I Cast...Brainstorm issue 1!

A weekly newsletter of ideas and advice for D&D Dungeon Masters, players, and fans

Author

Dave Palmer
April 11, 2025

Welcome to the first I Cast…Brainstorm newsletter! I love playing Dungeons & Dragons, and I’m currently playing in one game, and DM-ing three to five games a week for different groups, and as any DM knows, that takes a lot of prep. I’m always looking for (1) ways to make my prep time more efficient, and (2) ideas that I can have ready whenever I need anything for a session! NPCs, new monsters, treasure, magic items, encounters, towns, game hooks, room or trap designs, or a new spell that would make for a great game moment — I keep lists of all of these things so I can have them ready to go when my players do something unexpected, like decide they want to talk to that one NPC across the tavern when all my notes say is “grumpy elf”.

I’ve been DM-ing and playing for a long time, and over the years I’ve developed some techniques that really make it easier for me to do what I want to do, on both sides of the DM screen — just sit back, relax and help tell an exciting, swashbuckling, and funny improvisational story with my friends. With math rocks.

So this is what I Cast…Brainstorm! is all about. Every week I’ll share some fun things like game hooks, NPCs, character backstories, and new magic items, as well as tips and techniques I use as both a DM and a player. I play both 2014 and 2024 versions of 5th edition D&D, though my goal is that most of what we talk about should be applicable to any edition, or even other role-playing systems. My dream for I Cast…Brainstorm! is that it’s an idea generator, a resource, and a community dedicated to adding interesting flavor and fun details to your games, while also making them much easier to run.

This being the first issue, I’ll probably tweak the format and content a bit as we go. I Cast…Brainstorm! should be as helpful and fun as possible for you, so please let me know if there’s anything in particular you’d like to see or talk about. I’ll add some questions and polls to invite feedback as we go, and I can also be reached at icastbrainstorm@gmail. And please tell your friends, DMs and fellow D&D players about us. Anyone can subscribe here — https://icastbrainstorm.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Thanks for reading. Let’s brainstorm some fun!

Table of Contents

NPC Guides for Roleplaying

Every DM, at some point, is going to need a good NPC — a villain, a shopkeeper, or even a guard at the entrance to a city who chats with the characters as they come and go. And whether your style is to RP by acting as the NPC, (facial expressions and distinctive voices), or just relating what the NPC is doing and saying in your own voice, I’ve found there’s some key information that provides what I need to quickly get into the moment and the character, and just let the interaction flow in the session.

I use two formats — long and short.

Long Form

The long format is for recurring and important NPCs, and looks like this:
NPC Name
Age, Gender, Species - (Only if these are important to the RP)
Personality - (Traits to help roleplaying — kind, funny, angry, etc.)
Alignment - (Alignment is a helpful RP guide for me, but you don’t need it)
Type - (The monster type and stats — AC, attacks, etc.)
Items and Appearance - (Quest items, loot, distinctive features)
Values - (Any bonds the NPC is loyal to)
Goals - (What the NPC is trying to accomplish)
Knows - (Any lore or information that would be helpful or interesting to the PCs)
Does Not Know - (Especially as related to the PCs or their quest)
Revealed - (The information the NPC has already given the PCs — updated as needed)

For example:
Itza M‘eeple
Age, Gender, Species - 187, male elf
Personality - Haughty, suspicious, instead of laughing just says “ha”
Alignment - Lawful Neutral
Type - Noble
Items and Appearance - Gaunt, long black hair, wields a rapier +1
Values - His own skin, improving the status of Clan M’eeple
Goals - Find the MacGuffin of Doom, become ruler of the city
Knows - The MacGuffin was last seen in the vault under the castle
Does Not Know - The PCs were given a key to the vault by their patron
Revealed - The guard schedule around the vault

Short Form

The shorter version is for NPCs that the characters will meet briefly, or in passing, and contains only enough information to get through the conversation or other interaction with the PCs.
NPC Name — (Age, Gender, Species, Alignment, Type — Personality Traits)

Like so:
Itza M‘eeple — (187, male elf, LN Noble — Haughty, suspicious, instead of laughing just says “ha”)

Except for the monster type, this is all informational and not mechanical, so it could be adapted to any system or game. Of course, you should change, add or delete the format and categories so it works the best for you, but I find this information is all I need to trust I can step into the role whenever needed. And bonus — it helps me recapture the same feel the next time the PCs meet the character, whether its in the same session or fifty sessions later.

Game Hooks

Game hooks are the adventure-drivers of your game — something you add as a rumor, a clue, or an idea to hook your players interest, tee up an adventure or quest, or connect the PCs to your broader story. Ideally, they help you create the feeling of a living world in which the characters exist, engage your players curiosity about that world, and weave the characters fully into the story you’re creating together.

Game hooks can be really useful is you’re playing a sand-boxy game where the characters can seek out or stumble on adventures as they move through the world. And if you’re playing a longer adventure, they’re also really helpful for creating a feeling that there are other things going on in the world besides the path the characters are on, (if your players prefer not to feel railroaded), and for guiding your players back onto the main adventure path if they’re stumped for the next steps.

Here are this weeks hooks. These should be revised to fit your game, world, style, players and/or story.

Serious

The characters stumble upon a corpse in a seedy party of the city. They find a note addressed to a powerful noble that reads “You have crossed me for the last time. If you don’t want the whole city to know what you’re planning, you’ll meet me tonight” underneath the body.

Scary

During a long rest, one of the characters has a nightmare that something small and slimy crawled into their mouth and down their throat. In the morning, they can’t shake the feeling that maybe it wasn’t just a nightmare.

Silly

A distraught farmer is afraid to go home, because one of his chickens has started speaking to him at night, telling him to do awful things.

New Magic Items

Stubborn Boots

Wondrous Item, uncommon (requires attunement)

While you wear these boots, you have Advantage to resist all forced movement by magical or physical means, and any forced movement that does affect you is reduced by 5’.

Notes: Buff, Movement, Utility, Footwear

If your game or system doesn’t use Advantage, you can just change the benefit so it gives the wearer an appropriate amount of added resistance.

If you love D&D and other RPGs as much as I do, you probably already know about the folks below, who are a real inspiration to me. And if you haven’t already, please check them out!

Treantmonk
https://treantmonk.wordpress.com/

RPGBot
https://rpgbot.net/

The Arcane Library
https://www.thearcanelibrary.com

Ye Olde Shoppe

You can also check out great gifts for the gamers in your life at Total Party Kits, which features all-original designs by yours truly on shirts, hats, mugs and other gifts!

 www.totalpartykits.etsy.com

I Cast…Brainstorm! subscribers can save 10% off everything in the store.