2024 Retrospective and 2025 New Year's Resolution
As I usually do at the end of the year, I posted a video where I reflect on the past year (2024) and share my (mostly gaming related) goals for 2025.
DigitalHobbit's RPG Blog
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Outgunned Adventure and Discord Dice Bot
In this video, I provide an overview of Outgunned Adventure, a standalone supplement for the Outgunned RPG that adapts the game from the Action to the Adventure genre. I also go over the Discord dice bot that I already mentioned in my previous post .
Outgunned Discord Bot
About a year ago, I published a YouTube video about the Outgunned RPG , where I provide an overview, go over character creation, and discuss how to play the game online . As someone who generally prefers to play “theater of the mind style” using a lightweight virtual gaming setup, as opposed to using a VTT with maps and tokens, my recommendation was to use Discord, coupled with the…
Gamehole Con 2024 Recap
In October, I attended Gamehole Con in Madison, Wisconsin. This was my second time attending this con, and I had a fantastic time! In this video, I go over some of my highlights.
The Best RPG for a Fallout Campaign
I go over a number of RPGs that can be used for a Fallout campaign - and a couple that I don’t think are a good match. Games I would recommended for Fallout: Fallout 2d20 (official Fallout game by Modiphius) Fallout 2d20 Free Quickstart Fallout 2d20 Gamemaster’s Toolkit The Rad-Hack Wasted World (EZD6) EZD6 Tiny Wastelands Games I would conditionally recommended for Fallout: Cypher System…
How to Handle Inventory and Encumbrance
In my latest video, I go over several ways that RPGs can handle inventory, equipment, and encumbrance. I also describe my personal preferences.
Vaesen RPG Debrief (and why it's not for me)
I just concluded an 11 session Vaesen campaign. We played through 4 mysteries (a mix of published and homebrew) over the course of 5 months. I figured I’d share my thoughts and learnings about the game, and why it’s ultimately not for me.
Homebrew vs. Published Adventures
Do you prefer running homebrew or published adventures? I go over the pros and cons of both approaches in this video.
2023 Retrospective and 2024 New Year's Resolution
In this video, I reflect on 2023 and share my (mostly gaming related) goals for 2024.
Outgunned RPG Overview
Outgunned is an awesome cinematic action RPG by Two Little Mice. In this video, I provide an overview, go over character creation, and discuss how to play Outgunned online.
How to Play Vaesen Online
Interested in playing the Vaesen RPG online? I go over several options in this video, including VTTs as well as more lightweight solutions.
Things that get in the way of gaming (and how to get started)
In this video, I discuss obstacles that can get in the way of gaming. I also provide some pointers on how to get started with gaming in the first place.
RPG Books: Print vs. PDF (or is there something better?)
In this video, I discuss the pros and cons between different RPG publishing medium, such as print books, PDFs, ePubs, or web based platforms like D&D Beyond. I also muse about what the future of publishing might look like.
Do you really need a VTT to play RPGs online?
In this video, I provide a brief overview of several VTTs (Virtual Tabletops) and discuss whether you really need one to play RPGs online. VTTs mentioned in the video Fantasy Grounds Roll20 Foundry Owlbear Rodeo Alchemy Role Let’s Role Fari
Retro-Clones, Religion, Maps/Minis vs. TotM | Triple Takes
In this video, I share several potentially contentious opinions on maps and minis vs. Theater of the Mind, retro-clones, and religion in RPGs. In previous posts and videos, I shared my opinions on turn order and lore and licensed settings . In this new video, and the post below, I briefly share my opinions on three additional topics.
Replacing both GM and Players with ChatGPT [April Fool's]
Warning: Humor!!! :) In my little April Fool’s video below, I successfully replace both the GM and player roles with ChatGPT, thereby eliminating all the challenges that can make tabletop RPGs so tedious. Enjoy! ;)
Can ChatGPT Write a Complete DCC Adventure?
Following up on my previous video on How to leverage AI for RPGs , I wanted to see if the recently released GPT-4 version of ChatGPT can write a full Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) adventure - complete with boxed text, interesting NPCs, unique monsters with stat blocks, puzzles, rumor table, etc. You can see the result of my experiment in the video below: Conclusion Overall, I thought that ChatGPT…
The Paradox of Lore (and why I don't like licensed RPG settings)
In the video above, I talk about what I call “The Paradox of Lore” , as well as my thoughts on licensed settings. Many games and settings come with a lot of lore. This can take different forms: The lore can be included in the core rulebook. It can be dispensed via dedicated source books. It can be included in campaigns. Or, when the game is based on a movie, tv show, or book property, the lore can…
2d6 Ways to Handle Turn Order
Inspired by a recent conversation about initiative and turn order, I felt compelled to record the video above to compare how different systems handle this. Synopsis below. This post is not meant to be an exhaustive list, and I’m sure I’m missing some approaches. I’ll also present a potentially controversial “hot take” at the end of the video.
Cortex Prime - Prep and Debrief
I recently ran my first Cortex Prime session. In the video above, I go over how I created my setting, prepared for the session, and debrief on how it went. What attracted me to Cortex Prime? In its 2017 Kickstarter , Cortex Prime described itself as a “Multi-Genre Modular Roleplaying Game”. It’s a new system, based on the rule set from prior Cortex games, such as Marvel Heroic, Leverage,…
BSer Con 2 - Electric Boogaloo
Last weekend, I attended BSer Con 2 , subtitled “Electric Boogaloo” - an online RPG convention organized by Sean from the Gaming and BS podcast . While the podcast concluded last year, the close-knit community continues to thrive, with an active Discord server. Last year’s BSer Con was a great success, so Sean decided to organize another one. It turned out to be another…
How to Leverage AI for RPGs
In this video, I demonstrate several techniques for leveraging AI tools for RPGs. It’s my longest video yet - I might have gotten carried away… ;) I cover the following tools: ChatGPT Unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve likely heard some buzz about this in recent weeks A surprisingly powerful and versatile AI chat bot Just be aware that it will make occasionally shit up, i.e.…
2023 New Year's Resolution
In this video, I go over my 2022 gaming retrospective, followed by my 2023 New Year’s Resolution, as it relates to gaming. Synopsis below. 2022 Retrospective Going into 2022, I was hoping to run the following systems: Cortex Prime Deadlands Vaesen Well, I failed on all fronts, although I came close with Cortex Prime, as I’ll be running it at the upcoming BSer Con in late January. I…
How I Evaluate and Learn New RPGs
In this video, I discuss how I evaluate and learn new RPGs. Synopsis below. While I may not have an entirely systematic approach to this, there are some things I tend to do each time I deal with a new RPG. I’ll break this post down into three phases:
2d6 Things I Like About the TTRPG Hobby
In this video, I discuss what I like about the tabletop RPG hobby. Synopsis below. 1. It’s Creative Playing RPGs is essentially storytelling, or “make belief” for grown-ups. As a player, you get to embody your character, which is likely quite different from your own personality and skillset. And as a GM, you get to embody an entire world, including all the Non Player Characters…
My new YouTube channel
I recently started a YouTube channel: DigitalHobbit’s RPG Reflections . As of right now, I have 4 videos published. In my intro video below, I outline the types of topics I’m planning to cover on my channel. But here’s a TL;DR: Thoughts on specific game systems, settings, or adventures Thoughts on particular types of experiences (e.g. crunchy/tactical games, story games, or…
Blogging Again
I haven’t blogged in a while, but am going to try blogging more actively again. Ever since G+ closed down last year, I’ve explored many other RPG communities. I’m in a bunch of Facebook groups and have also tried MeWe, although it feels like the latter mostly fizzled out. The vast majority of my RPG connections happen on Discord these days. And while that experience is pretty…
Big Bad Con 2018 Impressions
TL;DR: Best RPG convention I’ve attended so far! Three weeks ago, I attended Big Bad Con in Walnut Creek, California. Last year, I had a chance to attend for a single day. This year, I was able to attend from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening. During that time, I played seven four-hour RPG sessions, totaling a massive 28 hours of gaming in a single weekend! Unlike most RPG cons, Big Bad Con…
Shadow of the Demon Lord
I recently completed my first campaign of Shadow of the Demon Lord (aka SotDL), so I figured I’d write down my impressions. I won’t go terribly deep on details about the system, as plenty of articles already exist about that. The Pitch My group mostly plays D&D 5e but was very open to the idea of trying SotDL. One of the big selling points was the relatively short campaign length (11…
KublaCon 2017 impressions
I attended my second KublaCon last weekend. Like last year, I had a fun time overall. Most of what I wrote last year still holds true (including the frustrating Shuffler), so I won’t repeat it here. It felt like the results were posted sooner this time, which helped. Then again, the website was virtually unusable (it kept timing out) for most of the con… They really need a new system!…
RPGs I've played: The Dark Eye
Today, I received a package in the mail. The contents revealed the following: Yes, it’s my physical copy of The Dark Eye from the recent, highly successful, Kickstarter for the English translation of the game’s 5th edition. I figured I’d take this opportunity to kick off the “RPGs I’ve played” series I’ve been meaning to write. After all, for me it all…
Fate Accelerated Mini GM Screen
I know not everyone likes them, but I’m a sucker for GM screens. At the same time, official GM screens usually don’t include the exact information I need. Too often, they include obscure random tables that I rarely (if ever) need, while omitting critical information that I need to reference all the time. Therefore, I like the idea of customizable screens such as this one (branded as a…
Getting back into the hobby
I recently got back into tabletop RPGs after taking a 16+ year break from this hobby. In this post, I’ll share my experience. I first started playing RPGs in the mid-80s. Growing up in Germany, my first system was naturally Das Schwarze Auge ( The Dark Eye ) - the most popular German RPG, easily beating out D&D. The Dark Eye just kickstarted an English translation of the 5th edition, BTW.…
KublaCon 2016 impressions
Last weekend, I attended my first KublaCon . This was only the second gaming convention I attended in the US, the first one being last year’s DunDraCon . The Good The mix of events was great. I mainly played RPGs, but there were tons of options for board games, elaborate war games, collectible card games, LARPs, and more. They also had a dedicated kids and teens room. My home group mainly…
Welcome
In addition to my dormant personal blog and my music blog , I decided to start a blog centered around tabletop RPG gaming. Over the next few posts, I’ll share my childhood RPG history, as well as my journey back into this fun hobby after a 16+ year break.
DCC Campaign Tracker
A Google Sheet with DCC character sheets and a built-in level 0 character generator
DCC Gongfarmer Generator (Fantasy Grounds)
A DCC level 0 character generator for Fantasy Grounds
Outgunned RPG Resources
Various resources I created to help run the Outgunned RPG online
Raw ChatGPT Transcript for "The Whispering Totem" (DCC)
Note: This is the raw ChatGPT transcript from my recent experiment to try to write a complete DCC adventure using ChatGPT-4 . Once I have a chance to tweak and clean this up a bit, you’ll be able to find the resulting adventure here . Prompt : Help me write a DCC adventure. Our goal is to come up with something that can be published as a module. This should be a level 1 adventure that can be…
The Whispering Totem (DCC Level 1)
This is the full adventure resulting from my recent experiment to write a complete DCC adventure using ChatGPT-4 . You can also find the raw ChatGPT transcript here . Note: While I’ve done my best to make the generated adventure somewhat usable and consistent, there are still many rough edges. For example, the ritual to lift the curse is not spelled out in detail. You’ll need to plan…