This is RPG-ology #30: Story-based Mapping, for May 2020. I have mentioned before that I belong to a role playing game mapping group on Facebook. Every day people post beautiful world maps similar to the ones pictured here and ask for feedback. I am not a cartographer; I am not an artist. When aspiring young … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #30: Conflict, for May 2020. A few years back my band Collision left its equipment set up in a church in which we had been practicing. The drummer had gotten our logo made as a drum head cover, so there was this picture of the earth crashing into a giant … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #29: Political Correction, for April 2020. The phrase has been around long enough that I cannot imagine anyone in the English-speaking world does not know what “politically correct” means. In the short form it means never saying anything that might offend any member of any minority group, whether or not such a … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #29: Victims, for April 2020. One of the early superhero role playing games gave us the concept of the “DNPC”, the “Dependent Non-Player Character”, the person who is in the story because the hero needs to save someone. Superman has Lois Lane (pictured) and Jimmy Olsen; Spiderman has Mary Jane … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #28: Character Death, for March 2020. A couple times recently I have seen social media posts calling for role playing gamers to express their opinions about character death. The promoter indicated that he was planning to write an article on the subject, and eventually I had the opportunity to read it–but honestly … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #28: Vampires, for March 2020. When Tim Brown suggested I explore the subject of the undead, I was, I think the word is, nonplussed. Maybe that’s too strong a word–but I’ve never really been a fan of the undead generally, and I find that they are very popular in popular … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #27: Cures for Dropping Dice, for February 2020. If you play real role playing games, the dice can be a bit of a problem. No matter how careful you are, sometimes they roll off the table–and players are not always terribly careful. My first role playing game–Basic Dungeons & Dragons first edition, … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #27: Believing Balance, for February 2020. Over a year ago we began a series on the notion that in the Original Advanced Dungeons & Dragons® game system alignment was the True Religion, what characters actually believed. We have since examined those beliefs in Goodness, Wickedness, Order, and Individualism, the four … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #26: Monster Design, for January 2020. Not long ago a member of the Christian Gamers Guild asked for advice in designing monsters. This article has been republished from Gaming Outpost’s Game Ideas Unlimited series from August, 2001, only slightly edited for republication here, originally entitled “Game Ideas Unlimited: Monster Design.” Sometime a … [Read more…]
This is Faith in Play #26: Fields to Harvest, for January 2020. Last month I wrote about the impact the Christian Gamers Guild has had on Christians and on gamers. I noted that there were now many other “geek ministries” trying to make a difference. In fact, between when I wrote that article and when … [Read more…]