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You are here: Home / Archives for 2011

Archives for 2011

Vanir’s New Year’s Gaming Resolutions (2012 Edition)

December 28, 2011 by Vanir

It’s that special time of year again. You know, the one where you run out of times of the year. This year was a significant improvement for me in a lot of ways. I got laid off from a horrible job, and almost immediately got a really good job. I got a gaming group together. I’ve had a lot of new, awesome experiences this year, and my gaming life is much improved. That being said, here’s my plan for the coming year.

Filed Under: Dire Flailings, Featured, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: DM, dresden files, fiasco, gaming, microscope, new year, pathfinder, resolution

Critical Bits for the week ending 2011-12-25

December 25, 2011 by Gato the News Robot

GM As Sommelier: Pairing Settings and Systems by @DNAphil http://t.co/Cg07OLFW # Jeff Grubb breaks down how and why there are WotC layoffs near Christmas: http://t.co/M6lz2kLZ # RT @io9: Watch the first trailer for Peter Jackson's The Hobbit now! http://t.co/GBN1Ivvw # RT @DreadGazeebo: What's this? A #dnd #4e Christmas Krampus on @KoboldQuarterly, created by some Gazebo […]

Filed Under: Critical Bits Tagged With: twitter

Critical Hits Podcast #33: Erik Scott De Bie and Mike Shea on Sandbox Gaming

December 23, 2011 by Mike Shea

Mike Shea and Erik Scott De Bie talk sandbox gaming, specifically in Dungeons & Dragons 4e.

Filed Under: Critical Hits Podcast, Podcasts, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e, DM advice, planning, sandbox, sandbox gaming

The Pain of Publication: Revising and Cutting

December 23, 2011 by The Main Event

My first installment detailed my past attempt to get published. This article is going to detail the last steps I am taking prior to preparing another deluge of query letters.

Filed Under: Pain of Publication, Science Fiction & Fantasy Genre Tagged With: editing, publication, revising

The Island Of Misfit Christmas Article Ideas

December 20, 2011 by Vanir

It was my intention to write a funny Christmas article this week. It didn’t turn out so well. Come on anyway, you’re already here. Ho ho ho and all that.

Filed Under: Dire Flailings, Featured, Humor, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: atari, christmas, hanukkah, happiness, kwanzaa, log, mind flayers, presents, santa, yuletide

Instant Dungeon Crawling, Trial by Dragon

December 20, 2011 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty shares the highlights of his New York Comic Con D&D 4e game, featuring dungeons crawling and dragon mustering… or was that dragon mustarding. I forget.

Filed Under: Actual Play, Game Hacks & Content, Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: Adventure Prep, convention, d&d 4e, DMing, DMing tips, new york comic con, nycc, One Shot games

30 For 30

December 19, 2011 by Dave

I played 30 games for the occasion of turning 30. Here they all are.

Filed Under: Board, Card, and Miniature Games, Critical Threats, Featured, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: birthday, blackjack, commander, crappy birthday, dominion, falling, fiasco, games, get bit!, hey waiter!, hit a dude, jenga, la strada!, legend of drizzt, looney labs, loopin' louie, magic the gathering, mamma mia!, no merci, pit, Poker, risk legacy, seven dragons, spot-it!, toc toc woodman, treehouse, win lose or bana

Critical Bits for the week ending 2011-12-18

December 18, 2011 by Gato the News Robot

RUMOR: Rich Baker laid off at Wizards of the Coast. (source: @PhilAthans) # We were sorry to hear that Rich Baker and @StvWinter were let go from WotC yesterday, and thank them for their contributions to D&D. # RT @MargaretWeisPro: Want a sneak peek at #MarvelRPG Check out the Basic Game promo and cover on […]

Filed Under: Critical Bits Tagged With: twitter

The Pain of Publication: How I Got to Where I Am

December 16, 2011 by The Main Event

The Pain of Publication is a journey through the process of novel publication. I emphasize, again, that this is a process. I can offer no advice on what works, because nothing has for me, but what I can do, is discuss my regular activity related to this subject. This column’s focus will range from the obvious (getting an agent), to related (how do I make my novel worth publishing), and all the way through tangential subject matters (I have not yet fathomed what those might be).

Filed Under: Editorial, Pain of Publication, Science Fiction & Fantasy Genre Tagged With: advice, fantasy novels, finding an agent, publishing

Instant Dungeon Crawling, The Formula and the Setup

December 14, 2011 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty shares is instant dungeon crawling formula that he used at the New York Comic Con to improvise a full D&D session.

Filed Under: Actual Play, Adventure Prep, Featured, Newest Critical Hits, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: Adventure Prep, convention, d&d 4e, DMing, DMing tips, new york comic con, nycc, One Shot games

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About the Author

  • Vanir

    Vanir is the sort of man who has openly wondered aloud about his own armor class in front of his own grandmother. Despite this, he has still managed to somehow become both married and a father. By day, he develops web applications. By night, web applications develop him.

    Email: vanir@critical-hits.comWeb: https://critical-hits.com//category/dire-flailings/

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