Last week, I was scrambling to prepare for my bimonthly 13th Age game session. We’d just completed the campaign’s first story arc, one I’d run with tight narrative control (That’s fancy jargon for “railroading”). I wanted the next arc to be more episodic in nature and allow players to chose where to the story would go. I am, however, well aware of the chaos and paralysis that can occur on both sides of the proverbial gaming screen if the GM opens up the world and waits for the players to do something. As I was brainstorming to find a good compromise, I stumbled on an idea.
A Novel Plan
I have a number of completed novels, but right now one of them stands out to me and my helpful coterie of alpha readers as the most polished and ready for publication. In this article, I discuss my goals, doubts, and options for what to do with my finished novel, Roland’s Legion.
Soft Skill Check
It comes as little surprise to me, then, that when I look back on all the really good DM’s I’ve ever played with, I see a 10d6 fireball made out of people skills. These people manage to complete the cat-herding ritual that is holding a weekly game night. A lot of them work with their players individually to give each one something personal to enjoy in-game. They manage interpersonal conflicts, both in and out of game. They manage the expectations of their players. And they do it while running a game.
Metatopia 2013 Schedule
Metatopia is a unique convention, added to the roster of Double Exposure conventions. Metatopia covers games of all kinds, from board/card/party games to roleplaying games to live action games. As someone who has interests in all those areas, I’ve been happy to be at Metatopia every time they’ve put the convention on, including this year.
13th Age Musings: Of Templates, Uniqueness and Adventure Hooks
On one hand, I’m excited about creating stories, plots, and themes needed to establish the best possible campaign. I know the game provides me with some solid tools to do just that. On the other hand, I want to fiddle with the very same tools to make them even more useful.
Visiting The Future Before It Vanishes
I have made the drive to Gen Con many times, and it’s about three and a half hours. It’s no grueling cross-country trek, but it has proven boring even with a decent music playlist — especially when I’m driving solo. Having a good audiobook playing made it feel like 15 minutes.
[Review] A Crapton of Awesome Old Electronic Games From My Parents’ Basement
After I moved out of the house when I was 20, my parents kept all the stuff from my old room in the closet. I’d periodically take a box or two of it home with me over the years (and the occasional well-deserved “when are you going to take the rest of your stuff”), but […]
Tales From Gen Con 2013
Hi-ho, Vanir the blog here. Gen Con has come and gone, and (as usual) I returned full of memories, inspiration, and strange ideas. Here are a few of the highlights of my Gen Con 2013 Experience™: PROTIP Do not start a new job the day after Gen Con. WOW that was dumb. My head was […]
RPGs for Kids: “Castle Death” Revisited
Last year, I wrote a short series of posts about a dead simple roleplaying game I played with my son Nico. I thought I should revisit it and add more meat to the concept. The Game Based on the first RPG system I created when I was my son’s age, Castle Death is a simple […]
First Play Impressions: “Firefly RPG”
I’ve been rather discrete about it but I had significant doubts about how the Firefly RPG would turn out and be perceived by gamers. By that I don’t mean the usual jitters of the insecure designer, as I was just one cog of many in an all-star team working on the Gen Con Preview book. […]
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