- I Cast...Brainstorm!
- Posts
- I Cast...Brainstorm issue 22!
I Cast...Brainstorm issue 22!
A weekly newsletter of ideas and advice for D&D Dungeon Masters, players, and fans
Dave Palmer
September 5th, 2025
In partnership with
This week — What Makes Do Gooders Do Good? and More Adventure Hooks
Thanks for reading I Cast…Brainstorm!, a weekly newsletter with ideas and advice to help make DM-ing and playing D&D (and other TTRPGs) easier and more fun.
You can say hello, share feedback, and let me know what you’d like to see in the newsletter at [email protected].
And please share our link with your friends and fellow gamers, so they can join us, too. https://icastbrainstorm.beehiiv.com/
Let’s brainstorm some fun!
In this issue...
The Wizard Says…
“It’s all fun and games until you roll at disadvantage!”
My week started off great, and ended with me flat on my back with a cold. Luckily I had an easier week, game-wise, and only felt a little off for my Tuesday night in-person game, which is my biggest DM-ing challenge every week. I try to make every session a better experience, so I try make little improvements every week — changing up my NPC notes before a session to make them easier to play, or double-checking rules questions that came up last session, and that sort of thing.
The best DM-ing experience for me is when the game just flows — the players are into the story, and are making strong choices, and though we might get sidetracked by a conversation, a joke or a rule question from time to time, overall we’re just in it. Not every session gets there, and that’s normal. Right now I’m trying to improve my descriptions, because if I make the game-world feel authentic and real, and paint a picture in the player’s minds so they can immerse themselves in the story, I think that really helps us reach that perfect mix of game and story.
Good descriptions are tough for me to create on the fly — its so easy just to describe the dimensions of a room and the creatures the characters see, then start chucking dice. And I’m not knocking that. Rolling dice is fun, dammit! But I’m working on not rushing, taking a moment to let the description resonate, and I’m trying to incorporate all five senses to my descriptions — what does the place smell like, and do the characters hear anything nearby? And What about that sixth sense — how does the place feel? What’s the vibe? Friendly? Quiet? Dangerous?
Anyway, I hope your games this week are all very fun and very descriptive.
Heroic Motivations
Or: Why do do-gooders do good?
In issue 8 we discussed different motivations for villains, and we can create the same distinctive and complex drivers for the heroes in our games. For DMs creating heroic NPCs, or players writing the backstory for a new heroic character, here are some ideas for what can drive them to do good.
Personal
As a teenager, the hero was traveling in a caravan with their father and twin brother, following a trade route to a large city. A sudden attack by bandits left their father dead, and when their brother tried to avenge him, the bandits just laughed and easily disarmed the boy. The bandit captain — a tall, red-haired man with a missing front tooth — had the bandits secure the hero’s brother to one of their horses. “Spirit either ye have or ye have not, and yer lucky there,” he said. “But skill with arms we can train ye.” The bandits rode off with the hero’s brother that day, and ever since, the hero has searched the realm for any sign of their sibling, or the gap-toothed bandit — taking immense pleasure in completely destroying any bandit clans they find along the way.
Political
The hero grew up in a village whose leadership was cruel and corrupt, and believes that greatest evil in the world is disguised as the benevolence of leadership. Their goal is to rule the realm — justly and fairly, improving the lives of all — but how to do that, without nobility or any legal claim, is yet to be determined. In the meantime, should the hero meet leaders of organizations, villages, cities, or clans who don’t meet their high standards, they make sure to give the offender a single, fair chance to get on the right path, or be removed from their post, permanently.
Religious
When they were a child, the hero’s kind and righteous parents assured them that good deeds in the world would be rewarded by their deity, and those who performed the most good would stand face to face with their god in the afterlife. But despite their law-abiding and compassionate acts, their parents suffered one indignity and tragedy after another, until they died in a senseless, random accident. Shaken by the loss, the hero began a quest to be the most righteous, most compassionate, and most devout follower of their parent’s deity — to root out and vanquish evil in all its forms. They’re relentlessly driven to perform the most good in the world, to come face to face with their parents’ god, and to ask a simple question — “Why did you abandon my family?”
Insane
The hero believes they are the chosen servant of Hechlan, Goddess of Moisture, who speaks to them through any liquid — rain, the tears of a child, the sweat that drips off the tip of their nose, mud puddles. They believe injustice and evil suck the life-giving moisture from existence, and their mission is to drench the world in the fluids of compassion and goodness, mostly by bathing the world in the blood of evil creatures.
Adventure Hooks
Entice your players to explore different areas of your game-world by dropping hints like these.
Serious
A recent earthquake was devastating to a nearby valley. It destroyed buildings in villages and hamlets for miles, and opened a huge fissure in the side of a mountain — a mountain that legend says is the home of an ancient dragon. The locals are frightened at what could lie at the bottom of the dark chasm, and are willing to pay someone to venture inside the mountain and see if the legend is true.
Spooky
There’s an old tree by the side of a major trade route, days away from any village or roadside inn, and for years its been used as a resting spot and meeting place, where caravans and travelers could enjoy some shade or take shelter from sudden rain. About a ten-day ago, a corpse was found hanging from a tree branch by a noose. The merchants who found the body didn’t recognize the person, and left the body alone, fearing disease or a curse. A day later, another body was seen on the tree, and on the day after that, another. It has been ten days, and now ten rotting bodies hanging from the tree, which is avoided at all costs, especially after the tale spread that a cleric cast Speak With Dead on one of the bodies to get to the bottom of the matter, and was promptly driven insane by what the corpse said.
Silly
The incredibly wealthy, and incredibly strange Duchess of Ferntynshire has issued a challenge to the realm — 10,000 gold pieces to the first creature who can prove that the moon is actually made of cheese, as she claims.
Brainstorming Links
You probably already know about the folks below, who are real inspirations to me, but if not, do yourself a favor and check them out.
The Arcane Library — masterpiece adventures, and Shadowdark, too!
https://www.thearcanelibrary.com
The Angry DM — so angry….so many great ideas….
https://theangrygm.com/
DMDave — on point analysis of D&D rules, and a ton of fun ideas
https://bsky.app/profile/dmdave.bsky.social
RPGBot — whip smart critique and explanations of 5e rules
https://rpgbot.net/
Sly Flourish — a DM’s best friend who is also a better DM
https://www.slyflourish.com/
Treantmonk — years of helpful advice and clever ideas
https://www.youtube.com/@TreantmonksTemple
If you like I Cast…Brainstorm!, you might also like these amazing newsletters with more great ideas, advice and news about RPGs.
|
|
|
You Don’t Need to Be Technical. Just Informed
AI isn’t optional anymore—but coding isn’t required.
The AI Report gives business leaders the edge with daily insights, use cases, and implementation guides across ops, sales, and strategy.
Trusted by professionals at Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft.
👉 Get the newsletter and make smarter AI decisions.
What I’m DM-ing
We just ended our Curse of Strahd campaign via Roll20 using 2014 5th edition rules, and will transition into another campaign soon.
A weekly Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign, in-person, with 2024 5th edition rules
A series of one-shots in a bi-weekly game at a bar in LA. If you’re interested in joining in, invites are sent via the Partiful app, and you can sign up at Ye Rustic Inn — 1831 Hillhurst Ave, Los Angeles, California.
Two different campaigns with my kids, (Rime and Storm Kings Thunder) when schedules align
What I’m Playing
Vecna: Eve of Ruin as Clybb Thistlebridge, a 9th level Halfling great-weapon Fighter
If you play Hearthstone, find me at BigKahuna (#1802)
Also, I just purchased all the gold-box D&D CRPGs via Humble Bundle, so I guess I’ll do a deep dive into those soon!
Gifts for Gamers
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.
If you have an online store that sells D&D or TTRPG themed things, let me know — I’d love to add it here.
What Do You Think?
How do you like I Cast…Brainstorm! so far? What’s working for you? What would you like to see more of? Or less of, or done in a different way? How’s the layout? Please let us know at [email protected]
The original ideas in this issue of I Cast….Brainstorm! are covered under the Creative Commons BY-SA license — all content is free to use (including commercially) and change, with proper attribution.
You can read about the license here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
