I am on the record as having called myself, “the flakiest GM in the world”. It turns out that the behaviours which are associated with this rather derogatory self-labelling arise from a rather severe 'Generalised Anxiety Disorder' and a deeper, only slightly less intense, 'Social Anxiety'. I am in therapy and, right now, solution-focused. This … Continue reading Breaking The Cycle
One of the things that has been most influential to my roleplaying experience was the discovery, back in 1980, of the RuneQuest boxed set and my introduction to the Basic Role-Playing (BRP) system. While a full review of that game is beyond the scope of this immediate discussion, one thing always stood out to me: … Continue reading Adding Essence To Mykovnia
I was listening to Jason Hobbs' "Random Screed" when I heard him talk about a desire to play some science-fiction stuff. Given that it was early - I had just arrived at school, around 7am - I shot him a quick Anchor message and thought little of it. This morning, listening to his latest episode, … Continue reading Science Fiction… With Big Guns
When I interviewed GURPS Line Manager Sean "Dr Kromm" Punch back in April, he said something that resonated with me strongly and has stuck with me ever since. Roughly paraphrasing, Sean outlined his belief that the main difference between GURPS and most other roleplaying games revolves around the idea of the prescriptive versus the descriptive. … Continue reading Taking The D100 Prescription
Dad bought RuneQuest in 1980. I stole it within a few days, following his rejection of the whole idea of roleplaying games. Despite the buzz in the wargaming magazines of the day, Dad was never going to be a convert to a fantasy game: too many great historical battles to explore, too many historical periods to glory … Continue reading Dreaming Of Glorantha
I missed writing for the blog on Saturday - sorry about that. To tell the truth, I am rather ironically experiencing some of the work-induced, invasive, and destructive feelings that inspired the podcast in the first place. I’m a high school teacher and, contrary to popular belief, we don’t just work from 9 until 3.30 … Continue reading Feeling Overloaded
I finished the Fire Gate tower key for the Fire Citadel megadungeon, which I am building for play using GURPS Dungeon Fantasy within a revived rendition of my Mystamyr setting. Finishing the first dungeon key is significant because it marks the beginning for actual play: in other words, from today I have enough to run … Continue reading Megadungeon Mapping
In 1988, six seventeen-year-old friends assembled to take an expedition through the famed halls of Khazad-dum. They were, of course, fantasy roleplayers and I was one of them. Many times have I told the tale of Goriel Swiftfoot and the slaying of the Balrog of Moria. This week, I found some photos which capture some … Continue reading 24-Hours In Moria
I've decided to hang up my Game Master's hat (if such a thing exists) and ask myself the question that has been quietly nagging at me for months: "What's it like to play these roleplaying games?" I know that, in a very real sense, the Game Master is a Player in the game. Yet, as … Continue reading What’s It Like To Play?
If there has been one good thing to arise from this dreadful pandemic it has been the realisation within that we were all too hurried and harried in the time before. I have been forced to slow down. To stop. I have learned to sit in silence and to enjoy the time I have with … Continue reading Inspired by Amazing Adventures 5e
