Dawnfist Newsletter - Smoother combat, meat tenderizers and an Oracle Trio!

Welcome to the monthly Dawnfist Newsletter where we share community gems, helpful advice and always bring you a new creation of our own! If you aren’t already subscribed, click on the button below.

Our 5 Favorite Community Gems

Every month, we sift through all the goodness from the TTRPG community and handpick our five favorites — the ones we believe are the most useful and valuable.

This month there seems to have been a bit of a content drought in the community, we didn’t manage to find more than 131 articles, blog posts, threads, and videos to consume in order to bring you five absolute standouts. Because that’s the purpose of this newsletter, to save you valuable time and help you find some golden nuggets.

1. Bob World Builder solves 7 common problems that slow down combat. You might think that these ideas only apply to DnD 5e (with notoriously slow combat) but that’s not true, the ideas he share can help speed up any TTRPG, even if it’s already a rules-light system. As hinted in the image above, one of the solutions is to use more abstract distances.

2. D4 Caltrops is reliable as always, and this month we get D100 Magic Tools! The various random tables shared by D4 Caltrops are always a highlight, because we know that the quality will be superb, and that we’ll find something we can use! This table does not disappoint. We’ve got stuff like a crowbar emanating an aura of innocence and a magic hammer that makes meat tenderized by it work as a charm person spell, fantastic!

3. This Reddit post covers a familiar topic; Prep problems, not plot. It’s not a groundbreaking insight, but the blog it links to is well-written and entertaining, and the thread itself adds real value. It absolutely deserves a spot in this month’s newsletter, because this is one of those lessons every GM needs to learn eventually—and the sooner, the better. TTRPGs don’t get better the more story you prepare. In fact, they don’t need a story at all. What they need are problems to solve, and clear stakes to care about. The story will take care of itself.

4. Roleplayingtips.com discusses how to create compelling hazards by focusing on three aspects: danger, sensory engagement, and movement. Effective hazards should not only pose a threat but also interact with the players' senses and influence their decisions. This approach ensures that hazards are not just obstacles but integral parts of the gameplay that enhance the overall experience.​

5. Have you ever wanted to present your players with a unique piece of treasure, but felt that a cursed magic item is a bit too harsh? Perfect, because Missives from Mooncastle created a list of D20 Magic Item Drawbacks! The ideas is that these drawbacks are permanent, but not as game-breaking as a curse. They introduce a trade-off, rather than forces the player to find a way to remove the curse for the item to even be useful. Two examples: “The item continually emits a disturbing sound (moaning, weeping, screaming, cursing, insults, and so on).” or “Your eyes are blurry, imposing disadvantage on Perception checks involving vision.”. Novel ideas, great flavor and not as harsh as your average curse.

Monthly Dawnfist advice

Scheduling regularly comes up as the number one challenge within the TTRPG community. Getting together a group of people is no small feat, so it can be very frustrating when one player has to cancel last minute.

This month we share six simple solutions to this issue—six ways to handle a player missing a session.

The new thing - A minimalistic Oracle Trio

Decision fatigue is a real thing, and over the course of a night of gaming, you’ll fry your brain with decisions as a GM. Therefore, this month, the new thing is a condensed three-purpose oracle table!

Oracles are primarily used in solo play, but they can be equally useful for GMs leading a session. The less mental focus you have to spend on minor details, the more you’ve got left to focus on the important stuff.

Thank you for reading and don’t forget to explore our games, modules and supplements on DriveThruRPG via the button below. See you next month!

///Sebastian Grabne - Dawnfist Games