This is Faith in Play #35: Seekers, for October 2020. The “magic” in our role playing games is “make believe.” It’s not real, and no one could by reading any of the Dungeons & Dragons rulebooks or source books learn how to do any “real magic,” if such a thing exists. Indeed, you can’t learn … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #34: Invisible Coins, for September 2020. This was originally published as Game Ideas Unlimited: Invisible Coins on July 27, 2001. It is only slightly edited for republication here. You’ve probably heard the line about our strange and beautiful relationship—in which I’m beautiful, and you’re… well, I’ll assume you’ve heard it. My relationship … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #34: Guidance and The Machine, for September 2020. Some people I know are terrified of the vision of the world in Person of Interest, the television series currently available on Netflix. In it, a man going by the name of Harold Finch has created a hardware/software combination that monitors and … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #33: Flirting, for August 2020. There was a Game Ideas Unlimited article of this title that addressed these ideas (not, it should be noted, romance). That article appears to have been lost, and this is an attempt to address the ideas afresh. We roleplay for many different reasons. Ron Edwards has identified … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #33: Psionics, for August 2020. About eighteen years ago, in July 2002, I published Faith and Gaming: Mind Powers, and thought I had said everything that needed to be said on the subject of psionic powers in fiction and games. It was republished fourteen years later on our refurbished reformatted … [Read more…]
Despite the viral impact of COVID-19 Gen Con is holding a virtual convention online, and once again the Christian Gamers Guild will be holding a Sunday morning non-denominational Christian worship service from 9 to 10 A.M. EDT. The event is ZED20189103, and is free via Zoom for the first five hundred participants. Hope to see … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #32: Doing Something, for July 2020. Although this is actually about a gaming referee technique, I’m starting with an example from a book, my novel Verse Three, Chapter One, freely accessible on the web. It also begins with magic items, but moves beyond that to objects in other settings and genres. As … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #32: Zealots, for July 2020. Some years back in one of my games an important local military official was murdered, and under the authority of their cavalier the party took over investigating the crime. They had out-of-character reason to believe that a certain local cleric and his two acolytes were … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #31: Screen Wrap, for June 2020. This was originally published on June 29, 2001, at Gaming Outpost, as Game Ideas Unlimited: Screen Wrap. I usually call it “recursive occlusion”; but that’s because that’s what Peter Davison’s Doctor called it in Castrovalva, and now that I get around to thinking about what that … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #31: Magic Roads, for June 2020. Some years back I was playing in a game in which the city was ruled by chaotic gods who objected to anything being orderly or sensible. This was particularly noticeable in connection with the roads: it was impossible to make a map. I secretly … [Read more…]