10 Things You Didn’t Know about Step Right Up
People have been producing their own material for Dungeons & Dragons for decades and decades. Nowadays, interested individuals can publish that material for sale to other interested individuals through platforms such as Dungeon Masters Guild, meaning that it is now easier for them to find whatever it is that they are looking for than ever before. For proof, look no further than Step Right Up, which is a supplement that might interest those who have ever wanted to run a milk-themed carnival with horror elements. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Step Right Up:
1. Not an Official Product
As stated earlier, Step Right Up isn’t an official Dungeons & Dragons product but rather something produced by a Dungeons & Dragons fan. Suffice to say that economic constraints and other factors mean that Wizards of the Coast can’t publish every possible supplement to support every possible campaign, meaning that its current system of letting interested individuals publish their own material is a neat way to build up the hobby with minimal effort on its part.
2. Written By a Clinic Manager
Step Right Up was written by a man named Justice Arman. For those who are curious, Arman is an Iranian-American clinic manager who lives in Central Texas. Apparently, he didn’t become interested in Dungeons & Dragon and other tabletop RPGs until later in life. However, considering that Arman has been running games since 2013, it seems safe to say that there is a fair amount of expertise and experience behind this product.
3. Written By a Norse Enthusiast
Speaking of which, it is interesting to note that Arman is a Norse enthusiast, as shown by how he runs a Norse-themed campaign. This isn’t particularly uncommon the fandoms of tabletop RPGs and related media. However, it isn’t unclear why Norse mythology and the rest of Norse culture is so popular with said segments. Perhaps this is because Norse stories have survived in better condition than those of most pre-modern cultures, meaning that a wide range of people have caught a glimpse of Norse culture because a wide range of people have come upon Norse stories in one form or another. With that said, it is also possible that people romanticize the freer nature of Norse societies compared to most of their medieval counterparts, particularly since their worst excesses happened so long ago that there is either no or next to no emotional weight associated with them.
4. Great For Running Carnival Campaigns
Since Step Right Up is centered on a carnival, it makes sense that its content would be useful for people who want to have a carnival in their Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Of course, Step Right Up has a very particular and very peculiar kind of carnival, but it shouldn’t be that difficult for interested individuals to repurpose its content for use in other kinds of carnivals as well.
5. Great For Running Horror Campaigns
On a related note, Step Right Up is excellent for running campaigns with horror-themed carnivals in them. This is useful because carnival horror is a popular horror sub-genre in its own right, though it is unclear why it has proven to be so popular. Perhaps it is because carnivals have a less than sterling reputation, which works well with them being aimed at children to produce a general sense of unease about them. Regardless, if people want to run a carnival horror campaign, Step Right Up might not be a bad place to find some inspiration.
6. Can Be Used for Other Celebrations
With that said, Step Right Up can be used for other kinds of celebrations as well, particularly if they are located in the rural or semi-rural regions that see frequent use as Dungeons & Dragons settings. More effort is needed its content into suitable material for use under such circumstances, but it is nonetheless a useful place to start. This is particularly true because while Step Right Up is supposed to be horror-themed, its carnival attractions have not so horrific versions written up as well.
7. More Monsters
As tabletop RPGs go, Dungeons & Dragons is very combat-oriented. As a result, monsters play an important role in it because they provide the bulk of the challenge. Naturally, Dungeons & Dragons supplements being Dungeons & Dragons supplements, it should come as no surprise to learn that Step Right Up comes with 10 new monsters. Each of which presents Dungeon Masters with new ways to challenge their players.
8. More Magic Items
Besides the monsters, Step Right Up contains 5 new magic items as well. Whether Dungeon Masters choose to use them as risks or as rewards, they can do much to give a carnival-themed campaign a touch of special flavor.
9. Monster Milk
For whatever reason, Step Right Up is centered on a milk-themed carnival, which in turn, means that it has a fair amount of milk-themed content in it. Generally speaking, most people won’t have much use for milk-themed content in their Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. However, if they do have a need to include milk-themed content but aren’t sure how to start, they might want to take a look at Step Right Up. In particular, it is interesting to note that the supplement contains milk options for existing Dungeons & Dragons monsters if that is something that interests Dungeon Masters for whatever reason.
10. Meant For Mid-Level Characters
There is a lot of content meant for both low-level characters and high-level characters. After all, low-level campaigns are useful for introducing Dungons & Dragons to interested individuals, while high-level campaigns contain some of the most exciting story elements that can be found in the tabletop RPG. For those who are feeling left out, consider Step Right Up, which is a mid-level supplements for characters from 5th level to 7th level. Better still, the supplement is flexible in that it contains options for between 4 to 6 players in total, thus making it that much easier for Dungeon Masters to accommodate different-sized groups of players as well.
