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Black Shark Enterprises Nominated for Fan Favorite Publisher ENnie Award

Mark S. Cookman

Jul 13, 2016
1 min

Black Shark Enterprises Nominated for Fan Favorite Publisher ENnie Award

I was recently surprised to find out that Black Shark Enterprises had been nominated for an ENnie in the Fan Favorite Publisher category. This may not seem like a big deal to many people. It's not like we received a nomination for Best Writing or Best Electronic Book. Over a hundred publishers were nominated and among them are a number of industry giants like Wizards of the Coast, experienced master-craftsmen like Raging Swan Press, and extremely-talented little guys that are

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Mark S. Cookman

Jul 13, 2016
5 min

10 Different Kinds of Trouble with Orcs

This is the second post in the orc theme started last week. Today's list is nothing more than a bunch of adventure seeds involving orcs, but they might not be exactly what you expect. I firmly believe that you should 'never judge a book by its cover', so some of the hooks below may seem vastly out of character for any orc. I would suggest making these sorts of encounters rare unless orcs really are significantly different in your world than they are described in the various e

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Mark S. Cookman

Jul 7, 2016
7 min

20 Different Orc Clans

Today's post will begin a new series centered on a certain perennial favorite bad guy. Orcs have a poor reputation as a cliche D&D villain. When most players hear "Orcs", a certain mindset develops. Orcs are ugly, nasty, brutish, and NOT very smart. I enjoy using these preconceived notions against my players, so while MOST orcs the PC's encounter do fall into the general description that society provides, some do not. I have found that if you keep your players on their toes,

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20 Rumored Shipwrecks for Treasure Hunters

Mark S. Cookman

Jul 5, 2016
6 min

20 Rumored Shipwrecks for Treasure Hunters

Today's post will conclude our recent nautical series. Here you will find adventure fodder galore or perhaps nothing but nasty bilge water. That's left for the GM to decide. What is certain is that below you'll find 20 different ships with 20 different captains and crews that all suffered the same sad fate. You'll also find rumors of fantastic cargoes lost to depths the sea. Cargoes so fantastic that they'd lure brave treasure hunters to sail deep into unexplored and/or dang

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The Pirate GM's Essential Nautical Charts and Tables is Now Available!

Mark S. Cookman

Jul 1, 2016
1 min

The Pirate GM's Essential Nautical Charts and Tables is Now Available!

This GM Accessory is compatible with the 5th edition of the World's Most Popular Fantasy RPG. Are you looking for simple yet detailed rules for ships of all sorts? Congratulations! You've found them. The Pirate GM's Essential Nautical Charts and Tables Includes . . . Rules for both Simple Ships and Sailing Ships 27 Different Tables and Charts 2 Different Ship Critical Hit Tables Rules for Ship Speeds and Travelling Times Rules for Sighting and Encounter Ranges Rules for

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20 Positions on a Ship Besides the Captain

Mark S. Cookman

Jun 23, 2016
3 min

20 Positions on a Ship Besides the Captain

This is another post following our nautical theme and it includes one of my oldest tables. The table is a simple one and is honestly little more than a nautical vocabulary list, but it was the result of a hard won lesson. My hope is to help novice GM's learn this lesson in a less painful manner than I did. Let me tell you a story. It is the late '80's and I am in college. I have a job and am a full time (15 credit hours) student of organic chemistry with a B average. For some

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Mark S. Cookman

Jun 21, 2016
3 min

20 Bits of Flotsam and Jetsam

In keeping with the theme that I started last week, today's post is also nautical in nature. This time around we will be looking at objects found floating in the water. Floating debris (as it is defined in the Random Encounters at Sea table on p. 118 of the 5e DMG) actually comes in two types - flotsam and jetsam. Flotsam is the wreckage of a ship or its cargo found floating on or washed up by the sea. Jetsam is unwanted material or goods that have been thrown overboard from

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32 Marooners, Castaways or Survivors in the Water

Mark S. Cookman

Jun 16, 2016
6 min

32 Marooners, Castaways or Survivors in the Water

It's time to return to the sea. This week, the blog will feature nautical topics and today's post is all about NPC's that your players might find adrift on the waves. When sailing, one of the cries from the lookout above (as well as #19 on the Random Encounters at Sea table 5E DMG p. 118) is "Survivors in the water!" If your players are anything like mine, then when they hear this cry they become IMMEDIATELY SUSPICIOUS about what the DM is trying to DO to them, unless they KN

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20 Things That Could Go Wrong with a Tinker Gnome's Invention

Mark S. Cookman

Jun 10, 2016
5 min

20 Things That Could Go Wrong with a Tinker Gnome's Invention

Let's get something straight from the beginning, I love gnomes. My first ever AD&D (1st Edition) character was a gnome. So don't get the idea that I hate gnomes just because I created a table about their strange tinker machines going crazy. I do have an ulterior motive for it, but more on that later. First, let's discuss tinkering. According to the PHB (p. 37), a tinker gnome can spend 1 hour and 10 gold to construct a Tiny clockwork device with AC5 and 1 hp. Three examples

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20 Magical Weapons That Aren't Swords At All

Mark S. Cookman

Jun 9, 2016
4 min

20 Magical Weapons That Aren't Swords At All

Today's post follows the same basic theme as Tuesday's with the exception that the list will contain no swords at all. Just like last time, I am trying to encourage DM's to expand their minds when it comes to giving out magical weapons. The point of this blog entry is not to hand you 20 "perfect" magic weapons ready to drop into your campaign, the point is to get you thinking about different kinds of magical weapons in your campaign and how they came to be. If you manage to p

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20 Magical Swords That Aren't Just Longswords

Mark S. Cookman

Jun 7, 2016
4 min

20 Magical Swords That Aren't Just Longswords

One of my pet peeves about D&D is that the magical swords are nearly always European longswords. It seems as if Excalibur was the perfect model for ALL magical swords ever to be created. Personally, I like to mix things up. I like to use many different types of swords in my campaign worlds, just as there are many different types of swords among all the cultures of the Earth. Diversity is the spice of life and RPG's should NEVER be bland. As with all of my lists, I'm not just

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Mark S. Cookman

Jun 3, 2016
1 min

Pawnbrokers is Available Now!

This GM Accessory is compatible with the 5th edition of the World's Most Popular Fantasy RPG. Pawnbrokers Includes . . . Rules for Pawning Items for Gold Personalities and Stats for 3 Pawnbrokers 6 Adventure Seeds involving Pawn Shops 13 Ready-To-Use Magic Items A Map of a Pawn Shop Plus More. This Product Contains Adult Situations and Content – This material is for mature players only! Keep Black Shark Enterprises in mind for your RPG needs. #dmadvice #NewRelease #5e #gmadvi

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Mark S. Cookman

May 26, 2016
1 min

20 Moves of the Master Monk

Monk week is over already and we hardly had any time to enjoy it. ;^) We're going to end our study of monks (begun nearly a month ago, sorry) with a collection of special martial arts moves. As with all of the lists that I write, this list is FAR from the perfection sought by monks. You should study and improve it for use in your own campaign. Perhaps one or more of these strikes is the key to defeating a certain bad guy or perhaps performing one of these master moves is wh

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20 Events in a Crowded Tavern or Roadhouse Besides a Brawl

Mark S. Cookman

May 25, 2016
4 min

20 Events in a Crowded Tavern or Roadhouse Besides a Brawl

Taverns are often common backdrops for all types of RPG settings. There are many common tropes: bar brawls, mysterious patrons, the bar is a trap, etc. This list doesn't contain any of those. This list is more about backdrop. These are events that happen in the tavern that have nothing to do with the PC's, unless of course they decide to become involved. Be warned. Taverns are dangerous places because PC's tend to go crazy there. Diving down ratholes you never meant them to e

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20 Monasteries Where Monks Might Seek Expanded Consciousness

Mark S. Cookman

May 6, 2016
4 min

20 Monasteries Where Monks Might Seek Expanded Consciousness

Monk Week is almost at its end. So far, we've examined the objects that a monk might carry and the tattoos that he or she might have. Today, we're going to discuss the temples and schools that monks may know of and/or wish to visit. Alternatively, these may be places just discovered along the way by the party, if the DM feels that is more fitting. However you choose to deal with martial artists and monks in your world, even if it is to say they are nothing but legend, you may

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Mark S. Cookman

May 4, 2016
4 min

20 Tattoos That Might Adorn Monks

Monks and martial artists are often depicted in artwork with tattoos or brands. There is no real historical precedent for any monastic institution giving or requiring tattoos from their disciples. In fact, throughout history in China, tattoos indicated a turn from normal society rather than a social rank within it. Monks who turned from their religious duties to practice martial arts exclusively sometimes became wandering mercenary warriors. These mercenaries were known to pr

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20 Things That Monks Might Have in Addition to Enlightenment

Mark S. Cookman

May 3, 2016
2 min

20 Things That Monks Might Have in Addition to Enlightenment

Last week, the theme of this blog was centered upon the equipment that travelling adventurers might carry with them on their delves and quests. This week the theme will center upon those who seek to unburden themselves and what better place to start than with what they choose to burden themselves with. So Monk Week, as I have so cleverly decided to call this week, begins with a look at the common equipment that the fast-handed disciples of Ki might carry on their adventures.

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20 Items a Magic User Might Carry in Addition to Spellbooks

Mark S. Cookman

Apr 29, 2016
3 min

20 Items a Magic User Might Carry in Addition to Spellbooks

We've reached the end of another week just in time. This week's theme has been about the equipment carried by the various classes. Follow the link to see the whole list. As the old saying goes, we've saved the best for last: Magic Users. In this case, "best" means most diverse because under the banner of Magic Users stand all Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards regardless of the source of their power, the nature of their patron, or the arcane specialty they have chosen. As it wa

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20 Items a Cleric Might Carry in Addition to a Holy Symbol

Mark S. Cookman

Apr 28, 2016
2 min

20 Items a Cleric Might Carry in Addition to a Holy Symbol

Today's post follows the class equipment theme, which we started with Thieves and Fighters. It's time to examine what things might be in the backpack of the party's cleric, but first a word about today's art. This piece is entitled "Evil Cleric" and it was created by the fantastically-talented Jon Hodgson. Treat yourself to more of Jon's incredible artwork by checking out his Deviant Art gallery. He's done a lot of amazing pieces on a wide range of subjects and I'm sure you'l

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20 Items a Fighter Might Carry in Addition to Weapons and Armor

Mark S. Cookman

Apr 26, 2016
2 min

20 Items a Fighter Might Carry in Addition to Weapons and Armor

Almost three weeks ago, I posted a table about thieves tools. Since then, I have been thinking about a series of posts along a similar theme. This is the first of those. I have decided to tackle what extra things fighters might carry with them. Fighters are a wide-open topic and while two D&D fighters might be comparable, they will not be identical. Thus, understand the difficulty in developing a "universal" list. Fighters vary too much in races, cultures, creeds, backgrounds

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