I have to admit, when the various consent and safety tools started coming out for role-playing games, I was a little skeptical. After all, my group’s been together for 25 years; the issues these tools are meant to address rarely if ever, came up in our games. Playing together for 25 years means my group … Read more
Cthulhu called, and I answered. Chaosium’s signature game was one of my first non-Dungeons & Dragons games. My friend Adam introduced it to me in college when he invited me to a one-shot scenario involving a haunted house investigation. ted house. Was there a medium in that adventure? I don’t recall, though we certainly spent a … Read more
Egon: “Don’t cross the streams” Pete: “Why?” Egon: “It would be bad.” Peter: “I’m fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing. What do you mean ‘bad’?” Egon: “Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.” Raymond: “Total protonic reversal.” Peter: “That’s … Read more
When it comes to inspiration, I love a little chaos. I often turn to online generators and random tables when I’m brainstorming session ideas (or just need a quick name for my game … which inevitably spawns a new NPC + backstory) Here are a few of my favorite online generators: Donjon: A venerable generator … Read more
A big part of the tabletop gaming experience is food. Back in the early days of the Blackrazor campaign, we prided ourselves on trying as many sodas as possible, eventually compiling The Great List of Soda. That list included the expected flavors like “Coca-Cola” and “Diet Mountain Dew” (which those long ago geeks scorned as … Read more
The Malachite Throne of the Great Kingdom is one of the legendary artifacts of Greyhawk. The seat of power of the corrupt and collapsing kingdom of Aerdy (aka The Great Kingdom), the Fiend-Seeing Throne sets the tone for the entire region. It’s also a campaign I’ve long wanted to run. Back in the day, TSR … Read more
My World of Greyhawk campaign started over 30 years ago, with the seeds being planted in my college campaign at Lock Haven University. It’s continued, on and off, ever since. During that time, it’s featured a number of unique weapons, a few of which I detailed below. Blackrazor: The legendary, soul-sucking sword inspired the name of my … Read more
Long ago, my gaming group came up with a list of tactics for the Blackrazor Guild, our notoriously chaotic adventuring company in the World of Greyhawk setting. Full frontal assault Spring the ambush, fight your way out. Party member as bait. Stake out a cow. Don’t Split up the party; you’ll just have to chase them down … Read more
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