Books by Matthew J Hanson

Bring Your Encounters to the Next Level Terrain Toolbox is the first book in the Advanced Encounter series, which offers advice and tools for DMs to create more memorable encounters. Terrain Toolbox is designed to increase creative use of terrain in your game, making battles more dynamic. The book begins with general advice for designing terrain effect and powers. It discusses why we use terrain, different things terrain can do, and how the terrain might change throughout an encounter. Terrain Toolbox also contains forty-eight sample terrains, including blood mage's circle, solid clouds, and lightning pillars. Each sample terrain includes advice on how to use the terrains, and most include mechanical and cosmetic variations.

It's About More Killing All the Monsters! Alternate Objectives is the latest of the Advanced Encounters series. Like all books in the series, it provides advice and tools for the GM to create more memorable encounters. Alternate Objectives focuses on creating battles where they PCs have goals beyond slaying the bad guys: things like rescuing prisoners or obtaining a powerful artifact before the opponents. Alternate Objectives details several types of objectives and things to consider when building them. It then describes other elements that could be relevant in a range of encounters containing alternate objectives but are not tied to specific objectives. Finally Alternate Objectives provides six sample encounters along with adventure hooks and variations. The include: Stealing a necklace off an enemy's neck and getting away. Escaping from a collapsing ice cave. Extinguishing a fire while battling elemental bugs. Protecting a prince from assassins. Holding back efreet long enough to open a portal and escape the City of Brass. Convincing a fallen angel to return to the light before he kills the PCs.

It's About More Than Killing All the Monsters! Alternate Objectives is the latest of the Advanced Encounters series. Like all books in the series, it provides advice and tools for the GM to create more memorable encounters. Alternate Objectives focuses on creating battles where they PCs have goals beyond slaying the bad guys: things like rescuing prisoners or obtaining a powerful artifact before the opponents. Alternate Objectives details several types of objectives and things to consider when building them. It then describes other elements that could be relevant in a range of encounters containing alternate objectives but are not tied to specific objectives. Finally Alternate Objectives provides six sample encounters along with adventure hooks and variations. The include: Stealing a necklace off an enemy's neck and getting away. Escaping from a collapsing ice cave. Extinguishing a fire while battling elemental bugs. Protecting a prince from assassins. Holding back efreet long enough to open a portal and escape the City of Brass. Convincing a fallen angel to return to the light before he kills the PCs.