Sternvale Adventures

Magical potions and salves are a staple of classic fantasy. In addition to providing a convenient way to keep adventurers in play after taking one too many swords to the gut, they make great plot devices and quest hooks (the wizard's guild is in need of two score rabbits' feet and the heart of a dragon), as well as making for more interesting tactical decisions. Do we use the invulnerability potion now, or later? Do I poison my arrows with demonbane or spider's venom? Though these considerations usually won't make up the core of a party's tactical repertoire, they can provide a little extra boost to a party in a pinch, and can provide a way for weaker party members (or enemies!) to stay helpful even without fireballs and greatswords.  Faced with such utility, the alchemically inclined player might want to have a go at brewing their own elixirs. There's plenty of precedent for it in video games such as Skyrim  or The Witcher ; GURPS Dungeon Fantasy  alludes to it...

"One player character is much more powerful than the others, and it's making it hard to balance fights." "My players have bought everything they need and now money is worthless." Have you caught yourself saying anything like this? Your problem might be to do with character progression , the leading cause of death among games in the 18-34 age bracket.  Here, I'm going to discuss why it exists, what problems it causes, and why you don't actually need it.  Why it exists Narratively speaking, character progression is satisfying. We like to see characters grow and change to meet their challenges. Players enjoy the feeling of character advancement, watching enemies that were previously a challenge become non-issues, and this can help build a sense of scale, particularly in video games that have a fixed beginning, middle and end. By starting the game fighting goblins, and ending it fighting gods, it's easier to appreciate the stakes of the story. From a pow...