DDE: Iounian
Artwork by Jason SholtisSince my Chr...
2026-01-06 05:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
James Maliszewski activity
Commentary on Dwarves & Gnomes
Happy New Year!
In Tuesday's post, I promised to provide some commentary about Dwarves, Gnomes, Kobol...
2026-01-01 05:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostDDE: Dwarves & Gnomes
Following last week's Christmas post and yesterday's Substack post, I have decided to offer up some posts over the nex...
2025-12-30 05:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostAn Old School (Essentials) Christmas Gift
Artwork by Jason SholtisYear's End
2025 is rapidly coming to a close. One of the unexpected consequences of getting older is that time seems to move much more quickly than it did when I was younger. That only makes sense, I suppose. W...
2025-12-18 05:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostHouse of Worms Commemorative Portrait
Today, I thought I'd take a break from sharing more of my thoughts about Dream-Quest in order to g...
2025-12-16 05:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostThe Current State of Dream-Quest (Part II)
In my last post, I talked about the origins of the 2025-12-11 05:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
The Current State of Dream-Quest (Part I)
Though I haven’t posted anything new about the Dream-Quest project lately, it’s not for lack o...
2025-12-09 05:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostDream-Quest: The Great Ones
As I continue to ponder Dream-Quest and just what I want this project to be, a recurring topic concerns the gods of the Dreamlands and their priests. While there are a number of rea...
2025-11-18 05:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostInquiry
(Dream-Quest posts will resume next week with some thoughts about the Great Ones, the gods of the ...
2025-11-13 05:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostDream-Quest: An Example
After thinking some more about my previous post, I concluded that it might be helpful — both for myself a...
2025-11-06 05:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostDream-Quest: Mirroring the Psyche
As I continue to think about Dream-Quest, I keep coming back to the idea that the Dreamlands are not a fixed geography but rather a landscape of the psyche. This idea was reinforced...
2025-11-04 05:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostDream-Quest: Generating the Dreamlands
In my public post a couple of days ago, I discussed the idea that every referee’s Dreamlands ought to be ...
2025-10-30 04:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostDream-Quest: Building the Dream
As I discussed in two previous posts, I've begun to realize that, from a game design perspective, it's best to think of the Dreamlands not as a place but as a process, a way of seei...
2025-10-28 04:00:36 +0000 UTC View PostDream-Quest: The Mutable Dreamer?
Lately, I’ve been pondering an intriguing — and probably difficult to implement — idea for Dream-Quest. I’m not yet sure if it’s good or even workable, but it’s...
2025-10-14 04:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostDream-Quest: The Mutable Dreamlands (Part II)
As I mentioned in Part I of this post, I’m still very much in the “thinking out loud” stage of d...
2025-10-09 23:23:08 +0000 UTC View PostDream-Quest: The Mutable Dreamlands (Part I)
One of the guiding ideas behind Dream-Quest is that there is no such thing as a definitive version of the Dreamlands. Lovecraft himself wasn't completely consistent about them. The ...
2025-10-07 04:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostDream-Quest: Anchoring Items
As Dream-Quest continues to take shape in my mind, I keep circling back to the question of permanence within the Dreamlands. What, exactly, endures from one visit to the Dreamlands ...
2025-10-02 04:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostVarieties of Dreamborn
At the end of last month, I suggested two possible character origins in Dream-Quest: earth...
2025-09-30 04:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostDream-Quest: Poet-Seer Spells (Levels 3 and 4)
3rd Level Spells
Binding Rhyme
Range: 30’ Duration: 1 turn
The Poet-Seer speaks a binding riddle.
One creature within range...
2025-09-26 01:43:49 +0000 UTC View Post
Dream-Quest: Poet-Seer Spells (Levels 1 and 2)
As promised, here are the 1st and 2nd-level Poet-Seer spells I've currently created. Levels 3 and 4 wi...
2025-09-23 04:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostDream-Quest: Poet-Seer
Poet-Seer
Words woven from moonlight. Verses that stir the soul. Prophecies whispered from the hidden cadences of slumber.
Origin: Earthborn o...
2025-09-18 04:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostThe Dreamlands Campaign
As I continue work on Dream-Quest, I find my thoughts drifting into places I never expected — surprising, yes, but in the best possible way. That’s fitting, I suppose, since I never inte...
2025-09-16 04:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostDream-Quest: Shadow
Shadow
Footfalls erased. Faces forgotten. Whisper where the dark gathers.
Origin: Earthborn or Dreamborn
Requirements: ...
2025-09-11 04:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostAlone in the Dreamlands
On Thursday, I’ll be sharing another Dream-Quest character class — the shadow, my take on a thief-analog for the Dreamlands. However, today I want to digress a ...
2025-09-09 04:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostDream-Quest: Knight of Dreams
Knight of Dreams
Vows made flesh. Steel made dream. Champion of the unreal.
Origin: Earthborn or Dreamborn
Requirements: None
Dream-Quest Table of Contents
Today, I thought I'd take a brief break from presenting sample rules from my Dream-Quest draft and instead share the very rough outline I've got for the work as a whole. Bear in mind, this is all incredibly rough and subject to change. In some ways, it's more of a f...
2025-09-02 04:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostDream-Quest: Death & Return
The Lands of Dream are indeed wondrous – but they can also be perilous. Yet death is not always the same for all who walk its roads.
Hit Points & Dying
Ab...
2025-08-28 04:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
Dream-Quest: Character Origins
Every soul who treads the Dreamlands must come from somewhere. Before any other choice is made, each player decides whether his character is Earthborn or Dreamborn. These o...
2025-08-26 04:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostDream-Quest
If you’ve been reading Grognardia during this past month, you’ll know that I’ve been thoroughly immersing myself in the ...
2025-08-25 17:59:44 +0000 UTC View Post