Clik here to view.
The Joesky Tax: A Game Anecdote
After a lot of lead-up, I'm finally running DA2: Temple of the Frog for the Sunday night crew. In an ideal world, I'd run the original version, but it requires so much work to bend it into shape that I...
View ArticleThe Lost Epoch of Khaldun
One of the original building blocks of Crux of Eternity was the existence of convergences— places where other dimensions leak into the world. (They're always written in bold. I don't know why; it just...
View ArticleOn Prophecy
A couple of weeks ago, Matt Colville published a new video about prophecies, both talking about the concept and soliciting feedback from the community as to whether anyone has ever successfully...
View ArticleClik here to view.
No, Seriously, Enchanters and Illusionists Rule the World
Over four years ago, I alleged that enchanters and illusionists rule the world.And finally, there is proof!My players in the Sunday night game are on the cusp of learning The Awful Truth™: a secret...
View ArticleGrousing About Alignment
I've been ruminating about this for several days. (A month or two, maybe?) I expect it was sparked by some passing discourse or other, but who can say?But first, a word about personal bias: As...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Artifact April 2022
Seven years ago, I posted Artifact April, a month of theme posts whereby I posted one magical item every day in April across various RPG systems. I was hoping to do that again this year, but it never...
View ArticleREVEL AT ION
I've learned a lot about myself during this ongoing pandemic of ours. For instance, at the beginning of the pandemic, I was in ten role-playing games, and running six of them.I've learned that you...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It Is Finished
It is done.After eleven years, we finally wrapped the Crux of Eternity campaign last Saturday, May 21, 2022. If you want to read the session reports, you can find the whole thing at Obsidian...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Head of Vecna
A week or two ago, Wizards of the Coast released a new design for D&D's Archlich Vecna, back before he was betrayed by Kas and still had two eyes. He looks like this:Vecna.Here is the final full...
View ArticleReview: Spelljammer: Adventures in Space (and D&D 5e)
I wasn't going to write this review.Despite recently running a lot of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, I don't have an overwhelming urge to talk about it much here on the ol' hobby blog. I may...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Classic-Style Fantasy Elfgames: A Summary
To grossly misappropriate one of my favorite quotes about dungeon-y, dragon-y games, "You play Conan, I play Gandalf. We team up to fight Dracula." In that spirit, I saw this picture on Tumblr which...
View ArticleWhat Happens When I Eat the Corpse Cake?
td { vertical-align: top; } In the Sorrowfell Plains, the locals often call confessors or counselors, "sin-eaters." As with many terms, the origin is obscure to the average pseudo-medieval peasant,...
View ArticleDon't Punish the Players
A couple of months ago, The Alexandrian made a post about OneD&D in which he took issue with "bounded accuracy," the idea in 5e and some older D&D and OSR variants that the character's...
View ArticleHow to Keep Players Returning for a Thousand Hours
As noted elsewhere, I've run a lot of long campaigns. (I don't currently have an ongoing game that has lasted less than three years. My longest campaigns lasted eleven and eight years, respectively;...
View ArticleThe Obligatory Dungeon23 Post
In case you haven't heard the good word, there's a community project this year. (Already in progress!)Sean McCoy posted about this on Twitter and his Substack, but the gist is that you make a...
View ArticleRPGs as Art: On Sincerity in Art
"Don't do fashionable science."— Max DelbrückA mantra for 2023.Wandering around the lonely corners of the internet in this foul year of our Lord two-thousand twenty-three, there's a repeated piece of...
View ArticleNo Prep Is Wasted
If you run games long enough, higher-order patterns begin to emerge without your direct input. A campaign setting is a thing better divined than made.I have previously posted about Arctic Death,...
View ArticleRPGs as Art: A System Matters Metaphor
This tired old debate* rears its ugly head with alarming frequency, and every time, I am left wanting from the answer.Whenever someone complains about a system being "misused"— which is to say, not...
View ArticleWhy Is This Item Cursed?
On a post about cursed items, someone wrote, "I have never liked cursed items. Why would someone make one?"I responded with a brief table. If you want to know why a given cursed item exists, roll 1d8...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Advice Against Quantum Ogres
Meanwhile, on a Facebook D&D group, someone shared this meme:Accompanying the meme was the question, "What do you do if you are the DM?"As you might expect, The Dreaded Discourse™ reigns, and there...
View Article
