This is RPG-ology #76: Derivative, for March 2024. Our thanks to Regis Pannier and the team at the Places to Go, People to Be French edition for locating a copy of this and a number of other lost Game Ideas Unlimited articles. This was originally Game Ideas Unlimited: Derivative, and is reposted here with minor … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #65: Family, for April 2023. There has been a lot of talk in recent years about something called “Family Game Night”, the idea that families benefit by spending time together playing games. Some might be offended by the use of the slogan, “The family that plays together,” but it’s probably … [Read more…]
We again finished the year, and should observe the tradition to post an index of the past year’s articles on the last day. In December of 2021 we published 2021 At the Christian Gamers Guild Reviewed, and in previous years 2020 at the Christian Gamers Guild Reviewed; 2019 at the Christian Gamers Guild Reviewed; Thirteen … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #61: Christian D&D, for December 2022. Someone I have known online probably since I first became Chaplain of the Christian Gamers Guild recently read my recently republished book Do You Trust Me? (and made some positive comments about it), but then messaged me thus: …in your book Do You Trust … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #60: Spreadsheets, for November 2022. We began a sort of miniseries specifically focusing on tips for running games. There is a sense in which this entire RPG-ology series is about game tips, but with the entry #58: Random Encounters we recognized this as a more focused collection on the subject, and noticed … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #53: Synchronicity, for April 2022. On the Christian Gamers Guild discussion board, Michael Garcia raised a familiar question with a new twist: how do you bring the hand of God into a role playing game without going over the top? In a game like Advanced Dungeons & Dragons™ magic is … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #44: Left Hand, for July 2021. Our thanks to Regis Pannier and the team at the Places to Go, People to Be French edition for locating copies of many lost Game Ideas Unlimited articles. This was originally published as Game Ideas Unlimited: Left Hand, and has been reproduced here with minor editing … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #44: An Alignment Grid, for July 2021. I thought I had finished discussing alignment, as it appears in Original Advanced Dungeons & Dragons™. I had explained why it was the True Religion of characters in the game world, and described Goodness as beneficence, Wickedness or Evil as selfishness, Law as … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #39: Of Aliens and Elves, for February 2021. Fantasy and science fiction are riddled with races. Star Trek offers Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, Bajorans, and a host of others. Dungeons & Dragons gives us multiple varieties of Elves, Dwarfs, Gnomes, and Halflings, just for starters, and keeps going from there. … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #37: It’s Greek to Me, for December 2020. Decades ago I was running original Advanced Dungeons & Dragons for a burgeoning group that included a number of experienced players. Experienced players of course bring knowledge from their other games, their other Dungeon Masters. I have twice had the complication that one of … [Read more…]