If you know D&D, you probably know the name Rich Baker. From his role in development of settings like Birthright, games like Alternity and the new Gamma World, many Forgotten Realms supplements and novels, war games, and much more, Baker has many years of industry experience on all kinds of products. Now, Baker has teamed up […]
Review: “Midgard Campaign Setting”
Midgard is a flat world. The world was once ruled by elves who have now almost entirely retreated from the world. It’s covered with ley lines that trained sorcerers and wizards can harness (and in the past have devastated a region by doing so). The dragons are tied to elements and they rule nations. Time flies and status matters. Gods meddle but can be killed and enslaved. Midgard has a history of empires falling and rising.
Fifty Shades of “Marvel Heroic Roleplaying”
Cortex Plus is an imminently hackable system. Having played in a game that began as Pathfinder and switched to MHRP and kept the same setting, I have experience in crafting MHRP to fit unusual circumstances. I have used MHRP as a basis for changing and epic level Pathfinder game into a more story-telling emphasized hack of MHRP. What follows are some of the more interesting applications that developed in my own game.
Epic Changes: Converting from “Pathfinder” to “Marvel Heroic Roleplaying”
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.
Pain of Publication: Ninja Testing
Having successfully been a Guest GM before and having been inspired by excellent posts on using Marvel to power a fantasy-based system, I decided to try something odd. I sensed my normally tireless DM was getting burned out in Pathfinder, so I offered to take over for a few adventures. The group was pretty positive about a change of pace, but there was a lot of surprise when I said I was going to run the same characters, the same world, in campaign continuity with a different system.
Vanir’s New Year’s Gaming Resolutions (2012 Edition)
It’s that special time of year again. You know, the one where you run out of times of the year. This year was a significant improvement for me in a lot of ways. I got laid off from a horrible job, and almost immediately got a really good job. I got a gaming group together. I’ve had a lot of new, awesome experiences this year, and my gaming life is much improved. That being said, here’s my plan for the coming year.
Scotty’s Brewpub: Gaming, Grog, Grub, and Good Times for Gen Con
There’s a lot going on at Scotty’s during Gen Con. The short, take away is JUST GO, you’ll have fun. That’s enough if this looks like it’s going to be a TL;DR for you.
Does Size Really Matter?
In which Chatty muses about the importance of size in RPG groups and the fact that he holds on to ridiculous expectations and beliefs in SPITE of contrary data. Could it be that Chatty is not a logical positronic brain but an actual slightly damaged human being?
Carrot Design, Part 1: A Freelancer’s Challenge, From Needs to Rewards
In which Chatty, on the heels of his last article, explores the challenges of designing new D&D 4e material for gaming magazines and how a writer needs to dodge many pitfalls to deliver a quality, useful article.
Do the Evolution
What if we imagine the original D&D game as the evolutionary link between wargaming and modern roleplaying games of all sorts? Every derivative game has some part of the original, signs of its ancestry. Like with organisms, variations from the original are introduced in the process of creating a game. Further, more game “offspring” tend to be produced than the gaming environment can support. Traits that ensure survival in a given environment become more common in descendants.
Recent Comments