Carnival Row and the Changing Face of Licensing
With so many amazing ‘geek friendly’ shows on television at the moment, it’s not rare that I start watching another and think ‘this would make an amazing RPG’. This was doubly the case for me with...
View ArticleDesign Masterclass: Tails of Equestria
Yes, you are reading that right, Tails of Equestria, that horse game. I am indeed talking about that game following the adventures of Pinky Pie, Twilight Sparkle and their friends in the magical land...
View ArticleDesign Masterclass: 7th Sea
Anyone who knows me will wonder why it took me so long to get round to what is probably my favorite game of all time. However, I'm sad to say that in this example I'm not going to talk about the...
View ArticleGame Design Masterclass: James Bond 007
Watching the trailer for the upcoming movie No Time to Die (the 25th Bond film) I realized it was about time to share a bit of love for one of my favorite long out of print games. While Ghostbusters is...
View ArticleGame Design Masterclass: Alien
In looking at examples of great game mechanics I don’t often pick a modern system. But I’ve not seen a system as well designed as Alien since Pendragon – and I don’t say that lightly. Free League’s...
View ArticleGame Design Masterclass: Going Diceless
While they are pretty (oh so pretty) you don’t actually need dice to play a role-playing game. If we don’t mind the Gamemaster fiddling with results to improve the story (when players do it, that’s...
View ArticleNo Good Choices
I'd like to make a case for taking your game to the darkest places you can imagine. Not just with violence or carnage but the sort of horror that makes you question everything. This might sound...
View ArticleLessons Learned from Virtual Gaming
I wasn't completely new to online gaming before Covid-19, but recent events have given me a crash course, as it has for most of us. It's made me change my gaming habits, but also taught me a few...
View ArticleThe Horror! of Introducing New Players
A couple of years ago at Gen Con I had the scariest experience any GM can ever have. One of the players joined my Doctor Who game saying it was their first time role-playing. This wasn't scary because...
View ArticleThe Most Dangerous Time of the Year
The holiday season is upon us again, and you may be wondering how you can add some holiday spirit to your game. However, at the same time you may not want to give your player characters an easy time...
View ArticleAre You Burned Out?
Running a game can be hard and quite a responsibility. While players sometimes consider participation optional, without a GM there is no game. Given that, the GM has to do at least some prep work as...
View ArticleIn Praise of Dice
I don’t think I need to convince anyone that dice are cool. But for those who feel dice are only useful for looking pretty and making a clattery sound behind a GM’s screen, I disagree.
View ArticleLet the Players do the Work
Why should the GM be the one to have to come up with all the ideas anyway? They have enough to do. So why not have your players put some effort into shaping the session?
View ArticleIt's Your Turn to GM
Isn’t it about time you stepped up and took on the load sometime to give your usual GM a break? Short answer, yes it is.
View ArticleThe Lost Art of Dungeon-Crawling
There is a certain type of adventure that in recent years seems to have fallen out of popularity: dungeons.
View ArticleTaking the Chair
In a previous article, I said it was time we all stepped up and tried GMing for a change. However, I do appreciate it isn’t that easy. If you are thinking of running a game but you don’t know where to...
View ArticleWhat Are You Bad At?
Most role-playing characters are heroes, some are even super heroes, so it’s hard to imagine them being bad at anything. If you are working with a system that rewards optimisation (like D&D) it’s...
View ArticleIt's Your Turn to Play
Depending on the game, the GM/DM may have the most responsibility for preparing and running the game. But players have responsibilities too.
View ArticleGame Design Masterclass – 2D20
I work for Modiphius on Dune: Adventures in the Imperium and Star Trek Adventures, so it’s no surprise I’m a fan of their 2D20 system. But its only recently with Dune that I’ve had to take a deep dive...
View ArticleGame Design Masterclass: Emberwind
Conventions are great places to find gems you might not have seen in the sweeping ocean that is the internet. Emberwind was one of those for me and since picking up a copy a few years ago the line has...
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