There’s No Death Save? An OSR Zine For 5E Players
I published a zine about old school gaming for new school gamers.
Grumpy Wizard
Travis Miller's Blog About Sword & Sorcery Fiction and Classic Fantasy Adventure Gaming
Latest posts
How Shame Makes Role-Playing Games Worse
My grandparents were born and raised in Appalachia. If you don t know about Appalachian culture, shame is a primary motivation tool. The most important figure in any Appalachian family, Mamaw, wields shame like a Bravosi sword master. Lightly, deftly, she sticks in the right spot at precisely the right moment. If you scrape something you Continue reading How Shame Makes Role-Playing Games Worse
YouTube Recommendation: A Scholarly Argument Against The RPGs as Storytelling Framework
A quick recommendation to check out a great YouTube video about why RPGs are not Storytelling
Book Recommendation: Don’t Call It Art by Austin Kleon
Austin Kleon has written another tightly focused and useful book for creative people or people who wish they were.
Is an Ordinary Average RPG Session Really So Bad?
Is your starting to feel just OK. Not bad but not good either. That might be a problem but the problem might be your attitude.
How Much Backstory Do I Need For An Adventure?
If you've ready many published adventures, you'll know that designers feel the need to put a lot of backstory into the adventure that has no purpose other than to entertain a reader who doesn't plan on actually running the adventure. I decide on how much backstory I need by deciding how much information the players require to achieve the party's objectives.
What Does It Mean to Play Dungeons & Dragons “Right”?
One source of disagreements in the hobby of "talking about Dungeons Dragons" results from varying definitions of what it means to play the game the "right" way or the "wrong" way.
The Grumpy Wizard’s Remembrances of the Curmudgeon in the Cellar
Tim Kask had a reputation for being the grand poohbah of curmudgeonly grognards making me the Slightly Abrasive Junior Sorcerer's Apprentice in comparison. Tim Kask was truly authentic in a culture where "authenticity" is most often a performance.
If You Like TTRPG Blogs, Check Out This Map
Elmcat's map of the tabletop RPG blogosphere is an incredible contribution. I am reminded to engage more with other blogs.
A Grumpy and Pedantic Musing About Careless Semantics In Role-Playing Game Discourse
I get grumpy about lackadaisical lexicography during discussions of the ludic arts.