Back in 1990, West End Games released Torg, a cinematic style multi-genre roleplaying game. This game featured many innovative mechanics such as the Drama Deck and Possibility Points, but is best known for its background. Not only did this game allow multiple genres to be treated with the same mechanics, but then smashed them together […]
The Easily Lost Explorer’s Guide to Dungeon Crawling
if we all had perfect spacial thinking and effective communication skills, we wouldn’t need a battle grid in combat. The DM could describe the dimensions and shape of a room in the dungeon, as well as relative positions of inhabitants and features. We could just describe how far we’re going, all adjust our mental pictures appropriately, and voila: the entire time to set up a battle would be the time we need to talk about it. Unfortunately, we don’t all have that. Some of us are terrible at it (me) while others of us are really good at it.
Musings on Continuity
Sometimes, in any fantasy world where you have invested a large amount of your imagination, you start to append your real-world experiences to those of the characters being portrayed. For example, in the Star Wars universe, characters such as Luke are relatable, in that most people understand the story of “the everyman.” He is compelling because of the extraordinary destiny that lies ahead in his life.
The Agony & The Ecstasy of D&D Next
Following the “Retraction” episode of This Greyhawk Life, I feel I must explain myself. As you may have heard on the episode, I now admit that my account of visiting the Wizards of the Coast offices in Seattle and playing D&D Next has had elements that were not entirely truthful.
Learning to Play “Marvel Heroic Roleplaying”
Marvel Heroic Roleplaying has a lot to absorb all at once. Teach the basics, then throw them straight into the action.
More Than Openness: Designing in Public
One of the distinctions that I missed in my last article is that openness doesn’t necessarily have to be inviting. It just leave the door open. Doing something in public combines openness with a call to the public to look at what you’re doing.
Fighters & Flapjacks
I’ve been playing RPGs a long time now. I’m quite experienced at playing RPGs and games of all types. This is why I react poorly to statements implying that the D&D fighter should be the class that you give the new player, because they’re so simple. I don’t necessarily want a class that’s overly complicated (and we all know a few of those out there in D&D history) but I do want one that gives me plenty of decisions to make inherent in the class itself. I want to think like a Fighter.
Exploring D&D at DDXP
More important than the first playtest of the D&D rules at DDXP was the opportunity that participants had to explore what they loved most about the game throughout its history. The first step in this exploration is to figure out what the game is to each of its fans and players.
Initial Impressions of the New D&D
30 Second Summary Though we know little about the final game, the foundations of the new D&D are solid. The focus on ability scores, flatter power progression, and faster gameplay give freedom to both players and dungeon masters. The refined nature of the game puts a focus on the imagination of the players and the […]
DDXP 2012 Recap: Running the New D&D and Playing Games
This year’s DDXP was a very interesting one, as I suspected. We were actually able to get there, unlike last year, though Fort Wayne’s weather seems persistant in its attempts to keep us out. In order to help finance the trip, and because I was one of the few who had an early look at the new D&D, I volunteered to DM seven four-hour slots of the new game to eager players. While I only ended up running four games of it (mostly because I was too tired to do any more than that), I had a blast and felt good about the games that I ran.
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