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You are here: Home / Archives for 2011

Archives for 2011

The Stay-At-Home Adventurer

June 7, 2011 by Vanir

Yesterday marked the beginning of my third week of unemployment. While the stress of my previous job is no longer an issue, I am faced with a whole new host of things to worry about. The first is, obviously, trying to find a new job. There’s lots of things to get done around the house, so it’s not as if I have a lack of things to do. Getting them done with a 3 year old who has no regard for his own personal safety (much less the well-being and structural integrity of his parents’ belongings, the furniture, or even the house) significantly raises the challenge rating on keeping my sanity. So I started thinking about what a campaign would be like if the PCs never went anywhere and the adventure came to them. I bet it’d be more exciting than Super Why.

Filed Under: Dire Flailings, Humor, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: castle, prison, prison castle, pruno, sebastian shawshank, sedentary lifestyle, shawshank, shiv, unemployment

Chatty DM, Freelancer, Part 2: Lessons from Day Jobs

June 5, 2011 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty details his real life work experiences and how they helped shape his burgeoning career as a writer.

Filed Under: Freelance Writing, Musings of the Chatty DM Tagged With: Biography, D&D Insider, freelancing, Real Life Jobs, Writing

Critical Bits for the week ending 2011-06-05

June 5, 2011 by Gato the News Robot

From the Archives:: Balticon Panel Recap / Crappy First Prototypes http://bit.ly/jWWKo5 #charchive # D&D Daggerdale review updated with interview questions with Bedlam Games, sent before the game was released: http://bit.ly/ivc6wy # RT @mudbunny74: Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Emporium is back up on production schedule for the fall. http://bit.ly/kkGmqb # RT @gregbilsland: Table of Contents for June Dragon […]

Filed Under: Critical Bits Tagged With: twitter

You’re Out of your FAQing Element

June 3, 2011 by Logan Bonner

Ryan Macklin wrote a blog post about problems he sees with “use-whenever” stats in RPGs, using my FAQ hack for Leverage as an example. There are somegood ideas in there, and I encourage reading it. I however think it’s missing the point by suggesting that the FAQ system isn’t doing what it should in the system.

Filed Under: Game Hacks & Content, Minor Quests, Newest Critical Hits, Roleplaying Games, Television Tagged With: Cortex Plus, Hack, leverage, Ryan Macklin

Aspectfully Speaking

June 2, 2011 by dixontrimline

With Wil Wheaton’s post, the clouds finally parted and the sun didst shine down and lo, it didst alight on my brow. Previously, I got it, but I didn’t really GET it. I understood it, but I didn’t really understand it.

Filed Under: Editorial, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: acting, aspects, fate, gamma world, player advice

Review: Battle Tag (by Ubisoft)

June 1, 2011 by Bartoneus

The odds are that you haven’t heard of the game Battle Tag that was released by Ubisoft in November of last year. How do I know that? Because so far it has only had what must be called a “soft release” and is only available through Ubisoft’s online store or in stores in Canada and Texas. Aside from some attention garnered at E3 2010, there’s not many ways you would have heard about this game. What’s surprising about this is that Battle Tag is far and away the best laser tag game I’ve ever played and may even be one of the best back yard experiences I’ve had in my entire life.

Filed Under: Featured, Reviews, Video Games Tagged With: back yard, battle tag, battletag, game, laser tag, lasertag, lazer tag, lazertag, new, Reviews, ubisoft

Dear Mom & Dad: Please Send GP

May 31, 2011 by Vanir

College is a special time in every PC’s life. They’re learning new things, they feel more free than they’ve ever been, their hormones are raging, and their backstories are finally blossoming. Just make sure yours uses protection.

Filed Under: Dire Flailings, Featured, Humor, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: academy, backstory, bards, bards rule, books, college, dm tips, learning, school, university, yay bards

Chatty DM, Freelancer, Part 1: Lessons from Academia

May 30, 2011 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty starts telling the story of what made him a writer, sharing a few key lessons from his early years.

Filed Under: Freelance Writing, Musings of the Chatty DM, Newest Critical Hits, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: Biography, D&D Insider, freelancing, Writing

Critical Bits for the week ending 2011-05-29

May 29, 2011 by Gato the News Robot

From the Archives:: Making a Campaing villain http://bit.ly/kEQe6M #charchive # 2011 Spiel Des Jahres Recommendations and Nominees (Geeklist) http://bit.ly/k7RfhI # RT @purplepawn: Preview the Star Trek deckbuilding cards: http://goo.gl/jHKQK # RT @boymonster: Armed with @LoganBonner's FAQ hack, Geek Girls Rule engaged in a little #Leverage heist action: http://goo.gl/FntR7 # RT @Rolling20s: Paizo and WizKids announce […]

Filed Under: Critical Bits Tagged With: twitter

What Can GenCon Do for You?

May 27, 2011 by Shawn Merwin

Ask not what you can do for GenCon, but ask instead what GenCon can do for you.

Filed Under: Editorial, Know Your Roll, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: freelance, gencon

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  • 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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