New Feature: Plot Hook Ideas

As you may have noticed, I have not posted much lately. My weekly gaming group has been down too many people to role-play very often, so we have mostly stuck to board games. On the weeks that we did role-play, we mainl[...]
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Equipment in Classic D&D

This is part of my ongoing series dissecting early Dungeons & Dragons, and building the retroclone Dungeon Raiders out of it. In original D&D, all weapons deal 1d6 damage. So how are weapons differentiated? O[...]
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Speaking the Cant – Terms and Concepts from D&D’s Past that You Might Not Know

I had a fun conversation with one of my players last night. To him, D&D begins and ends with 4E; he never played an earlier version of it. I don’t remember how the conversation started, but I mentioned something a[...]
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Friday Knight News – Gaming Edition: 30-MAR-2012

First thing I have to say is that I’m sorry this issue is a bit light (but only a little) on content. I’m exhausted after several days at a software conference and I haven’t had time to peruse the usual[...]
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18 Intelligence and 20 Charisma: Dungeon Bastard Bill Cavalier

Bill Cavalier, the Dungeon Bastard, was able to provide us with some of his time to tell us about life as a video using advice guru for the brave adventurers across the land.[...]
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A map, another map, and some more maps, all in one!

Dave over at Blood of Prokopius is being as awesome as ever, but today I’ve got to  send you over …Continue reading »[...]
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Magic in Classic D&D

This is part of my ongoing series dissecting early Dungeons & Dragons, and building the retroclone Dungeon Raiders out of it. Magic has changed a lot in D&D. In Original D&D, there’s no mechanical [...]
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Adventure Review: The Tribute (PFRPG) by Carl Bussler from Timeless Adventures

Don’t you just love double-edged swords? You can swing them this way or that way and they do a lot of damage in the hands of someone who can swing them effectively. Unfortunately, there’s a downside… Yo[...]
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Creighton’s Corner: What’s A Campaign Anyway?

Last time we talked about taking a moment to think about what you and your players want to get out of a game. Armed with this knowledge, the GM can start to think about what kind of campaign to actually run. A campaign c[...]
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Web Series Review: Gold

I’m always excited to see how roleplayers are depicted in the media, and when a google search for historical comparative values of gold and platinum pieces led me to Gold: The Series, I watched all six episodes rig[...]
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Reality Makes the Best Fantasy: Friends and Family

As much as I like to joke that I have no friends and that I moved 3,000 miles away from the East Coast to get away from my family, the fact remains that I do in fact have both of these things. My spouse is one of the mos[...]
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Friday Knight News – Gaming Edition: 23-MAR-2012

Another week buried in Java code. But I did get some gaming in last Sunday thanks to Jason, Mark, Jonathan, Ben, and Ben! Sure, we were stuck in a sewer for the majority of the evening, but hey… it was a very nice [...]
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Evil: A Do-It-Yourself Guide

A few days ago a friend mentioned that, in the campaign he’s planning on running this upcoming summer, he was thinking of encouraging the players to take the reins of evil characters (D&D 3.5). Wheeee! Having [...]
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The Gassy Gnoll: Flea Tinted Glasses

The Gassy Gnoll had his yearly flea dip this week and had an odd thought while gagging on the cloud of dust… How does a flea see the world? A shorter life, plus the occasional killer blizzard, frequent earthquakes,[...]
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Attack and Damage in Classic D&D

This is part of my ongoing series dissecting early Dungeons & Dragons, and building the retroclone Dungeon Raiders out of it. Interestingly, in early D&D, all weapon-based (e.g., non-magical) attacks deal 1d6[...]
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Setting Review: The Shadow Vale Player’s Guide by Alyssa Faden and Torn World

World design is the proverbial rabbit hole many of us fall into as gamers. I have started down many a winding road only to get lost in the ebb and flow of heroes, nations, and continents… Long story short, it’[...]
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Re-imagining DragonLance – part 0

So I have been playing DL1 Dragons of Despair and DL2 Dragons of Flame (publ. 1984) with AD&D 1st ed-rules, and between the two modules we implemented the DragonLance Campaign Setting Guide (1987). Now I want to do [...]
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Creighton’s Corner: Know Your Players

So you’re a GM thinking about starting a new campaign. No doubt, you’ve got some cool ideas and are champing at the bit to get started, but how do you know your players will enjoy what you’ve planned? Better yet, w[...]
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Life Goes On – Three Tips to Make Your Campaign World Seem to Live

One of the nicest things people have said about my various RPG campaigns is that they tend to feel like real places that the players get a glimpse into on a weekly (or so) basis. They look forward to visiting places that[...]
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[Friday Map] Dungeon Map of Hasibur’s Tomb

Another index card map from my little pile of index cards I drew on last month. This one is very …Continue reading »[...]
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Friday Knight News, Gaming Edition: 16-MAR-2012

What a week! But on the plus side, tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day! I know this may not mean much to a lot of people, but it’s my second favorite holiday behind Thanksgiving. I not only get to cook (the Crock P[...]
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The Gassy Gnoll: Where would you be without gaming?

The Gassy Gnoll is not always a pessimistic ogre. Sometimes he’s downright cheerful. When you ask? Usually when he’s gaming! It’s funny how even after 30 years, gaming still brings a smile to my face. P[...]
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My Next D&D-generation

Hurray, another edition is on its way. Oh no, another edition is on its way. And now everybody is rushing off to tell how a new edition war is going to break out, and they are telling us how it saddens them, and that the[...]
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Ability Scores, Skill Checks, and Alignment in Classic D&D

This is part of my ongoing series dissecting early Dungeons & Dragons, and building the retroclone Dungeon Raiders out of it. Ability Scores Far be it from me to throw out the six classic ability scores. But what [...]
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DragonLance: Playing Dragons of Flame – part 1

Not too long ago we began playing DL1 Dragons of Despair (1984), and at the same time we began playing AD&D 1st ed., having played a few modules using D&D becmi. Soon we discovered that AD&D 1st ed. was a [...]
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[Friday Map] The Isle of Vines

The Isle of Vines was once home to the Girrardeaux family. As most know, however, the family itself did not …Continue reading »[...]
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Reality Makes the Best Fantasy: Alcohol (Not the Rubbing Kind)

Alvaro watched as the colorful hummingbirds drank deeply of the trumpet flowers, their wings a blur as their heads disappeared into the purple blooms. The High Summer Festival had filled the city with people from nearby [...]
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Friday Knight News – Gaming Edition: 9-MAR-2012

Do you hear that? That’s the sound of Friday finally arriving! Unfortunately at my house, that also means that the Spring season of soccer is gonig to start and I’m going to be spending lots of time on a socc[...]
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Drowning in Options

  I have noticed a trend in my gaming habits over the many years. As a system starts to release more rules supplements I slowly begin to lose interest in that system or at the very least begin to feel overwhelmed at[...]
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Experience Points and Leveling Up in Classic D&D

This is part of my ongoing series dissecting early Dungeons & Dragons, and building my retroclone Dungeon Raiders out of it. Leveling up is central to early D&D, so a retroclone must include some manner of han[...]
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DIY Digital D&D (Guest Post by Angela Taylor)

Computers make D&D a whole lot smoother, but if you don’t want to pay through the nose every month for D&D Insider, you’ll have to do some preparation on your own. Here are a few must-have tools for DIY D&#[...]
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[Dungeon Map] The Reeking Hole

Another Index Card Dungeon map, the Reeking Hole is a small set of natural caverns with some minor construction down …Continue reading »[...]
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Breaking the Rules – Tricks to Make Your RPG More Fun by Making Alternate Rules Calls on the Fly

Right now, I’m wearing a t-shirt that says “You’re not just wrong. The rules also say you’re a dick!” This is one of my favorite gaming t-shirts ever…as evidenced by the fact that I own it. On the back, howev[...]
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Reality Makes the Best Fantasy: Communication, Magical Regulation and Censorship Part 3

Howdies! If you are just coming across this this is the third part of a three part series; Part 1 and Part 2 have bits of fiction related to the third bit and have more on this subject, so feel free to check those out fi[...]
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Relationships and RPGs: Gaming as a Couple

I have the unique position of being both the significant other who both didn’t play and now does. This provides an interesting point of view on the touchy business of mixing two passions without neglecting the other. P[...]
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Friday Knight News – Gaming Edition: 2-MAR-2012

February is short, but where did it go? March zipped in under the radar and I wasn’t ready for it. Yet, here it is! Sorry about only one review this week, but it’s looking like next week we’ll shoot for[...]
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The Gassy Gnoll: Trolls and Anger

How many of you were (or are) bullied in school? At home? At work? I know I was in grade school and junior high. And in some jobs I’ve had over the years. It’s nothing new, I know. The strong or the powerful [...]
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Character Classes in Classic D&D

This is part of my ongoing series that dissects early D&D and builds a simplified system out of it. Original D&D has three classes: Fighting-Man, Magic-User, and Cleric. Basic D&D has seven: Clerics, Dwarv[...]
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Ice Caverns…Dead Ahead!

The latest cavernous creation from Dwarven Forge is sure to send chills down your RPG arm with its amazing Ice Cavern set. The cold passage ways mix seamlessly with their traditional sets while giving the DM a slew of fl[...]
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Elemental, My Dear Watson – GGG Reviews Heroes of the Elemental Chaos

A warrior draws the power of elemental earth into his body to protect himself. A warlock unleashes a bolt of pure elemental ice on his foe. A wizard sweeps away enemies with an icy wind. Gandalf hurls fire at the wolves [...]
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[Friday Map] The River Cave Mini-Dungeon

Another map drawn on a standard index card this week. The river cave is a nice small dungeon, the way …Continue reading »[...]
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Review – Isle of the Unknown

Not a Review yet I’ve been writing this review for a few weeks now, and I want to let you in on why it took me so long. The first iteration of the review was held up because all I could focus on was what I didnR[...]
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Stars Maligned

The following is a lengthy screed about Alignment, as it pertains to Dungeons and Dragons. If that doesn’t interest you, why don’t you try some bunnies instead? Where to begin? I’ll start by saying that[...]
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What Are Retroclones Good For?

A few weeks ago, I released Dungeon Raiders, a retroclone fusion of Original D&D and 1st Edition D&D, an attempt to re-capture the flavor of classic Dungeons & Dragons. There are at least a dozen of thes[...]
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RPG Blog Carnival: Things to Love, Things to Hate – Giant Space Hamsters and Eclipse Phase

There’s a blog carnival going on at Nevermet Press, on the topic of things that we love and hate. They’ve even conveniently limited it to RPG products, which works well for me. As long-time readers know, I[...]
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Supplement Review: Altered Earth: Heroic Tier Threats (4E) by David Caffee for Chaos Trip Studios and Avalon Game Company

A few months ago I was able to look at a sample from David Caffee @ Chaos Trip Studios of the work he’s been doing for a science-fiction game that uses the D&D 4E rules. Though I wasn’t all that excited [...]
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Two OSR Adventures For Your Enjoyment

Dig it! Two OSR adventures have been posted this week using my maps. First off the block is Joeskythedungeonbrawler’s adventure for …Continue reading »[...]
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[Friday Map] Hall of the Ghoul Prince

This week’s map I drew on a standard 3 x 5 index card. I had originally bought a few packs …Continue reading »[...]
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News from Around the Net: 17-FEB-2012

With apologies to The Police and Sting, “We are spirits… in quite a digital world… are spirits…” I’ve spent my week in virtual boxes at work and I’m glad it’s Friday. It is[...]
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Supplement Review: Playing Possessor (4E) by Rick Martin from Rattlesn@ke Games

Body snatchers. Demonic possession. Schizophrenia. Mind control. It’s time to get out the tin foil hats folks. Somebody’s out to get you… But what happens if it’s you trying to snatch the body? Ri[...]
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