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07/26/2026 Happy Sunday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts! Life has still been keeping me pretty busy lately, but I did manage to make some progress at the hobby desk this week. Sometimes that’s all you can ask for. The biggest surprise came from an unexpected burst of inspiration. I was watching the latest YouTube video from Junk Drawer Studios, where Betsy was showing off some of the…

07/19/2026 Happy Sunday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts! This has been one of those weeks where real life simply wins. The only hobby project I managed to finish was printing the new Deathbringer miniatures from Westfalia Miniatures. They’re printed and ready to go, but that’s about as far as I got. I haven’t even cleaned them up or put them on bases yet. I did manage to sit down and…

07/16/2026 One of the biggest misconceptions about being a Dungeon Master is that you have to create every detail of your campaign world yourself. Whether you’re running a completely homebrew setting or a published adventure, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing every city, religion, custom, and historical event has to come from your notes. In reality, some of the most memorable parts of…

07/15/2026 Happy Wednesday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts! One of the easiest ways to make your world feel more believable is to stop treating rumors as objective facts. In the real world, information spreads from person to person. Details are forgotten, exaggerated, misunderstood, or simply made up. Your fantasy world should work the same way. Instead of every rumor pointing directly…

07/10/2026 Happy Friday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts! “No plan survives first contact with the players.” Every Game Master has experienced it. You spend hours crafting an exciting story, carefully planning each scene, only to watch your players ignore the obvious clues, ally with the villain, or decide they’d rather explore an abandoned watchtower than rescue the kidnapped…

07/09/2026 Happy Tuesday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts! The latest Print, Paint, and Play episode is now available! First, I announce the winner of June’s giveaway. Congratulations to ZHB1989, who will be receiving the painted Giant Eagle miniature! Then it’s time to pick July’s painting project. Vote in the comments for the miniature you’d like to see painted: 🧜 Mermaid Water…

07/05/2026 Happy Sunday, and welcome back to Taletop Thoughts!The Fourth of July holiday made for a busy week, so hobby time was a little more limited than usual. Even so, I managed to get quite a bit accomplished by focusing on something my gaming table has been needing for a long time—more Underdark scatter terrain. Everything this week was printed on my trusty Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro using…

07/01/2026 Happy Wednesday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts! Most adventures begin with a problem. Bandits are raiding caravans. A cult has kidnapped villagers. A dragon has taken up residence in the mountains. But too often, that’s where the adventure stops. The problem simply waits for the heroes to solve it. Whether the party arrives tomorrow or six months from now, everything is the…

06/29/2026 Happy Monday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts! When I first received my PDF copy of the Western Reaches Player’s Guide, I was genuinely excited. I had been busy and hadn’t looked through the download yet, so I was expecting something that would significantly expand Shadowdark. After spending some time reading through it, though, I have to admit I was a little…

06/28/2026 Happy Sunday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts! The past couple of weeks have been a little slower than I had hoped when it comes to hobby time. Between work and a handful of personal commitments, I haven’t been able to spend nearly as much time at the crafting table as I normally would. Sometimes life just gets in the way, and the hobby has to take a back seat for a…

06/25/2026 This month, we bring to you another drop-in that gives your players a moral dilemma: Is a life without hardship worth surrendering your freedom? At first glance, the village of Amberhollow seems like a place blessed by the gods. The crops are plentiful, sickness is virtually unknown, and the villagers are some of the happiest people your adventurers are ever likely to meet.…

06/24/2026 Happy Wednesaday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts! Yesterday, I released the second video in my June 2026 Print, Paint, and Play series, featuring the painting of a majestic giant eagle miniature. With the United States celebrating its 250th anniversary this year, I decided to give the model a patriotic touch by using the iconic colors of the Bald Eagle as inspiration for the…

06/23/2026 Happy Tuesday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts! Mention random encounters in an RPG discussion, and you’ll likely get a mixed reaction. Some GMs swear by them. Others see them as a relic of an older style of play. Players often view them as little more than filler content between the “important” parts of an adventure. I think that’s because many people misunderstand what…

06/21/2026 Happy Father’s Day, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts! This week has been exceptionally busy for me, so my hobby time was much more limited than usual. Between work, family commitments, and the general chaos of a packed schedule, I only managed to get three miniatures finished. While that’s not as many as I would have liked, I’m still happy to have made some progress and get a…

06/19/2026 Happy Friday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts! One of the questions that comes up regularly in tabletop roleplaying games is how quickly characters should gain levels. Some groups enjoy a slow progression where every level feels like a major achievement, while others prefer rapid advancement that allows players to experience high-level abilities sooner. When it comes to…

06/18/2026 Happy Thursday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts! One of the things I love most about this hobby is bringing unique pieces to life for the gaming table. Whether it’s a terrifying villain miniature, a mysterious shrine, or a village building ready to host your next adventure, every painted piece tells a story before the dice even hit the table. Today, I’m highlighting a few of…

06/17/2026 Happy Wednesday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts!Last week, I announced that I would be starting a campaign of Five Leagues from the Borderlands. After spending some time reading through the rules, generating characters, and creating a campaign, I’m finally ready to introduce the adventurers who will be exploring the Borderlands. One of the things that immediately appealed to…