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

Sunday Play Test Unreport!

February 24, 2009 by The Chatty DM

Once a month (when we can find the time) we try to organize a geekout.  It’s a full day event where a slightly different group from my bi-monthly D&D one gathers together to eat junk food, watch some anime and/or movies and play games. This month, my friend and dubiously trustworthy lieutenant PM proposed to […]

Filed Under: Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e, playtest

Chatty DM Presents: Grognardia

February 21, 2009 by The Chatty DM

Those who have been reading my stuff for some time know that I’m mostly a Mono-Gamist GM.  I’ve embraced the latest edition of D&D because we wanted to try it, because I idolize one of it’s creators and because it’s one of the easiest RPGs to prep for. And it’s, like, you know, fun… However, […]

Filed Under: Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: Chatty DM presents

DM Chronicles: Session 10,Fight Night! Part 2

February 19, 2009 by The Chatty DM

See part 1 here. Oh wow,  I leave my last post with a cliffhanger and a “What would the reader do?” and I get a ton of answers far better than I did. Still I’ll chalk this one in my lessons learned below. Here’s a reminder of the setup: All players are inside a room […]

Filed Under: Campaign Logs, Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e, Chatty's 2008-2009 campaign, Tropes

DM Chronicles: Session 10 Fight Night! Part 1

February 18, 2009 by The Chatty DM

Previously in Chatty’s game: Our heroes discover that they have been setup to be ambushed by the duergar.  Planning to catch the Grey dwarves at their own game, they partially succeeded in turning the tables but had to face a brood of Kruthiks (Think hive mind insects with knife-shape claws). Our stalwart champions reached the […]

Filed Under: Campaign Logs, Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e, Chatty's 2008-2009 campaign

So You Wanna Write a RPG Blog? Post-Scriptum: The Crash

February 16, 2009 by The Chatty DM

Wanting to get back on the blogging wagon, I decided to write a small addendum to this series.  It won’t break new ground but it may help some see a bit of the darker side of blogging. A few months ago in the early throes of one of the most powerful creative surges I had […]

Filed Under: Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: RPG blog primer

Chatty DM Presents: Stargazer’s World

February 7, 2009 by The Chatty DM

Last week’s post where I presented Zach’s RPG Blog II was a frank success, particularly among the blogging crowd.  I guess that means I can continue! This week I want to present you a blog straight out of gaming-friendly Germany. I give you Stargazer’s World. In the world of its author (who goes by the […]

Filed Under: blogging, Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: Chatty DM presents

Fiat Lux: The origin of D&D 4e’s stance on light.

February 3, 2009 by The Chatty DM

I don’t think it was mentioned much but one of the minor things that changed in D&D 4e is the assumption that most underground adventure locales would be lit by a light source.  I distinctly recall, in all previous edition, having to ask who held the light and where that person stood in the marching […]

Filed Under: Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e

DM Chronicles: Session 8, Hey! That’s actually fun! Part 2

February 2, 2009 by The Chatty DM

See part 1 here. When I described to Rocco the Rogue that his recon mission had turned sour and that he was now at the bottom of a pit surrounded by gnashing mandibles and bladed claws I found myself stumped.   I had put the player in trouble without giving him the benefit of a die […]

Filed Under: Campaign Logs, Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e, Chatty's 2008-2009 campaign, Tropes

DM Chronicles: Session 8, Hey! That’s actually fun! Part 1

January 31, 2009 by The Chatty DM

Previously in Chatty’s Game: Our heroes successfully infiltrated the hideout of a local goblinoid slavers gang and cleaned it out with ease.  However,  the slaves they were looking for had just been delivered to a duergar clan.   Following a trail of (somewhat flimsy) clues, our heroes posed as slavers and got hired to escort […]

Filed Under: Campaign Logs, Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e, Chatty's 2008-2009 campaign

Chatty’s Mailbag: D&D 4e Tactical Help

January 28, 2009 by The Chatty DM

Here’s another recent mail I got from a reader.  I’ve edited some because English isn’t his primary language (email comes from The Netherlands)… come to think of it, it’s not mine either 🙂 Dear DM of Chatyness, A friend of mine said I should read this blog and now I spend most of my vacation […]

Filed Under: Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games

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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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