ktrey
@ktrey.bsky.social
I like Random Tables: https://blog.d4caltrops.com/
Yay! D&D Tables! Still need to "attach" a Random Table to mine somehow (maybe leveraging the d66?) but here's the method we use:
November 27, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Yay! D&D Tables! Still need to "attach" a Random Table to mine somehow (maybe leveraging the d66?) but here's the method we use:
Excellebt work! I'm flattered that my tables inspired you to give it a try! d100 Tables give you plenty to work with, so they tend to stick around in my binder longer than the shorter ones 😂
November 27, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Excellebt work! I'm flattered that my tables inspired you to give it a try! d100 Tables give you plenty to work with, so they tend to stick around in my binder longer than the shorter ones 😂
But I'm generally of the school of "I don't care what you're playing, so long as you're playing!" when it comes to Systems and Rules. I think those *expectations* being communicated and understood are far more important 99% of the time to produce good games for everyone involved!
November 26, 2025 at 1:46 PM
But I'm generally of the school of "I don't care what you're playing, so long as you're playing!" when it comes to Systems and Rules. I think those *expectations* being communicated and understood are far more important 99% of the time to produce good games for everyone involved!
Wilderness Adventuring always held more appeal to me than the Dungeons, but I noticed there was such a dearth of support for it! (probably going back to that "Dungeon Crawls are fast/easy/low stakes" thing) so I try to rectify that with my Resources for other Referees.
November 26, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Wilderness Adventuring always held more appeal to me than the Dungeons, but I noticed there was such a dearth of support for it! (probably going back to that "Dungeon Crawls are fast/easy/low stakes" thing) so I try to rectify that with my Resources for other Referees.
But I'm no stranger to the NSR school either, and find a lot of those games to be very fun and fulfilling when it comes to my admittedly "loose" criteria and requirements. There are fruitful design spaces anywhere you look really, which is why most of my Resources are pretty "system agnostic"
November 26, 2025 at 1:33 PM
But I'm no stranger to the NSR school either, and find a lot of those games to be very fun and fulfilling when it comes to my admittedly "loose" criteria and requirements. There are fruitful design spaces anywhere you look really, which is why most of my Resources are pretty "system agnostic"
It was wonderful to focus on the aspects of Prep that I found enjoyable once more, rather than just spending those hours between games "balancing Encounters" or "stating up NPCs." I could stock Hexes, populate Random Tables, let the game run "itself" again, which is something I dearly missed.
November 26, 2025 at 1:33 PM
It was wonderful to focus on the aspects of Prep that I found enjoyable once more, rather than just spending those hours between games "balancing Encounters" or "stating up NPCs." I could stock Hexes, populate Random Tables, let the game run "itself" again, which is something I dearly missed.
So it's less useful to me than it used to be, but the DIY aspects were always much more appealing to me. We did our time in the trenches with later versions (like 3.5/Pathfinder) etc. but returning to the games I "knew by heart" was a breath of fresh air mostly. Though it took some onboarding!
November 26, 2025 at 1:33 PM
So it's less useful to me than it used to be, but the DIY aspects were always much more appealing to me. We did our time in the trenches with later versions (like 3.5/Pathfinder) etc. but returning to the games I "knew by heart" was a breath of fresh air mostly. Though it took some onboarding!
I was around and blogging about these older games before the OSR became "a thing" and have watched it evolve over time from a convenient "Shorthand" to talk about older D&D versions, to innovative game design on G+, to a set of Principles, to a Playstyle, and nowadays to a "mostly" Marketing Term 😅
November 26, 2025 at 1:33 PM
I was around and blogging about these older games before the OSR became "a thing" and have watched it evolve over time from a convenient "Shorthand" to talk about older D&D versions, to innovative game design on G+, to a set of Principles, to a Playstyle, and nowadays to a "mostly" Marketing Term 😅
I often wonder how much of this comes from Contemporary Play Culture and being older with less Leisure/More Responsibilities. The Murder-Hobo Dungeon Crawl is lower stakes, do-able in an evening/few hours. Nothing like the games we had when I was younger back in the day. They never see Domain Play.
November 26, 2025 at 12:54 PM
I often wonder how much of this comes from Contemporary Play Culture and being older with less Leisure/More Responsibilities. The Murder-Hobo Dungeon Crawl is lower stakes, do-able in an evening/few hours. Nothing like the games we had when I was younger back in the day. They never see Domain Play.
And Holmes humbleness 😅
November 26, 2025 at 12:03 PM
And Holmes humbleness 😅
I can solve the mystery of the Pizza Lamp. Before I was cardinal I made some spare credits working the Black Market and selling Antique Items from my storage locker 😅
November 26, 2025 at 10:15 AM
I can solve the mystery of the Pizza Lamp. Before I was cardinal I made some spare credits working the Black Market and selling Antique Items from my storage locker 😅
Neat die! I agree that is egregious that it doesn't follow the rule. I'd probably confuse it with the doubling cube I carry around though!
November 23, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Neat die! I agree that is egregious that it doesn't follow the rule. I'd probably confuse it with the doubling cube I carry around though!
Whoa! Indian Dunes State Park?
November 23, 2025 at 12:53 AM
Whoa! Indian Dunes State Park?
Gotta go to the smaller towns I guess! I have better luck at VFWs than Goodwills usually. But I can barely find Manual Typewriters these days...which is what I'm always poking around for 😅
November 23, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Gotta go to the smaller towns I guess! I have better luck at VFWs than Goodwills usually. But I can barely find Manual Typewriters these days...which is what I'm always poking around for 😅
Found a Suzuki Q-Chord at one a few decades ago, came with the "Country" cartridges! I think those showing up in thrift stores would be *pretty rare* these days sadly 😔
November 23, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Found a Suzuki Q-Chord at one a few decades ago, came with the "Country" cartridges! I think those showing up in thrift stores would be *pretty rare* these days sadly 😔
Oh that's actually pretty brilliant for Consumables like that!
I'd use those little "Wax Bottle" Candies I think:
I'd use those little "Wax Bottle" Candies I think:
November 22, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Oh that's actually pretty brilliant for Consumables like that!
I'd use those little "Wax Bottle" Candies I think:
I'd use those little "Wax Bottle" Candies I think:
I've still been biting my tongue on mine 😅
November 22, 2025 at 8:55 PM
I've still been biting my tongue on mine 😅
It's super fun to use that Inventory System. One thing we had a blast with was just raiding the "Junk Drawer" for miscellaneous things to make up the Gear:
November 22, 2025 at 3:36 PM
It's super fun to use that Inventory System. One thing we had a blast with was just raiding the "Junk Drawer" for miscellaneous things to make up the Gear:
It's also a *sneaky* way to peer into the kinds of things they're looking to explore and do, or just to provide you with some threads to weave into the game later. Players generally care a lot more about things they had a hand in creating I've found!
November 21, 2025 at 5:22 PM
It's also a *sneaky* way to peer into the kinds of things they're looking to explore and do, or just to provide you with some threads to weave into the game later. Players generally care a lot more about things they had a hand in creating I've found!
Yeah, it's a mixture of those little "vignettes" and adding a little color, but the things that get the Players *talking* with each other have always led to interesting places.
November 21, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Yeah, it's a mixture of those little "vignettes" and adding a little color, but the things that get the Players *talking* with each other have always led to interesting places.
I still want to do another one of these d100s, focusing more on the "Questions" that the Players can talk about, those are always *really fun* when they come up: blog.d4caltrops.com/2022/05/d100...
d100 - Events for Camping or Overland Rests & Repose
M y recent post on Haven Happenings spawned a sibling of sorts in the form of this table to cover something a little similar, but instead...
blog.d4caltrops.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:08 PM
I still want to do another one of these d100s, focusing more on the "Questions" that the Players can talk about, those are always *really fun* when they come up: blog.d4caltrops.com/2022/05/d100...
It was a great one! Sometimes he'd roll on one of my tables and it was always so flattering to hear! 😊
November 21, 2025 at 12:13 AM
It was a great one! Sometimes he'd roll on one of my tables and it was always so flattering to hear! 😊
Maybe it's being repurposed as a Collection/Offering Plate? Piled high with unsavory things sacrificed to the profane deity and encrusted with wax from drippy candles?
November 20, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Maybe it's being repurposed as a Collection/Offering Plate? Piled high with unsavory things sacrificed to the profane deity and encrusted with wax from drippy candles?
Got one for these too (but it's geared a little more for Foraged Fungi!) blog.d4caltrops.com/2022/04/d100... (and a handy generator here: blog.d4caltrops.com/2022/06/marv...) This room always made me think of the Cover and a little bit of "Wilderness" in the Dungeon 🍄
d100 - Marvelous Mushrooms & Tantalizing Toadstools
Y esterday it was pointed out to me that I had been remiss with providing a Random Table for generating Mushrooms/Toadstools, which is ind...
blog.d4caltrops.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Got one for these too (but it's geared a little more for Foraged Fungi!) blog.d4caltrops.com/2022/04/d100... (and a handy generator here: blog.d4caltrops.com/2022/06/marv...) This room always made me think of the Cover and a little bit of "Wilderness" in the Dungeon 🍄
Here to help with a Hundred to get you started: blog.d4caltrops.com/2023/12/d100...
d100 - What Works Are On That Bookshelf?
O ne bit of Set Dressing that I often find myself scrambling to embellish are Bookshelves. I will place them frequently but am often at a ...
blog.d4caltrops.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Here to help with a Hundred to get you started: blog.d4caltrops.com/2023/12/d100...