Somewhere, somewhen, out there in the back rooms of a gaming store, in the basement of some gamer’s house, lurks the most interesting gamer in the world. It is my mission to find that gamer.
Apocalypse Short: The Siege of Shanty Town (Part 5)
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?
More Mailbag
This week I’m resting up. I’ll be old and crotchety by Saturday, so I’m taking it easy to build up my strength. (Okay, I’m playing a lot of Mass Effect 2. I like to keep Renegade nearly as high as Paragon, so don’t push me.) I’ve been working up a few ideas. Kyle Ferrin’s fine image for my Mailbag feature needs some showing off, too. It makes sense, with this confluence of events, to post some requests to you. I’ll do these articles without any help, but I figured it makes sense to do something more personal. Check out the possibilities.
Afraid Of The Dark
Get into the Halloween spirit with this festive post where I relive a bunch of the night terrors I had as a child. Woo! Party (while screaming bloody murder for my parents)!
Booty Talk
One of the problems with the usual take on magic items is that most of them provide simple mechanical benefits without doing anything truly interesting. This isn’t a fault in and of itself, since magical trinkets need to affect the game in some way. The essence of the problem is when the game renders such mechanical bonuses mundane by assuming the characters have them. The developers increase the challenges in the game based on such assumptions, rendering the potentially fantastic merely necessary.
The Architect DM: Give It Some Structure
Today I’m going to focus on what could be considered the biggest and most important architectural element that anyone could use. As things go, this element may also be one of the most overlooked when it comes to dungeon design for home games or even in published adventures. I’m talking about structure, and not the kind that makes sure your adventure has a beginning, middle, and end (though it can help with that with surprising ways) but the kind that if it were simplified to its most common element: you could just call it columns and walls.
The Lion, The Witch, and the Progressive Enhancement: CRAZY DELICIOUS
When I am not being angry at BioWare or working feverishly into the night coming up with Star Wars-themed sexual innuendo, I sometimes show up to my day job as a web developer. One concept that we frequently use at work to make websites usable and friendly to everyone is called progressive enhancement. Put simply, […]
Designing is Redesigning
Progress is only made through mistakes. However, recognizing those mistakes and fixing them are not always easy.
Chatty’s New York Trip Highlights, Part 2: Queens is Burning
In which, Chatty Phil wanders the street of Astoria, looking for Burning Con and a chance to play some truly engaging Burning Wheel scenarios.
The D&D Essentials DM Kit: An Editorial Review
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!
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