Author: Patrick Higingbotham

Plot Thickeners—Beginnings & Transitions

Plot Thickeners—Beginnings & Transitions

Reading Time: 2 minutesBeginnings & Transitions was the first issue of Plot Thickeners I published on DMs Guild. Adventure hooks are a dime a dozen and, if you get down to it, unnecessary. The fact that a dungeon teeming with monsters and treasures even exists may be a … [continue reading]

Products
Unrequited Love and Sméagol’s Doom

Unrequited Love and Sméagol’s Doom

Reading Time: 6 minutesOn the toxicity of unrequited love In order to speak more about Gollum’s fall, I first want to bring up a poem by one of J. R. R. Tolkien’s contemporaries, W. H. Auden. (Tolkien and Auden died within a month of each other in September … [continue reading]

Tabletalk
We missed Aesop’s point

We missed Aesop’s point

Reading Time: 2 minutesWhat if we missed Aesop’s point in The Fox and the Grapes? Convention holds that the titular fox of this fable walked away from his snack and declared the grapes sour only after he couldn’t reach them. I haven’t read every fable from Aesop that … [continue reading]

Tabletalk
Pandemic Bread

Pandemic Bread

Reading Time: 2 minutesDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself drawn, time and time again, to my pantry. The previous day I had made some Strawberry Jalapeño Jam in a desperate attempt to salvage some produce before it spoiled. Now I needed something to spread it on. I … [continue reading]

Recipes
Strawberry Jalapeño Jam

Strawberry Jalapeño Jam

Reading Time: 2 minutesI had strawberries and jalapeños in danger of going bad and love the juxtaposition of sweet and spicy. Strawberry Jalapeño Jam seemed like a no-brainer. Using chiles in recipes can be hit or miss for some people because the heat is often inconsistent. I like … [continue reading]

Recipes