The 46er - January 2026
I thought it would be a fun idea to regularly call attention to the great posts that the writers of the RPG blogging communities gift to us. I am not the first to have this idea, but I think everyone offers a different perspective and it's an exercise worth doing. Here's what I've run into and thought was cool this month:
Blog Posts and Other Gaming Reading
- Beau Rancourt - Common Adventure Pitfalls - I know I already listed this one in my bloggies nominees, but it's great and I did first read it in the last month.
- Rotten Pulp - High Impact Enemies in Mythic Bastionland - A great look at how to make combat in Mythic Bastionland more challenging and engaging.
- Silverarm Press - All Hail King d12 - I am a big fan of the d12 and you should be too.
- Blog of Forlorn Encystment - Creating a New Region Sandbox for B2: The Keep on the Borderlands - This is a great reworking of the classic module into something that I'd be more interested in running.
- Resting Pressure: Rules that prompt new problems for characters - A great thread on RPGnet about differences between rulesets and how they affect how much of the pressure on characters to act comes from the GM vs the game's procedures.
- Prismatic Wasteland - Playtest Early, Playtest Often - A great look at when and why you should be playtesting your game. It reminds me that I need to get the Jewelsea RPG back to the table.
- Explorer's Design - the Jackian Magic System - I have always loved inventory tetris in video games and this post turns it into a gameable system for managing D&D style magic.
What I'm Reading
- Dolmenwood Campaign Book - I am really impressed with this book. There's so much stuff in here. I'm currently gearing up for a PbP campaign in the setting, so I'm looking forward to seeing the setting as more than just a reader. My only complaint is that I'd like it if the density was a bit more variable.
- Justinian's Flea - I've been listening to the History of Byzantium podcast recently so I decided to read this book that I picked up at the university library book sale last year. I did not learn much about the history of the Roman Empire, but there was a lot of interesting background about the biology and evolution of yersinia pestis, so I think it was still worth reading.
- Dolmenwood Monster Book - I like the Dolmenwood monsters, but the real juice is in the Campaign book.
- Were classical statues painted horribly? - a fun article about how the clownish portrayal of how ancient statues were painted is likely inaccurate.
- Shadows in Zamboula - not the best of the Conan stories. The racism and sexism is more overt in this one than the average and it didn't provide as much inspiration as many of the others have.
What I'm Playing
- Sea of Stars - I started on this game while visiting my wife's friends in Ireland last summer and finally got back to it this month. It's a love letter to the JRPGs of the 90s - worth checking out if you're into that kind of thing.
- D&D 5e - Yep, still at it.
- Wrath & Glory - Our ongoing campaign in 40K.
- Scum & Villainy - Alas, my work schedule changed and I had to leave this campaign.