As an older gamer I have an interest in some of the more vintage TTRPGs, including some of the ‘basic’ versions of a certain popular roleplaying game. There is a constant desire to go back to those games and play some sessions, but every time I do I find myself frustrated by the various mechanisms…
Finding Focus
One of the many problems I find with this hobby, is that I simply want to read more rulebooks and play more games than I actually have the time for in my busy life. Most recently I have been getting distracted on the, albeit fun, detour of reading space wargames. Most notably Solar Starfire and…
The Fantasy Trip: Melee – Playthrough
Spurred on by an episode of The Red Caps Podcast I finally decided to have a bit of a solo play using The Fantasy Trip: Melee rules. For those of you unfamiliar with this game, it was originally published in 1977 by Metagaming and was written by Steve Jackson of GURPS fame. Due to licensing…
GURPS Actual Plays
On the eve of my own Dungeon Fantasy RPG actual play, I was contemplating the fact that there are a few other GURPS actual plays out there that don’t get enough love. The thought then occurred to me that perhaps I could write a shot blog entry and advertise both my own show, and the…
An RPG for a non-gamer
So here’s the challenge I have set myself. I know someone who would like to experience a roleplaying game, but they don’t really like games. Not just RPGs, but most games in general. To be more accurate it’s not that they don’t like them, it’s more that they feel there are other, better, things they…
Competing Playstyles
Here’s a question for you. Just how do you deal with players who want to play differently? The expression always goes that if you’re having fun you’re doing it right, or conversely that is no wrong way to have fun. Those are true, but they don’t consider the fact that no tow players are ever…
Silver Tongued
Let’s talk about languages in RPGs. It’s one mechanic that comes up time and time again in games I play or run, but sometimes it’s one that doesn’t come up at all. I guess the real debate I want to bring in is whether they are important and if it’s worth creating a mechanism to…
Races and Funny Hats
One of the mainstays of roleplaying games has been the use of races to provide options at character creation. While this fits in well with the history of fantasy RPGs and to some extent Sci Fi ones, it may not always be appropriate to the setting. Likewise, there are some arguments to whether players should…
Getting Dicey
What I intend to do in this article is look at the very basics of the different dice systems that are out there, and could be considered when developing your own RPG. This list is by no means exhaustive, and may (okay, definitely will) be biased by my own experience and feelings. I will however…
Shadow Gamer 