• Critical-Hits Studios
    • Criminals Card Game
    • Sentinel Comics: the Roleplaying Game
  • Downloads & Tools
    • Critical Hits Fantasy Name Generator
    • Drinking D&D 2010
    • Drinking D&D 2011
    • Fiasco Playset: “Alma Monster”
    • MODOK’s 11 for Marvel Heroic Roleplaying
    • Refuge In Audacity RPG
    • Strange New Worlds RPG
  • Guides
    • Gamma World
    • Guide to 4e Accessories
    • Guide to Gaming DVDs
    • Skill Challenges
  • RSS Feed
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Critical Hits

Everything tabletop gaming since 2005

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Columns
    • Dire Flailings
    • Dungeonomics
    • Musings of the Chatty DM
    • Pain of Publication
    • The Architect DM
  • Podcasts
    • Critical Hits Podcast
    • Dungeon Master Guys Podcast
  • Roleplaying Games
  • Tabletop Games
  • Game Hacks & Content
  • Video Games
You are here: Home / Archives for Newest Critical Hits

Nantes as Inspiration for RPGs: Dark Secrets and Bright Machines

October 5, 2012 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty tackles two gaming inspirations that the city of Nantes gave him. Expect dark secrets and strange machinations!

Filed Under: Adventure Prep, Featured, Musings of the Chatty DM, Science Fiction & Fantasy Genre Tagged With: France, Machines, Mecha, Nantes, Secrets, steampunk, Travel as Inspiration

Epic Changes: Converting from “Pathfinder” to “Marvel Heroic Roleplaying”

October 4, 2012 by The Main Event

As our Pathfinder game progressed through 18 months, 75+ adventures, and nearly 20 levels of play it was increasingly apparent that we had captured lightning in a bottle. Despite the pressures of adulthood, careers, significant others and children in some ways our play group of nearly two decades had just started to hit its stride. Thanks to our DM, the world was teeming with possibility, fantastically developed, and linked together with a metaplot that we had been organically and naturally unraveling since day one. Meanwhile, each player had reached a synthesis of Pathfinder-style combat potency and crafting believable personalities for well-rounded three dimensional play. There was only one problem: Pathfinder itself.

Filed Under: Featured, Game Hacks & Content, Pain of Publication, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: marvel heroic roleplaying, Marvel RPG, MarvelRPG, pathfinder

Chronicles of the Bipolar Tourist: Sweet Aggravations, Nantes

October 3, 2012 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty posts about his recent visit to France, this time he visits Nantes many closed doors, meets awesome machines and discovers the dark secret of the French.

Filed Under: Musings of the Chatty DM Tagged With: Bipolar Disorder, Elephant, France, Machine, Nantes, steampunk, Travel, Travelogue

Review: “Director’s Cut: Survival Horror”

October 2, 2012 by Vanir

My gaming group tried something new this past week. One of our members wanted to run a game he’d picked up at Gen Con this past August — namely, Director’s Cut: Survival Horror, a survival horror RPG in the spirit of slasher/monster/mostly-unclothed-women-about-to-die-horribly movies. Things didn’t turn out so well. The bandages come off next month, I’m told.

Filed Under: Actual Play, Dire Flailings, Reviews, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: b-movie, director's cut, frustrating, not good, slasher, survival horror, troma, usa up all night

Paris as Inspiration for RPGs: Its All in the Culture

September 26, 2012 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty explores Parisian culture, it’s people, its architecture and even tries to explain why service is so bad in Paris. Added bonus, a juicy Adventure/Campaign hook based on one very disturbing picture.

Filed Under: Adventure Prep, Featured, Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games, Science Fiction & Fantasy Genre Tagged With: adventure hook, campaign genesis, campaign idea, hooks, Paris, Plot hooks, real world inspiration

The Possibly Accidentally Nonviolent DM

September 25, 2012 by Vanir

As you may have guessed from my past few weeks’ worth of columns, I’ve been pretty anxious about getting back behind the DM screen. That finally happened this past Thursday, and it was really fun. The story progressed and grew in ways that were cooler than I initially envisioned (I freaking love that!) and the players were emotionally engaged in what was happening. Also, there was almost no combat whatsoever. Should I be worried? I hope their lust for orc blood doesn’t need to be sated with MINE. (P.S. I game with barbarians.)

Filed Under: Actual Play, Dire Flailings, Featured, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: combat, diceless, dm tips, dungeon mastery, heavy roleplay, nonviolent, omg the roleplay it is too much, roleplay, super heavy roleplay

Chronicles of the Bipolar Tourist: Introspective Paris

September 25, 2012 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty starts spinning an introspective yarn about is recent travels in France, starting in eternal Paris.

Filed Under: Musings of the Chatty DM Tagged With: Bipolar Disorder, France, Paris, Travel, Travelogue

Critical Bits for the week ending 2012-09-23

September 23, 2012 by Gato the News Robot

Fantasy Flight Games (@FFGames) announces Beginner Game boxed set for "Star Wars: Edge of the Empire" RPG http://t.co/1idy3MoG #

Filed Under: Critical Bits Tagged With: twitter

The Big Story

September 18, 2012 by Vanir

My D&D campaign is at an awkward place. We haven’t played in at least a month, a couple of my players may be moving away at some point in the near future, and (by my reckoning) we’re about midway through what I’m loosely calling “the main story”. I’ve rather enjoyed this campaign. I’d rather not see it cancelled mid-season. But how do I give it a shot in the arm it needs?

Filed Under: Dire Flailings, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: big bad, big stories, dm tips, little stories, roleplay, story arcs, story creation, strong bad

Critical Bits for the week ending 2012-09-16

September 16, 2012 by Gato the News Robot

RT @Wizards_DnD: Check out this interview with @mikemearls on some new #dndnext developments over on ENWorld: http://t.co/DDxPDZvG # Roll20, a browser-based virtual tabletop app (@roll20app) launches into open access Monday: http://t.co/ZWDk8CPc #

Filed Under: Critical Bits Tagged With: twitter

« Previous Page
Next Page »

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/

Subscribe

RSS Feed

Archives

CC License

All articles and comments posted posted on the site (but not the products for sale) are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. References to trademarks and copywritten material are included for review and commentary use only and are not intended as any kind of challenge.

Recent Comments

  • fogus: The best things and stuff of 2024 on Remembering the Master: An Inelegant Eulogy for Kory Heath
  • Routinely Itemised: RPGs #145 on Review: The Magus
  • The Chatty DM on Review: The Magus
  • Linnaeus on Review: The Magus
  • 13th Age: Indexing Truths — Critical Hits on The Horizon Conspiracy

Contact The Staff

Critical Hits staff can be reached via the contact information on their individual staff pages and in their articles. If you want to reach our senior staff, email staff @ critical-hits.com. We get sent a lot of email, so we can't promise we'll be able to respond to everything.

Recent Posts

  • Remembering the Master: An Inelegant Eulogy for Kory Heath
  • Review: The Magus
  • Hope in the Dark Heart of Evil is Not a Plan
  • Chatty on Games #1: Dorf Romantik
  • The Infinity Current: Adventure 0

Top Posts & Pages

  • Home
  • The 5x5 Method Compendium
  • Dungeons & Dragons "Monster Manual" Preview: The Bulette!
  • Critical Hits Fantasy Name Generator
  • On Mid-Medieval Economics, Murder Hoboing and 100gp
  • "The Eversink Post Office" - An Unofficial Supplement for Swords of the Serpentine
  • Finally a manual for the rest of them!
  • Dave Chalker AKA Dave The Game
  • How to Compare Birds to Fish
  • The Incense War: a Story of Price Discovery, Mayhem, and Lust

Copyright © 2026 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in