RotR Articles

The Mirror of Life Trapping Heist

This blog post is described in greater detail on the most recent episode of Running off the Rails where we describe the key elements of a fun TTRPG puzzle.

Temple Protections

Ages ago, during the golden age of whatever civilization created the most powerful magic items of your setting, a temple was erected to protect something very dangerous. I've first two rooms of the jungle temple that I use in the 1-shot that I run for new DnD players. These first two rooms that I present guard Trafalgar's tomb in my adventure. The players are racing to brave the challenges of the temple and claim whatever lies within before their pursuers.

Disclaimer. The mechanics present in this article are still a draft. They are very potent and as such require editing and testing before recommended use at your tables.

The singular entrance and exit to Za’Ul’s Sanctum is protected by a squadron of highly specialized hero-killing golems. These guards attack any creature that enters Za’Ul’s Sanctum without his express permission. 

Publishing TTRPG content is not profitable for Running off the Rails. I make content because we love to, but more so because we hope people will use our content at their tables. If we want people to use our game mechanics at their tables, inspiring art is necessary. However, I cannot afford to pay artists for custom pieces (I can’t even afford to pay myself for the time that we invest in design, layout, animated videos, custom battle map art… etc).

A Cutting From The Tree of Light

The Elves of the Garden are not born of other Elves, they are highly concentrated sparks of magic that develop sentience. The wood elves of the Verdant Wode are hewn branches from the Tree of Light. When they bask in the presence of the tree, their vitality is renewed. When they spend too much time away from it, their magic dissipates and they start to vanish.

In the year 6035, Za’Ul left his stronghold and ventured to claim the souls of the tree elves. He took on the mantle of Godrik and used powerful transmutation magic to alter his appearance. 

In the Garden, there are wonderous materials and creatures with densely concentrated magic. The Tree of Light that spawns the Tree Elves is one. Another of these wonders is the loathe stone of the Bazvania mountains. Loathe stone is a rare ore that has a potent effect on the emotions of sentient creatures that venture too close to its alluring glow. Though loathe stone is dangerous, it is also immensely valuable. Through proper application of arcana, its naturally harmful effects can be transmuted to instead produce potent magical effects.

Gradios was the Dragon King of the Gradium Empire, predating even the rise of The City State of Yarta. He was slain by Emery marking the start of the Sunless Age when the Queen of Dragons was unleashed upon the world.