Quick Fix: Superpowers in Fate
When our ongoing campaign had to go on hiatus, my group and I discussed what we would like to play next. We decided to try Mutants and Masterminds. After a couple frustrating sessions of players not understanding how the[...]Read on >>
Handling Angelic Encounters
Angels here meaning 3.5 and previous edition angels. The 4e angels look like confused fire elementals.Angels, and their diabolic/demonic counterparts on the other side, have been around since the beginning, or darn clos[...]Read on >>
Obligatory Alignment Post
Alignment has always existed in D&D, in some form. In the original brown books, there were only three. Been a while since I've read them, but the options were Good/Neutral/Evil, I believe. Later on you saw the sil[...]Read on >>
Episode 31: Modern20: A Review
Thanks Rob for taking care of this! WARNING: Instances of very strong language may offend some listeners. Accidental Survivors: the Modern Gaming Podcast sponsored by Sword's Edge Publishing All music in podc[...]Read on >>
The Tome Ep 74: DDM Starter Set
Gregg Dieckhaus brings a review of the Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures Starter Set, the first of the new series of D&D Minis (DDM). The episode sponsor is: Mentioned in this show are: Gamer’s Haven Ennie̵[...]Read on >>
Side Session: Player Catch-Up
I recently gave the skinny (okay, hefty) on the first session of the campaign I'm running which I've called "Ashes of War." This past Saturday, a new player made a firm commitment to join, but I didn't want him behind in[...]Read on >>
Old school renaissance
It sure seems like there's been a quickening of the pace in development of "old school" consciousness. Basically what I see is more and more blogs and web forums that not only focus on older games (particularly White Box[...]Read on >>
Quick Fix: Adding Aspects to D&D
My group is still working on getting together to try out D&D 4E. (Attacking two quick build characters with five Kobalds on a chess board doesn't count, does it?) And since we haven't played yet, I'm withholding judg[...]Read on >>
Tropes: Why Should Players Get All the Fun?
In a recent Amagi gambit, Levi Kornelsen provides a plug-in to mechanically encourage players to "play to the tropes" of the genre you're trying to emulate. Essentially, GM (or the group) creates a list of tropes that wi[...]Read on >>
Orcs are not just Orcs
You've been asked by the local nobility to go and slay the local tribe of savage humanoids. So of course your group of good-aligned adventurers tromps off through the wilderness to put a stop to the possible onslaught o[...]Read on >>
A Thought Experiment: Mathless Dice Pools
I like dice pool mechanics. They're fun, and they're a nice change of pace from the die roll+stat+skill we see in most games. The system I'm most familiar with is White Wolf's Storyteller engine, particular the way it's [...]Read on >>
the other adventure funnel
I've been wracking my brain trying to come up with the right combination of search terms to locate a cool blog/forum post or comment from somebody, where he described a method of scenario design called something like the[...]Read on >>
The Tome Ep 73: 4e Workshop
Mike Mearls conducted a 2 hour workshop on how to tweak 4th edition D&D to fit your liking as well as discussing some possible game-breaking issues. This recording is missing the last 30 minutes of the seminar, but y[...]Read on >>
Nightlands: Lumina
Ok, another valid line of inquiry is Lumina itself. What kind of place is it? It's obviously important; it's the starting location for the players. Is it big? Small? All human or a mix of cultures? What kind of rul[...]Read on >>
World Building: Nightlands
There are a number of considerations with regards to this "Nightlands" setting that need to be resolved before heading much farther in.First off, how big are the safe havens? Is Lumina a major city? If so, how does it [...]Read on >>
World Building
World Building has always been an interesting topic to me. I enjoyed Lord of the Rings for the story on some level, but the real value to me was this false world that was created. You knew, academically, that the time [...]Read on >>
Reign of Discordia (Atomic Array 002)
Reign of Discordia (Atomic Array 002) In this episode, we’re featuring Darrin Drader’s Reign of Discordia Are you a fan of 70s sci-fi, shows like Battlestar Gallactica, Star Trek, et al? If you’ve been[...]Read on >>
The Tome Ep 72: Forgotten Realms Transition
Forgotten Realms Transition is an episode where I give you 5 reviews, quick, to the point, and then on to another subject. You are going to hear about Cormyr, Shadowdale, Anauroch, The Grand History of the Realms, The Or[...]Read on >>
Ashes of War: Session 1
I'm going to start logging my new group's sessions. For starters, it will help me keep things fresh in my mind and, second, it may give readers some campaign ideas. It may just be an interesting read. I dunno. We[...]Read on >>
Dispute Resolution: DM Archetypes
While I eagerly await PG's Part II to getting a game started, I'd like to take a look at something that is a relative constant in gaming: dispute resolution.I've been lucky enough to have been a player with a broad rang[...]Read on >>
TSP: Blood of the Gorgon 3 of 4
The Tome Show Presents: Blood of the Gorgon brings you my thoughts on Senior Patronage and an interview with a Senior Patron, Ben McFarland. Download Standard Podcasts[...]Read on >>
Episode 030: Real Crime
WARNING: Instances of very strong language may offend some listeners. Accidental Survivors: the Modern Gaming Podcast sponsored by Sword's Edge Publishing All music in podcast by Mindscape Music 1. News & Vie[...]Read on >>
The Tome Ep 71: Chambers at Origins
Jaime Chambers is a VP at Margret Weis Productions. He sat down with myself and JJ “The Workingman” Lanza of Fist Full of Comics and Games and spoke to us about what is coming down the line for his company. T[...]Read on >>
4e actual play
As of last night, I’m in a position to judge D&D 4th Edition based on something other than hearsay – since I have now played some. That said, I haven’t played much so I only have a keyhole view of t[...]Read on >>
The Tome Ep 70: Game Night
Game Night is a comedy gaming novel. Not technically a D&D novel, but the inspiration is there and so it was that Gabe Gregoire and myself give you our two cents on it. Don’t forget to check out the Tome̵[...]Read on >>
“leading with the fiction” – a collection of links
Sorry, this is somewhat polemical...but you might have to read between the lines to find any real heat.Mainly, this is prompted by this thread over at the OD&D board, where there was an effort to somehow create a com[...]Read on >>
The Tome Ep 69: Mearls at Origins08
Mike Mearls took a few moments out of his busy convention schedule to answer a few questions for the Tome. There are also seminars that he lead that I recorded that you can expect to hear in future episodes, but this is [...]Read on >>
Colonial Gothic RPG (Atomic Array 001)
Colonial Gothic RPG (Atomic Array 001) It’s the 4th of July, and we’re celebrating by launching a new podcast about the games we love to play. In this first episode, we speak with Richard Iorio of Rogue Game[...]Read on >>
Colonial Gothic Primer
We featured Colonial Gothic, the historical horror game from Rogue Games, on Atomic Array 001. Attached, you’ll find a primer of the setting. Download it and have a look. If you like what you see, make sure you com[...]Read on >>
The Quest for Origins (VIDEO)
That’s right. Just to give you a sneak peek to what I did at Origins here’s me rambling on about various things along my trip to the convention interspersed with footage of the people I met and talked to alon[...]Read on >>
The Tome Ep 68: Rise of the Runelords
Geoffrey D. Winn reviews Rise of the Runelords, the first Pathfinder Adventure Path. Also discussed are the forums, Summer 2008 Contest, 3.5 Private Sanctuary, and Origins. Check it out and enjoy. More coming later th[...]Read on >>
Uncle Figgy’s Guide to Roleplaying
I decided to cross-post this because, after all, this Blog is about gaming advice! Uncle Figgy's site has been down for many moons. Maybe he has relocated, but I can no longer find him.Luckily, I found a few places that [...]Read on >>
