The silver necklaces whose inset gems display the status of the wearer.

The addition of “irrelevant” details adds local colour to a campaign world, giving the impression that the DM has thought very deeply about the history of even the smallest architectural feature.

Unknown to anyone, a glamorous ball for the Duke of Erezi will turn into a confusing and chaotic bloodbath.

I don't know if I posted about it before, but I have always wanted to run an adventure set in a library. The following is a sketch of an unusual premise and a possible plot-hook.

I'm trying to think of alternatives for game-openings, to replace the standard 'meet up in a tavern' or 'adventuring group applying for a job' techniques. I know these can be easy ways to get people playing, but I'm certain there are more interesting ways...

A dangerous book of maps...

Archaeologists have long wondered about the origins of 'cup and ring-marked stones', the mysterious rocks found on deserted tracts of moorland bearing markings resembling small shallow pits with concentric rings and dating to the Bronze-age.

Following a discussion we had on the site, I thought we could start up a thread to post the pre- and post-apocalyptic effects of a comet/minor planetary impact on a campaign world.

A disembodied hand enthralled by an evil wizard to fetch books for him.

Sometimes locks need that extra sharp fingernail to twist the catch. Sometimes a thief might find himself locked in a prison with a wooden door. The Muzzled Mouse is a hideous little tool which helps one in such situations...

She has everything: stunningly good looks, sharp brains and oodles of power: she's going to be a Queen. The only drawback is that she doesn't want to be a Queen.

The grisly anthropomorphisation of a rockfall...

Creepy, Crawley, Buzzing, Digging, Biting, Building, Sticking, Jumping, Clicking, and all the other things these small things do.

The characters are stranded on an island, where a wizard, corrupted by the powers of the first Blue Book, has been killed by his own magical experiments. They will discover the awful truth that lurks in his subterranean workshop, and a seed of evil will be sown...

"When our barbarian ancestors first arrived on the plains of our homeland, they found them covered in dust inches thick. They named them Muranvan, the Dusty Plains and armed with spades they cleared the dust heaving it off the edge of the world. For they had been chasing the Prey for long aeons up the face of the cliffs at the edge of the world, and in the chase had tired of their nomadic ways. They wanted a stable home. So they founded Takvanak, the City on the Plains. In the long silence after they had cleared the dust from Muranvan, rang out the deep and unforgettable tones of the Iron Heart, Saekeri, and the barbarians knelt and felt resounding reverence."

- The Saekeran, book 1 verse 1.

Carmo keeps a shop in the backstreets of Erezi. It's not often visited, Carmo makes people feel...uneasy. Even the veterans of the Erezi underworld are uncomfortable being alone with Carmo. But they need to buy their traps from somewhere...

This looks like an elaborately fashioned wooden egg-cup, but it is a powerful magical tool, used mainly by witches to conjure up spirits and familiars.

The Great Gate of Calast is not like other gates. It's got a mind of its own...

The mystery of fyre is one which has much occupyed my studies and the studies of men before me. ... I have concluded that fyre is the product of Fyre Antes.

Professor J Klewlise, "On the nature and origin of fyre" (1542)

In the darkness in the south transept of the Cathedral of Isielles stands the resplendent Clock of Shadows. It tells more than just the time of day...