Ever since I was a wee lad, I’ve always had really vivid dreams. On occasion, this translates into really vivid nightmares, which sucks mightily. Usually, though, it just means I’m going to have a good story to tell come the dawn. Well, that is, until I found out I had sleep apnea. Turns out, one of the side effects of stopping to take a break during sleep to not breathe every few minutes is that you never really leave REM sleep — causing incredibly vivid dreams. Getting a machine to help with that provides me with a lot more energy during the day, but I only get a tiny fraction of the WTF I used to reap each night. This week, however, my sinuses have decided to clog up everything, making it really hard for my machine to blow air down my throat to keep me breathing normally. And that meant it was SHOWTIME.
Review: “Marvel Heroic Roleplaying”
Marvel Heroic Roleplaying is a narrative game with a superficially simple dice pool mechanic. The gameplay choices brought on by the pools and their interactions can go quite a bit deeper than is immediately obvious. However, It took me a while to get the hang of it. The first few chapters lay out the dice system and all the trappings, but on a first read, you might find yourself bombarded with terminology.
Critical Bits for the week ending 2012-03-04
Dungeons & Trolls: D&D-style magnetic word set, perfect for adventures on your refrigerator: http://t.co/z1sijHsZ # March Fo(u)rth for GM's Day sale begins at @DriveThruRPG, thousands of titles discounted: http://t.co/VUhF5t9u # “@SlyFlourish: Fascinated by this excellent analysis of damage per level and what it SHOULD be: http://t.co/CzRVDks5 #dnd # “@Official_PAX: BEHOLD the PAX East 2012 panel […]
Pain of Publication: Writing to Revise
Even though revisions are a pain in the ass, there’s a feeling of wizardry when you combine two throwaway characters into one quirky minor character or change a few proper nouns around to create foreshadowing. It almost feels like cheating. Knowing that revisions will be made should inform how you write a draft. I have learned to prioritize certain aspects of writing in my first draft and give other considerations lower priority.
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.
Castle Death! A Dead Simple RPG for Kids and Parents, Part 1
In which Chatty and Nico get ready to play a a Kid friendly RPG they co-develop as they play it. Beware of Castle Death!
It’s OK To Talk To Yourself, As Long As Someone Answers
I’ve been playing a lot of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning lately. I’m convinced the entire game is nothing but a plot by R.A. Salvatore to convince the world that faeries aren’t actually lame after all. The jury is still out. At the very least, the Summer Fae in the game give me a headache with their stubbornness, their cryptic words and their being “stuck in time in a condescending way”. To be honest, they remind me of a lot of certain people that used to call in when I was still doing Internet tech support. That being said, I find myself trying to put myself in their shoes. Maybe it’s because I find people less annoying when I empathize with them. Everyone has their own unique point of view. Even if it’s annoying.
Review: “Deathwatch: Mark of the Xenos”
Like a Krootox rampaging across your gaming table comes Mark of the Xenos for Deathwatch. Mark of the Xenos is a “monster book” for Deathwatch, containing all the creatures found in Jericho Reach, giving the Achillus Crusade a hard time.
Critical Bits for the week ending 2012-02-26
“@AllenVarney: Kickstarter interviews Rich Burlew about his $1M Order of the Stick fundraiser – much wisdom: http://t.co/igGWHc4F” # Results from last week's L&L poll show that Critical Hits is the most desired feature of D&D. If only they meant us! http://t.co/9WeBV9zx # HOWTO make a stained-glass D20: http://t.co/rJJP4HBO via @BoingBoing # Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic […]
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.
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