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 …
Continue reading Taylor Swift; and the Most Important Story DC Ever Told
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 …
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, 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. …
I was going to write about something else this week, but I came across another topic that caught my interest. This essay on Facebook compared sports as "played for fun" and "played for money" and then went on to discuss the idea of paying Game Masters for their time. I'll start by saying that I …
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 …
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 …
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 …
As I have been working on my game, it has occurred to me that I have forgotten how to run a campaign. Somewhere along the line, I seem to have lost the skills to plan and execute an interesting campaign. I know that any GM’s reading this are asking… “But what do you mean by …
I've written before about the joy of going to a convention and finding that booth in the vendor room selling old stuff - AD&D modules from the basement collection, weird games that only like three people ever played, and, you know, stuff like that. I've also written about my nostalgic sadness over how this has …
