This is always tricky. You’ve got a scenario all ready to go. The Catacombs of Malice await! You just have to convince the players to want their characters to enter the scenario. If you’re in a good place as a…
Modern game accessories with an Old School feel!
Category: Game Design
Worldbuilding is fun. Whether you build from the inside out (like me) or the outside in, it’s just plain fun. Sometimes, though, you can get stuck. When your players are wandering from hex to hex, exploring what’s over the next…
So it’s just after 6AM, and I’ve been up since 0430 for no reason at all, and I’ve scrolled through the entire Internet. So you’re getting a blog post. It’s happened again. A well-meaning Fifth Edition GM has posted: My…
The Fifth Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide lists Supernatural Gifts as reward in lieu of treasure that might be bestowed by a powerful creature or entity. These gifts are intended to match that list’s “Charms” in terms of game power. In…
This post is pretty simple: When you design a dungeon, use three dimensions. When we GMs look at battle or dungeon maps, they’re usually flat. (Arguably, they’re always flat, even if they’re isometric, but I digress.) This presentation encourages two-dimensional…
Lots of folks think adventure design is hard. It certainly can be, if you let it. Here’s a little secret: It’s really easy. Even for people who write adventures intended for publication, it’s nowhere near as hard as folks make…
Player vs Character Skill Something’s been itching at me for ages. Just this morning a Facebook comment helped me scratch it. People often ask “What’s the difference between Old School (or OSR) gaming and modern gaming?” The differences are many…
…other than Spears & Spells, of course. If you know me, you know I’ve been playing RPGs since what are now Old School Renaissance (OSR) games were just … games. While I adore modern gaming, every so often I need…
You’re a GM. You’re stuck for ideas. You Google “adventure design”. The trouble is most of what you find is bullshit.
The recent OGL panic has seen a ton of players abandon Fifth Edition and try other games. Many of those games are from the Old School Renaissance, or OSR. The trouble is the look like D&D and use the same dice as D&D, but they’re not at all like Fifth Edition, no sirree.
