This article is a companion piece to the earlier article 100 Dungeon Descriptors Table. Just like that article, it’s a d100 list you can roll on for random descriptors. This time it’s for overland areas. Roll a few and see if it inspires you, or roll a few for an overall area and more...
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Featured image is of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, sourced from The Poetry Foundation. You can find the first part of this article posted here. I’ve found myself more and more intrigued with single player roleplaying games. The Beast by Aleksandra Sontowska and Kamil Węgrzynowicz is an...
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In writing fiction, a popular concept to make things harder on your main character is a concept called, “Yes, but; No, and.” At a high level, you present a character with a challenge and then ask the ever-important question of, “Did the character succeed?” If the answer is...
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Did you hear the big gaming news last week? Paizo announced they’re working on a second edition for Pathfinder. Cue the Sturm und Drang of the conflicting excitement and irritation that the announcement of a new edition always elicits. Have they released another wave of the endless Edition Wars...
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One of the channels that keeps popping up in my YouTube feed is Puffin Forrest. It’s a guy who animates stories from RPGs he has played or run. For the most part I get a laugh out of these or shake my head at the shenanigans he has had to put up with on both sides of the screen, and then I...
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I grew up in the 1980’s when D&D came in two flavors: Basic and Advanced. Back then, we just played the game and didn’t worry about table safety and how people felt. That was in a large part for two reasons: First, we lacked the experience and lexicon to describe the concept of table safety....
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The night was cold, the fireplace was roaring, and we were gnawing on the delicious ratatouille and fresh baked bread our host Leslie had made. We warded off the three adorable pups as we idly chatted and a few people lazily looked over the Monsterhearts skins. It finally happened, my lady and...
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Recently a gamer friend sent me a message asking for my perspective about a situation that unfolded at a game table where they were a player. In the situation, some players and the game master were directing a player on how to spend her turn. Shortly afterwards, an article began circulating on...
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They’re easy to spot when you start playing. Confident and forthright or pushy and obstinate, they’re often the first voice the GM hears. You certainly can’t ignore them. Dominant players are difficult to miss and they end up being either a blessing or a bane at the table. At a recent convention,...
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I’m going to leverage another writing concept for today’s article. In fiction writing, there is a concept called “scene and sequel.” Of course, most of us think of a “sequel” as something along the lines of Empire Strikes Back or The Two Towers. However, the...
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