My all-time favorite con module is “Barbarian Lives”, which was the featured module for the RPGA Dungeons & Dragons Open at GenCon in Milwaukee back in … 1998? 1999? A three-round event, the D&D 2nd Edition scenario rewarded role-playing, with people voting on who should advance to the next round. The story itself was a … Read more
Well, it would have been grand if people didn’t think my friends and I were devil-worshipers, but it was the early 1980s, so that wasn’t very likely. It would also have been great to have a gaming club in elementary school (prohibited because of the aforementioned Satantic influences) but again … it was Dungeons & Dragons in … Read more
I don’t know. I have vague recollections of running (or trying to run) B2 Keep on the Borderlands in 5th or 6th grade (so … 1983? 1984?). I ran games sporadically throughout middle school and high school, but most of what I did was world-building that never turned into an actual game. It wasn’t until I … 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
Calvin Cloudmore. He started off as an inept bandit who’s gang was wiped out by the adventurers that went on to form the Blackrazor Guild. With the party in need of a cleric (and Cal in need of redemption) he became a cleric of St. Cuthbert (albiet with a wisdom so low he had a … Read more
Damocles Everton, the upstart master of the Blackrazor Guild and agent of the Dark Circle tops my list. Hated by the player characters after he stole control of their guild from them, the appearance of Damocles kicked off an epic story arc that culminated with the Fall of Obsidian Bay, the hero’s home city. Everton … Read more
Blogworthy is a regular column dedicated to blog posts that I’ve read and enjoyed. It’s a direct outcome of my RPG Blogs Reading List on Feedly. Improved Initiative – Who are your mercenary companies? A good post on adding mercenary companies to your RPG game. After all, “adventurer” isn’t really a career (Improved Initiative has another good post about “Stop Using … Read more
Inspired by the novel Ready Player One, I offered to run my friends through the legendary module Tomb of Horrors. Converted to Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition as part of Tales from the Yawning Portal (Amazon), the module promises a lethal challenge for players both new and old. My gaming group last took a run … Read more