Retool or Dump

I almost canceled my new Cyberpunk: Red campaign. Well…I thought about it. I was four sessions in and the game had not gelled. That is a red flag for me. I did some introspection and pondered what about it was not working for me. When I had a handle on what wasn’t working, I talked to my players....

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Gnomecast#173 – Welcome Back Walt

http://misdirectedmark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GC_173_Welcomebackwalt_final.mp3 The gnomes are happy to welcome back Walt to the gnome tree. Walt is one of the original gnomes and an RPG game designer with more writing credits than he can remember. From Cubicle 7s Victoriana to Green...

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The Gamer’s Bane: Scheduling

When I first started playing, I was just a teenager and it felt like there was never anything getting in the way of us gaming. We played every weekend and more than that during the summer. When I got to college it was pretty much the same, but I also had a license and a car and could drive myself...

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The Crusty Old Gnome: Back to Basic

I wanna go back and do it all over but I can’t go back, I know.                                                                                                 — Eddie Money, “I Wanna Go Back” Can you make what’s old new again? Hi, all! It’s been seven years since this Original Gnome has...

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Creating A Setting

There are quite a few world building articles (and podcasts) on Gnome Stew. Heck, I’ve even written one. However, that’s not the point of this article. I’m not going to talk about tectonic plates, rivers, mountains, trees, natural and political boundaries, and so on that make up...

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Letting them Enjoy Their Power

In my most recent Cortex Prime game, Aux, one of the players was making a roll to repair an ancient, alien machine. A roll that, back at the start of the campaign over a year ago, was a bit of a daunting task, and one that could result in failures with unexpected consequences. The stakes were no...

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Downtime Activities

The first time I came across phases of play in a Role Playing game was Mouseguard. It’s a game based on a comic book series about mice who adventure to help the mouse territories…it’s besides the point. The comics are great. If you want to know more, check it out here. It’s also based on an older...

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Dragonbane Core Set Review

In addition to creating RPGs that leverage IP like Aliens and Blade Runner, Free League has also been translating and revamping RPGs previously known to the European market. The game we’re looking at today, Dragonbane, has a storied history. Drakar och Demoner came about in 1982, originally as a...

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Metagaming? Well, Actually…

Metagaming usually gets a bad rap. When people say “metagaming,” visions of know it all players who have read the Monster Manual cover to cover and memorized the stats, abilities, and weaknesses of every monster dance through our heads. Who wants to play with that person? Where is the fun in...

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