Arthur C. Clarke is one of my favorite science fiction authors. I devoured the science fiction grandmaster’s books as a kid and I couldn’t tell you how many times I watched 2010: The Year We Make Contact in high school (and listened to the soundtrack while studying in college). Of course, I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey … Read more
The Geek Tree has a long and storied history at Nuketown. Beginning with a humble 4-foot tree back in the late 1990s, the Geek Tree is now a 9-foot-tall (albeit narrow) tree packed with ornaments from dozens of movies, TV shows, books, and other geeky inspirations. While I’ve spent a fair amount of time discussing the … Read more
I’m kicking off the Ornament-a-Day 2019 with 1999’s Naboo Starfighter. Taken from Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the Naboo Starfighter is an unpowered ornament that still manages to shine thanks to its highly reflective silver underbelly and engine pods. The silver sheen is offset by the Naboo fighter’s yellow paint job. It’s a distinctive ornament … Read more
The most unique RPG on my shelf is the Amber Diceless Role-Playing Game. Released by the now-defunct Phage Press, the innovative RPG eschewed dice in favor of a mechanic that relied on a rock/paper/scissors contest of abilities augmented by situational modifiers. Based on Roger Zelazny’s Amber fantasy novels, allows players to take on the roles of sons and … Read more
The opening topic for #RPGaDay2019 is all about firsts. Rather than focus on a particular first, I decided to brainstorm a big list of them. First RPG: Dungeons & Dragons (Basic Set, circa 1981). My mom bought it for me and my world was never the same. First RPG Module: Keep on the Borderlands. I had … Read more
RPG a Day is an annual celebration of role-playing games in which bloggers, podcasters, vidcasts, and streams come together to talk about the hobby. Nuketown participated in 2017 and 2018. With 2019, they’ve changed the format up a bit. Instead of single sentence prompts for each day, they’ve gone with a single word. This Nuketown page serves … Read more
November is done and with it, Nuketown’s first-ever turn at hosting the RPG Blog Carnival. Inspired by the “All These Worlds” line from 2010: A Space Odyssey Two, the carnival explored all manners of world-building, from new planets to undersea realms to stellar frontiers. In total eight blogs contributed 15 entries to the carnival. The Expanding Frontier kicked things off “Expanded … Read more
Several years ago the Gamer Working Group — my lunchtime gaming crew — chose to playtest Numenera. I created the wandering town of Walkabout for what I expected to be a short campaign, but alas, the game never really clicked with the group. That was largely because of the lack of literal world building; the game was all … Read more
The Refuge of Durak is a pocket dimension that served as an oasis of law for the planar explorer known as Durak the Rigid. An archmage and planar explorer, Durak held to his moral code in any situation, steadfastly embracing his ideals even in the face of absolute chaos. Durak the Rigid’s home — the alternative material … Read more
The Ghost Walk Star Cluster is located at the edge of the galaxy and is known for its spectacular views of dying stars, it’s just-ignited protostar nebula, and the gossamer strands of illuminated gas that inspired its name. Approximately fifty light-years across, the Ghost Walk Cluster is composed of approximately 20 stars, most of which … Read more