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You are here: Home / Archives for Newest Critical Hits / Columns / Musings of the Chatty DM

Savage West, Session 1: The Riverboat Poker Heist, The Plan

November 24, 2010 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty starts discussing his first experience with Savage Worlds… as a player! Shortly after the American Civil War, the Wild West offers opportunities and riches to those bold enough to venture there… what will 4 lowly hustlers do there?

Filed Under: Actual Play, Adventure Prep, Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: Chatty Plays, Con Men, Far West, Savage Worlds, Visionscaping

Chatty Plays, Part 2: Burning Wheel, Compromising Canucks

November 17, 2010 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty starts relating a play-by-play account of the Burning Wheel scenario “The Sword” as played by his long-standing gaming group.

Filed Under: Actual Play, Musings of the Chatty DM, Newest Critical Hits, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: Adventure Prep, Burning Wheel, Monster Burner, The Sword

Chatty Plays, Part 1: Burning Wheel, Getting into the Game

November 15, 2010 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty explains what brought him to finally try Burning Wheel with his players and how he prepared for running the game’s introductory adventure, a short Dungeon Crawl scenario called ‘The Sword”

Filed Under: Actual Play, Musings of the Chatty DM, Newest Critical Hits, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: Adventure Prep, Burning Wheel, Monster Burner, The Sword

Chatty Plays: “Last Night on Earth”

November 9, 2010 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty shambles with the recently dead and delivers a putrid review of the best Zombies board game around… but be ready to lose to those zombies, often!

Filed Under: Board, Card, and Miniature Games, Musings of the Chatty DM, Reviews Tagged With: Last Night on Earth, Tropes, Zombie Apocalypse, zombies

Ghoulish Mailbag: Handling PC Death

October 31, 2010 by The Chatty DM

Fighting Ghouls and Goblins, Chatty picks a letter from his mailbox and tackles the classic “but what’s a GM to do when a PC dies?”

Filed Under: Musings of the Chatty DM, Newest Critical Hits, Player Psychology, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: Character Death, D&D, d&d 4e, halloween

When the Bad Guys Win: Chatty’s Gamma World One Shot

October 29, 2010 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty breaks out his brand new Gamma World game and tries a different kind of post-apocalyptic game with his buddies. It’s all fun and games until someone gets shredded by a Porcupine Bush on Speeds.

Filed Under: Actual Play, Musings of the Chatty DM, Player Psychology, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: gamma world, one-shot, Post-Apocalypse

Apocalypse Short: The Siege of Shanty Town (Part 5)

October 28, 2010 by The Chatty DM

After not writing anything for nearly 2 weeks, Chatty returns with a short recap of his last Apocalypse World session where they concluded their mini-campaign. Was Shanty Town saved or was it shelled to bits?

Filed Under: Actual Play, Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: Apocalypse World, Chatty's 2010-2011 campaigns, Chatty's year of Indie Games, indie games, indie rpg, Post-Apocalypse, Tropes, Vincent Baker

Chatty’s New York Trip Highlights, Part 2: Queens is Burning

October 15, 2010 by The Chatty DM

In which, Chatty Phil wanders the street of Astoria, looking for Burning Con and a chance to play some truly engaging Burning Wheel scenarios.

Filed Under: Musings of the Chatty DM, Newest Critical Hits Tagged With: Burning Con, Burning Wheel, convention report, Learn to Play, Mouse Guard, new york comic con, nycc

The D&D Essentials DM Kit: An Editorial Review

October 14, 2010 by The Chatty DM

In which Phil writes a review that veers into murky editorial waters when he realizes that the D&D Essentials Dungeon Master’s kit is not exactly what he expected. Follow is arguments and his interesting conspiracy theories… is Chatty due for a medication adjustment? Have a look!

Filed Under: Editorial, Musings of the Chatty DM, Reviews, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e, d&d 4e, D&D essentials, Dungeon Master's Kit, Rant

Chatty’s New York Trip Highlights, Part 1: NYCC and D&D

October 12, 2010 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty DM Phil starts telling you ALL about is New York Nerd trip. Well not all of it… just the crunchy parts. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: comic con, convention report, D&D, D&D essentials, Learn to Play, new york, nycc

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About the Author

  • The Chatty DM

    The Chatty DM is the "nom de plume" of gamer geek Philippe-Antoine Menard. He has been a GM for over 40 years. An award-winning RPG blogger, game designer, and scriptwriter at Ubisoft. He squats a corner of Critical Hits he affectionately calls "Musings of the Chatty DM." (Email Phil or follow him on Twitter.)

    Email: chattydm@critical-hits.comWeb: https://critical-hits.com//category/chattydm/

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