What Do Factions Do?

Factions, more than any other background element, should create story. When it comes to worldbuilding elements like places, NPCs, cultures, and objects, there are going to be some that just inhabit a space in between stories and are there mainly to reinforce the overall feel and texture of the game world. Not every peasant laboring

What are your White Whales?

In short, what are the games you’ve always been interested in playing, but, for whatever reason, you’ve never managed to run or play? Back in the days when roleplaying games were pressed into clay tablets* and dice were made of mammoth bone, one of the major hurdles to playing certain games was availability. If your

You’ve Heard of Roleplaying with Miniatures, but How About Narrative Wargaming?

One of several reasons I stopped wargaming* was that it was basically the same story over and over. Force A and Force B for some reason want to fight each other, and they do that until one side is beaten. Maybe there were some little objectives to think about like a marker on the board,

A Representation of Your Character.

I’m a fan of repping your character through various means, from the simplistic to the downright artistic. I think it’s helpful to both yourself and your fellow characters to have something in front of you, or in your window during an online game. It shows everyone else at the game who your character is somehow.

My Tumultuous Relationship with Shadowrun.

Ok, look, I’ll admit it. I have a chip on my shoulder about this game; one outside of all its other flaws. From my very first look at it my first thought was “I’m not entirely sold on this genre mix stew of a game.” I was the only one in my gaming group that

One Shots As Preludes.

I once ran a series of games. I want to say there were six of them. Each game was a different genre and setting, and each one was a one shot. In each of these games one character died at the end. One character for each member of my group at the time. So, six

To Miniature or not to Miniature?

Do you really need miniature figures of adventurers and monsters, and all those maps or tiles to play a roleplaying game? The short answer is no. Unless the game explicitly calls for them, no, and the number of games that require some form of playing pieces is very small. Off the top of my head

The Puzzling Part About Puzzles.

The party approaches the ancient temple door. sixteen paving stones bear sharp glyphs, and when trodden upon light up. Is there a pattern of steps that opens the massive doors? Within the dank cavern a statue turns, driven by some mechanism, There are words inscribed on the base. Massive stone doors slam shut, trapping the

Basics #2 How to be a GM.

Note: For the purpose of this article I’ll be using the very generic term Game Master, or GM for short, as a stand in for any other game specific term like Dungeon Master, Referee, Storyteller, Control, Harn Master, and so on. I’m honestly not thrilled about the word master and the lofty weight it puts