Category: Running Games

writing, gaming, creating

Alien

Free League have turned their Year Zero Engine to the business of making an Alien roleplaying game. Now, I love the Alien series of movies. Well, OK… I love the first three. Which is good, because the timeline of the RPG encompasses that period. On the other hand, I have an uneasy relationship with the…
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July 2, 2019 0

Best Game Session

RPGaDay Day #2 asks: Best Game Session Since August 2015? Wow. I’m torn on this one. The game of The Haunting I ran at Patriot Games in May with my draft version of The Cthulhu Hack comes joint first on this one. I know that this isn’t my core system, but having spent time rendering…
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August 2, 2016 0

O is for Open / Closed

I ran a game of Cypher system this past weekend and I think I have found myself in a special sort of dilemma. Up front and in the open, I love the Cypher system. I enjoy the level of simplicity and crunch that comes from a system that spends much of the time offering character…
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April 19, 2016 1

Don’t Pity Him

I suspect B.A. would pity me for my shoddy respect of his fighting skills. You can only really appreciate that you’ve done something wrong when you test it in anger – and I can see after a couple of sessions that I haven’t figured B.A. Baracus out right. It isn’t a problem – indeed, I…
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October 19, 2015 0

Lone Wolf Technique Cards

Cubicle 7’s Lone Wolf Adventure Game boxed set enters Joe Dever’s world of Magnamund and allows you to take on the role of Kai Initiates. In the face of creeping darkness and scattered pockets of injustice, you have the means to bring light and hope. While the basic – or Initiate – version of the game…
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September 25, 2015 0

Dracula Dossier: The Enigmatic

What I love most about writing is the research. I love the process. I enjoy digging. This isn’t about a Wikipedia article or two. This is articles in journals, studies, biographies, videos and more. For the Director’s Handbook of the Dracula Dossier, I had two assignments: the Enigmatic Monsignor and Italy. Aside from a couple…
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September 22, 2015 0

Gaming an Unfamiliar Setting

Herein, I consider running ad hoc games using simple generic systems, like Fate Accelerated, with settings that might not be familiar, but have enough draw on common mythology to make the gaming experience a relatively easy one. For me, having a middle ground of creative and imaginative resource makes all the difference, because few of…
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March 11, 2015 0

Free RPG Day with Whitehack

Whitehack proved to be quite an entertaining choice of game to run for Free RPG Day. Really, it provided a framework primarily for my GM style of largely ignoring the rules and forgetting the dice. However, what aspects of the game I did use ran well for me. I like the positive and negative rolls.…
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June 23, 2014 0

Out of the Blue Adventure Design

I’m having a weird revelatory experience with roleplaying adventure design at the moment. Key features of a tabletop gaming session come to me at the last moment. I always have an idea in mind – and then I get on with it. Recently, I have had ‘moments of inspiration’ that catch me utterly off guard. These have…
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June 12, 2014 0

Storming and Cliffhangers

I have had a busy gaming long weekend, running Numenera and TimeWatch at Concrete Cow and Bookhounds of London last night, for my local gaming group. Despite 8 hours gaming I have incited very little dice rolling and managed to get by on minimal prep, which works out fine for me. I have found with many games that despite the mechanical…
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March 11, 2014 0