's Bogus Merch (Part 2 of 2)
Unfortunate things happen when a Jedi afraid of Ewoks attends an Endor-themed costume party.Star Wars D20 Original Adventure: The Empire's Bogus Merch (Part 1 of 2)
Steve and Zack begin their adventure into the Star Wars role playing game with an original scenario.[Mature] Exalted's Most Mature Content (A Mature Article) for Matures Only
A gaming controversy over rape magic in Exalted leads to Steve defending boobs and Zack having an aneurysm.The Most Badass Rifts Cover Art According to Steve
Steve takes Zack on a tour of his favorite Rifts cover artwork.Steve's Adventure Toolkit: Wondrous Treasure Generator
Steve and Zack provide a totally helpful tool for generating treasure at your next gaming session.The Intense and Strange Cover Art of TORG
Steve and Zack find that Rifts-like cult game TORG yields some wild cover artwork.The Immortals Handbook: Epic Bestiary
Steve and Zack take a look at the epic level insanity of their strangest Monster Manual to date.Steve's Adventure Toolkit: Rad NPC Generator
Steve and Zack have another useful tool for use with any tabletop fantasy game.The Mind-Blowing Cover Art of Classic D&D
Steve and Zack celebrate some of the strangest D&D module artwork of the late 70s and early 80s.Steve's Adventure Toolkit: Wicked Encounter Generator
Steve and Zack have created a useful tool for Dungeons Masters running games in any sort of fantasy setting.Palladium's Nightbane (1995)
Steve and Zack experience war and horror in, Nightbane, Palladium's mid-90's foray into 'serious role playing.'The Ridiculous Artwork of the Street Fighter: Player's Guide
Steve and Zack dip back into the 1990s and White Wolf's classic Street Fighter role playing game.Maid: The Role Playing Game (2008)
Zack forces Steve to play test Maid: The RPG and together they discover the disgusting secret of the game.Help Us Save Synnibarr!
Join forces with Steve and Zack to help save one of the silliest roleplaying games to come out of the 20th century.The Grim Darkness of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Art
Zack and Steve get grim and dark with the creepy artwork of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.Call of Cthulhu 'Mansions of Madness' - Scenario Three (1990)
Zack and Steve are heading back to the mansions of horror with this week's return to our housing-based Cthulhu adventures.Call of Cthulhu 'Mansions of Madness' - Scenario Two (1990)
Steve and Zack continue their journey through the Mansions of Madness with the down south scenario 'The Plantation.'Call of Cthulhu 'Mansions of Madness' - Scenario One (1990)
Steve and Zack climb the Mansion of Madness in this 1920s Call of Cthulhu scenario.AD&D 2E 'Tome of Magic' (1991)
Steve and Zack crack open 1991's Tome of Magic and get thrilled by the crystal parrot.D&D Module CB1: 'Conan: Unchained!' - Part 2
Steve and Zack conclude the surprisingly uneventful journey of Nestor the Gunderman.D&D Module CB1: 'Conan: Unchained!' - Part 1
A Conan TSR adventure gives Steve the chance to DM Hyboria and Zack the chance to discover his inner Guntsman.Aliens Unlimited: Galaxy Guide (1997)
Steve and Zack encounter unknown creatures in Palladium's guide to Aliens Unlimited.Dungeons & Dragons Module B1: 'In Search of the Unknown' - Part 2
The shocking conclusion of Steve and Zack's run of D&D Module B1: In Search of the Unknown.Dungeons & Dragons Module B1: 'In Search of the Unknown' - Part 1
Steve and Zack take on module B2: In Search of the Unknown with Steve playing a level 3 gypsy.
Swedish supernatural horror role playing from the 1990s haunts us with bones and belts. Steve and Zack look at some of the lamest characters from a classic Heroes Unlimited source book. Vicious Turtles & Rampaging Eskimos: The Best of Pulp Cover Artwork. Dungeons & Dragons Module B1: 'In Search of the Unknown' - Part 1.
As a dungeon master, crafting a story from scratch on the regular can prove punishing. Step in, the official Dungeons & Dragons 5E campaign books. These beautifully illustrated tomes contain all the crucial narrative points, monsters and maps you’ll need to create an amazing long-form adventure - no homebrew required!One of the best ever made, since its 1974 inception Dungeons & Dragons has spawned countless settings spread out across numerous editions.Fifth edition among all of the others, emphasises story-telling and immersion.
The top D&D 5E campaigns listed here cover a vast range of locations and themes. You can enjoy seedy urban hijinx and conspiracy in campaign Waterdeep: Dragonheist; unyielding dread and folk-horror nasties in Curse of Strahd; or the vast jungles and dinosaurs of Tomb of Annihilation. Some of these campaigns are brutal, others more a gentle ride through curious fantasy worlds.The scope of books here is a testament to the versatility of the Dungeons & Dragons system as a whole. And as all campaigns are designed as sandboxes, you can adjust as best suits your table, customising as and when you like.We've listed all the published D&D campaign books out there, however, it's worth keeping an eye out for book Critical Role - and the, which draws from Magic: The Gathering Greek-myth inspired world Theros, both of which will be landing later this year.Of all these innumerable plains, here are the best Dungeons & Dragons 5E campaigns you can play right now. If you're looking more in the vein of classes, races and mechanics, take a gander at the. Curse of Strahd The titular vampire Strahd Von Zarovich, the cruel and capricious overlord of Barovia.An adaptation and expansion from 1st edition Dungeons & Dragons adventure module Ravenloft (which sees you storming a cursed castle overseen by a Dracula like figure), Curse of Strahd sees you trapped in Barovia: a miserable land of grey mists and sunless skies that is overseen by the pointy-toothed, malovelent overlord of the title.All-powerful and, as Gothic tropes dictate, utterly bonkers, this adventure sees you banding together to take down the bloodthirsty despot.
This is not your typical high-fantasy adventure. In Curse of Strahd, the villain has already won, the economy doesn't exist and you odds of beating him are slim.As well as being stalked by Strahd himself, you'll also find that everything else also wants to kill you. The wolves, the hags, the hordes of bats – this campaign has all the folk-horror spooky trappings you need.
There's even one section where you find a witch's hut scurrying about on legs. D&D campaign Curse of Strahd is packed full of horrors and folklore, including this clearly cursed witch's hut belonging to one Baba Yaga.You’ll scour icy mountains, raid strange temples and, if you survive long enough, storm the dark master’s castle Ravenloft. Thematically, Curse of Strahd deals with powerlessness and trauma. Every location in Barovia has either fallen to, or found bizarre ways to deal with the horror that pervades the land. Barovia has been irreparably scarred by Strahd, and what you do will determine its fragile fate.The Curse of Strahd campaign also has a curious randomisation element, in that aspects of it are generated via the suitably spooky Tarroka deck (available separately to the main book), which is handed to you by mysterious fortune-teller Madame Eva and foreshadows the upcoming events. It even determines who will help you, brave and likely doomed heroes, on your quest.And while Barovia is pretty damn unforgiving, the threat of near-constant death is part of what makes it so compelling to play. One for fans of horror, looking for terrors and spooky happenings in a bleak land.
It's even got its own haunted house module, Death House, which before getting the whole campaign book.Buy Curse of Strahd at. Out of the Abyss Psychedelic Underdark city Neverlight Grove in campaign Out of the AbyssLike a twisted Alice in Wonderland, this one takes you on a psychedelic adventure deep down into the Underdark - a series of tunnels that literally span continents. Here, it’s eternally dark (you’ll navigate mostly using glowing fungi), and horrifying cults based around spider Goddess Lolth abound.That said, it’s a thriving place full of cities, trade networks and infrastructure. Just don’t expect to get engaged in witty monologues with friendly caterpillars.You start out as prisoners, before making your way on an Apocalypse Now-style voyage of terror as you delve deeper and deeper down. This campaign even has its very own Demogorgon.
The infamous demogorgon, made famous in TV show Stranger Things.Fans of the Dungeons and Dragons book series Legend of Drizzt, about a certain heroic but oh-so-tormented dark elf, will recognise the uber-goth races available immediately.Although be warned, this is a tough one for beginner DMs - as it requires a lot of prep, even by Dungeons and Dragons standards. If you like things weird and kind of dark, Out of the Abyss is the campaign for you.Buy Out of the Abyss at. Baldur’s Gate: Descent into AvernusPerhaps the most heavy metal Dungeons and Dragons campaign ever, the recently released Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus literally takes you to the Nine Hells and back.
Set during the infamous Blood Wars, it features diabolical foes, fiery skies and er, Hell Wasps. Think Mad Max meets the Underworld.Plus adorable tiny golden elephants that pump out “radiant sparkles of positive energy”. Not to mention the mighty Infernal Machines: big bad motorcycles powered by the souls of the damned.An unusually long campaign, it follows players from 1 to 13, and is one bulky book.
Definitely one for fans of Baldur’s Gate - the campaign serves as a prequel to the upcoming video game Baldur’s Gate III - or who enjoy exploring a hellscape saturated with lurid ultra-violence.Buy Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus at. Storm King’s ThunderHigh fantasy has always been a staple with Dungeons & Dragons, and if that’s your happy place, this campaign set in the iciest regions of the Forgotten Realms is ideal for you.In it, mighty giants have arisen and are terrorising civilisation.
In response, the small folk are gathering together in pursuit of rune magic - the ancient weapon that allowed the giants to beat the dragons long ago. It’s got everything from kraken wizards to enchanted fantasy groves, and the giants themselves - of which there are multiple types - make formidable foes.On top of this, it’s a bulky but immensely detailed campaign book that provides a real cornucopia of outcomes - which players being presented with multiple ways to conclude a quest. One of those rare campaigns that avoids railroading, but is also detailed enough to be relatively straightforward to run. Try this one out if you players want a full-fledged fantasy experience.Buy Storm King's Thunder at.
Tales from the Yawning PortalThis campaign collection contains seven of the deadliest dungeons to have emerged over the last 30 years of Dungeons & Dragons history.Among these is a fifth edition adaptation of infamous Total Party Kill machine Tomb of Horrors. In it, you descend down into a labyrinthine crypt packed full of foul beasties and terrible traps. Somewhere, an eons-old Demilich lurks. Yawning Portal is the book for those who fancy a dungeon crawl.And what dungeons these are.In adventure Sunless Citadel, explore a long-abandoned fortress which contains an apple that can grant eternal life, or steal it. Vanquish orcs in a long-abandoned dwarven fortress beneath a mountain in The Forge of Fury.Or in the wild White Plume Mountain, you scour the long lost lair of a mad wizard tyrant. As you’d imagine, that one’s a real funhouse of horrors and top-tier strange.These adventures are light on theme and story but make for super fun dungeon delving. Your table will need to combine wit, brawn and - let’s face it - sheer luck, to make it out alive.Buy Tales from the Yawning Portal at.
Ghosts of SaltmarshIn this campaign, the sea is your foe. A series of excellent one-offs adapted into 5e from classic one-off nautical adventures from Dungeon magazine, Ghosts of Saltmarsh features seven campaigns jam-packed with pirates, high-seas hijinx and horrifying fish-people.You can lead players from levels 1 to 12 using the adventures and starting area Saltmarsh fishing village, or play them as one-offs.There’s a real range of adventures to be had here. Explore a haunted house in module Secret of Saltmarsh, spy on Lizardfolk in Danger at Dunwater and claim a cursed island for a local mariner’s guild in Isle of the Abbey.Additionally, Ghosts of Saltmarsh features handy rules for nautical combat, boats and strange sea encounters. Two words: boat and kraken. These serve as excellent sandbox inspiration to take into your own written campaigns.We especially love Salvage Operation: in which you investigate ghost ship Emperor of the Waves, which has been spotted adrift nearby after being missing for years.Ever so modular, these adventures also provide ample opportunity to add your own storytelling flavor.Buy Ghosts of Salt Marsh at.
Tomb of AnnihilationDo you like dinosaurs? How about a zombie Tyrannosaurus Rex? We’ve found the campaign for you. Set predominantly on the verdant and ever so deadly jungles of island Chult, Tomb of Annihilation holds plenty of exotic thrills for the right party.Story-wise, you’ll be searching for the source of a mysterious death curse, said to sourced in those wild, vast jungles. Along the way, you’ll likely fight snake people, explore a carnivorous garden or two and maybe even race some dinosaurs.It also features plenty of friendly Dungeons & Dragons faces, such as time-traveling dimension-hopping Arch Lich Asserac - made legend in Tomb of Horrors.We’d say Tomb of Annihilation is a good all-rounder, as it’s got a little something for everyone, and plenty of opportunities to mix up themes: whether you want to play up the madcap Indiana Jones aspect or lean into the whole cursed island vibe.Buy Tomb of Annhilation at. Lost Mine of PhandelverIdeal for both beginner players and DMs, Lost Mine of Phandelver is a mini campaign available with the fifth-edition Dungeons & Dragons starter set. It features essentially everything you’ll need to get a feel for things, and balances roleplaying nicely with fun combat encounters.
Story-wise, it’s a very typical fantasy adventure, containing goblins, a dragon and one very hungry owlbear.There’s a village full of NPCs, plenty of quest hooks, a mini dungeon and big one complete with the adventure’s big bad. It’s also pretty easy to use the Lost Mine of Phandelver as a starting point for another longer campaign, as it transitions well into larger settings.One word of advice: don’t use the pregenerated characters. Let your players make their own first-level characters (both the Player’s Handbook and the internet outline this well), and host it during a ‘Session 0’ where you can all help your other go through the process.Buy Lost Mine of Phandelver as part of the D&D Starter Set at. Waterdeep: Dragon HeistThe seedy streets of Waterdeep are not too far off the filthy streets of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series’ Ankh Morpork.
An excellent long campaign for complete beginners, although pretty short compared to the others, it’ll take you from levels one to five. Plus, the physical book features a beautiful, full-colour pull-out map of Waterdeep.Story-wise, the villain you’ll play depends on which of the four seasons the players pick.
Examples of possible baddies include a horde of beholders and some ultra-strange devil worshippers. Story-wise, it’s effectively a mad dash to get the missing gold before everyone else does.Neither high-fantasy nor horror, it’s more of an urban trawl. It draws a lot of inspiration from heist films.
As you’d expect, corruption is at the heart of Waterdeep, and there are a multitude of factions and villains for players to meet.The tone is pretty light, and it provides plenty of entertaining roleplaying opportunities. Of all the campaigns, it’s one suited better to investigation then mindless killing, although there is plenty of killing to be had.Also unlike basically every other campaign, the stakes aren’t that high. In this, you’re not saving the world. Well, not immediately.It’s perfect for starting players, or a fun diversion for players coming out of a heavier campaign looking for something a little lighter.Buy Waterdeep: Dragonheist. Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad MageThe sequel to Dragon Heist, this adventure will take players from level five to 20(!) In this, they’ll descend into the Undermountain - where bonkers wizard Halaster Blackcloak resides.
In his domain, he’s taken over a ton of creatures, and has also created an array of weird portals leading out in the multiverse and other Forgotten Realms locations.So, this is effectively one gigantic dungeon crawl, and infinitely more hack ‘n’ slash then its predecessor. We’d recommend using it as a follow-up to Dragon Heist.Tonally, Dungeon of the Mad Mage is a little all over the place, as such, it’s best treated as a mad-cap dungeon crawl.Buy Waterdeep: Dragonheist.