A Three Act Opening: A Story Within a Story By Michael Garcia Originally written February 2022 More on George Lucas’ and Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)? Has Mike seen any other movies?, you ask. The film is admittedly one of my favorites, and, as I continue to discover, it seems to be … [Read more…]
The year 2020 surprised all of us, as we scrambled to make life work under entirely different conditions. However, the viral impact on our web site was minimal, as although we slowed down a bit we continued providing what we hope are valuable quality articles on gaming and faith. Last December we published 2019 at … [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…]
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…]
This is RPG-ology #24: An Amusing Dungeon, for November 2019. On June 1, 2001, Gaming Outpost began publishing Game Ideas Unlimited with an introduction to the author and the series plan. The following week this article appeared, only slightly edited for republication here, under the title Game Ideas Unlimited: An Amusing Dungeon. Some years … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #22: Snow Day, for September 2019. As I write this, it’s snowing; snow is sticking to the ground, and we’re probably going to be snowed in. At least, the boys are hoping there will be no school tomorrow. That makes no sense to most of you as you read this. By the … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #21: Living In the Past, for August 2019. All four of my grandparents have died. I have also lost my father, and both of my wife’s parents are gone. I had a long list of great uncles and great aunts at one time, but it has dwindled to nothing, and of my … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #8: The Illusion of Choice, for July 2018. Last time we talked a bit about the power of the referee, how it can be abused, and the principles that should prevent that abuse. This time our focus is on how to use that power in a way that will enhance the game … [Read more…]