Neal Litherland
Bio
Neal Litherland is an author, freelance blogger, and RPG designer. A regular on the Chicago convention circuit, he works in a variety of genres.
Blog: Improved Initiative and The Literary Mercenary
Stories (310/0)
The Holy Voice
The people sheltering in this place were huddled together against the darkness outside. The wind moaned through the eaves, but even over the wind they could hear the distant, bellowed orders of warriors on the march, and battle cries being shouted. They were drawing closer. The people clutched their farming tools and old, ill-cared-for weapons, looking for strength in the steel, but finding none.
By Neal Litherland9 months ago in Gamers
The 5 Maddening Monks You Meet During Your Gaming Career
Monks are, perhaps, one of the most controversial classes in fantasy TTRPGs. Ignoring all of the arguments about theme and genre, though, the monk class has also picked up its share of frustrating character archetypes that can taint this choice in the minds of many players who've had to share a table with them.
By Neal Litherland9 months ago in Gamers
The Directed Downtime Action System
I've been planning on running a Changeling: The Lost LARP since just before the pandemic hit, so I've had a lot of time to plan things out, and to make tweaks and changes to the usual live action format for a New World of Darkness game. However, it was pointed out by some of my players that the experience point earnings for a LARP (especially one that, at time of writing, only meets once per month) was going to leave characters on a very slow growth track.
By Neal Litherland9 months ago in Gamers
The Cat Druid Viking
Ragnar sat on one of the oar benches, slowly dragging his whetstone over the blade of his spear. The full moon shone down on the ship, but he edged his weapon more with his ears and his fingertips than with his eyes. What had started as a rough growl had softened to a low purr as nicks and scrapes were worn away, leaving his weapon ready for the next battle.
By Neal Litherland10 months ago in Gamers
5 Real Underground Cities To Inspire Your TTRPG Campaign
Underground cities are one of the most common tropes of fantasy and science fiction alike. Whether it's cavernous vaults inhabited by hundreds of dwarves, or a city carved like a hive that uses the natural structure of the stone to support the mass drivers that power a cyberpunk metropolis, these places fire the imagination, and provide a truly unique setting for us to tell some of our more fantastical stories. What makes them so unique is that places like this aren't real... or are they?
By Neal Litherland10 months ago in History
Walls Work (In Pathfinder, At Least)
The grimoires of wizards and witches, the bloodlines of sorcerers, the blessings of clerics, and the curses of oracles abound with spells of all kinds. From setting your foes ablaze, to calling lightning from the sky, to teleporting halfway across the world, or even bending the mind of one's enemies, magic is a potent tool.
By Neal Litherland10 months ago in Gamers
The Cursed
The rain came down from the night sky with a sound like a shushing mother, and night fog embraced the town. Windows were shuttered, and curtains pulled, so no one saw the lone figure that came in from the black forest. It was tall, and wide beneath a ragged black cloak. A sword hilt jutted up over one shoulder, but aside from the weapon it bore no pack, or gunna of any sort. It walked on, silent in the dark night, until it came to the one place in all the town that still had a lamp on; the Green Vale Inn.
By Neal Litherland11 months ago in Gamers
Find a Reason For Your Character to Get Involved
It is every Game Master's worst nightmare. You've spent hours compiling maps and monsters, figuring out NPCs and rewards, and arranging a scheduled meeting time so that all of your players are gathered around a table, or sharing the same virtual space. You set the scene, and then the plot hook dangles. A child has been kidnapped, a merchant caravan has been attacked, a monastery has been sacked... whatever the event in question, it's something that only people with the PCs' skills can handle.
By Neal Litherland11 months ago in Gamers
The Mounted Mage
When we imagine mounted warriors in our fantasy games, they are most often in the vein of glorious knights, deadly horse archers, or even cavalry skirmishers whose scimitars flick out and claim heads before reprisals can come their way. However, we rarely think of these characters as spellcasters... but the ability to move rapidly across the battlefield, slinging spells and sowing chaos can be a unique addition to nearly any party.
By Neal Litherland11 months ago in Gamers
- Top Story - May 2023
The Final Lamentation
The Unbroken had once been a noble vessel. A ship of the line, it had been built in the days when humanity was ascendant; when the Great Crusade sought to once more cage the stars, and bring enlightenment to the galaxy. The vessel had been used by some of the first astartes when they deployed alongside the solar auxilia, and even after the primarchs had been discovered, the ship had held its course. It had emptied its guns into enemy fleets, dropped entire battalions of troops from orbit onto contested worlds, and won its share of honors in wars whose names and stakes were forgotten by all but the ancient, and the mad. The vessel had also been one of the countless ships commandeered by the warmaster when he’d raised his banners of treachery, and turned his forces against the Imperium. Though it had sustained damage on the push to Terra, and was left scarred by the siege of humanity’s home world, the Unbroken was one of thousands of ships that vanished into the warp when Horus had died, and the traitors’ force was splintered.
By Neal Litherlandabout a year ago in Fiction