Tag: musing

April 28, 2012

Roleplaying in the Secret History of…

The mystical secret history genre (think Tim Powers) is ripe for roleplaying. Unknown Armies sits squarely in this space, and many modern-setting games are compatible. They work because people largely share a sense of history and historical importance. If I say “the lost survivor of the Titanic” or “the sketchbook of Aquinas” or “the last words of  Eva Braun,” there...

January 9, 2012

A game designed for web based play?

When RPGs were created there were some assumptions that were made. They’d be played around a table. Players would have paper and writing implements. You’d be playing with people you know.These weren’t outlandish assumptions. They probably weren’t even conscious. These assumptions led to some very basic game design decisions. Players could roll dice as a randomizer – everyone around the table could...

November 22, 2011

The sweet spot: simple, creative, tactical

The resurgence in old-school gaming has highlighted the appeal of simple rpgs that foster creativity. There is a powerful appeal here. Remove the learning curve for the rules, and you can focus on the learning curve for play. Player skill becomes a matter of critical thinking and decision-making rather than rules mastery. (This last bit raises issues of tension between...

September 4, 2010

Should I run a game?

I’m more of a world-builder and game designer than I am a GM. I’ve certainly run games before, and most of them have been fairly successful, but I get a lot more satisfaction out of creating (or modifying) a setting and planning a game than I do out of actually running it. The social aspects of running a game are...

May 12, 2009

It’s just a game

It is a trite sentiment that annoys some people, but it is true… and important to remember. How many people have ever gotten upset or angry while roleplaying… enough to ruin your fun? Of those remaining, how many have ever been part of a roleplaying session that was derailed when someone got upset or angry? If you don’t fall into...

December 30, 2008

Year-end evaluation and thoughts for the future

I think that the release of 4e this year has knocked my blogging for a loop. I haven’t really posted much d20 OGC since then. I’m not sure of the relevancy of it any more. I feel like this blog’s mission, which has been fuzzy at its best, has become more scattered with time. With the upcoming new year, I’d...

December 19, 2008

Gaming, the year in review: Best and worst

Best game I hadn’t really been aware of until this year: Spirit of the Century I’ve written a bit about my thoughts on Spirit of the Century and FATE (the underlying system). In brief: it rocks. The GMing advice is awesome; while it is tightly focused on pulp gaming, a lot of it can be adapted to different genres. The...

December 8, 2008

Playing for the endgame

How many times have you heard people say that, in D&D 3.5, it doesn’t pay to multi-class with a spellcaster because it would inhibit your ability to get 9th level spells? How about telling you not to take a particular feat because it will be useless after 15th level? …or that you should take several sub-par feats because, at high...

November 25, 2008

More lessons from the Wasteland

I’ve been playing a lot of Fallout 3 lately. Parts of it are brilliant. Parts of it suffer in contrast to the brilliant bits. I keep thinking of it in comparison to a tabletop RPG, and thinking about what could have been done better on the tabletop and what couldn’t have been done at all on the tabletop. Here are...

November 20, 2008

Help a child. Get a gaming tool.

A bit over a year ago, I mentioned the XO laptop as a possible gaming tool. Amazon is once again having their Give a Laptop, Get a Laptop offer where you spend $399 and get two XOs – one for yourself and one which is shipped to a child in a developing country. I didn’t get the XO last year...