Where’s The Spice?
Let me ask you a question: did you play the Rick & Morty adventure for Dungeons & Dragons? I did, and let me tell you it was… aggressively OK. It’s not that it was bad – it’s a decent little dungeon with plenty of 4th wall breaks – but it didn’t feel very Rick & Morty. I’ll save you 6-8 hours: no portals to weird dimensions, no sci-fi nonsense, none of that weird spice. Do you want fantasy, bonkers, reality-breaking D&D shenanigans? Well, look somewhere else, I guess.
But there isn’t anywhere else for strange.
D&D proper has little-to-no support for your science-fantasy, gonzo fiction needs. Sure, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) will occasionally throw you a bone. A Rick & Morty crossover here, a Feywild book there. All polished, all firmly rooted in swords-and-sorcery fantasy. All dipping a toe into the weird pool while staying nice and safe.
If you’ve still got the cravings for crazy after this torrential drizzle of official content, what’s next? Switch game systems, maybe to Call of Cthulhu? Cosmic horror’s always fun, but you won’t get that power-fantasy high trying to survive Yog-Sothoth. Some other system, then? Homebrewing a sci-fi setting for hours and hours? Tell me where to get my freaky fix, strange internet person! Wait, I’m the strange internet person – got lost in the sauce there. If I may quote every infomercial: “There’s got to be a better way!”
The answer, dear reader, lies in front of you. That’s not a cryptic riddle. The thing you’re looking at – the webpage you’re currently – here. Right here at WatcherDM.
That was not a clunky segue and I am nailing this.
Extra Spicy
“Weird Adventures For Adventurous Weirdos.” That’s our motto, our plan, and our ethos. It’s even etched in gold into our white marble lobby. If we had a lobby. One sec.
Boss, can we have a white marble lobby with columns and gold engravings?
I’m being told that’s “psychotically over budget” and would require “owning an office building.” Alas.
Where was I? Ah, yes. Weirdos. We’re weirdos here, and we hope you’re a weirdo too. We’re plugging wacky and whimsy directly into your brainstem and cranking up the juice. And we’re doing it within the stifling confines of Dungeons & Dragons, 5th Edition. Why do we repeatedly shove the square peg of insanity into the round hole of D&D? To challenge ourselves? Sheer masochism?
Well, yes, but mainly because D&D 5e is the single most popular and accessible RPG in the history of tabletop role-playing. 5e has become the platform for interactive storytelling, and it has brought more new storytellers and role-players into the hobby than ever before. But it doesn’t represent all of us the way it should. By focusing on broad appeal, WotC’s content tends toward safe and normal.
“Normal” is a four-letter word around here. Bring us your psychonauts, your neurodivergents, your radical transcendentalists tempest-tost upon a sterile shore. Where there are stories, there are weird stories that push the boundaries of logic and common sense. And we want to help you tell those strange tales while never leaving the game system that you know and love. You keep the broad accessibility of D&D and get to be as cosmic or trippy as you like. This is D&D on the fringes, beyond the expected and deep into the gnarled corners of the human psyche.
The Spice Must Flow
That’s the “what” and the “why,” but how about the “how?” How does WatcherDM deliver unto you that most spicy and strange of fantasy D&D sauces? I’m so glad you asked, strawman character I invented for this bit.
The first place is right here in our “ARTICLES” section. In this ever-bubbling cauldron blending the surreal and the practical, we share ways to flip the script on your gaming experience. Want magic to feel like it’s tearing the fabric of reality? Done. How about a plethora of imperfections to make your characters flawed and fantastic? We got you, fam. You won’t have to look very far to find radical perspective shifts and, dare I say, transgressive approaches to role-playing. There is also plenty of straightforward advice to streamline the boring bits (ugh, game prep) and make your stories feel more alive. It can’t all be kaleidoscopes and absurdity – sometimes you need to get it done, quick and easy, and we’ve got you covered.
The real trippy treasure trove lives in the “WEIRD ADVENTURE STORE.” We’ve got resources for players and for storytellers everywhere along the weird spectrum. Werewolf-flavored takes on grindhouse classics? Check. Lavish parties on the moon with fights in low gravity? Check and check. We’ve got fey nonsense, gothic horror, bottle dimensions, and we’re just getting started. We even have 3D-printable miniatures to bring the bizarre into the real world.
Not sold yet? How does “free” sound? All of our digital releases are 100% free for 30 days after they hit the site. No sneaky charges later, no “just put in your credit card information and we promise not to do anything unsavory with it.” Ew, no. Actually, factually free if you grab it within the first month.
Only You Can Prevent A Lack Of Spice
We’re only missing one picturesque piece of the puzzle: you. What weird do you want? How weird do you want it? Let us know in the comments below. Download one of our free modules and let us know what you think. Fly your weird flag with us on whatever social media outlet you lurk in.
As the floating ram skull with galaxies for eyes keeps whispering into my subconscious:
We’ll see you beyond the sane.
