World Builder Blog
Fantastic Lairs on Sale Now!
Have you ever thought, “I could really use a book of 23 boss battles and short dungeons to drop into my D&D games?” Well if you have, I’ve got good news for you! Fantastic Lairs is now available on DriveThruRPG in PDF, hardcover, and softcover. Here’s the description of the product I cowrote with Mike Shea of Sly Flourish and Scott Fitzgerald Gray:
The best 5e fantasy roleplaying games are often the most unpredictable. When the plans of the Gamemaster meet the actions of the characters, the incredible creative energy that results can spin encounters off in different directions, creating a largely spontaneous campaign story that keeps the GM and the players alike on the edge of their seats. But when it comes to the climactic boss battle encounters that cap off single adventures or entire campaigns, it’s often much harder for GMs to work things out on the fly.
That’s where this book comes in.
Scott Gray, James Introcaso, and Mike Shea have teamed up to lighten the load of shaping and developing your game’s climactic encounters. Fantastic Lairs is a book of capstone lair encounters for your 5e fantasy RPG, designed to inspire and fit into your own campaign. Each fantastic lair includes evocative artwork, a beautiful full-color map, and a well-designed and playtested boss encounter for characters of various levels.
Your purchase includes all of the maps for these lairs formatted for your virtual tabletop of choice.
Fantastic Lairs is the joint brainchild of all three members of the design team, each of whom brings a wealth of creative skill and experience to the project. From over fifty initial concepts, the team narrowed down a selection of twenty ultimate boss lairs for development in this book.
Thanks to our backers on Kickstarter, this book includes 23 lairs covering levels from 1st to 20th. Thse lairs include:
Caves of the Cockatrice (1st level). A shadow-infused cockatrice keeps a stone garden in a lair built around an ancient and corrupted fey gateway.
Temple of the Centipede Cult (2nd level). A band of centipede-worshipping cultists feed living sacrifices to their pets in a fallen temple of Asmodeus.
Lair of Lord Wiskers (3rd level). A band of wererats led by the megalomaniacal Lord Whiskers gathers up all the city’s silver to be destroyed in their trap-infested sewer lair.
Last Call at Nevermind (3rd level). The Dead Roses, a band of cutthroats led by the murderous bandit captain Adilia Rose, hide out between jobs in a seedy tavern built from a titan’s skull.
Nature’s Rage (4th level). A blood-drenched druid and a horde of beasts plot revenge against the despoilers of nature in the ruined zoo of a murdered noble.
Ashsnarl’s Secrets (5th level). The half-dragon Tharandra Everflame and her kobold minions steer a machine of war and fire through defenseless villages.
Sticky Toffee (5th level). The confections at Auntie Bea’s Sweet Treats are more than they seem — as is the shop’s night hag proprietor.
Bumpy Ride (6th level). A mage uses his airship and an array of deadly incendiary devices to terrorize other wizards into subservience, and the characters must put an end to it.
The Lamia Job (6th level). The characters must infiltrate a mysterious bank vault to reveal the murderous plots and corrupting illusions of a lamia mastermind.
Ithrix Blackbile (7th level). A young black dragon uses his acidic breath to keep a band of trolls under his sway in an ancient cyclopean ruin.
Those Who Are About to Die (7th level). The characters face waves of brutal combatants and devastating hazards in this arena of blood, death, and fire.
Zengran’s Game (7th level). From a lair in an extradimensional emporium of games, puzzles, and other wondrous entertainments, a rakshasa seeks out a group of adventurers destined for greatness.
Curse of Black Ice (8th level). Hunting in the icy wastes for decades, the frost giant werewolf’s hunting ground has expanded into more civilized lands. Now the adventurers hunt the monstrous frost giant to his lair of frozen ice and face his new bloodthirsty followers.
The Blood Palace (8th level). In a lost ziggurat of blood, a sinister spirit naga and its enthralled gnolls need the adventurers’ help — to feed their hidden hydra.
Korrington Academy (9th level). An oni poses as the kindly headmaster of an academy for young sorcerers, where he uses a dark ritual to sacrifice faculty members and increase his power.
The Remembered God (10th level). Calathorr, a mighty aboleth who was once worshipped as a god, rebuilds their humanoid cult thanks to clever planning and a stroke of luck. If all goes well, Calathorr will enslave an army of followers even grander than their previous band.
Dragon Mummy’s Rage (12th level). In the desert tomb of an ancient dragon queen, a dragonborn mummy lord guards a magical jewel that might destroy the world.
The World Eater (14th level). In an astral sanctum that defies natural physics, the characters battle an ancient lich responsible for the deaths of nine worlds.
Valentyne’s Legacy (14th level). A cloud giant vampire moves across the sky in a red cloud castle defended by monstrous thralls and vampire spawn, drawing blood from the land and rising zombies in its wake.
The Forge of Sizzle Death (16th level). A murderous blue dragon forces fire giant captives to forge magic items in a hidden desert cave.
Blade Queen’s Throne (17th level). The characters must retrieve a secret word required to save the world — but that word is protected by a powerful marilith for its demon lord master.
Hells’ Heart (20th level). In a shattered celestial temple, an ancient gold dragon is possessed by a demon prince encased in a spike buried in the dragon’s chest, and threatens the mystical pillar that holds the multiverse together.
Put the Monster Back (20th level). The tarrasque breaks free of a secure facility designed to hold the worst monsters of creation, and will tear through the walls of reality, devouring entire worlds unless the characters stop it.
From the Fantastic Lairs DriveThruRPG product page
If you like what you’re reading, please follow me on Twitter, like World Builder Blog on Facebook, sign up for my mailing list, find my products on the DMs Guild and DriveThruRPG, tell your friends about the blog, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!
My Dad’s Monster Manual is Here!
My Dad’s Monster Manual is number 1! Seriously, at the moment of publishing this post, it is the top seller on DMs Guild, and you can get it now in PDF and print! Plus you can view the first 20 pages of the book for free on the product’s page. Here’s the description:
“This book needed a lot more of me in it. Instead, they completely rewrote my part and turned me into a giggling, tentacled grapefruit.”
—B. Holder, Aberrations Quarterly
“This book did not taste like a dad at all, and I have eaten a lot of fathers in my time.”
—Al Bare, Monster Report
“Thank goodness. This will get your father out of the house for a little while.”
—Camille Introcaso
Behold the power of my dad’s mind! Hey, my name is James Introcaso, and my father is pretty great. From the time I was a kid, my father created original stories using my toys. Now as an adult and professional game designer, I asked my dad to look at just the art of the Monster Manual. For every picture, I asked him how he thought this creature behaved, its history, and its name. Then I took this information and rewrote the Monster Manual according to my dad’s lore.
This book contains 80 new stat blocks and lore for original D&D creatures inspired by the art of the Monster Manual and Lucian’s imagination. Get ready to read My Dad’s Monster Manual.
This is a DMs Guild Adepts product. The DMs Guild Adept Program was started and is managed by Wizards of the Coast. It brings together talented creators to produce quality content for the DMs Guild. DMs Guild Adepts products are identified by the gold ampersand logo.
Thank you so much to everyone who has already purchased a copy, shouted out the previews on this blog, and shared your joy. If you’ve got a copy and can leave a review on the product page, it would mean a lot! If you haven’t picked it up yet, check it out!
My father is thrilled that our book is selling so well! Huge thanks to the team: Hannah Rose, Rich Lescouflair, Daniel Kwan, Leona Maple, and many, many playtesters.
On a personal note, this is my final product as a DMs Guild Adept, since in 2021 I’ll be joining the folks at MCDM full-time as a line developer. Thank you to everyone for the huge support of all my DMs Guild products, and to all the amazing people who made awesome stuff with me.
If you like what you’re reading, please follow me on Twitter, like World Builder Blog on Facebook, sign up for my mailing list, find my products on the DMs Guild and DriveThruRPG, tell your friends about the blog, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!
+ More Blog Posts +
Last Chance to Get 20% Off My Dad’s Monster Manual
Check out Burn Bryte, an original science fantasy TTRPG I helped create for Roll20!
If you’ve been following this blog at all this year, then you know that I’ve been working with my father, Hannah Rose, Rich Lescouflair, Daniel Kwan, and Leona Maple on My Dad’s Monster Manual. I’ve shown off many, many previews of the work. Well on Tuesday, December 15th, you can buy My Dad’s Monster Manual in softcover print and in PDF on DMs Guild!
If you want to get 20% off, sign up now for my mailing list. On December 15th, you’ll get a coupon for 20% off the PDF in your email!
And before we go… how about a preview of the final product!
If you like what you’re reading, please follow me on Twitter, like World Builder Blog on Facebook, sign up for my mailing list, find my products on the DMs Guild and DriveThruRPG, tell your friends about the blog, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!
The Necronomizine
Check out Burn Bryte, an original science fantasy TTRPG I helped create for Roll20!
Want a zine filled with eldritch horror for your tabletop roleplaying games? Well good news! The Necronomizine is here to fulfill all your needs! From the mind of Threadbare designer Stephanie Bryant comes a collaboration that includes the writing work of Shawn P. Conlin, Kenton Hansen, and me! Plus art from Trivia Fox and Nathaneal Winget and editing from Ashton Duncan and Jeff Lamb. Here’s the product description from the product page:
This zine is a terrifying collection of scenarios and game content for use in your eldritch horror games, all lovingly illustrated to fuel your dreams and nightmares! If you like Lovecraftian fiction, horror games, and unspeakable monsters that twist reality itself, you’ll love this project.
I contributed an article about eldritch items that can be dropped into any tabletop RPG. There is a lot of other goodness in here too: Fate of Cthulhu adventure, a Dread scenario, a system agnostic adventure, plus some other tidbits in this zine that is over 40 pages.
Check it out!
If you like what you’re reading, please follow me on Twitter, like World Builder Blog on Facebook, sign up for my mailing list, find my products on the DMs Guild and DriveThruRPG, tell your friends about the blog, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!
+ More Blog Posts +
Puzzle Master: Volume 1
Check out Burn Bryte, an original science fantasy TTRPG I helped create for Roll20!
I am super excited to announce that Puzzle Master: Volume 1 is currently available on the DMs Guild! I contributed to this DMs Guild Adepts product that was led by Celeste Conowitch and featured the work of Stacey Allan, M.T. Black, and Hannah Rose. Here’s the description of the product from the DMs Guild:
Greetings traveler, you are invited to the grand opening of Aenigma’s premiere puzzle dungeon! Congratulations on receiving this illustrious invitation! You’d best be on your way. Dragons don’t like to be kept waiting.
Challenge and delight your players with the premiere issue of Puzzle Master! Inside this supplement, you will find ten puzzles suitable for every level of play, accompanied by beautifully rendered handouts.
Puzzle Master also includes a unique dungeon that utilizes the puzzles to craft an escape room-style experience.
This title includes:
-10 puzzles suitable to use in any adventure.
-20 hand-crafted puzzle handouts for you to print or digitally share with your players.
-A unique puzzle dungeon play experience.
-Difficulty ratings for each puzzle, and suggestions on how to adapt them.
-A series of hints to help your players solve each puzzle.
-Suggestions on how to run each puzzle in person or digitally.
So if you want puzzles to drop into your games, check out Puzzle Master: Volume 1.
If you like what you’re reading, please follow me on Twitter, like World Builder Blog on Facebook, sign up for my mailing list, find my products on the DMs Guild and DriveThruRPG, tell your friends about the blog, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!
Galactic Grimoire: More Creatures and Spaceships for Burn Bryte
Check out Burn Bryte, an original science fantasy TTRPG I helped create for Roll20!
I am really excited that Burn Bryte is not out in the world, in hundreds of gamers’ digital hands, and that many people are checking it out. The first supplement we wanted to make for the game also released a couple weeks ago called Galactic Grimoire.
This supplement expands the creature options in the Burn Bryte Core Rulebook, providing 25 new creatures, many of them unique and interesting alien threats that will totally change up your Burn Bryte game and keep players on their toes. Plus there are 16 new NPC spaceships for you to add to your space battles!
The fun doesn’t stop there. Galactic Grimoire includes 6 new player maps and 20 ship modules to add to those in the Burn Bryte Core Rulebook. With so many new options in Galactic Grimoire, you will feel comfortable telling Burn Bryte stories with your players for years to come!
You can pick it up Galactic Grimoire on the Roll20 Marketplace!
If you like what you’re reading, please follow me on Twitter, like World Builder Blog on Facebook, sign up for my mailing list, find my products on the DMs Guild and DriveThruRPG, tell your friends about the blog, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!
After Midnight – A Full Burn Bryte Campaign
Check out Burn Bryte, an original science fantasy TTRPG I helped create for Roll20!
Last week I revealed that the first full campaign-length adventure for Burn Bryte was available on the Roll20 Marketplace (along with a few other products). I wanted to talk a little bit more about that adventure, entitled After Midnight.
When Burn Bryte was released this Summer, fans of the system immediately asked for a longer adventure, and that’s exactly what this is. All of the maps, tokens, and handouts are ready to go in Roll20. If you’re a Pro or Plus subscriber, Dynamic Lighting is ready to go. This is a full campaign planned and ready to rock for you.
This adventure takes you all over the Olaxis Galaxy. Players face space pirates in an underwater mansion, hostile critters in a mushroom jungle cave, hostile robots in a secret lab, and a lot more while uncovering a sinister plot! Billions of lives hang in the balance! I am SUPER proud of everyone’s work on this adventure, and I think it shows off the system well. If you’ve been itching to play a longer Burn Bryte game, you should definitely check out After Midnight.
If you like what you’re reading, please follow me on Twitter, like World Builder Blog on Facebook, sign up for my mailing list, find my products on the DMs Guild and DriveThruRPG, tell your friends about the blog, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!
Roll20Con is Burning Up!
Check out Burn Bryte, an original science fantasy TTRPG I helped create for Roll20!
Hey all! I wanted to give you a quick update about Roll20Con! As you can tell from the Key Art, Burn Bryte is a big part of this year’s theme. If you’ve been waiting to check out Roll20, this is the weekend to do it. You’ve got a lot of chances to read, watch, and play the game absolutely free.
Trapped at the Edge
First, during Roll20Con, Roll20 is giving a FREE starter adventure for Burn Bryte called Trapped at the Edge! I wrote this adventure and Sally Tamarkin edited it. From the beginning of the design process, the whole design team wanted a way to provide the Burn Bryte experience to folks for free. With this adventure, we’re hoping we helped make finances less of an obstacle for folks who want to try out this science fantasy TTRPG.
Trapped at the Edge comes with six pregenerated characters, quickstart rules, and a 2-hour scenario so your group can learn all the basics of Burn Bryte in a single evening. You can pick it up starting this Friday.
Plus you can sign up to PLAY Trapped at the Edge right now. GMs will be running the demo during the con, but sign up ASAP, because slots are going fast.
Of course, if you prefer to learn by actual play, Roll20 and I have you covered there too. On Sunday at 2PM Pacific Time, I’m going to run a game on Roll20’s Twitch channel for Samwise Gamegee, Kelli Butler, Noir Enigma, and Daniel Kwan! I cannot wait! Come watch us and join the fun!
PLUS you can buy this AWESOME Burn Bryte T-shirt! Proceeds benefit Code2040, which is an amazing charity.
Plus Two New Burn Bryte Products
In addition to Trapped at the Edge, there are two new Burn Bryte products you can buy RIGHT NOW.
First up is After Midnight. This much longer Burn Bryte adventure is only $9.99 and will entertain your gaming group for many sessions. It comes with maps, tokens, handouts, and everything you need to play an awesome game of Burn Bryte. Here’s the product description:
A distress signal from the Ghost Belt, a system too close to the Burn for comfort, sends player characters on a race across the galaxy, tracking hostile robots, underground deals, and space pirates! With billions of lives at stake, will the heroes confront the fleet or flee?
You can also pick up the Galactic Grimoire, a book of new monsters, NPC spaceships, and player ship maps and modules. This expansion for Burn Bryte is just $19.99! Here’s the description:
This supplement is the game’s first non-adventure expansion, which provides strange, fantastic creatures to befriend and challenge player characters, new ships for adventurers to call home, new modules to expand a vessel’s capabilities, and more NPC spacecrafts for GMs to add to the armadas of friends and foes.
If you have the time to check out Burn Bryte this weekend, please do.
To find out more about Roll20Con, check out the video below!
If you like what you’re reading, please follow me on Twitter, like World Builder Blog on Facebook, sign up for my mailing list, find my products on the DMs Guild and DriveThruRPG, tell your friends about the blog, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!