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You are here: Home / Archives for Roleplaying Games

Sunburn is the Least of Your Worries

July 29, 2010 by Chris Sims

At Gen Con this year, I’m running a few D&D game sessions set in Athas. This Dark Sun game, known affectionately as Welcome to Dark Sun, B!#@&s!, is a version of the campaign opener for my Dark Sun playtest campaign that started when I still worked for Wizards. It’s still going strong. I’ve been making pregenerated characters, refining my encounters, and having a good time. I’m showing my work and, well, here it is.

Filed Under: Analysis Paralysis, Columns, Editorial, Featured, Newest Critical Hits, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e, Athas, character concepts, characters, D&D, dark sun

Mouse Guard Chronicles, Session 2, Players’ Turn: The Spurce Connection

July 28, 2010 by The Chatty DM

The successful but banged-up patrol hobbled back to Lockhaven to recuperate from their injuries under the ministrations of the Guard’s healers. On their way, they stumbled upon 2 surviving Scent thugs caught in the Flashflood and Jasper ran to their help, rescuing the Garrow the Merchant and the huge Thug otherwise known as The Big Cheese.

Filed Under: Actual Play, Campaign Logs, Musings of the Chatty DM, Newest Critical Hits Tagged With: Chatty's 2010 summer campaign, Mouse Guard

Mouse Guard Chronicles, Session 2, GM’s Turn: Scented Storms

July 26, 2010 by The Chatty DM

The Patrol left port Sumac with a shipping of Scent chemical with the firm intention of locating the breach in the northern border and sealing it up before more predators entered the territory. Before they could find it, they were waylaid by a group of thuggish mice who wanted to get their paws on their shipment of powder and learn the whereabout of other Scent-laying patrols.

Filed Under: Actual Play, Campaign Logs, Newest Critical Hits Tagged With: Chatty's 2010 summer campaign, Mouse Guard

San Diego Comic-Con 2010 Thursday and w00tstock 2.4

July 24, 2010 by Logan Bonner

“Spark of Imagination” panel, The Red vs. Blue Infiltration, Robert Kirkman, and a guest-filled wootstock.

Filed Under: Comics, Minor Quests, Movies, Music, News, Roleplaying Games, Science Fiction & Fantasy Genre, Web Meme Tagged With: comic con, SDCC, W00tstock

The Guest DM

July 23, 2010 by The Main Event

Occasionally, DMs need a break. In long-running highly developed game worlds players may find that there are parts of the campaign or the world that they are particular interested in. If they notice that the DM needs a break, but is still is gung-ho about his game, this presents a golden opportunity. Running a single adventure in the regular DM’s game world is an unusual break for him and a change of place for the players.

Filed Under: Pain of Publication, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: DM advice, gming advice, star wars

Mouse Guard Chronicles, Session 1, Part 4: The Players’ Turn

July 22, 2010 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty concludes his telling of his 1st Summer 2010 Mouse Guard session. In this post, the players experiment with the very Indie concepts of Shared Narrative and setting their own scenes.

Filed Under: Actual Play, Campaign Logs, Musings of the Chatty DM, Newest Critical Hits Tagged With: Chatty's 2010 summer campaign, Mouse Guard

Minions Are Spice

July 22, 2010 by Chris Sims

A minion is a tiny onion used for flavor, especially in soups. That’s what my father told me when I was a kid. Even then, though, the D&D game had imparted enough for me to see the lie and the humor. In fact, if analyzed closely, this quip from dear ol’ dad, and my assimilation of it, might explain a lot about me. Talk about analysis paralysis.

Filed Under: Analysis Paralysis, Columns, Editorial, Featured, Newest Critical Hits, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e, D&D, DM advice, encounter design, minions, monsters

Greetings from the New Initiate

July 21, 2010 by Logan Bonner

When Chris Sims extended an offer to joining Critical-Hits a while back, I was intrigued. I liked the site, and its reputation as a good group of people who usually stay positive about games (but while remaining honest about their opinions). My existing blog, while mostly about gaming, didn’t cleave strictly to D&D discussions. Or at least I didn’t plan for it to always do so. Also, I’ve made a long tradition of following in Chris Sims’s footsteps ever since I became an editor on D&D shortly after he did, so here was another chance.

Filed Under: Board, Card, and Miniature Games, Comics, Minor Quests, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e, conventions, D&D, Dungeons and Dragons

Mouse Guard Chronicles, Session 1, Part 3: The Unarmed Hero

July 20, 2010 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty continues his multi-part series detailing his 1st Summer 2010 Mouse Guard session where he tackles a combat conflict and describes the rest of the GM-controlled narrative before turning it over to the players in the next post.

Filed Under: Actual Play, Campaign Logs, Musings of the Chatty DM, Newest Critical Hits Tagged With: Chatty's 2010 summer campaign, Mouse Guard

A DM’s Look at D&D Essentials

July 20, 2010 by Mike Shea

Like many of you, I was very interested to hear more about D&D Essentials. A lot of people whisper the threat of “D&D 4.5” and narrow their eyes as they grab a hold of their wallets for fear that Mike Mearls will pluck it out of their hands. We have a lot of questions rolling around in our heads. As primarily a dungeon master, I have a lot of questions about what this will do to my game. Today we’re going to take a look at what D&D Essentials could mean for us dungeon masters.

Filed Under: Editorial, Featured, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e, essentials

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About the Author

  • Chris Sims

    Chris Sims has played roleplaying games for 35 years, and he has helped produce games for more than a decade. Before he set up his freelance shop in the wilds of Austria, he was an editor, developer, and designer at Wizards of the Coast. There, he worked on Duel Masters, Dungeons & Dragons, and Magic: The Gathering. Ask him something via email that might receive a response in a post, and follow his tweets.

    Email: chris@critical-hits.com

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