A 13th Age GM recently asked for advice on using Backgrounds in a modern setting. At first I didn’t see the problem—”Former circus performer” should work the same in the modern world as it does in the Dragon Empire, right? But when I really gave it some thought, I saw the difficulty. “Former circus performer” […]
Author Archives: Wade Rockett
Thanks to everyone who sent in their fun 13th Age t-shirt slogan ideas! Rob Heinsoo and I read and discussed them, and together we chose our three favorites. Grand Prize goes to Tim Baker: “Well, that escalated quickly.” Second and Third Place go to Michael Keon: “Ask me how 3 + 4 equals 13” “I […]
The Dragon Empire’s potential for rich stories and adventures isn’t even close to being exhausted—its various regions are left half-finished so GMs and players can have fun filling in the blanks, but we envision it being culturally, ethnically, economically, agriculturally, culinarily, and religiously diverse. Approaching a town on the sunny southern coast you might find […]
Pelgrane Press has a new merchandise store, and soon you’ll be able to buy 13th Age merch there! Hurrah! To celebrate the store’s launch, we’re running a 13th Age t-shirt slogan competition: Email your cleverest, funniest, and/or most badass 13th Age t-shirt slogan ideas to support@pelgranepress.com with the subject line “13th Age t-shirt competition”. Only […]
When I asked the 13th Age Facebook group what they’d like me to write about in this month’s column, the first response was, “Sword & Sorcery for 13th Age! Some ideas for tweaks, reductions and hacking.” My initial reaction was, “No freaking way can I turn a game specifically designed to emulate the heroic fantasy […]
I just finished the final pass on the “page XX” references for Shards of the Broken Sky. Some designers dislike this type of finicky work, but I sort of love it. Partly it’s a great moment in the lifecycle of a book—it’s actually about to be finished! Partly you get to take a last look […]
The wicker golem appears in Shards of the Broken Sky, where it’s one of several golems performing various magical maintenance functions. But its inspiration, of course, is the 1973 British horror film The Wicker Man—making it a great monster for a creepy adventure set deep in the High Druid’s woods, where the people still hold […]
When a friend asked me to run an RPG for their group of friends—all of whom were queer, and most of whom had never played an RPG before—I gave her some options to choose from. Horror? D&D-style fantasy adventure? When I mentioned DramaSystem, her eyes lit up. The rules are very light, there are no […]
We’re looking for GMs to run our games at Gen Con 2019! If you’re interested in joining the GM crew at Gen Con, check out the list of available game slots here. GMs will get our new 2019 t-shirts, meet up with our game creators, and receive special Pelgrane swag! Here are the adventures available for each […]
Here’s what I love about the giant shark bowl ooze from Tome of Beasts 2: Creature Codex by Kobold Press: it’s a perfect over-the-top addition to a master villain’s lair in 13th Age. Spy movie masterminds often have tanks full of sharks, alligators, piranhas, and other menaces in their headquarters. These remind everyone who they’re […]