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You are here: Home / Archives for Roleplaying Games

Collateral Damage Issue #1: Electric Ninja Boogaloo, Part 1

February 21, 2012 by The Chatty DM

Welcome true believers to a series describing the antics of the newest super hero team: Collateral Damage! I hope you’ve caught our special pre-launch issue where we showed you the nitty-gritty aspects of our creation process. Now get ready form pure raw action and laughs as only the Marvel Heroic Roleplaying game can offer you!

Filed Under: Actual Play, Campaign Logs, Comics, Featured, Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: Collateral Damage, marvel, marvel heroic roleplaying, Marvel RPG, MRH, Super Heroes

Collateral Damage #0: The Making of a New (Marvel RPG) Series

February 17, 2012 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty invites you to the writer’s room of his new Marvel Heroic Roleplaying campaign with four of his buddies. It’s been too long!

Filed Under: Actual Play, Adventure Prep, Campaign Logs, Comics, Featured, Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: Collateral Damage, marvel, marvel heroic roleplaying, Marvel RPG, MRH, Super Heroes

Fighters & Flapjacks

February 16, 2012 by Dave

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.

Filed Under: Critical Threats, Editorial, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: D&D, D&D next

The Architect DM: Seven Wonders of Your World

February 15, 2012 by Bartoneus

Whenever I get a chance I make a pointed effort to read about or look at a map of other DM’s and GM’s roleplaying game worlds. I find it fascinating to look at them both objectively and subjectively, to see things that I may never have come up with or elements that are similar to things in the worlds I’ve created. Over the last few years, I’ve noticed a handful of elements that pop up in the majority of people’s fantasy game worlds and these elements have been some of the inspiration for earlier world building posts in my Architect DM posts.

Filed Under: Featured, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: architect dm, DM advice, dnd, Dungeons & Dragons, Dungeons and Dragons, gm advice, roleplaying games, seven wonders, world building, worldbuilding

The Statistical Truth* About Gender And Racial Stat Modifiers

February 14, 2012 by Vanir

Racial and Gender stat modifiers have been a part of many editions of D&D over the years. However, the evidence* clearly shows how inaccurate* these rules are*. Read on to discover the shocking truth* behind everything you’ve ever known*.

Filed Under: Dire Flailings, Humor, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: dwarf, gender, half-elf, half-orc, Human, race, stat modifiers

Chatty’s Fort Wayne Adventures: Tales from the Elemental Chaos, Part 1

February 10, 2012 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty starts spinning his first of many tales about the games he played over at the Dungeon and Dragons Experience 2 provinces and 5 states away from home.

Filed Under: Actual Play, Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: D&D, d&d 4e, dragon magazine, dungeon magazine, Level 0, Level 0 characters, Temple of the Weeping Goddess

Keep Calm And WIS Check (DC 22)

February 9, 2012 by Vanir

Remember a couple weeks ago when nobody knew anything at all about the new D&D? Then came DDXP, and a couple things happened. One, a playtest that lots of people took part in and nobody can talk about due to NDAs. Two, a series of seminars that were very light on details and heavy on […]

Filed Under: Dire Flailings, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 5e, angry people, Blogger, D&D next, D&DXP, dnd next, edition wars, flame war, Grognard, nda, playtest, secrecy

Exploring D&D at DDXP

February 8, 2012 by Shawn Merwin

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.

Filed Under: Editorial, Featured, Know Your Roll, Roleplaying Games

Review: “Rogue Trader: Hostile Acquisitions”

February 6, 2012 by Wyatt Salazar

The entirety of the text of Rogue Trader: Hostile Acquisitions, is based on this premise: as a Rogue Trader, you can undress and run rapturously naked around the house of the divine Emperor of Mankind, and He will be really disappointed in you, you stupid twit, but He won’t do much about it. Until at some point you might be so naked that the neighbors may call the cops. You will reach a new level of streaking debauchery, hitherto unforeseen by anyone. And then a skull-faced maniac with arm-claws will murder you in your sleep.

Filed Under: Reviews, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: black crusade, dark heresy, fantasy flight games, ffg, rogue trader, Warhammer 40k

Initial Impressions of the New D&D

February 3, 2012 by Mike Shea

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 […]

Filed Under: Editorial, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e, 5e, D&D, D&D next

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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/

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