Field notes & short fiction from the forge.
Design diaries, table-tested craft, release notes, and free stories set in the worlds behind the adventures. A deep backlog, updated as the ink dries.
Latest Post
Arkh-Perain: Dust and Coin, a Living Desert Setting for D&D 5.5e
Most desert settings hand you a stretch of sand to cross and a tally of waterskins to watch. Arkh-Perain: Dust and Coin hands you a desert that notices you crossed it, remembers…
Base-Building LitRPG: Why Crafting and Building Books Took Over
By Anvil N Ink Publishing · Updated July 2026 · 7 min read Base-building LitRPG is the subgenre where progression comes from…
Dungeon Core Books: The Complete Guide to LitRPG’s Strangest Subgenre
By Anvil N Ink Publishing · Updated July 2026 · 8 min read Dungeon core books are LitRPG novels where the protagonist…
12 Books Like Dungeon Crawler Carl (What to Read Next)
By Anvil N Ink Publishing · Updated July 2026 · 8 min read The best books like Dungeon Crawler Carl depend on…
Best LitRPG Series: 12 Sagas Worth Bingeing in 2026
By Anvil N Ink Publishing · Updated July 2026 · 9 min read The best LitRPG series right now are Dungeon Crawler…
What Is LitRPG? The Genre Where Game Rules Are Real
By Anvil N Ink Publishing · Updated July 2026 · 7 min read LitRPG (literary role-playing game) is a fiction genre in…
LitRPG Books: The Complete Reader’s Guide (2026)
By Anvil N Ink Publishing · Updated July 2026 · 11 min read LitRPG books are novels where video-game mechanics — levels,…
Free DND One-Shots: What’s Actually Free (and What’s Actually Good)
An honest guide to free DND one-shots — what's genuinely free, what's actually worth running, and what free adventures usually leave out.
Scary DND Monsters: 15 Creatures That Actually Frighten Players
The 15 scariest DND monsters in 5e, why each one actually frightens players, and the principles for making any monster land at…
Running a Journey to the Land of the Dead in D&D
A land of the dead adventure is the underworld-descent myth in D&D form. Here's how to run the journey — petitioners, a…
Día de los Muertos D&D: Running a Day of the Dead One-Shot
A Día de los Muertos one-shot trades dread for warmth — remembrance, marigolds, and a respectful journey into the land of the…
Running an Underdog Party: When the Heroes Are the B-Team
An underdog party — the B-team sent in after the real heroes failed — trades the power fantasy for scrappy, earned heroism.…
Comedy-Horror One-Shots: Balancing Laughs and Dread
A comedy horror one-shot is the hardest tonal tightrope in D&D. Here's how to balance laughs and dread so each makes the…
