Rob Kuntz points out the clay feet of the current batch of products: I am afraid these days that such appelations as “Fantasy Role Playing Games,” and as compared to D&D here and present, are losing ground as by-products of their two most important words: Fantasy & Games. Fantasy is the enchantment that led us… Continue reading Rob Kuntz Speaks Truth
The awfully snarky people at Gamegrene.com have posted the first review of D&D 5th Edition. Here’s an excerpt: “And yes, you heard me right: that’s at least a guaranteed level every night. Entitlement is the new word in role-playing, and Dungeons & Dragons delivers. Begone unfairness, imbalance and asymmetry! Everyone is rewarded at the same… Continue reading Would you care for a bowl of cream to go with that?
“Traveller is necessarily a framework describing the barest of essentials for an infinite universe; obviously rules which could cover every aspect of every possible action would be far larger than these three booklets. A group involved in playing a scenario or campaign can make their adventures more elaborate, more detailed, more interesting, with the input… Continue reading Traveller Tuesday: The Influence of D&D
“Trudge: the slow, weary, yet determined walk of someone who has no alternative but to continue.” This whimsical definition is from Barbara Byfield’s The Book of Weird – “being a most desirable lexicon of the fantastical” and therefore of interest to gamers. I ran across a copy when I was a teenager, and found myself… Continue reading The Book of Weird
Taking a page from Chgowiz, I am happy to report that Microlite 74 2.0 has been released. This is a derivative of Microlite 20, an elegantly reduced-to-its-essentials version of the D20 system. Microlite 74 is a version that happily recreates much of the “flavor” of older games, such as Original D&D and B/X D&D, using… Continue reading Microlite 74 2.0 released
Ever run across old notes for a game or campaign? Ever find yourself wondering, “Where did this come from? What the heck was I thinking?” That’s what happened to me recently. I found some notes on 3×5 cards for something I dimly recall having named Dungeons & Sorcery. Here’s an example:D&S: Weapon ProficiencyWarriors 1 every… Continue reading Running across old notes: Dungeons & Sorcery
If dungeons are the beginning point of adventure, towns and cities are at the end. After all, adventurers needs someplace to go to rest and recuperate, get magic items identified, and spend all that loot they’ve accumulated from their perilous journeys into the unknown, right? Recognizing this, the earliest D&D campaigns – Blackmoor and Greyhawk… Continue reading Review – CITYBOOK I: Butcher Baker, Candlestick Maker
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I never got a chance to really meet Gary Gygax. I now regret that, if only because he was responsible, along with Dave Arneson, for a significant influence on my life: role-playing gaming. Since Gary died one year ago today, I’ve taken some time to read the memorials written by other… Continue reading Remembering Gary; Thinking of Dave
“This is Free Trader Beowulf, calling anyone…Mayday, Mayday… We are under attack…Main drive is gone… Turret number one not responding…Mayday… Losing cabin pressure fast calling anyone…Please help… This is Free Trader Beowulf … …Mayday…” I started playing Traveller back in 1977. I had been role-playing for a couple of years at that point, and I… Continue reading The Other “Three Little Booklets”
Starting about four weeks ago, my friend Adam was the first player I recruited to play in my Southlands sandbox campaign. Due to vagaries of schedules, the one time I knew I had for game-playing was on Monday afternoons. I knew this would be consistent from week to week, even though it limited my potential… Continue reading New Campaign, Part II: Taking it out for a test-drive
