ragingswanpress

What Edition of Pathfinder Do You Play?

If you see yourself as a Pathfinder GM I'd love to know which edition you are using (or which edition you see yourself using most in 2020). 

I'm trying to get a better view of the popularity of Pathfinder's two editions among my heroic patrons, so I know where to focus my Pathfinder-based efforts. I know not everyone plays Pathfinder, but if you do run a Pathfinder game please answer the question: 

"What edition of Pathfinder do you play?

Thanks very much!  2020-02-02 15:15:23 +0000 UTC View Post

Exploring a Smugglers' Village

Smuggler-infested villages are rife with adventuring possibilities.

In my own Adventures in Shadow campaign, the party spent several weeks exploring the the dismal village of Coldwater and the bleak coastline in the immediate vicinity. They tangled with undead, demonic spiders, long-incarcerated skeletal adherents of the foul lord Dagon and--of course--smugglers. 

I'm probably preaching to the choir here a bit,...

Secret & Concealed Doors in YOUR Dungeon

This week, we head back into the dungeon with a double instalment of Dungeon Dressing. Secret and concealed doors are staples of many dungeons and this double-length supplement gives you the tools to quickly and easily add them into your dungeons.  

And--thanks to your epic support--we've been able to commission Matt Morrow to do these amazing pieces of artwork for the book. 

As...

Where There's a Will...

I love the title of this Eventure.

This week, we've got a pirate-themed eventure for your characters to experience. I'm sure your players will be keen to get embroiled in the machinations of pirates and--perhaps--gain some clues as to the location of one or more buried pirate caches!

As well as slaving away over our newest Eventure, Jacob has also been busy answering our questions as the first victim of the Questioning Booth. 2020-01-17 07:48:38 +0000 UTC View Post

Raging Swan Press is Moving!

As I mentioned earlier this month, 2020 is a year of digital rebirth for Raging Swan Press. A big part of this is moving to a better, more modern site and store. Over the last ten years, our digital growth has been sporadic and unplanned, which has led to loads of duplication of effort and expense. 

No more.

Today, our 2020-01-16 10:30:43 +0000 UTC View Post

Return to Bleakflat

I love adventures and supplements with interesting moral quandaries "baked in". When Jeff Gomez originally pitched Bleakflat I was intrigued by the village's setup (see below for more details!)  I would love to drop my current group into Bleakflat and see how they deal with the village's situation. I'm sure the resultant discussions when they realise what is going on would spawn some epic role-playing. 

Bleakflat 2.0 builds on the original village and is much better for it. I'...

Vampire Castles (and a Free Mini-Eventure)

Welcome to 2020!

With the year barely a few days old, we've got our first product of 2020--and its a free download to you as a thank you for your epic support. If your campaign will shortly be featuring a vampire lurking in a castle then 20 Things #45: Vampire's Castle is the download for you. If your campaign isn't about to feature a castle stuffed full of vampires, perhaps you should reevaluate your plans...players do so love fighting vampires! 

Raging Swan Press ...

2020-01-03 07:47:43 +0000 UTC View Post

Dungeon Dressing: Doors & Double Doors

Blimey. Where did the year go? Here we are with our last release of 2019. By my back-of-a-napkin calculation we’ve released 159 different products in 2019.  Blimey.

In celebration of the end of the year, this instalment of Dungeon Dressing—Dungeon Dressing: Doors & Double Doors—is a double-length release. Within you’ll find not six pages of material, but twelve! And because of your support, I’ve been able to keep the price the same as a normal instalment in t...

A Herd of Monstrous Lairs

This week, we have a herd of Monstrous Lairs for you! As you might recall, the Monstrous Lair compilation was meant to be released last week, but due to a slight problem with the cover I pushed back the release date a week and released Mike Welham’s Village Backdrop: Idyll 2.0 slightly early. The great news is that the problem with the cover has been resolved and so this week I give you a veritable herd of Monstrous Lairs!

By the time you read this you'll have a message from ...

Village Backdrop: Idyll

This week (in a slight change of plan) we return to Idyll for an expanded look at Mike Welham's popular (and atypical) planar refuge. Originally, Idyll 2.0 was slated for release next week, but a minor problem with the print cover of GM's Miscellany: Monstrous Lair II has necessitated some schedule shuffling. I'm sorry if the shuffle inconveniences anyone, but I'm not releasing GM's Miscellany: Monstrous Lair II with a dodgy cover! That would be a bad show. (But if this is a...

Into the Alchemist's Laboratory

This week, you get your hands on the first of December's releases--20 Things #44: Alchemist's Laboratory. If you've got an alchemist in your party, or your characters keep visiting one, this is the supplement for you. Within, you'll find the tools to make your heroes' next trip to an alchemist's laboratory a memorable one!

(And remember, you get this book free in thanks for your awesome support).

Where's My Stuff?

As always, by the time you get this you should hav...

Chimeras & Chests!

As November hurtles to a close, we've got our last two releases of the month. Next week, we burst into December with 20 Things #44: Alchemist's Laboratory but this week we've got Dungeon Dressing: Chests and Monstrous Lair #44: Chimera's Den to add to your GM's folder. 

Where's My Stuff?

As always, by the time you get this you should have a mes...

Raisa’s Auction Most Wondrous

Magic items are a subject very close to my heart. As both a player and a GM, I love magic items. I hate, however, the commoditisation of magic items prevalent in games since 3rd edition. How can magic items be so wondrous and special if they are for sale all over the place?

In the past, we've released products such as So What's For Sale, Anyway? to try and mollify this state of play. Finally, it seems more recent games such as 5e and Pathfinder 2 are moving away from the magic ...

What Replaces Monstrous Lairs? You Decide!

Several months ago, you might recall, I announced the Monstrous Lair line would be ending in December. The Monstrous Lair line has been very popular and we've enjoyed publishing it, but the end is nigh. The main reason for this is that the line is System Neutral, and we are running out of classic monsters that appear in 5e, Pathfinder and OSR games. I'd rather quit while the line is good rather than drag it out until it dies a horrible ignoble death, 

Of course this raises the tric...

Wolves & Villages!

This week, we've got a couple of cracking new products for you! Wolves are a staple of low-level games, but they are often nothing more than a random encounter with no real depth or development. Wolves attack. Wolves die. The party moves on. With Monstrous Lair #43: Wolves' Lair, Steve Hood gives you the tools to quickly and easily bring a wolf den to life! The Monstrous Lair line is System Neutral so whatever system you play, Monstrous Lair #43: Wolves' Lair should work in ...

20 Things #43: Item Most Wondrous

This week, we've got a cracking addition to the 20 Things line. 

I'm a big fan of making magic items wondrous--they are, after all, the most coveted of treasures and they should be--well--magical. Of course, a big part of a magic item's allure is its powers; it wouldn't be very magical otherwise. However, another big part of a magic item's "specialness" is its physical description. A magic item's description is likely the first hint the characters get that the item in question is m...

The Picaroon Peninsula Map

In January 2020 (if all goes well) Raging Swan Press will release The Picaroon Peninsula by Richard Green. What's The Picaroon Peninsula and why am I telling you this?

Set sail for adventure on the Picaroon Pensinsula!

Stretching from the isolated pirate stronghold of Deksport in the west with its three violent, feuding rulers, to the mysterious Forest of Gray Spires in the east, the Picaroon Peninsula is home to ruthless buccaneers, cannibal cults, crumbling tre...

Dungeon Backdrop: The House of Yspher

As you probably know, Halloween is on the way. If you've been following Raging Swan Press's newsletter* you would have seen 1,000 Abnormal Zombies and 1,000 Abnormal Skeletons.

(*If you aren't signed up just drop me a line and I can manually add you so you don't miss out on ...

Free Thingonomicons for All!

I love The Thingonomicon. For me, it's one of those books that encapsulates what Raging Swan Press is all about. I love using random tables to add depth and flavour to the game. Not only does it enrich the players' game, but it keeps the GM on his or her toes! It's great fun to "go with the dice" and improvise the details and situations arising from the players' discovery. Sometimes, the game goes in exciting new directions I hadn't anticipated, as a result.

2019-10-23 09:35:02 +0000 UTC View Post

Dungeon Dressing is the Pits!

We are back in the dungeon this week, with one of my favourite dungeon features—pits. Pits are often overlooked as traps; they can be pretty boring, after all. They open, one or more characters fall in and then the characters climb out.

(Or do they as this epic new image from Matt Morrow suggests?)

Pits can be so much more, though—they can hint at the story of  previous explorers...

Do You Read RPG Books on Your Phone?

DriveThruRPG has invented a new kind of book—Phone PDFs—designed to be quickly and easily accessed on a phone. Apparently, more and more gamers are using their phone at the table to reference core rulebooks and the like. 

I was wondering if you read RPG books on your phone? Personally, I’m not in this camp—I avoid my phone as much as possible and I don’...

Village Backdrop: Don Galir

This week, we visit Don Galir--last of Ashlar's dwarven holds. Buried beneath the human settlement of Wellswood, Don Galir is the bearded folk's last bastion in the duchy. The dwarves therein live in harmony with the humans above, but tensions between the two groups are slowly rising...

Because Don Galir is so intimately linked to Wellswood I'm also including free download codes for Village Backdrop: Wellswood. You might already have Wellswood if you own the Villages of Ashlar ...

Dungeon Backdrops and Archives & Libraries

It's an absolutely packed release week this week. Not only do we have the monthly 20 Things instalment--this time you are delving into archives & libraries--we also have our first Dungeon Backdrop compilation. I've used three of the Dungeon Backdrops in my own campaign and they've been a life-saver. As the characters wander off in a random direction, I've got a ready-made adventure locale ready to plonk down in their path. ("Plonk down" is a technical designer's phrase which means: to car...

Become a Member of the Party

I revealed last week Raging Swan’s Patreon campaign would soon have a new reward level. Well, as of today, our newest reward level is live and available! 

Member of the Party

Patrons signing up to be a Member of the Party and capping their support at four times a month gain the following exclusive benefit:

• You get one 20 Things-style article ever...
  2019-09-28 06:38:13 +0000 UTC View Post

The Death King's Forlorn Isle

Raging Swan Press and Bart Wynants have got a cracker for you this week. If you are a fan of shipwrecks, sinking islands and/or cosmic doom I think you’ll enjoy September’s Dungeon Backdrop. 

Behold: the Death King’s Forlorn Isle!

A keening gale tears across the Bitter Sea, parting the clouds above to unveil a turgid crimson moon. Ominous rumbling resounds from the c...

Dressing Up Your Wells (Perhaps with Drow!)

It's a dungeon-focused st Raging Swan Press week with Dungeon Dressing: Wells (available in 5e, OSR, Pathfinder 1 and Pathfinder 2 editions) and Monstrous Lair #40: Drow Outpost both shortly to be in your sinister clutches. 

Continuing the Underdark theme in Monstrous Lairs, next month we have Duergar Outpost and Derro Outpost. I'm a huge fan of dungeon and underground adventures and I hope you are as well!

And what better illustration to show-off how cool a...

Dwellers Amid Bones

Today, we've got new versions of Dwellers Amid Bones for you!

 Previously, the adventure was only available in Pathfinder 1st edition. Next week, we release 5e and Pathfinder 2nd edition compatible editions. Also today we have Monstrous Lair #39: Otyugh's Sewer. This is a fantastic companion to Village Backdrop: Feigrvidr which we released last week (particularly if the characters find themselves trapped in the villages cesspits. 

(And, remembe...

Lend Me Your Fingers, Brains and Eyeballs!

Today, I'm after various parts of your body. Don't worry I don't want to keep them! (I've looked into it, and discovered doing so would be illegal). 

Instead, I like you to use the aforementioned body parts to write an honest review of a book of your choice at the Raging Swan Press store. In return, I'll send you a 25% discount code good for anything at the store (even our bundles).

The process is simple:

...
2019-09-12 11:14:04 +0000 UTC View Post

Village Backdrop: Feigrvidr

Feigrvidr first saw the light of day several years ago when I lured Stephen Radney-MacFarland into Raging Swan Press's sinister clutches. Sadly, the first edition of the village was only written for Pathfinder 1st edition. With the release of 2nd edition, however, it seemed the perfect time to expand the place and to create editions for all our other supported systems. I hope you like the result! 

Feigrvidr

A Village Backdrop in 5e, Pathfinder 1st, Pathfinder 2nd and System...

The Orc's Head on Discord and a Release Schedule Change

Hello from Raging Swan Press Global HQ. I have two pieces of exciting news for you today!

The Orc's Head is Open!

Last week, I talked about setting up a Raging Swan Press Discord server, and loads of you seemed keen to sign up. I'm therefore delighted to announce the Orc's Head is open for business. If you fancy joining, you can use this link.

Once you've signed up, drop me a DM and say hello. I've also set...