In which Chatty shares is experiences as a Wizards of the Coast freelancer. The good and the bad. He shares many of the lessons he learned from his experiences should you want to give it a try.
Review: “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
I swear I read The Hobbit as a kid. I remember finishing the last page and excitedly running to talk to my brother about it. I’d even seen the cartoon several times. Despite these memories, I walked into the movie knowing exactly three things: there were younger versions of characters I already knew in it, and also a dragon. (I was also pretty sure Gollum was in it somewhere, but that was just hearsay.) So it was that, yet again, I watch a Tolkien movie and everything is new to me.
The Exaggerated Death of 4th Edition
Just because Wizards of the Coast pays little attention to 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons doesn’t mean its dead. D&D isn’t Star Wars Galaxies or City of Heroes; WOTC can’t shut the servers down. With currently published material, we can play 4e as long as we desire and the 4e products released since late 2010 are the best in the edition. 4e didn’t die — it finally became stable. It’s not only alive, it may now be the best time to play!
Collateral Damage #5: The Glass Crusade
In which Chatty reveals the latest adventures of the West Coast’s most unlikely superheroes. This month’s session introduces a new multi-issue story arc that brings the heroes in a church where they get attacked by a very devout foe! Don’t miss it!
When The DM Closes A Secret Door, He Opens A Pit Trap
Well, it’s finally happened. I’ve known for awhile that a few of my friends in our gaming group would be leaving at some point in the near(ish) future. That time has come. I haven’t quite worked out what’s going to happen between now and then, but there’s a fair chance I’m going to have to wrap up our campaign in two days’ time. I’ve planned for this. I’ve tried to steel myself for this. And yet, all I can think of is the last words of the tenth Doctor: “I don’t want to go!”. Forget about the words. I know I’m not the one leaving. Shut up.
Review: Wii U
I bought a Wii U yesterday. I didn’t really mean to, it just sort of happened.
Interview: Tracy Barnett, Designer of School Daze and One Shot
Tracy Barnett is a good friend of ours that has waged a one-man war on his own spare time. With his second KickStarter game, One Shot, ending in just over two days I offered to chat with him a bit about his projects and his thoughts on designing open to the public as he has made a habit of doing. You can also read more of Tracy’s thoughts on that subject in posts he wrote for us earlier this year, Game Design and Openness and Designing in Public.
Zen and the Art of Dungeon Mastering #6: Smash that Bottleneck
In which Chatty tackles a subject near and dear to his cold black DM heart: avoiding adventure bottlenecks. This multi-parter series starts with the basics: Skill-related bottlenecks.
Zen and the Art of Dungeon Mastering #5: Make it Mean Something!
In which Chatty DM reveals that he’s an impatient player and really really likes to find that each scene he runs or plays in actually meant something in the grand scheme of Adventuring. And no, XPs don’t quite cut it.
Review: “Michtim: Fluffy Adventures”
“Story games” are some of the more wonderful places to look for unorthodox ideas. Because of the narrative-focused framework, it becomes easy to get everyone playing anything – you don’t have to focus on the accurate logistics of being a magical German hamster-like creature (that isn’t a hamster, don’t call it that!). All you’re required […]
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