For a game that coined the term “Three Pillars”, 5e sure loves to let folks ignore two of them. The exploration pillar, while not outright ignored like the roleplay pillar, doesn’t get a lot of love when compared to the combat pillar. There’s a bit about tracking overland movement in the DMG that’s pretty good,Continue reading “Outlanders & Explorers: 5e”
Category Archives: Advice
SR-16 Retrospective on Indie Games
SR-16, author of previously reviewed Space Street, reached out to me a little bit ago with an essay they put together analyzing a trend in indie RPGs on Itch. They focus on one of their games that followed it, where it went wrong, and another similar game that did it right (by someone else). WhileContinue reading “SR-16 Retrospective on Indie Games”
Goodliness, Godliness, and Dragons
Soapbox time. An ongoing gripe of mine, is the seemingly constant confusion around what good, godliness, and gods mean in D&D. See, many folks assume D&D works like Christianity, and the only difference is God is now the gods. The gods made the world, people who do good things get to go to a GoodContinue reading “Goodliness, Godliness, and Dragons”
3.5 House Rules
I mention that I often run 3.5 games, and we have reached an era where I can’t just assume everyone has played before. This leads to interesting conversations with folks who hear about the cool stuff I’m talking about and want to try it themselves. 3e is also notorious for DMs with reams and reamsContinue reading “3.5 House Rules”
A Game for Kids
My son loves the idea of playing D&D. He sees my home (fully vaccinated) crew play and finds as many reasons as possible to buzz through the room, or strike up a chat, or ask as many questions about the game as he can. Lately he has been asking to play, and I hear aboutContinue reading “A Game for Kids”
Playtesting Dead Man’s Land
A little peek into some of the playtesting that went into Dead Man’s Land. One of the tools used was a Same Game Test, a concept IIRC invented by a user who I believe doesn’t wish to be credited anymore. So it’s not my idea, but it’s also no ones I guess… It’s a greatContinue reading “Playtesting Dead Man’s Land”
The Beast Type
A lot of players may not realize this, unless they are playing a druid, or someone with polymorph, but 5e has a problem. DMs who do a lot of world building know it, and once I point it out, it will drive you up a wall. The Beast type is nonsensical, and if you makeContinue reading “The Beast Type”
Shadowrun: Which Edition Should I Play?
Overview of the editions of shadowrun
Table Thoughts: “Waiting In The Hangar”
Another Table Thoughts, this time about running TTRPGs in established IPs without feeling like you are second fiddle.
Table Thoughts: The Chameleon
Some thoughts on a common, challenging player type, and advice for DMs and players on how to approach it. #TTRPG
The TTRPG Factory 