No, this article isn’t about dungeons or caves. It’s about a design lesson that I only learned as an adult. As a kid, I skimmed through the Dungeon Masters Guide and the Monster Manuals countless times, planning adventures or just perusing all of the intriguing stuff within. Though this wasn’t playing, it was still magic. … [Read more…]
Hi class! Good to see you all again. It’s been a while and much has changed. Some bad, like the tenacity of the COVID pandemic, some good, like finally being married to my very real dream of a wife! Last time we met was a bit of an introduction and an incomplete list of games … [Read more…]
Conversion rules for the inclusion of Starfinder content in a Pathfinder Second Edition game, if you like to mix your chocolate and peanut butter. Starfinder Stuff can be taken from the Starfinder Core Rulebook, Armory, and any other official Starfinder resource with GM approval. Normally, these would be located or obtained through events in the … [Read more…]
Many years ago, when we were just learning to play D&D Third Edition, our weekly gaming group spent over a year exploring the Temple of Elemental Evil. What started out as a brief tutorial in a new game system never ended, and a year later several players grew bored and frustrated. Though I joined the … [Read more…]
There are several concepts that need to be understood for proper potential damage dice for a given firearm system. There are two kinds of cavities that are created when a projectile hits a body. The wound cavity is created by the track of the projectile damaging tissue as it travels through the body, creating a … [Read more…]
The fourth and final piece of a series on designing and running one-shot scenarios. If you missed any of the earlier articles, find them here: Designing the Adventure part 1 • Design part 2 • Prep for the Session Encourage Play that Saves Time In Part 1 of this series, I wrote that I would avoid issues … [Read more…]
Part 3 of a series on designing and running one-shot scenarios. If you missed any of the earlier articles, find them here: Designing the Adventure part 1 • Design part 2 Give out Characters Beforehand If you decide to use pre-generated characters, send the character sheets to your players before game day. This will allow them … [Read more…]
In part 1 of this series on single-session adventures, Michael gave the broad strokes of adventure design, from the desired playstyle to decisions on system and settings. Now we move into more specific adventure construction advice. If you missed the previous article, find it here: Designing the Adventure part 1 Consider Multiple Environments George Lucas … [Read more…]
Hi class! Nice to meet you all. I’m teacher Nikolaj, and today we’re talking about games! But first, an introduction. I’m Nikolaj Bourguignon, a graphic designer turned child caretaker turned teacher. I teach Protestant religion in what I think in the United States would be Primary School—kids aged 6-12. I can do this because in … [Read more…]
Part one of a four-article series on designing and running a one-shot, single-session adventure. See the end of the article for links to the rest of the series. Unfortunately, I’ve never been to a gaming convention, but for years I have been intrigued by the early tournament adventures of the late 1970s and early 1980s. … [Read more…]