Tag Archives: Kevin Kulp

Playtesting: the Hidden Folk (Non-Human Heroes) in Swords of the Serpentine

By Kevin Kulp This is the seventh in our series on non-human heroes which has so far covered the spider-like Arakene, the Considerata (humans whose souls are contractually linked to gods), Constructs, the fungal Drowned, Intelligent Animals, and Unsleeping Advisors (secret undead). This month’s Ancestry is inspired by cobbler elves, house elves, Icelandic legends, and tiny […]

The Holidays of Eversink: Using festivals for plot hooks in Swords of the Serpentine

by Kevin Kulp Eversink is a city of shimmering festivals, holidays and raucous celebration. The city is alive and alight during holidays, often flooded with food and festivity (and actual water, considering the irritating local tide table). Here are a few of the better-known holidays and celebrations. Scouring Day (civic, popular) Eversink’s narrower canals tend […]

Playtesting: the fungal Drowned (Non-Human Heroes) in Swords of the Serpentine

By Kevin Kulp This is the sixth in our series on non-human heroes which has so far covered the spider-like Arakene, the Considerata (humans whose souls are contractually linked to gods), Constructs, Intelligent Animals, and Unsleeping Advisors (secret undead). This month’s Ancestry is inspired by the cordyceps fungus, The Last of Us, and terrifying hiveminds. Be sure to read […]

Playtesting: the spider-like Arakene (Non-Human Heroes) in Swords of the Serpentine

By Kevin Kulp This is the fifth in our series on non-human heroes which has so far covered Constructs, Intelligent Animals, Unsleeping Advisors (secret undead), and the Considerata (humans whose souls are contractually linked to gods). This month’s Ancestry is inspired by drow elves, deep ones, embedded spies, and any creatures who try to hide within […]

Free RPG Day 2023

We’re happy to announce we were once again part of Free RPG Day 2023 on Saturday, June 24th, 2023, and this year’s free Pelgrane giveaway was an adventure for Swords of the Serpentine, which you can find with all previous years’ Free RPG Day adventures. Swords of the Serpentine is a game of daring heroism, […]

Playtesting: The Considerata (Non-Human Heroes) in Swords of the Serpentine

By Kevin Kulp We’ve had fun providing rules for non-humans and giving you two Ancestries for Swords of the Serpentine, Intelligent Animals and Unsleeping Advisors. This month’s Ancestry is inspired by heritages like the tiefling and aasimar from other classic fantasy games. How might you create a Hero in SotS who has a remarkable and supernatural […]

Playtesting: Constructs (Non-Human Heroes) in Swords of the Serpentine

By Kevin Kulp Our series on non-human heroes has so far covered Intelligent Animals, Unsleeping Advisors (secret undead), and the Considerata (humans whose souls are contractually linked to gods). This month’s Ancestry is inspired by gargoyles, golems, warforged, and clockwork creations. Be sure to read the previously published rules on Non-Human Heroes if you haven’t […]

Playtesting: Unsleeping Advisors (Non-Human Heroes) in Swords of the Serpentine

by Kevin Kulp Last month we explained rules for non-humans and gave you our first Ancestry for Swords of the Serpentine: Intelligent Animals. This month’s Ancestry is originally inspired by The Serpent’s Tongue, a piece of very Eversinkish art by artist Tom Bagshaw. Unsleeping Advisor Ancestry abilities: Ancestry (Unsleeping Advisor), Forgotten Lore, Laws and Traditions, Prophecy […]

Playtesting: Intelligent Animals (Non-Human Heroes) in Swords of the Serpentine

by Kevin Kulp Now that we’ve explained the rules for non-human Heroes in Swords of the Serpentine, let’s start with the first Ancestry: Intelligent Animals. Please go read those base rules if you haven’t yet, as it will make this article make much more sense. Each month’s Ancestry will follow the same format, as shown […]

Playtesting Rules: Non-Human Heroes in Swords of the Serpentine

by Kevin Kulp Classic sword and sorcery stories feature human heroes almost exclusively, but that doesn’t mean your game needs to look like this. If you want to use the GUMSHOE Swords of the Serpentine rules for high- or epic fantasy, you’ll want access to non-human heroes. This monthly series will feature Ancestries for non-human […]

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