Blog

We'll post here with ideas and news about all things Dunromin and banana shaped.  If there's anything that catches you eye or any questions you want answering please get in touch...

Who Doesn't Like a Book of Monsters?

Date: 13 Oct, 2024

One of my dearest TTRPG related memories is opening a parcel on Christmas day to reveal a copy of the newly published Monster Manual 2 from TSR (pictured). I was probably about 14 or 15 and was a proper D&D...

What is OSR?

Date: 01 Sep, 2024

This is a well-trodden path, but I don’t mind following the path most trodden now and then, so here’s my two-pen’th worth (or ten cents if you are over the pond). And I’m thinking aloud here, I’m not telling anyone...

To Kick-Start or not to Kick-Start?

Date: 14 Jun, 2024

Let me start by saying that my experience of Kick-Starters is limited.... The first bike I rode had a kick-start. A Yamaha DT-175 when I was about 11 or 12 I think. I wasn’t actually heavy enough to turn the...

The Paladin Wars

Date: 31 Jul, 2023

[Being a short and slightly tongue-in-cheek work of fiction intended as a demonstration of the wealth of possibilities presented in one small corner of the fabulous World of Barnaynia] The series of encounters and confrontations of CY538-543 that became to...

Flying Owlbears. Wait, WHAT?

Date: 04 Apr, 2023

So, following on from a recent discussion on Facebook I got to wondering about Owlbears and gliding. I saw some publicity vaguely related to the new movie (more about that in a mo) and there was a pic with it...

Low Level Magic-User can be exciting! No, Really...

Date: 25 Mar, 2023

This post is a bit of a cheat as I am just linking to another blog. This is because of limited time but also the author, Travis Millar, has said everything I wanted to say. Have a read and see...

We've got a new book out!

Date: 07 Mar, 2023

The Eternal Victim by Patrick Knight-Bridges is a new novel that is very different to almost anything else you might have read. You can get the eBook for JUST $2.99 at  AMAZON or KOBO Work. Sleep. Reproduce. Do you wonder if that is all...

To Align or Not to Align?

Date: 23 Feb, 2023

The Alignment debate is old and well-trodden; the ongoing Wizards dilemma over Evil Orcs attests to the moral and political weirdness of it all. I know, it’s a tired subject – probably better to do away with it? I am...

The Dreamweaver - a brilliant new monster by Vince Garcia

Date: 05 Jan, 2023

Something different this blog – A Creature Feature! This delightful little beastie popped up on one of our Facebook feeds this week and it struck us that such a brilliant and useful idea should be circulated to a wider audience. ...

Year-end Navel gazing... Get me a Crystal Ball!

Date: 31 Dec, 2022

As we approach the end of 2022 it is the traditional time to review the year and look to the future. While we at Dunromin University Press are not fans of unquestioned practices established in less enlightened times, calendars, years...

RPGaDay: Day 10 - what was the game you first DMed?

Date: 10 Aug, 2022

It’s that time of year again and RPGaday is going full tilt.  One came up today that made me think about the early days of RPGing (D&Ding as it was most of the time) all those years ago. Day 10...

Want a printed copy?

Date: 25 Jun, 2022

Second Edition Available NOW! For some time now, we have been trying to get our various publications on Print on Demand.  It’s been more of a struggle than we anticipated BUT we have FINALLY done it! Printed copies of the...

Updates and Plans for the Future

Date: 31 Jan, 2022

I’ve not posted for a while, real life getting in the way, so I thought it would be worthwhile to do a few notes on what we’re up to here at Dunromin University Press, and where we’re going… The efforts...

Under Mirt's Folly is Released!

Date: 18 Aug, 2021

Under Mirt’s Folly is the new 250+ location mega-dungeon from Dunromin University Press Special release pricing of less than THREE BUCKS until the end of the month!  (Normal price $4.99) Mirt the Long Flame was a mighty wizard of years gone by.  He fell in love, so...

FRPG Fiction - free download!

Date: 26 Jun, 2021

DOWNLOAD FOR FREE HERE! Most players of Fantasy Role Playing games like Dungeons and Dragons will have wondered what it might be like to wake up one day in their games, free to explore the worlds of their imagination with...

Mood Music

Date: 12 Jun, 2021

A recurring theme on chat rooms is thoughts about having music playing while people play and what that music should be.  I think this is important to people in so many ways, not just for atmosphere or to bridge any...

Oh My Days!

Date: 09 May, 2021

Days of the week, months and festivals in and around the Capital of the Land of the Young In SM01 The Players’ Guide to Dunromin there is a calendar giving a view of the shape of the year (copied above). ...

Coming down the pipeline...

Date: 20 Apr, 2021

This is the re-worked map of the Temple of Olympus, Dunromin - more about this on a moment... After the mono-maniacal science binge of SM15 - A Scientific Discourse on the Nature of the Universe we have returned to more...

Can you run the Classic TSR Scenarios in Barnaynia?

Date: 03 Jan, 2021

The short answer is YES. Like many, my own understanding of what makes a great scenario was influenced by the original publications by TSR way back in the day; from the Keep on the Borderlands to Queen of the Demonweb...

The Book of Legends is released!

Date: 02 Jan, 2021

Dunromin University Press humbly request a few moments of your valuable time to announce the release of their latest offering: The Book of Legends - over 100 pages of game resources for any FRPG! SPECIAL JANUARY LAUNCH PRICING OF $2.99 !!! In...

Old Sayings and Slang of Dunromin

Date: 08 Dec, 2020

The following are some fun (!) sayings and slang often used in the city of Dunromin and the Land of the Young; the central campaign setting for the Wolrd of Barnaynia.  SOme are mentioned in existing publications and all (plus...

Gone Grey in the Wash Black Friday Deal

Date: 02 Dec, 2020

May the abundance of the Multiverse festoon your future with bounteous fortune, ladies and gentlebeings, I crave your indulgenace. With a view to jumping on the bandwagon of seasonal discounts, Dunromin University Press is proud to announce our... Gone Grey...

Class War in Tolkien's Middle-Earth

Date: 03 Nov, 2020

Before I start, I must state, for the record, that I am a huge fan of Middle Earth. From the time our teacher, Mr Robinson, read us The Hobbit when I was about 9 or 10, to all the films,...

Magic in Barnaynia

Date: 14 Oct, 2020

The big thing that makes any FRPG world different from our everyday world is magic.  Even the races are perhaps just extreme developments of the variations in culture and race we already have (without or without all the current differences...

Autumnal Plans

Date: 17 Sep, 2020

Hello all, just a quick post to let you know what's going on and what's the in the pipeline. SM05 - I think Covid allowed me to put out the long awaited SM05 World Guide to Barnaynia quicker than I expected....

Are the Great Old Ones Waking Up?

Date: 09 Sep, 2020

It’s an old trope – a long dead sleeping evil that is waking up and bent on world domination; practically every series of stories has done a variation on it, even based the whole series on it – Harry Potter...

It's that time of year again!

Date: 03 Aug, 2020

I missed the start but RPG a Day 2020 has started again – and they’re even using my artwork for the logo!  How cool is that? Just type #rpgaday into your search engine of choice and see what’s going on!

How Much is Too Much?

Date: 06 Jun, 2020

Over the last few weeks I have been editing and improving the World Guide to Barnaynia.  This book is intended to complete the Dunromin, the Land of the Young and Barnaynia fantasy role playing world setting.  We have more publications...

Feeding the beasties deep down in the depths...

Date: 15 May, 2020

In the ongoing challenge to the FRPG World Builder there is the constant worry of “So what do the goblins eat when there are no adventurers wandering around?” On Barnaynia we have come up with a solution and then gone...

The Real Value of Coins

Date: 17 Apr, 2020

This morning I spotted a post by Matt Ratcliff on the Facebook Group "Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D 2nd Edition)” about how coins might vary in appearance from race to race.  It reminded me of the following; extracted from SM01 the...

My experiences of self-publishing FRPG stuff...

Date: 25 Mar, 2020

So, why am I doing this?  Why am I inflicting my half-baked mad scribblings on unsuspecting, relatively innocent FRPG players? As I have said before, the concept of Dunromin came out of a college D&D group in the way-back of...

Inns of Dunromin - La Boîte de Grenouilles

Date: 07 Feb, 2020

The Elven Quarter of Dunromin is a densely wooded area of tree-houses and magnificent gardens filling the forested northeast corner of the city beyond the lake.  This fey woodland has been the haunt of various groups of elves for millennia and...

Thinking Aloud - Do Spells have Alignments?

Date: 30 Jan, 2020

By the book the various spells listed in the core rules and innumerable supplements and magazine articles ever since are simply tools in the Magic-Users tool-box.  They don’t have personality, ego, options or emotions.  You pick up the hammer, you...

The Cityguide to Karan is here!

Date: 25 Jan, 2020

Released today on Drive-Thru RPG, the Cityguide to Karan is now available on Pay What You Want on Drivethru rpg - linked below under more info button below...  Game mechanics are kept to a minimum to allow use in almost...

Mourning Terry Jones

Date: 22 Jan, 2020

It is with great sadness that I hear Terry Jones has died.  He was a marvellous comedian and writer – his book "Medieval Lives" should be required reading for all players of Fantasy Role Playing games. But with specific relevance...

So, who is Simon Miles?

Date: 09 Jan, 2020

I was born in 1968.  When I entered my 6th decade I realised that life was starting to pass me by and a lot of the things I had always wanted to do were still undone. I also had a...

New Year Sale!

Date: 29 Dec, 2019

Over the festive season I have been wondering what the hell I am doing here?  I really like the idea of a web site dedicated to my Fantasy City and World of Barnaynia and getting my work out there on...

A New Adventure in time for Christmas!

Date: 24 Dec, 2019

SM12 - the Trials of a Young Wizard is an entry-level collection of three adventures aimed at being the first experience of the game world of Barnaynia. Included are detailed maps, backgrounds and structured encounter areas with payer descriptions and...

Seeing into the Future...

Date: 08 Dec, 2019

If you want to know the future there’s a few things you can try:  Even in a world of magic the art of premonition (and it is an art, no one could describe it as a science) the flow of time...

Inns of Dunromin - the Bawdy Wench

Date: 21 Aug, 2019

Ask any adventurer in the grand city of Dunromin which is the best inn in the city and chances are they will answer with a wicked grin and say “The Bawdy Wench”.  This famous inn first opened its doors two...

The First Adventure is Here!

Date: 15 Aug, 2019

Don't we all love goblins?  They are a brilliant, generic monster - from Enid Blyton to the hordes of semi-orcs in the Hobbit to Gobaldigook in White Dwarf, goblins have been a main-stay of fantasy and fey literature for hundreds...

Dunromin University Press is up and Running!

Date: 14 Aug, 2019

Welcome to the first Blog Post! This is a gateway into a fantastic new realm of Fantasy Role Playing!  Since its inception in 1986 the City of Dunromin and the world on which it sits, Barnaynia, have been played in...