Written Sketches

I recently started using Day One, a journaling app that’s sleek and fun and has a popup feature whereby the app tells you, “Okay, write something.” I’ve been using it mostly for sketching — a pa[...]
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News from Around the Net: 3-FEB-2012

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[...]
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Divine Favor: The Inquisitor

This part of the divine favor series from Open Design is 20 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC and 1 page SRD, leaving 17 pages of content for the Inquisitor, so let's check out what we get, shall we? [...]
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Divine Favor: the Paladin

This installment of Open Design's Divine Favor-series is 20 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD, leaving 17 pages of content, so let's check it out! [...]
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NeoExodus: A House Divided Campaign Setting

This pdf from Louis Porter Design is 166 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 4 pages ToC, 1 page SRD, 2 pages char-sheet, 2 pages mini-monster-sheets, 1 page condition tracker, 1 page combat & initiati[...]
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Obsidian Eclipse Book 2: Root and Branch

This adventure/sourcebook from Louis Porter Design is 27 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/SRD, 1 page ToC, 3 pages of advertisements, leaving 21 pages of content, so let's check this installment of Obsidi[...]
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Publisher Interview: Joseph Goodman of Goodman Games

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[...]
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One on One

This is a post about gaming – and tennis – but mostly about gaming. I promise. Here’s the thing. I’ve been thinking a lot (too much, it’s become an obsession) about gaming as math problem. Or, I suppose, more s[...]
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My Fellow Gamers, Stay Classy

Hatorade, Vancian Magic, Tactics, and Other Things I’m here at DDXP and after yesterday’s Class Design Seminar, the internet has seemed ablaze with irrationality. I’d like to quell this uprising somewha[...]
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Streets of Zobeck

This urban noir adventure anthology set in the by now legendary clockwork city of Zobeck from Open Design is 94 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page advertisement, 1 blank page and 1 page [...]
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Alleys of Zobeck

This web-enhancement for Streets of Zobeck from Open Design is 17 pages long, 1 page front cover/editorial, 1/2 a page SRD, leaving 15 1/2 pages of content to add to the adventure anthology, so what exactly do we get? [...]
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The Secret to Background Creation

Do you enjoy the Dragon Age RPG? Wish you could invent your own Backgrounds? Do you think this is a short introductory paragraph? WHO CARES!? Here is my official “How To” on creating your own Backgrounds. The Breakdo[...]
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The Gassy Gnoll: What Makes a Location Fantastic (RPG Blog Carnival)

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 [...]
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Adventure Review: The Haunting of Larvik Island (4E) by Stephen Newton from Thick Skull Adventures

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 [...]
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Cross class

I spent a happy couple of hours transferring all the 4e Essentials martial classes into a spreadsheet. Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it. It’s amazing how many similarities they share. Maybe that’[...]
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Ancient Scroll’s Secret Room: The Rules of Chaos

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 p[...]
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Hell on Eight Wheels: Eight – A Unified Core Rule

Before we go much further, anew blanket rule will be instituted to help pull the various mechanisms into amore unified concept.The highest card wins, as long as it is below the relevantattribute for the action. If two sk[...]
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The mechanics of character

I’ve never really subscribed to the idea that rules have no place at all in roleplaying. I don’t believe they’re completely necessary, but nor are they anathema to the whole lets pretend I’m looki[...]
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Game Design and Openness

I do all of my design work at Sand & Steam openly. Every bit of what I do is laid out for everyone to see, warts and all. When I first started, I choose openness not because of any high-minded philosophy about infor[...]
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News from Around the Net: 20-JAN-12

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�[...]
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Hell On Eight Wheels: Seven – Targeted Combat

If you’ve been reading through this series of game developmentblog posts, you’ll have seen many references to Freebooter’s Fate. This is agreat miniatures game released by Freebooter Miniature last year. I don’t [...]
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Game Review: Quantum Flux by Kieran Kowalski from 6d6 RPG

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 cou[...]
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Book Review: The Kobold Guide to Board Game Design by Mike Selinker and Others from Open Design

Games. We all play them. It’s what makes us “gamers,” right? Whether you enjoy the occasional card, board, or roleplaying game, the one constant for me has been the “fun factor.” If I’[...]
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Divine Favor: the Oracle

This pdf from Open Design is 18 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD, leaving 15 pages of content for the Oracle, so let's check out what we get, shall we? [...]
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Hell On Eight Wheels: Six – Skaters Stats

I’ve already decided that I like the idea of cards forthis game, they can be played out quickly or held for strategic play forms.I’ve also decided that I’m aiming toward something between the quick abstractcombat o[...]
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Hell On Eight Wheels: Five – Further Movement

Confrontation (2nd and 3rd Editons)from Rackham had a quick and easy system for miniatures combat, it combined thelocation of a victim’s hit with difference between attacker’s strength andvictim’s toughness, and co[...]
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Game Review: Fantasy Craft by Alex Flagg, Scott Gearin, and Patrick Kapera from Crafty Games – Chapter 5

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[...]
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News from Around the Net: 13-JAN-12 (Triskaidekaphobic Edition)

Welcome to the first triskaidekaphobic edition of GKR’s News frrom Around the Net for 2012… (Apparently there are three in 2012, two in 2013, and one in 2014. Since we’re on a downward trend let’s[...]
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Tools Review: Dungeons & Dragons Virtual Table Beta

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[...]
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Because images are good.

[...]
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Hell On Eight Wheels: Four – A Closer Look at Movement

Once we start nailing down the procedures used to moveskaters around the track, we define one of the core aspects of the game.Moving on wheels is different to walking, a goodprocedure should reflect this. Without skill, [...]
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Hell On Eight Wheels: Three – The Track and The Board

There are a few groups running roller derby bouts. But atthe time of writing, the largest organisation in the US is the Women’s FlatTrack Derby Association (WFTDA), in Australia most of the leagues playaccording to the[...]
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Game Review: The One Ring: Adventurer’s Book by Francesco Nepitello from Cubicle 7 – Part 6

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 par[...]
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Preschool Pathfinder

My kid loves games. None too surprising, of course, and when I say that she loves games — she’s three — I really mean that she loves opening the boxes and hammering around with the stuff inside. Unfolding maps,[...]
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News from Around the Net: 6-JAN-12

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’ cel[...]
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A new years recap – gaming over the break and mini-reviews of many games.

Hello and welcome to 2012! If you’re like me, you’re going to cram as much gaming into this year as you can because come December, well that’s it for the entire world.  Not that I believe that, but I&#[...]
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Game Review: Fantasy Craft by Alex Flagg, Scott Gearin, and Patrick Kapera from Crafty Games – Chapter 4

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 spellcra[...]
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Give ‘Em a (True) Hand

Something that has surprised me in the ongoing V20 work I’ve been doing is that I’ve taken a new shine to the True Black Hand. Among the Vampire community, Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand can be an unpopular book. I�[...]
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Game Review: The One Ring: Adventurer’s Book by Francesco Nepitello from Cubicle 7 – Part 5

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 Mec[...]
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Nemesh

Nemesh, Avatar of the Black Ram The party may encounter a black ram prowling the alpine forests, leading a herd of mountain goats that seem without number. Surprisingly, the black ram has the ability to speak, and will i[...]
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News from Around the Net: 30-DEC-11

“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[...]
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Divine Favor: the Cleric

This pdf from Open Design is 20 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD, leaving 17 pages of content, so let's check out the new tools for the cleric, shall we? [...]
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The Gassy Gnoll: The Circle of Trust (or The Power of Odd Jobs and Beginnings)

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[...]
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Product Review: Dungeonmorph Dice and Cards from Inkwell Ideas

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 [...]
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Game Review: The One Ring: Adventurer’s Book by Francesco Nepitello from Cubicle 7 – Part 4

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[...]
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Supplement Review: Divine Favor: The Cleric by Stefan Styrsky from Open Design

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

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[...]
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The Universal RPG Play Loop

In game design, the designer wants to put the player into what’s known as a “game loop,” a repeated sequence that the player can learn and depend upon, and that helps the designer communicate the essent[...]
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Louis Porter Design Free RPG Day Kickstarter project.

This Kickstarter project is different though. This is different because the company behind it, Louis Porter Design wants to give away the results for free! [...]
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Encounter Design

I”ve started working on my two Savage Worlds games for Orccon 2012. Since one of the games is going to be in a fantasy setting (the game’s called “The Hall of the Munchkin King”), I’ve been [...]
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