Just a warning. This post is a bit less structured than my normal posts and is a bit more stream of consciousness. This topic is something that has been on my mind for a while but not something I have a fix for, so I cannot lay out a structured approach of problem and solution. Rather, today I am...
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Depending on how closely you follow the RPG industry, you may or may not know that Wizards of the Coast has been facing stiff criticism recently. It has come from multiple fronts, and depending on who you ask, their response to the criticism has ranged from insulting to adequate. Some of this...
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In the wake of the quarantine times, I’ve found many of my IRL games heavily impacted by the inability to actually meet up. I know it comes off a bit unrelated, yes, but in that time I’ve found myself binging on anime and manga and looking to Japan for entertainment. Somehow in the...
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The loss of player agency sucks. It would be fair to say many folks play tabletops to enjoy the power fantasy of being some badass adventurer. Many folks like righting wrongs and expressing a level of control and accomplishment that may or may not be lacking in their daily lives. For many, this...
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Like all of you, my normal routine has been turned upside down by the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of my gaming friends, myself included, have conditions that make us vulnerable to some of the coronavirus’ scarier symptoms. In reality, the least of our worries is how to keep a game running. That...
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Games written for remote play are inevitably fascinating to me right now, in the time of social distancing — how can we use the features of online play that make it different from playing in person to add to the experience, instead of being roadblocks we have to circumnavigate? I am lucky...
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subtitle: and how to make em work anyways. There’s a high overlap between nerds that like to roll dice and nerds that like Pokemon. I think it’s fair to assume that most any nerd you come face-to-face with has some stance on Pokemon as to whether or not they like it. I’ve been...
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I have to admit something. I’m not always thrilled to hear an analysis of a game that includes the term “the rules get out of the way.” I understand the concept, but I’m not always sure that “rules can be easily dismissed” is an example of optimal game design. I think that rules in a game should...
Read MoreSo you want to try your hand at creating an East Asian Fantasy campaign setting? Start with some valuable research from Daniel Kwan’s favourites!
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One of the cool things about RPGs is that you constantly evolve through your time in the hobby. One of the bad things about being a blogger for so many years is that everything you ever said is captured for posterity. Seven years ago, I wrote an article about how I did not like published...
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