It has been a year and five months (to the day) since I quit gaming. It’s hard to quantify that statement because I didn’t completely leave the world of gaming behind. But I stopped gaming. I quit my weekly group, haven’t run or played anything – even a board game* – in that time. No …
Sacrifice
I don’t know that anyone will ever read this. I post here, once a week and I don’t really have a blog community or an outlet to share my musings; though I did rejoin Facebook solely for the purpose of being able to share my blog posts once before. But I quit Facebook again this …
Writing the Wrong Game
We all have that vanity project, right? The one that gathers dust on our hard-drives and old notebooks – a personal RPG that we’ll finish someday. I have one. Actually, funny story, I’ve created two vanity project RPGs in the past… but the BIG one, the one that keeps getting away… that’s still out there, …
Taylor Swift; and the Most Important Story DC Ever Told
This one wanders around a bit but I’m here to make a point. It’s connected to my previous post about consequences (sorta) and it’s about how those consequences can make meaningful story. The greatest trick that Taylor Swift ever pulled was growing up. In an age of unrivaled consumerism, with an ever-churning pop culture industry …
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Fantasy with Consequences
I have a problem. It’s a problem with fantasy, storytelling, and by extension, RPGs. I like consequences. This problem takes on a lot of forms. Character continuity, status quo issues, debates about agency and authority… and I’m sure more that I can’t even think of just now. But I’ve been playing some games, watching some …
Deanna Troi – Most Important Star Trek Character?
I watched a video the other day about Barclay and how he might actually be the greatest hero of Star Trek. The video starts with this line, “You ever notice how emotionally stable most characters on Star Trek shows are?” Now, I don’t know that I think that Barclay or Troi are actually the most …
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Experience is the Point
I saw a post the other day that mentioned a D&D game where the DM awarded experience points, not for doing stuff, but for playing in line with your alignment. It was touted as a good idea. A comment pointed out the issue that alignment is often subjective. The OP replied with, "Make it Objective." …
Rattling Around Town
One of the most fascinating parts of gaming for me is the places that players call home. I'm always drawn to the cities, towns, and villages that populate our game worlds. Some of these cities are famous in their own right - just look at how Waterdeep has taken on central importance in the Forgotten …
Magic (is stupid)
Magic, in most role playing games, is stupid. I don't really know how else to put it. Magic is a very complex subject and as it tends to be a power that allows its wielders to exert control over reality; it creates significant hurdles to achieve a balance between fun and fairness, play-ability and wonder. …
Shadowrun Sixth World, Part Five
"Risk it all!" That's the tagline for this new edition. In 5e, it was, "everything has a price." I think the design team must come up with a pithy sounding phrase and build mechanics around it. Wouldn't be my choice. But hey, we've reached part five of my assessment of Sixth World (6W) edition of …
