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'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?
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?
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
One of the phrases that irks me every time I hear it is the admonition that: "This is just a game." Games matter. They give meaning to play. It is never "merely" or "just" a game. As Huizinga puts it: [Play] is a significant function - that is to say, there is some sense to … Continue reading Role Games Matter
When I was growing up, I used to spend a lot of time in my bedroom. I would close the door of the medium-sized room, just big enough for a single-sized bed, a bunch of wardrobes, and shelves. I would frequently dig out the "borrowed" copy of Risk that I had squirrelled away, taken from … Continue reading Confessions Of A Solo Gamer
