This is RPG-ology #58: Random Encounters, for September 2022. Someone somewhere asked a group of people for tips on running games, rather generically, and it struck me that there were probably several lessons I’ve learned over the decades that have made my games run more smoothly. Two months ago I happened to share one (using … [Read more…]
This is RPG-ology #53: In the Spirit of Radio, for April 2022. Our thanks to Regis Pannier and the team at the Places to Go, People to Be French edition. This was originally published in the Winter 2004 edition of the Daedalus e-zine, and was forgotten when that publication vanished. However, having seen the French … [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 #16: Creatures, for March 2019. In seeking a topic for this month, I kept coming back to one covered in Game Ideas Unlimited, August 3rd, 2001, which discussed envisioning and describing fantastic creatures. I thought of rewriting the idea for this column, but as I reviewed it I was more and more … [Read more…]
Last month we talked about Settings, one of the foundation stones of role playing, the worlds in which we play. We could go on and talk about characters, plots, deities, philosophies—but in addressing settings, we opened an important issue that we didn’t address. What do you do about Bad Things, and is it appropriate for … [Read more…]