rpgs on The Wandering Referee

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 31: Experience

Mon, 31 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

What keeps drawing me back to RPGs is the experience they create with other people. They combine story, flexibility, and shared play in a way that board games never quite managed for me.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 30: Portal

Sun, 30 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

The most common form of a portal that your players will experience is a door. A door by itself is boring, it has a knob and it divides rooms from other rooms and hallways. However, that door breaks up the dungeon into individual segments that can be processed one at a time by the players. The GM may not be so lucky if the players are making a lot of noise, they’ll need to keep track if whatever is on the other side is aware of the players.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 29: Ride

Sat, 29 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

I usually handwave long travel, but the ride itself can still be worth focusing on when it’s fun enough. The dinosaur race in Tomb of Annihilation is a great example of travel that stands on its own.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 28: Close

Fri, 28 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Some of the best RPG moments come from close calls: fights barely won, clues found in time, or villains stopped at the last second. Those scenes are memorable, but it’s just as fun to let players completely outplay a situation when they’ve earned it.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 27: Favor

Thu, 27 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

If you’re looking for an adventure hook, somebody always needs a favor. A small request can turn into travel, danger, betrayal, or a larger obligation with very little effort.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 26: Strange

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

I like fantasy that goes a little gonzo without tipping fully into horror. Mixing in aliens, lasers, dinosaurs, or other outlandish elements can make a dungeon feel strange in the best possible way.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 25: Lever

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Players can solve a surprising number of problems with simple tools if you give them space to think through the situation. A trapped barred door in my game turned into a good reminder to build problems that reward practical solutions like levers, ropes, and pulleys.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 24: Humor

Mon, 24 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Humor is something I want at the table, even if the game isn’t a comedy. It’s worth talking about up front, and when it lands well it can make a session far more memorable.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 23: Edge

Sun, 23 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Modern D&D and old-school D&D make a useful contrast because they put the edge in different places. In one, player characters usually have the advantage; in the other, they’re constantly looking for any advantage they can get.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 22: Rare

Sat, 22 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Game-changing magic items should feel rare, but that doesn’t mean every magic item has to be dull. Strange items with unusual limits or side effects are usually more fun than another clean numerical upgrade.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 21: Push

Fri, 21 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

The Year Zero Engine’s push mechanic is one of my favorite rules because it makes failure a choice instead of a dead end. You can try again, but every version of the rule makes you pay for it in some way.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 20: Investigate

Thu, 20 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Investigation is hard to run because players will miss clues you think are obvious. That’s why I keep coming back to the three clue rule and try to build in enough redundancy to keep the game moving.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 19: Tower

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Tower of the Black Pearl is exactly the kind of Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure I love: flavorful setup, dangerous treasure, and a built-in time limit that forces hard choices. A tower that sinks back into the sea is a great way to create pressure and turn the escape into the best part of the scenario.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 18: Meet

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Meeting in a tavern works just fine, but a campaign opening can do more than that. Bringing the party together in a battlefield, escape pod, or some other tense situation gives the game an immediate spark.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 17: Comfort

Mon, 17 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Most RPGs focus on danger, discovery, and struggle, but they still need moments of comfort. A little safety, relief, or breathing room gives players a chance to recover and makes the harder parts of a campaign hit better.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 16: Dramatic

Sun, 16 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Drama at the table often comes from NPCs who feel vivid and obvious in what they want. If players can hear that in the way a character talks and acts, the scene has a much better chance of landing.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 15: Frame

Sat, 15 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Large framed art makes for excellent loot because it’s valuable, fragile, and awkward to move. Treasure like that forces players to think about transport, risk, and who they can actually sell it to.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 14: Banner

Fri, 14 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

I hadn’t really thought about how a battle standard could work in an RPG, but it feels like a fun item with obvious uses and obvious drawbacks. Here’s a quick take on a standard that helps morale, works as a makeshift weapon, and makes its bearer an immediate target.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 13: Rest

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Rest gets more interesting once you stop treating it as empty time and start asking what the rest of the world is doing. Random encounters, clues, and downtime costs can all make that pause matter.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 12: Message

Wed, 12 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

I like messages that create tension, whether that’s a private note about hidden information or an out-of-game message that keeps bookkeeping away from session time. Both kinds can make a campaign run better.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 11: Stack

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Initiative can be handled in all kinds of ways, and each one changes the feel of combat a little. I’ve been especially interested in systems like Troika’s Stack that make turn order more uncertain and dynamic.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 10: Want

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

I keep wanting to find the one game that does everything I need, but that search keeps leading me to more books, more systems, and more decisions about what to keep. The whole cycle is really driven by wanting to have fun with the people I play with.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 9: Light

Sun, 09 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Light feels like an easy shorthand for goodness, hope, and people trying to set things right. Whether it’s sunlight on the road or a torch in the dark, it works as both a literal and symbolic force in a game.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 8: Shade

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Shade makes me think of dungeons and the people who thrive in them. They’re places of danger, treasure, hard choices, and the sort of hidden movement that lets thieves and assassins do their work.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 7: Couple

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

I like the idea of being able to carry just a couple of books and a couple of supplies and be ready to run a game anywhere. In practice I keep chasing new systems and genres, so that simple ideal never quite wins.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 6: Forest

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

A forest is a great first adventure site because it feels close to home while still leaving room for mystery. It can hold ruins, witches, bandits, or stranger things, and it still leaves the party with options once they’re done.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 5: Tribute

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

A lot of the RPGs I enjoy are tributes to earlier games, especially Basic/Expert Dungeons & Dragons. What I keep coming back to is the focus on problem solving and finding ways around a fight instead of charging into it.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 4: Vision

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

I run a mixture of theatre of the mind combat (where there’s no map) and and combat with maps and minis (or virtual tokens as the case has been lately). I like both and would generally prefer theater of the mind, but my players often prefer the latter and I think that’s because I forget about vision during combat.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 3: Thread

Mon, 03 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

When preparing a game I try to think about the various plot threads. They’ll vary from ones I’ve introduced to something in the player’s backstory or even something they’ve found along the way that I never thought would be part of the story. The important part here is to work on the threads that the players feel are important and develop those if possible.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 2: Change

Sun, 02 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Today is day 2 of #RPGaDAY2020 and today the prompt is Change.

#RPGaDAY2020 Day 1: Beginning

Sat, 01 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0400

Every year for the past seven years, David Chapman has run something called RPGaDAY. It’s a series of prompts about RPGs for an entire month with the goal being to drive some discussion around them. I had a blast with it last year and I’m hoping to be as consistent this year with it.

Review: The Stone Heir (The Phlogiston Books, #2)

Mon, 19 Nov 2018 14:15:00 -0500

Half of this DCC supplement shines — particularly the transitional funnel adventure and the clever Adventuring Ties system.

Review: Doom of the Savage Kings

Mon, 19 Nov 2018 14:10:00 -0500

A tight DCC adventure with a well-realized town, a paranoid atmosphere, and a boss monster that punishes players who charge in without thinking.

Review: Spire

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 18:45:00 -0400

A PbtA game about being an oppressed drow elf revolutionary in your conquered city — with mechanics built around sacrifice and consequence.

Blights ov the Eastern Forest Rumor Table and Loot

Wed, 24 Oct 2018 17:45:00 -0400

As part of my review for Sky ov Crimson Flame, I mentioned that I wanted to make a rumor table and roll up some loot for the Blights ov the Eastern Forest hex crawl. Here’s what I’ve come up with.

Review: Sky ov Crimson Flame

Wed, 24 Oct 2018 17:30:00 -0400

A DCC RPG level 0 funnel and hex crawl in one slim book — my first foray into reading the RPG pile of shame.

OSR Guide for the Perplexed

Mon, 15 Oct 2018 21:00:00 -0400

Recently Google announced that they’re shutting down Google+ in 10 months. Before I really got into RPGs, Google+ was merely the butt of a few jokes, but largely ignored. However, the RPG community at large heavily used Google+ to share new blog posts, talk about ideas, and market new products.

Right now there’s a bit of a vaccum as folks scatter and attempt to find it’s replacement. It looks like MeWe will likely be the winner, though there’s a contingent of OSR bloggers that’d love to see things go back to blogs and comments. I’m not wild about comments, but I love the idea of getting back to longer, more thought out content, rather than small bits and bites.