I love hand-drawing maps. In the past, I hastily sketched maps longhand or spent hours attempting to render them using computer programs, but when I hit my forties I found a new appreciation for sitting down and really drawing a map. I drew a lot of inspiration from Dyson’s Dodecahedron – he draws, clean, clear … Read more
When I think of scenarios, I think of conventions. I think tightly focused, 3-4 hour-long sessions, usually with pre-generated characters and flexible, but straightforward, story arc. I find scenario writing a very different exercise from prepping for my weekly campaign-style games. Most of our campaigns have been heavily serialized, with overarching stories that continue on … Read more
ZineQuest3 is officially over. Zines funded by the initiative are counting their cash, revising their project plans, and, in a few cases, starting to ship PDFs of their product. Going into ZineQuest3, I knew I wanted to back it at a higher level than the previous year. In 2020, I backed three zines, two digital, … Read more
Tomb of Horrors is one of the most famous modules for Dungeons & Dragons and plays a major role in Ready Player One. Originally created as a tournament module for the Origins game convention, it went on to become a legendarily deadly published adventure for Dungeons & Dragons. Gary Gygax, one of the creators of D&D, created the module … Read more
My current lunchtime game is Scales of Truth, a hexcrawl set in a post-apocalyptic science-fantasy setting. Think of a mashup of Thundarr the Barbarian, Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, and Mad Max: Fury Road, powered by Dungeons & Dragons. So what’s a hexcrawl? It’s a style of RPG campaign in which the game master populates … Read more
The Ready Player One Replay is an exploration of the games that inspired the novel Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Quote … hundreds of polyhedral dice like those used in old tabletop role-playing games. — Ready Player One p. 10 A freeze-frame of this scene appears nearly identical to a painting by Jeff Easley that appeared on … Read more
The ‘Caspian Sea Monster’ rises from the grave – I’ve posted about the 380-ton “Lun-class Ekranoplan before. It’s a massive ground-effect vehicle, which means it’s basically a huge, low-flying aircraft/ship that’s designed to evade radar by skimming across the surface of the ocean. This one’s being towed to a new home, where it will become … Read more
Infinity Storm, my Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Edition campaign, ran from mid-2007 through early 2008. Featuring eight issues (aka episodes), it’s notable for being the first superheroes game I ever ran and featuring the first in-character blog I ever wrote. A dozen years later, the campaign still stays with me, despite its relatively short run. Two things stand out: … Read more
The Labyrinth – New Narrative Art Book by Simon Stålenhag – The creator of Tales from the Loop and Things from the Flood is back on Kickstarter with a new art/fiction book. The Mysterious Bronze Objects That Have Baffled Archaeologists for Centuries – Stashing this away for use in my Weird Pulp campaign. ‘Superhabitable’ planets could be better for life than Earth – … Read more
Bullet journals are analog alternatives to printed day planners, “to-do” apps, and note-taking tools. Created by Ryder Carroll, bullet journals are a purposefully archaic approach to capturing life’s esoteric bits, from a list of today’s meetings to a quick note about that weird dream you had last night. Though typically used to organize your real-life, … Read more