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The Importance of Narrative from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Human beings are natural story tellers. We love them and more to the point, we need them. Think about it. How many stories do you tell in your average day? When you get home from work, you probably tell someone a story of your day. When talking to frie...

Good Roll, But You Still Lose from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000

On Friday I did something kind of mean to one of my players in my game. It wasn't without reason. It wasn't just out of a sense of cruelty. It was still mean though. In general terms, I set him up for action in his character's area of specialization. T...

News from Around the Net: 3-FEB-2012 from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:41 +0000

February!?! Where’d January go? Geesh!

Here in Colorado, the snow started to fly last night and we are in the first real winter storm in 2012. What does that mean for yours truly? Not much really… I work from home. But it will hopefully give me some time to work on a few side . . . → Read More: News from Around the Net: 3-FEB-2012

Social Media in Modern Settings from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Not a full on discussion, but something I'm hoping to get folks' input on. How many of you have taken the time to consider what social media can mean for modern day games and events? the rate at which information can spread, and the degree of familiari...

Publisher Interview: Joseph Goodman of Goodman Games from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:00:37 +0000

The “Old School” gaming movement continues to impress me with the enthusiasm of the gamers and game companies supporting it. One of the games many gamers are excited about in 2012 is the Spring release of the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game (or DCC RPG) from Goodman Games. And though they could go . . . → Read More: Publisher Interview: Joseph Goodman of Goodman Games

Privilege vs. Success/Failure from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Did you have a good Wednesday? Mine was ok. Sorry about the late notice on no post. I completely forgot that I hadn't prepped something ahead of time until my head hit the pillow, and at that point I wasn't getting back up. It shouldn't happen again. A...

Book Review: Unusual Suspects: Guide to an Interrogation Session by Robert Oglodzinski from Library of Ancient Scroll from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:54 +0000

When I started working with Robert Oglodzinski a few months ago, I reviewed Walls Can Talk, which collects a few “legends and adventure ideas” for fantasy and horror games. The layout, done by Michael Wolf (Stargazer of Stargazer’s World), was simple and effective to put the focus on the stories at hand. I thought . . . → Read More: Book Review: Unusual Suspects: Guide to an Interrogation Session by Robert Oglodzinski from Library of Ancient Scroll

Doing The Impossible from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:37:00 +0000

It seems I have once again set this blog to update at the wrong time. Sorry for that.RPGs are funny things. Especially the campaigns that you run at your own table. Why? Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but I'd wager that the impossible happens at...

Supplement Review: Caves & Caverns (PFRPG) by Creighton Broadhurst and David Posener from Raging Swan Press from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:33 +0000

Just about every fantasy campaign I’ve ever played in has involved a cave system or cavern at one time or another. And though I’m a fan of dungeons, I really like it when there’s more of a natural element to them. The “Five Room Dungeon” technique I first learned about in Johnn Four’s Roleplaying . . . → Read More: Supplement Review: Caves & Caverns (PFRPG) by Creighton Broadhurst and David Posener from Raging Swan Press

Concepts You Shouldn’t Allow from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

This is something of an odd topic because there is a lot of variance between different play groups, and so I'd imagine that there will be a lot of different opinions on just what you should and shouldn't allow a player to be. Some GMs, especially ones ...

Ancient Scroll’s Secret Room: To Punish and Enslave (or “Being Lawful”) from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:00:15 +0000

Nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. - Albert Einstein

One who breaks an unjust law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community . . . → Read More: Ancient Scroll’s Secret Room: To Punish and Enslave (or “Being Lawful”)

News from Around the Net: 27-JAN-12 from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:00:17 +0000

Hope everyone has had a good week! Mine has been interesting… We’ve been dealing with getting some water damage assessed and fixed in our house after a small overflow in an upstairs bathroom resulted in a family room waterfall through a spinning ceiling fan. Who needs Vegas and the Bellagio fountains? I had one . . . → Read More: News from Around the Net: 27-JAN-12

Review: The Game Master by Tobiah Panshin from Troll in the Corner » Role Playing Games

Troll In The Corner — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:30:06 +0000

I thought I’d do something a little different and review something slightly more out of the ordinary. I’d originally planned to have this up and online in November when I first heard about it, but I’ve been putting it off repea...

The Multi-Strand Game from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

I promised I'd talk about this at the beginning of the week and then got distracted by other things. That said, today I want to actually talk about it before I break my promise.Now, I don't know if this kind of game is actually called a "Multi-Strand G...

The Gassy Gnoll: What Makes a Location Fantastic (RPG Blog Carnival) from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:00:04 +0000

Once in a while a question crops up via a RPG Blog Carnival topic that makes me scratch my head and ponder for a bit. And yes, before you ask, most Gassy Gnolls are predominantly pondering people. We like to ponder just as much as we like to plunder, but nobody bothers to look . . . → Read More: The Gassy Gnoll: What Makes a Location Fantastic (RPG Blog Carnival)

Make Or Break Time (What Would You Do?) from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

As I write this, I'm fresh out of a game where going in the GM was not sure if he had just killed us all with what he was planning for the session. The good news - for the PCs anyhow - is that everyone made it out alive. We handled the situation in a w...

Adventure Review: Frozen Wind (PFRPG) by Jonathan McAnulty from Rite Publishing from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:00:23 +0000

When I read the first couple of adventures of the Curse of the Golden Spear adventure trilogy set in Kaidan from Jonathan McAnulty and Rite Publishing, I was blown away. I remember the first time I saw the Oriental Adventures book for AD&D in 1985 and was fascinated by the world of Kara-Tur. And . . . → Read More: Adventure Review: Frozen Wind (PFRPG) by Jonathan McAnulty from Rite Publishing

Small Obstacles are Sometimes The Best from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

So, my Friday game has come and gone. Over all it was a successful game, though I did learn a few things about the weaknesses and strengths of the format I've been using for the game - more on that later in the week. However, something did stand out to...

Adventure Review: The Haunting of Larvik Island (4E) by Stephen Newton from Thick Skull Adventures from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Though The Haunting of Larvik Island has been out since June 2011, I’m coming very late to the party. Written by Stephen Newton and published by Thick Skull Adventures, this adventure for a group of five 1st level D&D 4E characters is not just a solid adventure with an old school feel. It also . . . → Read More: Adventure Review: The Haunting of Larvik Island (4E) by Stephen Newton from Thick Skull Adventures

Ancient Scroll’s Secret Room: The Rules of Chaos from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 11:00:03 +0000

Last week I spoke about playing good and evil characters but promised that I’d follow up with my thoughts on playing lawful and chaotic PCs. When I started to think about it, I decided to break this post into two parts – one for chaos, the other for law. So today we start with . . . → Read More: Ancient Scroll’s Secret Room: The Rules of Chaos

News from Around the Net: 20-JAN-12 from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:00:12 +0000

Welcome to the gaming news roundup for the week of 20-JAN-2012!

This week was “one of those” weeks with work, so I’m gleeful that it’s Friday! Yay!

The debate continued this week about “D&D Next” or “D&D 5e” or “Ultimate Fighting D&D With Kung-fu Grip,” so you’ll see a few stories related to that . . . → Read More: News from Around the Net: 20-JAN-12

Favors and Compromise – Politics Part 3 from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Today I'm going to conclude my talking about Politics with this last bit. We talked on Tuesday about the NPCs and doing prep on it, with some great additional bits of advice in the comments. Yesterday we talked about games and distractions. Today I wan...

Game Review: Quantum Flux by Kieran Kowalski from 6d6 RPG from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:00:40 +0000

Though I don’t read much sci-fi these days, I’m still a big fan of films in the genre. Sprinkle in some horror and I’ll probably go see it if the trailer looks good enough. The golden standard is of course Ridley Scott‘s 1979 masterpiece Alien, and though many films have attempted to achieve the . . . → Read More: Game Review: Quantum Flux by Kieran Kowalski from 6d6 RPG

Court Games and Distractions – Politics Part 2 from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

As I mentioned yesterday, this Friday one of my games is moving more heavily into the realm of politics. I am simultaneously scared and excited by this. Why? Well, I've got an awesome group and I want to do this right for them. However, politics is an ...

GM Questionnaire from Unofficial Games

Unofficial Games — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:33:00 +0000

From Zak originally,GM QuestionnaireRepost and answer. Or, if you don't have a blog, answer in the comments. Or be a big rebel and do neither.1. If you had to pick a single invention in a game you were most proud of what would it be? Awesomeness ...

Running Politics from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

This Friday my L5R game is taking a very rokugani turn into an area where I'm not super comfortable in my ability as a GM. Where is that you ask? Well, the PCs are taking a bit more of a court focus, which means that politics is coming into play. What ...

Game Review: Fantasy Craft by Alex Flagg, Scott Gearin, and Patrick Kapera from Crafty Games – Chapter 5 from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:00:31 +0000

There’s only three chapters to go in Fantasy Craft from Crafty Games… Combat, Foes, and Worlds. Unfortunately between those three chapters and the index, character sheets, and so on, those last three chapters cover nearly 200 pages all by themselves! Every time I delve back into this book, I’m reminded how much of a . . . → Read More: Game Review: Fantasy Craft by Alex Flagg, Scott Gearin, and Patrick Kapera from Crafty Games – Chapter 5

Writer’s Block from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Writer's Block is the name for the phenomenon that - traditionally writers - is used when no matter how hard one tries, they're unable to find inspiration for how to continue a story. It can be applied to almost any endeavor one can undertake, but seem...

Tools Review: Dungeons & Dragons Virtual Table Beta from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:00:36 +0000

Right before the holidays, Rory Madden from Game Table Online dropped me a note wondering if I’d like to check out the D&D Virtual Table they’ve had under development for Wizards of the Coast. It’s been in beta testing for Dungeons & Dragons Interactive (DDI) users for a while now it seems and includes . . . → Read More: Tools Review: Dungeons & Dragons Virtual Table Beta

Endings and Beginnings from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

When you're running a game with a strong narrative bend to it, there will come times when things need to come to an end or when things are just coming to a beginning. These moments can be very powerful moments in the game, and can generate the kind of ...

The Gassy Gnoll: Secret Lives of Gingerbread Men with Nine Kids (New Year, New Game) from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:00:50 +0000

The “New Year, New Game” efforts from the great folks at Gnome Stew and DriveThruRPG suggests something we should do as gamers anyway – try new games. Though not every game is for everybody, by trying new games, settings, tools, and techniques we can keep ourselves from falling in the ruts we sometimes fall . . . → Read More: The Gassy Gnoll: Secret Lives of Gingerbread Men with Nine Kids (New Year, New Game)

Game Review: The One Ring: Adventurer’s Book by Francesco Nepitello from Cubicle 7 – Part 6 from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:00:15 +0000

The end is nigh! Well, the last part of my multi-post review of The One Ring: Adventurer’s Book from Cubicle 7 and writer Francesco Nepitello anyway… “Part 6: Fellowship Phase” deals with that part between the adventures of any campaign – downtime. But as I’ve pointed out more than a few times during this . . . → Read More: Game Review: The One Ring: Adventurer’s Book by Francesco Nepitello from Cubicle 7 – Part 6

Prep an adventure in the time it takes to boil an egg {GM Secrets} from Trollish Delver

Trollish Delver — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:26:00 +0000

We've all been there. It's the night of your regular campaign and you gather around the table eager to roll some dice. Except, only two people have shown up because the others bailed last minute because of illness or work. The adventure you've worked o...

Ancient Scroll’s Secret Room: The Dwarf, The Elf, and The Onion from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:00:03 +0000

Welcome to the New Year dear readers! I hope 2012 will bring you more great game sessions and plenty of inspiration for new campaigns. Along those lines, hold on tight as we head into a new adventure…

This time I want to share some of my ideas about building a party of PCs. One . . . → Read More: Ancient Scroll’s Secret Room: The Dwarf, The Elf, and The Onion

News from Around the Net: 6-JAN-12 from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:00:43 +0000

That’s right, it’s 2012… The year we see if the Mayans were right or if they were too cheap to buy a new calendar at the office supply store.

Hopefully everyone had a happy and safe New Years’ celebration! Let’s hope this year is full of plenty of gaming goodness!

Now on to the . . . → Read More: News from Around the Net: 6-JAN-12

Game Review: Fantasy Craft by Alex Flagg, Scott Gearin, and Patrick Kapera from Crafty Games – Chapter 4 from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:00:52 +0000

Another one of my goals for 2012 is to finish my chapter-by-chapter review of Crafty Games‘ Fantasy Craft, Second Printing book. And, since we’ve dealt with character creation, action resolution, and spellcraft already, it was only logical that the next chapter of the Fantasy Craft book dealt with items, right? Unfortunately this chapter suffers . . . → Read More: Game Review: Fantasy Craft by Alex Flagg, Scott Gearin, and Patrick Kapera from Crafty Games – Chapter 4

Game Review: The One Ring: Adventurer’s Book by Francesco Nepitello from Cubicle 7 – Part 5 from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:00:04 +0000

One of my New Years’ resolutions for 2012 is to finish up my ongoing review of The One Ring, so I’m going to push forward with my part-by-parcel review today and focus on “Part 5 – Adventuring Mechanics.” But before I get going, I want to share a quick couple of thoughts regarding this . . . → Read More: Game Review: The One Ring: Adventurer’s Book by Francesco Nepitello from Cubicle 7 – Part 5

News from Around the Net: 30-DEC-11 from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 11:00:28 +0000

“It’s the end of the year as we know it and I feel fine…” (apologies to Michael Stipe and the rest of REM for paraphrasing the lyrics to “It’s The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”)

This is the last news round-up for 2011, which means 2012 is . . . → Read More: News from Around the Net: 30-DEC-11

Stage Fright from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0000

This is something I've spoken about on here before I think, though perhaps from a different angle, and I wanted to bring it up again. Why? Because it has been on my mind of late, and generally what is on my mind gets put on this blog. Especially when i...

The Importance of ‘Normal’ from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0000

When playing/running a RPG it can be very easy to get caught up in the dramatic and swept away with the tides of high adventure. However, there is also a need for the normal to exist. The normal grounds things in the world you've created and gives a ba...

The Gassy Gnoll: The Circle of Trust (or The Power of Odd Jobs and Beginnings) from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:00:55 +0000

Have you ever noticed how adventurers always seem to get the glamorous jobs and only rarely get the dirty jobs nobody really wants to do?

Let’s take a simple example. A new group of PCs gets hired to kill some rats or bugs in a cellar somewhere. Usually the NPC hiring them fails to . . . → Read More: The Gassy Gnoll: The Circle of Trust (or The Power of Odd Jobs and Beginnings)

JiB on GM’ing: Pathfinder Variant Rules, Character Advancement from The Douchey DM

The Douchey DM — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:23:50 +0000

Our final exploration of the variant rules for Pathfinder found in the Ultimate Combat Guide discusses character advancement, the effect of magic and magic items, and takes a look at creatures and how to convert them to use the variant rules as well. Several people have raised some very valid thoughts, questions and even concerns […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry...

Product Review: Dungeonmorph Dice and Cards from Inkwell Ideas from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:00:50 +0000

When I first heard about the whole geomorph mapping paradigm in early 2011, it was at Dyson Logos’ blog – A Character For Every Game – but I came to discover only recently that they are a very old idea originally created by Gary Gygax himself. There was a series of books from TSR . . . → Read More: Product Review: Dungeonmorph Dice and Cards from Inkwell Ideas

Protagonist Driven vs. Antagonist Driven from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:24:00 +0000

Wow, I'm doing really bad this week on these updates. I apologize. Not really sure what is going on, but between missing a post and setting the wrong time, this has probably been the worst week for the blog in a very long time. My apologies for that.To...

Game Review: The One Ring: Adventurer’s Book by Francesco Nepitello from Cubicle 7 – Part 4 from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:00:54 +0000

As I continue to dive deeper into The One Ring from Cubicle 7, I’m finding that there are things I really like about the system conceptually that I’m wondering if I could translate from here to other games… While Part 3 focused on the many skills, traits, and items that can be used to . . . → Read More: Game Review: The One Ring: Adventurer’s Book by Francesco Nepitello from Cubicle 7 – Part 4

Supplement Review: Divine Favor: The Cleric by Stefan Styrsky from Open Design from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:00:07 +0000

Open Design‘s Divine Favor series has done a good job of presenting some interesting options to player characters (PCs) using the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Many of their options revolve around classic traits of traditional classes and Divine Favor: The Cleric continues in that vein. Some of the ideas come from classic myths and literature . . . → Read More: Supplement Review: Divine Favor: The Cleric by Stefan Styrsky from Open Design

Preparation – Part 1 – Priorities from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:56:00 +0000

It amuses me to no end that this post is going up late, because it is talking about being prepared. Now, when I say preparation I do mean for the next session of the game you are running, but it can also be much further along then that. Why? Because wh...

Game Review: Fantasy Craft by Alex Flagg, Scott Gearin, and Patrick Kapera from Crafty Games – Chapter 3 from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:00:42 +0000

When I started tackling Fantasy Craft a chapter at a time, I had no clue I’d hit a chapter filled to the brim with 41 pages of spells and spellcraft. When I was working on early books for Moebius Adventures we came up with a book of spells that was about 164 pages long . . . → Read More: Game Review: Fantasy Craft by Alex Flagg, Scott Gearin, and Patrick Kapera from Crafty Games – Chapter 3

Ancient Scroll’s Secret Room: Scary Christmas Tales from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 15:32:19 +0000

Today’s post comes from my friend, Aleksander Daukszewicz. He is part of the Polish creative collective Lans Macabre. Those guys are one of most talented groups in the Polish RPG industry. I am proud that they publish some of their ideas with my self-publishing label – Library of Ancient Scroll.

Recently Aleksander wrote a . . . → Read More: Ancient Scroll’s Secret Room: Scary Christmas Tales

Naming NPCs from Reality Refracted

Reality Refracted — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

((Whoops, this went up early. Ah well, you don't mind do you? Supposed to have gone up at 8:00am. Le sigh, off to bed, I am the tired.))I can't think of very few statements I disagree with more than "A rose by any other name would smell as weet," and y...