Forty-one days in WW III that never was. — We’re day 41 from the fall of Kalisz. Accurate time tracking in a sandbox matters. We have procedurally processed all 41 days, and I have witnessed weather, water/food levels, and injuries heavily influence decisions about where to go, what to do, and how long to rest. Twilight: 2000 has the…

Leaping into the Wuxia Melodrama RPG — Some game conventions ago, I played Pasión de las Pasiones a telenovela RPG Powered by the Apocalypse by Brandon Leon Gambetta. It was fantastic. So much over-the-top melodrama! …

A look inside my IRL GM-to-go box While I don’t know quite what I‘m running yet for RinCon in Tucson, AZ. I have broken out my old GM-to-go con box. Thinking about upgrading it for size. I’ve seen some of the commercial made-just-for-gaming organizers… Nice, very nice..but …

Trophy Gold, Glorantha, Masks, and janky AF schedules. — The last couple of weeks have been a lot of fits and starts for some of my games. I’ve been playing Trophy gold with Judd on some Friday mornings. I hope to get back on track once we’re back in the school groove here at home. Also in fits and…

From the Dictionary of Fearless Gaming. — For Andy, Vera, and you who need to see this. I co-ran a workshop at a convention back before the pandemic began. It was a round table talking about the hard stuff in running games. From mechanics to social issues. The thought was if there are ten folks in the…

Or at least the ones I read — If you’re a Substack subscriber, you likely get that “What to read” email. I’ve been waiting for that What to Read: Thomas Manuel on Gaming email…but alas, I’m gonna have to write that one, so here it is. TTRPG Newsletters to read on Substack At the top of the search list is Monte Cook’s RPG Design…

Living, loving, and slaying to contentment. Barbarians of Lemuria The Second Age of Man is a savage time of sorcery and bloodshed, where strong men and beautiful women battle with warlords, priests, magicians, and gladiators to carve a bloody path to the Throne of Lemuria… Barbarians of Lemuria is a sword & sorcery…

From the Dictionary of Fearless Gaming. “It’s a fire elemental, the salamander kind,” the wizard reported back to the adventurers. The players then began a discussion about how best to assault, negotiate, or plea with this creature. No consensus, plenty of rationalizing… “Roll for initiative,” the GM proclaimed after a…

A VTT selection strategy for roleplaying games — Last time I talked about VTTs broadly and the two categories I sort them into core VTTs and smart VTTs. My preferences in order are Foundry VTT, Role, Owlbear, Rollwithme.xyz. …