The Tome Ep 80: Harley Stroh
Harley Stroh, the line editor for Goodman Games‘ Dungeon Crawl Classics took some time before GenCon to chat with me a bit about what 4th Edition products from Goodman Games, what it’s like to write adventure[...]Read on >>
A bit about Codex
I was going to call it Sword & Spell. But then I thought about it- almost every retro effort calls itself something & something. While it is a D&D derivative, I find it to be different enough (almost alien in[...]Read on >>
How Morality is Portrayed in RPGs: part ii
World of Darkness: Morality The morality system of the World of Darkness could be broken down in several interesting ways. One way: the psychological link between loss of morality (compassion) and how this causes manifes[...]Read on >>
Alas, Poor Wiskbat
The Wilderlands OD&D PbP I've been playing came to an abrupt end this week. While I'm disappointed, the DM's reasons for shutting down the game are entirely unassailable. If he starts the game anew I'll sign up but[...]Read on >>
Gen Con Indy 2008 (Atomic Array 004)
Gen Con Indy 2008 (Atomic Array 004) Gen Con! The best four days in gaming! That, gentle listeners, is an understatement. Indy was a blast this year, and made even more special because it was our first year as podcaster[...]Read on >>
How Morality is Portrayed in RPGs: part i
There are three major divisions of moral theory that are typically recognized in philosophy. I would like to discuss these, some other moral based ideas, and their relation to how morality in rpgs has been handled. First[...]Read on >>
RPGs are literary forms: A reply to Pat Harrigan
Awhile ago I wrote a mini-review of Things We Think About Games, and in it I said I'd like to explore the 109th thought in that book: RPGs are not literary forms. This comes from Pat Harrigan who's other tidbits in Thin[...]Read on >>
Wandering Upchuck Table
August 29, 2008 from Malevolent and Benign
Filed under: Encounter Critical, Old School, Other Systems, RPG Hub, Random Charts
Or, What Happens If You Eat the Tainted Meat?A chart used in my Encounter Critical Play-by-Post game, God City Sandbox.3d63. Mutation, permanent. Use EC chart or variant4. Madness, permanent. Roll on EC Psychic & Mag[...] Filed under: Encounter Critical, Old School, Other Systems, RPG Hub, Random Charts
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GenCon Survivors 01 – Rob and Fraser’s Excellent Adventure
WARNING: Instances of very strong language may offend some listeners. Accidental Survivors: the Modern Gaming Podcast All music in podcast by Mindscape Music Rob and Fraser's Excellent Adventure Welcome to th[...]Read on >>
Campaign beginnings – part 2
The first session was a success and good fun was had by all concerned. It was great to sit around the table with the TNC again and kick-off an old-school campaign. As with all first sessions, things proceeded tentat[...]Read on >>
The Tome Ep 79: Pathfinder Society
Paizo is running organized play along with the Pathfinder product line called the Pathfinder Society. While at Origins 2008 they ran a panel describing what they were planning to do and I was there to record it. The pro[...]Read on >>
Campaign beginnings
As often happens on the eve of a new campaign, I've got moderate, pre-game jitters. I'm looking at the very loose campaign framework I've mapped out and realising that it's quite massive. I also realise that I don't know[...]Read on >>
Ritualized Magic in your Fate game
Although Dresden Files is in playtesting as we speak, my group is about to start a homebrew urban fantasy game and that means magic rules. Here are the rules I've whipped up for magical rituals. Magic on the fly is based[...]Read on >>
Website Advancement
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Pathfinder Game One
When WotC moved to fourth edition D&D, Paizo picked up the discarded remnants of 3.5 and started work on Pathfinder. Wanting to give it a go, and feeling the urge to GM something on Tuesday Knights, I threw together [...]Read on >>
Gorilla Jam! ep2: Good Vibrations!
We’re picking up the pace in the second episode of Gorilla Jam where we take a look at the makings of a D&D character. Each time we’re moving closer and closer to roleplaying heaven, but before we get the[...]Read on >>
Gaming out the Earholes
Been a little quiet this month at Malevolent & Benign. Can't help but feel a little guilty (how vain, right?) but I guess that's what RSS feeds are for.Truth is, my muse has deserted me. She was all like "You don't a[...]Read on >>
Messing with Players
Messing with the minds of your players is a fun thing to do, and can make for very interesting and memorable moments if done sparingly. Think about it. Most players are trained from years of lazy DMing that anything th[...]Read on >>
Episode 033: GenCon Wrap-Up
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 The GenCon Wrapup[...]Read on >>
New Edition of the… DM Screen?
A Dungeon Master Screen for a new edition is not normally something I'd bother talking about but damn. . . this new DM screen freakin' rocks.When I started DM'ing 4e, I used an old screen but I folded it in half because [...]Read on >>
Meta-enjoyment (or Deep Thoughts)
Hopefully briefer than the previous, and more directly influenced by the inevitable reaction to Grey Ranks winning the Indie RPG Awards.So I will take part in that inevitable reaction, by asking: between the "high minded[...]Read on >>
Private pretense and BadWrongFun, or the power of art to offend
This post and the next are just me quickly jotting down a couple of thoughts before they disappear into the mists.Here we talk about "BadWrongFun", a term coined in RPG circles but familiar in many areas. Basically, at l[...]Read on >>
Handling Cultic Encounters
Ok, so almost as big as the "everyone meets in a tavern" cliché, at least in my campaigns, is the "evil cult". No matter where you go in some game worlds, there is some cult dedicated to an evil god that wants little m[...]Read on >>
A Useless Post
Blogging on a Friday afternoon is pretty useless, especially the weekend of GenCon. But hey nonny nonny and what the hell. Storyteller of Beneath the Screen posted notes on a not-quite-cursed magical garment, the Robe of[...]Read on >>
And yet more Elthos Creatures
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Now We’re Feeling Zombified
Another excerpt from my Encounter Critical project, Gods From Outer Space, which matches handily with Jonathan of The Core Mechanic's RPG Blog Carnival. For those wandering by who might be unfamiliar, you can find a revi[...]Read on >>
The Tome Ep 78: 2008 Summer Contest
The Tome’s Summer 2008 contest is coming to a close at the end of August. But I wanted to give you one quick chance to hear what sort of quality things you could win. Why haven’t you entered yet? What are you[...]Read on >>
Dragon Warriors is being resurrected
A long time ago, I had a couple of volumes in the Dragon Warriors series. I was very impressed with the scenarios in the books, although I never got a chance to play them (thanks to a number of factors, not least of whic[...]Read on >>
Dragon Warriors is being resurrected
A long time ago, I had a couple of volumes in the Dragon Warriors series. I was very impressed with the scenarios in the books, although I never got a chance to play them (thanks to a number of factors, not least of whic[...]Read on >>
Rumours: Final Fantasy style
I recently got back into some old NES favourites of mine; games I haven't played in 20 years. For good ol' nostalgia, I slotted Dragon Warrior and also jumped back into the original Final Fantasy again.I always felt th[...]Read on >>
RPG Bloggers Network
I'm pleased to say that my blog is now included in the feed of RPG Bloggers Network, a collection of (what else) RPG-related blogging feeds. Check it out!Also, note, in order to further focus my RSS/Atom feed on RPGs, I'[...]Read on >>
Episode 032: Garden Variety Monsters
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 77: Pathfinder RPG Seminar
The Pathfinder RPG/Sticking with 3.5 Seminar from Origins 2008 included Publisher Erik Mona, Lead Designer Jason Buhlman, and Director of Marketing Joshua Frost all of Paizo Publishing. They chat about the Pathfinder RPG[...]Read on >>
Sandboxin’
It's an interesting phenomenon in RPG discussions, that when people talk about some style of game, in a positive light, others who feel "left out" try to redefine that style to match the way that they're used to playing.[...]Read on >>
Handling Dwarven Encounters
Ok, so, Dwarves. A favorite of many, many players. What's not to like? They are stout defenders of their race, heavily akin to the stone they live in. Sturdy, strong, gruff, and drunk half the time, dwarves are all a[...]Read on >>
Nightlands: Adventuring
Adventuring in a world like the Nightlands should be suitably different from other campaigns. Notably, the party would like be seen as crazy to even think of walking out of the gates in such a small group. In normal se[...]Read on >>
More on Braunstein
Braunstein: the Roots of Roleplaying GamesComment: I find it frustrating, but not altogether surprising, to see Braunstein claimed as the spiritual ancestor of "avant garde indie gaming". I mean, it's acknowledged in the[...]Read on >>
Taverns and Clichés
There's been a bit of talk recently about the good old fashioned "Tavern" cliché of D&D. I figured I would share some thoughts on this one.My first game of D&D was in my sophomore year of college. I enjoyed th[...]Read on >>
The Tome Ep 76: Healing Surges/Raise Dead
The Tome looks at Healing Surges and the Raise Dead ritual for D&D 4e as well as discussing some ways that you can build a good Dwarven Paladin and Dragonborn Fighter. Swing by the Forums and let us know what you th[...]Read on >>
Side Session #2: Another Player
Before I delve into the second session log for the "side group," I'd like to note that new player take-up of 4th Edition is very encouraging. Not only is Jimmy having fun, but he told a friend of his about the game and [...]Read on >>
The Tome Ep 75: Secrets of 4e Sem (Mearls)
Mike Mearls conducted a seminar at Origins 2008 titled “Secrets of 4e” where he gave some more insight into how 4e works, why it works, and what you can do to make it work better. Promo is for Accidental Sur[...]Read on >>
Hero Points: Part 3
What the character knows about hero points, in an rpg, greatly affects the 'fiction' of the game. It is important to make sure that your setting and rules are in alignment for your design to keep the behaviors of player[...]Read on >>
Prophecy (Atomic Array 003)
Prophecy (Atomic Array 003) Greg Hancock joined us to talk about Prophecy, the “real fantasy” roleplaying game from Relentless Publishing. Special Discount For Atomic Array listeners: $5.00 off Core Rules + [...]Read on >>
