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You are here: Home / Archives for Roleplaying Games

I CAN HAZ CRIT?

September 4, 2007 by Dave

It was bound to happen: a thread has started on ENWorld with D&D-style LOLcats. (And for those of you unfamiliar with LOLcats, you can go to the source. For those of you unfamiliar with D&D, I can help with that too.)

Filed Under: Critical Bits, Roleplaying Games, Web Meme

Exploring Evil in RPGs

September 4, 2007 by The Chatty DM

As promised, Vanir over at StupidRanger posted is 1st part of a series on defining Evil in NPC. His definitions of evil and the motivations that may lead a non-evil being to cross the line are spot on. A lot can be said on Evil and we actually have quite a few gaming books written […]

Filed Under: Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: DMing

The Rule of Cool

September 4, 2007 by The Chatty DM

Image Source: The TV Tropes Wiki. I just found out about possibly the coolest site for failed writers (raises hand), Meta-plot analyst (raises hand… again) and just plain Story-driven entertainment junkies (Me me me!!!). It’s called the TV tropes Wiki and it may very well Ruin your life. (God! I must be the billionth blogger […]

Filed Under: Campaign Logs, Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games, Tropes Tagged With: DMing, rule of cool, Tropes

A Field Guide to Gamers

September 2, 2007 by Dave

A surprisingly respectful look at gamers and GenCon- mostly they let us speak for ourselves. The only thing I didn’t like is that three of the people they show in “crazy costumes” are actually from the reality show ‘Who Wants to be a Superhero?’ and not gamers at all. Added note: there may be an […]

Filed Under: Board, Card, and Miniature Games, Roleplaying Games, YouTube Tuesday

The Campaign Elevator Pitch: Selling your game to your players

August 31, 2007 by The Chatty DM

A few months ago, I stumbled upon Martin Ralya’s GM Wiki (well, it’s a collaborative effort, but he hosts it) and one concept in it really inspired me, the RPG Elevator Pitch. A short, concise description of a RPG system, like if you were trying to sell someone over a new game within the time […]

Filed Under: Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: DMing

Who Games the Gamesmen?

August 30, 2007 by Dave

I don’t find myself particularly drawn to being active in online message boards. There are plenty I read, especially when a big story happens, but overall, I don’t post much. I find myself getting my “feathers easily ruffled” when there are vocal internet dickwads, which seem to thrive in the message board environment. I find […]

Filed Under: Board, Card, and Miniature Games, Editorial, Featured, Movies, Roleplaying Games, Video Games

Online Tools, Take 2

August 30, 2007 by The Chatty DM

Last month I posted about software tools I planned on using in our current game. It turns out it worked a lot better than planned. All players joined the Google Group we created (see here for explanations on how it works) and I’m truly impressed by participation. Google Groups are basically a discussion group tool. […]

Filed Under: Geek Stuff, Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: DMing

Maybe it's time for D&D 4e after all…

August 28, 2007 by The Chatty DM

Boy am I seeing a lot of hate and anger being spewed at the D&D 4e announcements (just try any forum: Enworld, Okay…Your Turn and RPGnet for a sample). I must confess that I also have been part of that strong resistance to change/Lashing-out-at-Hasbro’s- blatant-money -grab. But, but but… as I go through the motions […]

Filed Under: Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games

The case against Spell Resistance

August 27, 2007 by The Chatty DM

This is a very D&D specific post. Yan, one of my long-time players has started playing his 1st D&D arcane spellcaster ever. One of his feedbacks from last Friday’s debacle was that Spell Resistance really stank from a player’s perspective. You wait for your turn, you fire your spell, you roll a number and if […]

Filed Under: Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games

Where has the post-game funk gone?

August 27, 2007 by The Chatty DM

I don’t feel down at all about the bad game we had last Friday, I’m actually surprised at that. While bad sessions are a lot rarer than they were (switching from Gurps to D&D 3.0 was hard!), I often felt that it was finally time to hang my RPG skates after such a session. Even […]

Filed Under: Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: DMing

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  • Dave

    Dave "The Game" Chalker is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of Critical Hits. Since 2005, he has been bringing readers game news and advice, as well as editing nearly everything published here. He is the designer of the Origins Award-winning Get Bit!, a freelance designer and developer, son of a science fiction author, and a Master of Arts. He lives in MD with e and at least three dogs.

    Email: dave@critical-hits.com

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