In college, way back in 1992, a friend of mine ran the scariest session of Call of Cthulhu I’ve ever played in. Heck, the scariest session of any game. My friend – his name is Adam — is the best Call of Cthulhu game master I ever had. With candles burning low, and a mix … Read more
For this post, I’m going to substitute “game” for “campaign”. My all-time favorite campaign is also my longest-running: The Blackrazor Guild Campaign for various editions of Dungeons & Dragons. Set in the World of Greyhawk, the initial campaign kicked off in 1996 and started in the Common Year 586 … which at the time was Greyhawk’s … Read more
The answer to what makes for a great introductory RPG depends on what your goals are. Are you looking to get people hooked based on a well-known brand? Are you looking for exciting game mechanics to draw them back to the table? Are you looking for a straight forward game mechanic that’s easy for non-gamers … Read more
My initial thought was … no one. I already introduced Dungeons & Dragons to my kids, and frankly, it feels like everyone my age who wants to be playing role-playing games is playing role-playing games. Except, as I dig into that thought a little more, I realized I’ve got options (if not time). RPG Dinner … Read more
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
Tales of a GM is running the 12 Days of Dicember, a project dedicated dice in all their randomized glory. The question for the tenth day of Dicember is “Which are your hardest working dice?” My d20s work the hardest at my gaming table, regardless of which side of the dungeon master’s screen I’m on. Dungeons & Dragons, in … Read more
Tales of a GM is running the 12 Days of Dicember, a project dedicated to dice in all their randomized glory. The question for the first day of Dicember is “Which is your favorite set of dice?” For me, it’s my Ragnarok dice. I bought these Chessex dice at MEPACON 2010 for my The Day after Ragnarok lunchtime campaign. The smokey … Read more
MEPACon is northeast Pennsylvania’s regional gaming convention and it’s one of the go-to conventions for my gaming group. It’s an event I always add to my calendar, but it also has a tendency to get removed because of family and work commitments. I really need to stop doing that. The convention is great for my … Read more
One of the big reasons I come to GenCon is to play games, but it’s not the only reason: shopping is another. In 2000 I bought my first Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition Player’s Handbook there, in 2014 I’ll by my first 5th Edition PHB. This is where I got my Battlestar Galactica and Serenity RPG books, as well as more d20 sourcebooks than I care to mention.