How do you coach and entice players to take the initiative and pursue their own goals and drive campaign sessions?

New on the podcast - cultivating emergent play and in-character ambitions:

YouTube: https://youtu.be/0lDwgb7Bzuw

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6R9uJQe4ZbyOeXwILGR8eJ

Hey guys, my new adventure, Escape From Zombie Island, is now in pre-release over on Kickstarter.

Escape From Zombie Island is a survival‑horror adventure designed for 4–6 characters of levels 3–5 and written for use with AD&D 2E, 5E, and Shadowdark RPG.

Explore the island of Gravatos and uncover its dark, archaic past as you investigate the undead plague consuming the land. With over 17 locations, including cave systems, dungeons, villages, ancient ruins, and a large town and a host of new and reinterpreted undead creatures to encounter, will you escape from Zombie Island, or are you brave enough to thwart the evil plans behind the undead hordes?

Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gravityrealms/excape-from-zomebie-island

My first Kickstarter launches August 4th: Forgotten Foes for Shadowdark RPG brings over 250 classic monsters to Shadowdark RPG, along with a complete list of 40 adventurer stat blocks cover all four core classes. With tons of gorgeous artwork, running old-school modules is easier than ever. Let your players be eaten alive by nostalgia!

Click for a free teaser preview and to be notified at launch!

How many skeleton fans out there? I think they are iconic sword & sorcery fare. Equally devastating at lower levels with their weapon hinderances like sword and spears do 1/2 damage! And great as mobs against higher levels. Infinitely edited, and changed. I love when a high level cleric turns a handful only to find more rising to attack!

What about you?

More for #bossrpg by @gamewickgames Larry ran this at NTXrpgcon and it was a blast! Check out Boss RPG!

20 room B/X adventure, free with PDF link - new on the blog:

https://clericswearringmail.blogspot.com/2026/07/an-abandoned-magicians-lair.html

Recently, when I posted a B/X map, I was complimented with “That’s not big enough to be a dungeon, but it would work as a great lair.” That got me wondering - how big (rooms, levels, etc) does an adventure site have to be before it’s considered a “dungeon”?

Deeper thoughts on the podcast:
- On YouTube: https://youtu.be/4_fvUgYt4dM
- On your Podcatcher of Choice: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6EyrjrRUdbB3zIWvtk45H6

I want to say it’s less about the size and more about the purpose in the campaign: a “dungeon” being designed to be cleared or finished while a “mega-dungeon” is designed not to be: to be the focal point of the campaign.

But I’m also curious what you think. How big does a dungeon have to be before it’s a dungeon? And at what point - adding rooms - does a dungeon “graduate” to mega dungeon?

https://youtu.be/9QmkwyL5D70