It’s Gonna Be Easier Than Ever To Play Dungeons & Dragons: IGN looks at the new Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Starter Set, which includes a 64-page rulebook for creating characters from levels 1-5 (bard, cleric fighter, rogue, wizard) and a new introductory adventure, “Dragon of Icespire Peak”. From what they describe, I think this has the potential … Read more
Who Are Your Mercenary Companies?: Taking 10 looks at incorporating mercenary companies into your role-playing game as a way of building depth and background for both the world and your player characters. The View-Master Slides of Our Youth Were Beautiful Works of Art: As a child of the 1980s, I have conflicted feelings about the old View-master … Read more
Crash Course Astronomy: I’m sometimes surprised how little people know about the astronomy in general and the night sky in particular. After all, half of every day is taken up by night; who could you not learn about the stars? Of course, the answer is easy enough – people aren’t interested, or at least, not interested enough … Read more
The Digital Archaeologists: How GOG.com Rescues Games From The Dustbin Of History: The modern age spawned thousands of video games, but as technology advanced and companies failed, many of these games were lost. GOG.com looks to find them. Game Informer recounts GOG.com’s decade-long quest to refurbish ancient games for modern platforms and secure the rights to said games … Read more
The many names of spells and how to change them: Tenser’s Floating Disc. Bigby’s Crushing Hand. Mordenkainen’s Mansion. Named spells defined Dungeons & Dragons from its earliest days while hinting at a greater world. Jeremiah McCoy talks about how to bring the magic of such signature arcana to your campaign. If You’re Gonna Fail, Fail Spectacularly: Troy Taylor talks about … Read more
A Satisfying Conclusion: Gnome Stew looks at strategies for ending your RPG games, be they convention one-shots or multi-year campaigns. How a Star Trek card game quietly continues, 10 years after its official end: I played a few rounds of the Star Trek Collectible Card game by Decipher back in college. Though fun, I never got into it. … 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. How I Keep My Mornings Sane: Berin Kinsman talks about his electronics-free, relaxing morning routine. I’m looking to revamp my own morning routine, so this was a worthwhile read. … 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. Pathfinder Playtest Review: Roll for Combat looks at the new Pathfinder 2 rules and how well it does in achieving its “different, yet familiar” goal. It’s a lengthy read so you’ll want … 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. 5 Reasons Someone Might Build a Dungeon Filled With Clues, Tests, and Riddles: DM David runs down the reasons why someone might create archetypal puzzle dungeons like those featured in White … 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