Neal Litherland
Founding member
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 (311/0)
Black Marks
Cities never sleep. Not really. Even in the dead of night, parts of them are still fitful and awake. Junkies prowl the back alleys, looking for a score, or a mark. Red light clubs run like bad dreams, their flashing lights and pulsing sound systems melting everything into surreal nightmares. 24-hour grease spots waft their smoke into the air, and the trains run, and run, and run. Cities are predators, and like all the most dangerous creatures, even when they look like they’re sleeping, all it takes is one wrong move for them to eat you alive.
By Neal Litherland4 days ago in Fiction
The "Amateur" Adventurer
When we think of so-called adventurers, we tend to think of those who are in it for the money. Those men and women who turn up to get a share of a lost pirate treasure, a dragon's horde, or at least a pouch of gold coins for bringing in a bandit bounty, or ending the threat from a nearby goblin cave. However, the idea of professionalism is one that we might be able to look at through another lens. Because the way we think of them now is different from the way we once did.
By Neal Litherland17 days ago in Gamers
The Counterspeller: Turning Off Your Enemy's Magic
Magic is one of the great powers in any fantasy RPG. It allows one to shape the face of the cosmos, to control the minds of a populace, to call lightning from the skies, or to render the most powerful warrior little more than a broken, mewling weakling. And while magic may be in short supply among one's enemies rather early in a campaign, spells and spell-like abilities are some of the most common tools used by antagonists once things really start rolling.
By Neal Litherland2 months ago in Gamers
5 Tips For Making Better Fantasy Cults
Cults are a mainstay of our fantasy games, and while they are often some of the most important parts of a given campaign, they tend to fall apart if we put them under too much scrutiny. So if you're designing a cult for your upcoming game, consider some of the following tips!
By Neal Litherland3 months ago in Gamers
What Are Relationships Like in Your Fantasy Setting?
Romance is a part of the earliest fantasy stories we hear. From mermaids who fall in love with sailors, to princesses locked in castles guarded by fearsome dragons who can only be saved by a suitor of pure heart, to the betrayal of a king for the love of the queen, so many of our stories include this element in their make up. The same can be said of a lot of our RPGs, because they either draw on these old fairy tales as part of their inspiration, or simply because it's part of the goals we have for our characters.
By Neal Litherland4 months ago in Gamers
A Pathfinder Power Couple: Arcane Eye, and The Lyre of Building
When we think of magic in Pathfinder, we usually think of the big, showy spells. Things like fireball and lightning bolt are usually top of the list, followed by other classics like raise dead or spiritual weapon. However, knowledge is power when it comes to any dungeon delve, and what you do with that knowledge can have an outsized effect at the end of the adventuring day.
By Neal Litherland4 months ago in Gamers
The Pettiest Thing I Ever Did To Justify 3 Dots of The "Fame" Merit
Regular readers know that not only am I a fan of the World and Chronicles of Darkness setting, but that I have a special place in my heart for Changeling: The Lost. A game that evokes beautiful madness in every aspect, I've loved it ever since I first picked up the manual, and I've played it at nearly every opportunity I could find. However, a majority of my time as a player was spent in organized play under the Camarilla/Mind's Eye Society, and it was the paperwork requirements of that organization that led to quite possibly one of the funniest moments I've ever had as a player attempting to justify to the powers-that-be why I should be allowed to have something restricted on my sheet.
By Neal Litherland4 months ago in Gamers
Have Both a Good Ending (and a Bad One) For Your Character
While a lot of players prefer to just sit down at a table and let their character go wherever the dice take them, most of us have at least some vague idea of what we're trying to accomplish by the end of a campaign. Maybe we want to earn a knighthood from the king, defend the realm from a dire threat, or to avenge the death of a loved one, but whatever it is, we usually have some idea of what a resolution to our character's story looks like.
By Neal Litherland5 months ago in Gamers
5 Classes To Pair With The Vampirism Corruption
The undead are creatures of horror, and sorrow. Unnatural things turned loose upon the world, they hold up a mirror to our own existential dread, and look at us from the grave. While they are typical enemies of most adventuring parties, one of the most dangerous types of undead is the vampire... and for good reason. They are difficult to slay, they are physically powerful, and worse, their very gaze can attack one's will, disarming even the strongest of foes by wrapping a fist around their minds.
By Neal Litherland5 months ago in Gamers
Gav and Bob Part 5: Faith and Martyrs
The planet below didn’t look like much. It was a big, blue ball, with splotches of green and brown, and a few splashes of white. It made Gav think of a marble he’d had a long time ago, and that he’d traded for a sweet stick when he and his tribe were done with their exercises for the day. He hunkered down in the gun cutter, watching through his porthole as the world got bigger, and bigger. He knew what was coming next, and he didn’t like it. Up in the pilot’s seat, Sheexa started flicking switches, and talking into her headset.
By Neal Litherland5 months ago in Fiction