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
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
We moved into our present home in 1998 and stashed a load of boxes in one corner of the top room to unpack later. Recently my wife and I visited that corner, uncovering those old boxes. The first stuff we found was a mix of really old treasures and accumulated bits that date back to … Continue reading The Star Frontiers Exercise Book
If you’ve ever been to my house, talked to me about gaming, read my blog for any length of time, or listened to my podcast you’ll know this is true: I have a problem when it comes to buying game books. The stacks in my “hobby room” – the space dedicated to housing the rat … Continue reading I Have Enough Books
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
Yesterday, I dug out my physical rules for Rolemaster Fantasy Roleplaying (RMFRP). In so doing, I was struck by some pretty interesting thoughts and impressions. In my quest to inhabit and develop my fantasy Otherworld, as discussed in earlier posts and on the podcast, I found myself confronted with an unexpected desire to draw liberally … Continue reading The Road goes ever on and on…
When I was 11 years old I went to High School. All my life I’d been a bit of loner, much more comfortable in my bedroom with the door closed and the music blocking out the world beyond. Back when I was four, my best friend was my dog, Heiko; the strongest connection I felt … Continue reading The Why Of Fantasy Roleplaying Games
Following on from today's interview with Daniel Jones about Otherworld Immersion, I've been thinking an awful lot about what Daniel calls, "Methodology". This is the stuff of roleplaying gamers that isn't the Rules and isn't the World: it's the methods we use to actually play, to bring those Rules and that World into harmony. One … Continue reading Why Let The Players Create Characters?
There’s an inherent tension in my tastes when it comes to adventure gaming. On the one hand, I am drawn to stories of high adventure and pulp action. My favourite novels are high-paced tales of action heroism and somewhat ridiculous feats of James Bond-like derring-do. On the other hand, I tend to gravitate towards low-powered … Continue reading The Call of Pulp Cinematics
Yesterday, in a moment of clarity, I decided to tackle the Elephant in the Room that has haunted our house for decades: the huge stacks of roleplaying game books that clutter the aptly named “rat room”. Before my wife brought pet rats into our lives, that space was known as the “hobby room” and it … Continue reading Three Things I Learned From Throwing Out RPG Books
