DARK FANTASY: SETTINGS, MAGIC ITEMS, and SALE!

So here are my two newest books: Dark Fantasy Magic Items and Dark Fantasy Settings.

They are on sale for US$ 0.95 and 50 cents for a limited time!

 

These are collection of tables and short essays to inspire the creation of dark fantasy settings and magic items. As always, the focus is on dark fantasy tropes: flawed heroes, terrible villains, corrupting magic, ominous ruins and damned wastelands.

Here are some examples from each book.

Settings:

d20	What is missing?
1	Gods. They died, left, became corrupted, etc. (see the “Dark Fantasy Religion” book for more ideas)
2	Water. In this deserted world, human life is cheap and water is expensive.
3	Food. Everyone are starving, and the number of cannibals is growing.
4	Sun. The sun is dying. It might have turned red already.
5	Light. It is always night, and torches are scarce.
6	Heat. This winter is harsh and lasts for decades. The whole world is covered in snow.
7	Civilization. Civilization has fallen, and barbarians live amongst the ruins.
8	Technology. The primitive humankind cannot tell the devices of the ancients from magic.
9	Sight. The whole world is surrounded by fog. Hard to see, easy to get lost.
10	Magic. The slow death of magic will bring doom upon the world.
11	Metals. Metals are scarce. Wood, bone and obsidian are used in its place.
12	Memory. Everyone seems to be forgetful, and the old ways are falling into oblivion.
13	Empathy. It is every man and woman for themselves now, and the devil take the hindmost.
14	Order. Nobody is in charge, and everything is permitted.
15	Transport. There might be peace somewhere, but no ways to get there.
16	Sanity. Everyone is crazy, but each in their own way.
17	Stability. Everything changes rapidly. Cities move around. Buildings grow and collapse like trees.
18	Souls. Most common people are born with no soul, although this isn’t always obvious.
19	Exit. No one can leave The Great City. Beyond the walls is hell, or worse.
20	Hope. Everything is going downhill, and nobody cares.

Magic items:

d20	Appearance
1	Deep and dark like the night sky. You cannot see the stars move, but they do.
2	Looks as if it was made of contained fire, without heat.
3	A sea of desperate faces float around with open mouths, making no sound.
4	Its parts seem to flow slightly within, like water.
5	Luminescent. It glows in the dark but provides no light for you.
6	It contains one or more eyes that occasionally seem to blink.
7	Made to resemble flowers and plants, with a sweet, slightly narcotic smell.
8	Reflective, like a perfect mirror.
9	Ultrablack – darker than your pupils, and makes the light around them a bit weaker.
10	Beautifully prismatic, like a cross between a rainbow and the aurora borealis.
11	Old bloodstains that can never be cleaned.
12	Incredibly fancy. Decorated with precious stones or metals.
13	Resembles (or contains the image of) an animal, demon, monster, child, etc.
14	Has small pulsating protuberances that resemble cists.
15	Made of living, flayed flesh, or human skin. Might bleed if damaged. / Made of bones.
16	Smooth, squishy and wet, resembling octopus’ skin. / Semi-transparent, like hardened glass or crystals.
17	Covered in scales of a dragon or great lizard. / Engraved with glowing runes.
18	Decorated with large feathers of extinct birds. / Perfectly polished metal.
19	Rubbery and flexible, but still very resistant. / Radiant, like a beam of light or “laser sword”.
20	Covered in the strangely colored fur of an unknown beast. / All bent and twisted.

I think the series is now complete! I'm really happy on how things turned out. And I still have other stuff up my sleeve...  Stay tuned!