Cryptic Keyway
@cryptickeyway.bsky.social
OK, so nouns are dungeon rooms and verbs are dungeon corridors. cryptickeyway.blogspot.com/2025/12/dung...
Take a random page from a monster manual, like this:
Nouns: Ritual, tomb, curse, organs, jars, markings
Verbs: Punish, embalm, wrap, preserve, imbue, seal
Take a random page from a monster manual, like this:
Nouns: Ritual, tomb, curse, organs, jars, markings
Verbs: Punish, embalm, wrap, preserve, imbue, seal
December 21, 2025 at 10:14 PM
OK, so nouns are dungeon rooms and verbs are dungeon corridors. cryptickeyway.blogspot.com/2025/12/dung...
Take a random page from a monster manual, like this:
Nouns: Ritual, tomb, curse, organs, jars, markings
Verbs: Punish, embalm, wrap, preserve, imbue, seal
Take a random page from a monster manual, like this:
Nouns: Ritual, tomb, curse, organs, jars, markings
Verbs: Punish, embalm, wrap, preserve, imbue, seal
"Tiger beetles have an unusual form of pursuit in which they alternately sprint toward their prey, then stop and visually reorient. This may be because the beetle runs too fast for its visual system to accurately process images." Great feature for a D&D monster.
December 6, 2025 at 7:45 PM
"Tiger beetles have an unusual form of pursuit in which they alternately sprint toward their prey, then stop and visually reorient. This may be because the beetle runs too fast for its visual system to accurately process images." Great feature for a D&D monster.
Complication: Some nameless enemy the PCs killed was an incompetent minor member of a major crime family but nonetheless the offense must be avenged. The family sends multiple assassins after the party, who actually get in each others' way more than they directly threaten the PCs.
November 29, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Complication: Some nameless enemy the PCs killed was an incompetent minor member of a major crime family but nonetheless the offense must be avenged. The family sends multiple assassins after the party, who actually get in each others' way more than they directly threaten the PCs.
Practical precautions to protect your garden:
-Oni must cross bridges in straight lines. Curve those bridges.
-Purple worms won’t digest rock with irritating toxic oxides. Bury a perimeter of alkaline volcanic rocks to keep them away.
-Vampires can’t cross running water. Keep that garden hydrated!
-Oni must cross bridges in straight lines. Curve those bridges.
-Purple worms won’t digest rock with irritating toxic oxides. Bury a perimeter of alkaline volcanic rocks to keep them away.
-Vampires can’t cross running water. Keep that garden hydrated!
November 12, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Practical precautions to protect your garden:
-Oni must cross bridges in straight lines. Curve those bridges.
-Purple worms won’t digest rock with irritating toxic oxides. Bury a perimeter of alkaline volcanic rocks to keep them away.
-Vampires can’t cross running water. Keep that garden hydrated!
-Oni must cross bridges in straight lines. Curve those bridges.
-Purple worms won’t digest rock with irritating toxic oxides. Bury a perimeter of alkaline volcanic rocks to keep them away.
-Vampires can’t cross running water. Keep that garden hydrated!
bsky.app/profile/ceej...
This is the correct NPC naming approach imo. Names should be:
-About 2-4 syllables
-Often rhyming or alliterative (but not always)
-Often one or two letters off from a real name
-Wordlike, but not real words
-Sounds meaningful, but no literal meaning
-Easy to remember
This is the correct NPC naming approach imo. Names should be:
-About 2-4 syllables
-Often rhyming or alliterative (but not always)
-Often one or two letters off from a real name
-Wordlike, but not real words
-Sounds meaningful, but no literal meaning
-Easy to remember
starting a thread of NPC names I invented that made my D&D party so mad they yelled at me
October 31, 2025 at 4:17 PM
bsky.app/profile/ceej...
This is the correct NPC naming approach imo. Names should be:
-About 2-4 syllables
-Often rhyming or alliterative (but not always)
-Often one or two letters off from a real name
-Wordlike, but not real words
-Sounds meaningful, but no literal meaning
-Easy to remember
This is the correct NPC naming approach imo. Names should be:
-About 2-4 syllables
-Often rhyming or alliterative (but not always)
-Often one or two letters off from a real name
-Wordlike, but not real words
-Sounds meaningful, but no literal meaning
-Easy to remember
Dorothy Parker picks up a perfectly ripe nectarine. "What fresh smell is this?”
Dorothy is caught by surprise by an ocean wave when the water is cold. “What fresh swell is this!”
Dorothy filming a deodorant commercial. “What fresh gel is this?”
Dorothy is caught by surprise by an ocean wave when the water is cold. “What fresh swell is this!”
Dorothy filming a deodorant commercial. “What fresh gel is this?”
October 19, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Dorothy Parker picks up a perfectly ripe nectarine. "What fresh smell is this?”
Dorothy is caught by surprise by an ocean wave when the water is cold. “What fresh swell is this!”
Dorothy filming a deodorant commercial. “What fresh gel is this?”
Dorothy is caught by surprise by an ocean wave when the water is cold. “What fresh swell is this!”
Dorothy filming a deodorant commercial. “What fresh gel is this?”
Random encounter: An ogre threatening to eat a terrified farmer. Neither realizes they are both named Eustace (no proper introduction, they went straight to threats and terror, respectively). They will be amused by the coincidence if the PCs ask their names, potentially defusing the tense situation.
October 12, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Random encounter: An ogre threatening to eat a terrified farmer. Neither realizes they are both named Eustace (no proper introduction, they went straight to threats and terror, respectively). They will be amused by the coincidence if the PCs ask their names, potentially defusing the tense situation.
Imagine a player asks which species/ancestries players are allowed to pick in a new RPG campaign you're going to run and you just hand them this diagram.
September 29, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Imagine a player asks which species/ancestries players are allowed to pick in a new RPG campaign you're going to run and you just hand them this diagram.
Famously, the kiss of a princess can turn a frog into a prince. It follows that the most powerful princess-led states (princess-ipalities) contain the most marshes and swampland. A princess can rapidly convert frogs to a standing army as needed.
September 25, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Famously, the kiss of a princess can turn a frog into a prince. It follows that the most powerful princess-led states (princess-ipalities) contain the most marshes and swampland. A princess can rapidly convert frogs to a standing army as needed.
What kind of weapons do adversaries in a fantasy game use? They use weapons that are effective against the things they expect to fight (which may or may not be PCs). Even a fraction of the history behind something like the falx makes for good worldbuilding. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falx
Falx - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
September 22, 2025 at 6:08 PM
What kind of weapons do adversaries in a fantasy game use? They use weapons that are effective against the things they expect to fight (which may or may not be PCs). Even a fraction of the history behind something like the falx makes for good worldbuilding. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falx
The thieves' guild posts messages in plain sight all around town, but only those experiencing the mild hallucinatory effects of a local drug derived from froghemoth bile can read them. The teetotalers in the town militia and the local temple are none the wiser. qri.org/blog/psycryp...
Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness Contest: Psychedelic Cryptography (Innovate)
qri.org
August 28, 2025 at 10:58 PM
The thieves' guild posts messages in plain sight all around town, but only those experiencing the mild hallucinatory effects of a local drug derived from froghemoth bile can read them. The teetotalers in the town militia and the local temple are none the wiser. qri.org/blog/psycryp...
A "half bath" does not have half of a bathtub, so it cannot be credibly be called a "half bath." The toilet is the dominant feature of what is typically called a half bath. A half bath should instead be called a toil room.
August 24, 2025 at 11:20 PM
A "half bath" does not have half of a bathtub, so it cannot be credibly be called a "half bath." The toilet is the dominant feature of what is typically called a half bath. A half bath should instead be called a toil room.
Material girl living in a material world = Madonna
Immaterial girl in a material world = Sue Storm
Material girl in an immaterial world = Motoko Kusanagi
Immaterial girl in an immaterial world = Existence strongly implied by above data, but scientists have yet to find a way to observe and confirm
Immaterial girl in a material world = Sue Storm
Material girl in an immaterial world = Motoko Kusanagi
Immaterial girl in an immaterial world = Existence strongly implied by above data, but scientists have yet to find a way to observe and confirm
August 19, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Material girl living in a material world = Madonna
Immaterial girl in a material world = Sue Storm
Material girl in an immaterial world = Motoko Kusanagi
Immaterial girl in an immaterial world = Existence strongly implied by above data, but scientists have yet to find a way to observe and confirm
Immaterial girl in a material world = Sue Storm
Material girl in an immaterial world = Motoko Kusanagi
Immaterial girl in an immaterial world = Existence strongly implied by above data, but scientists have yet to find a way to observe and confirm
Blade was so weirdly prophetic about using computers to translate ancient text. basically 25 years ahead of its time, predicting how computers could brute force translations that were beyond humans (or vampires). And of course the 90s techno-goth aesthetic doesn't get much better than this.
August 14, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Blade was so weirdly prophetic about using computers to translate ancient text. basically 25 years ahead of its time, predicting how computers could brute force translations that were beyond humans (or vampires). And of course the 90s techno-goth aesthetic doesn't get much better than this.
Dungeon energy can come from one weird thing that leads to a chain of PC questions. Suppose that near the entrance, there’s a vertical shaft coated in melted wax, with more slowly dripping from above. Too dangerous to climb, and no explicit reason to try. But 9/10 players will want to find out why.
August 9, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Dungeon energy can come from one weird thing that leads to a chain of PC questions. Suppose that near the entrance, there’s a vertical shaft coated in melted wax, with more slowly dripping from above. Too dangerous to climb, and no explicit reason to try. But 9/10 players will want to find out why.
If you need a random encounter that doesn't (necessarily) lead to a fight, consider using two unrelated animals. Neither a giant tortoise nor a hive of bees "do" much on own. A giant tortoise with a massive beehive attached to its shell, wandering into town to munch on a garden... is an encounter.
July 28, 2025 at 7:57 PM
If you need a random encounter that doesn't (necessarily) lead to a fight, consider using two unrelated animals. Neither a giant tortoise nor a hive of bees "do" much on own. A giant tortoise with a massive beehive attached to its shell, wandering into town to munch on a garden... is an encounter.
Piglet from Winnie the Pooh’s striped torso makes him look like a grub or other insect. The original drawings clearly indicate that it is clothing, but the tight, even, pink-on-pink bands of the modern depiction imply a pig-insect hybrid creature.
July 20, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Piglet from Winnie the Pooh’s striped torso makes him look like a grub or other insect. The original drawings clearly indicate that it is clothing, but the tight, even, pink-on-pink bands of the modern depiction imply a pig-insect hybrid creature.
Bjork: “It’s oh, so, quiet… a little TOO quiet.” *reloads her shotgun*
June 13, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Bjork: “It’s oh, so, quiet… a little TOO quiet.” *reloads her shotgun*
If your RPG campaign peters out and doesn’t have a satisfying ending, treat it as a writing project. Imagine you are a scholar writing hundreds or thousands of years later, based on fragmented sources. Include lots of speculation about the later parts of the story that the game never reached.
No Game Needs to End Without an Ending
We’ve all been there. The game is going great. The players are excellent, the GM is doing a great job, everyone is excited to see what happe...
cryptickeyway.blogspot.com
June 9, 2025 at 6:21 PM
If your RPG campaign peters out and doesn’t have a satisfying ending, treat it as a writing project. Imagine you are a scholar writing hundreds or thousands of years later, based on fragmented sources. Include lots of speculation about the later parts of the story that the game never reached.
Reposted by Cryptic Keyway
Dungeon concept: OSHA safety hazards
June 2, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Dungeon concept: OSHA safety hazards
Fire beetle glands and bioluminescent mushrooms are great, but there are stranger dungeon light sources. For example, a glowing stone stairwell at the entrance to the dungeon. PCs can chip pieces off of it, but the further they get from the entrance, the more the light fades.
June 1, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Fire beetle glands and bioluminescent mushrooms are great, but there are stranger dungeon light sources. For example, a glowing stone stairwell at the entrance to the dungeon. PCs can chip pieces off of it, but the further they get from the entrance, the more the light fades.
Reposted by Cryptic Keyway
“Carrion crawlers strongly resemble a mix of a giant green cutworm & a huge cephalopod. A carrion crawler moves rapidly on its multiple legs despite its bulk, & each of its feet are equipped with sharp claws. The head is equipped with 8 tentacles which flail at prey;”
Gary Gygax, Monster Manual
Gary Gygax, Monster Manual
May 29, 2025 at 11:52 AM
“Carrion crawlers strongly resemble a mix of a giant green cutworm & a huge cephalopod. A carrion crawler moves rapidly on its multiple legs despite its bulk, & each of its feet are equipped with sharp claws. The head is equipped with 8 tentacles which flail at prey;”
Gary Gygax, Monster Manual
Gary Gygax, Monster Manual
A demon can only be summoned to the material world when someone speaks its true name. But a true name also grants the speaker power over the demon. So a demon’s motivation is to let at least one person learn its true name, but to thereafter restrict that knowledge as much as possible.
May 22, 2025 at 9:20 PM
A demon can only be summoned to the material world when someone speaks its true name. But a true name also grants the speaker power over the demon. So a demon’s motivation is to let at least one person learn its true name, but to thereafter restrict that knowledge as much as possible.
Imagine an RPG world with a population distribution like this. The adventuring sites are scattered all over... but if you want to buy the best armor or get a disease cured or hire a sage, you have to go to Ur or Mohenjo-daro or Thebes. Managing long-distance travel becomes a big deal.
May 10, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Imagine an RPG world with a population distribution like this. The adventuring sites are scattered all over... but if you want to buy the best armor or get a disease cured or hire a sage, you have to go to Ur or Mohenjo-daro or Thebes. Managing long-distance travel becomes a big deal.
Reposted by Cryptic Keyway
i saw this guy eat five 7-11 roller hot dogs and a jumbo sour apple slurpee without taking the cig out of his mouth once
May 4, 2025 at 6:18 PM
i saw this guy eat five 7-11 roller hot dogs and a jumbo sour apple slurpee without taking the cig out of his mouth once