My most memorable character demise was Zilanderan, at the hands of the resurgent Fire cultists of the Temple of Elemental Evil. He was a starting character in the Blackrazor’s Redshirts campaign, in which we all played first-level characters who belonged to the Blackrazor Guild (our fictional adventuring guild in the world of Greyhawk). We had … Read more
The answer to the question “Old Game You Still Play?” could go a couple of ways, but I’ll change it up to be “the oldest game you still play”. The answer had been GURPS Lite (1998) which powered our Generically Fast and Furious lunchtime game but that campaign wrapped in January 2023. D&D 5th Edition … Read more
If by “weird” we mean a game that consistently introduced unexpected encounters and nonsensical reactions, then the answer has to be PARANOIA. For those unfamiliar with this game, you are a Troubleshooter working for Friend Computer in Alpha Complex, the sole surviving human settlement. Or maybe not – Friend Computer isn’t telling. What we know … Read more
My favorite tie-in fiction is the Dragonlance novels for Dungeons & Dragons. Reading Dragons of Destiny for this summer’s reading list, I realized just how much this series influenced me as a dungeon master and storyteller. Do the tales have their flaws? Sure. The early books read like something ripped from a person’s campaign … … Read more
Usually, my favorite dice are whichever ones I purchased most recently. Right now that’s the glow-in-the-dark sets I got at GenCon 2023. One set is grey, the other green; both have motes that glow from within when the lights are low/out. I figure they’ll be great for those Delta Green one-shots the Blackrazors were contemplating, … Read more
Out of all the many PCs I’ve played, Merywn the Spellsword is my favorite character. He was my second character for the Blackrazors’ Return to Temple of Elemental Evil campaign (aka the Redshirts campaign, featuring no-name, low-level minions of the Blackrazor Guild getting in WAY over their heads. My first character, Zilanderin, died at the … Read more
From a marketing and design perspective, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. After 4e split the fan base, 5e reunited it by streamlining the game, resurrecting elements that people loved, and bounding the math so that bonus stacking (and the GM/player arms race it forced) was no longer a thing. It runs fast at low, mid, … Read more
Favorite game you never get to play? Easy: the ALIEN RPG by Free League. I bought the books and boxed sets during the pandemic, slowly accumulating a collection I never got to play. I love ALIEN and ALIENS, but even I admit that getting killed by alien monsters was a bit too much during the … Read more
The oldest RPG I played is also the first game I played: D&D Basic Set. It was the red boxed set, where species was your class. Want to play a wizard/fighter? Be an elf. Otherwise, be a human … and a wizard OR a fighter The Basic Set went to level 3, at which point … Read more
Thanks to GenCon, the answer to the question “Most Recent RPG Bought?” is a two-way tie between the Marvel Multiverse RPG (which I played at the con as well) and the Captain’s Log Solo RPG for Star Trek Adventures. The Marvel Multiverse RPG captures the feel of superhero play very, very well … and does … Read more