Seriously… I do need to write about Fallout; so, I’m going to institute (see what I did there) Fallout Fridays for the foreseeable future. I just have other stuff on my mind. One of those things is worldbuilding. Specifically, history. I’m working on my own gaming world again – my little fantasy child that grew …
Category: D&D
Legends & Lore
I know I said I was going to be writing about Fallout - and I have some more content to come - but I've also been trying to work on another project involving a fantasy game and... well... I want to talk about mythology and religion. I'm a big proponent of internal consistency. It's a …
Do I Like Games?
I've always thought that I love games. I built a heck of a collection of them. I specifically gravitated toward roleplaying games. I started a blog about gaming. But looking back, I'm not sure that it's accurate to say that I like games. Let's go way back to when I was a little kid. My …
Arguing About Rules
There is a certain big-name game designer who seems to hate D&D. Doesn’t seem to matter what edition – he just seems to hate D&D. One of his oft-repeated points against D&D is that it is a combat game. And you know it is a combat game because the only thing it has rules for …
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. …
Player Determinism
The phenomenon of Player Determinism is a strange one to my mind. I’ve found this post the most difficult to write of the three despite it being the one I’m most passionate about. Perhaps that is the problem after all? As with previous posts, I want to start with a general defining of my terms …
Phase Two: The Rise of DM Determinism
In my last post (sorry for the delay), I wrote about how D&D – played as intended – is a very specific kind of game. I touched on the idea that D&D expects the DM to be the ultimate, but neutral, arbiter of the game. The DM breathes life into the spaces the PCs explore …
Approaching the Gaming Table
I’ve been away from the gaming table for three months now. Even though I’ve been following the development of Shadowrun Sixth Edition and working on a few design projects, this is the first time since I was eight years old that I’ve really been an outsider to tabletop gaming. Those three months – and my …
The Agency of Resources
I hope this doesn't come off as, "get off my lawn, you whippersnappers." I'm a middle-aged gamer who cut my teeth on the D&D box sets of the 80s. I also love a lot of modern games. But I've noticed something of a trend that - while not necessarily a bad thing - tends to …
The Rhetorical Gamer 