Nowadays, most of my gaming is online. In part, this is a practical decision. A lot of the friends I have who are interested in the same sorts of games I am are scattered across the world, so doing things in person is very infeasible. It’s also a matter of preference of social dynamic – … Continue reading Playing the format →
I don’t do reviews. I’ve considered it, don’t get me wrong. It’s not as if I’m opposed to reviews as a format, or anything like that. After playing an RPG for some time, I tend to come away with strong opinions, very much encompassing what the game does, what the game fails to do, and … Continue reading “Works on my machine,” or why it’s really hard to talk about RPGs →
The first RPG I ever played was D&D 3.5. It wasn’t my introduction to RPGs. I knew full well what they were like. I had grown up around them, listening in on my family’s regular sessions. I had read a fair few! Or, at least, flipped through them. But, I had just turned 9, which … Continue reading The Tactile Appeal, or, the weight of tangibility →
I like to make a point of trying new things. I find it’s very easy to feel like I’ve gotten stuck in a rut, and to not have a sense of how to get out of it, or even if there’s anything better out there in the first place. As life advice, I find this … Continue reading Caring about characters, or “what do I even enjoy about roleplaying?” →
I’ve been having an interesting time with Draw Steel recently. At the start of 2023, Dungeons & Dragons’ new Open Gaming License was released, and people got upset. The history of the OGL and what it has meant for RPGs as a scene is a very long one to enumerate here, and is honestly centered … Continue reading The Game Master and the game as servant →
So, I’ve been getting back into Exalted recently. Exalted is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. Normally, I don’t traffic in guilt. I think it’s a rather useless emotion, especially in contexts of finding joy in things. And Exalted is definitely something I find joy in. But, like I said – guiltily. It’s … Continue reading The rules from the writing →
Roleplaying is a creative exercise. I forget this, sometimes. Pretty continuously, as a matter of fact. I play a lot of roleplaying games on a regular basis in my life, and I also do creative work outside of them. Every so often, I find myself frustrated at a lack of creative energy, and I try … Continue reading Who signs their name? RPGs and authorship →
I’ve been doing some reading on GNS lately. (Please don’t leave, I haven’t even gotten to the bad part yet.) More specifically, I encountered this post by the irreplaceable Vincent Baker, which is a retrospective in some dimensions and a reinterpretation in others. And if you’ve never heard of GNS before, I think it can … Continue reading Winning and losing in the games you can’t win →
Have you ever GMed before? …This is a blog post, I can’t hear your answer. I don’t know why you bothered. To some degree, the GM is just a role like any other. Plenty of games have clearly defined roles of several types, several have no delineation and keep all players as equal, some have … Continue reading The weight of the world, or, On GMing →
I don’t like dying very much. (For clarity, this is a post about RPGs. My thoughts regarding death in real life are a matter for another time.) I get attached to characters easily, and, often, some of the most fun I have in games involves slowly exploring the nuances of their personality and what riles … Continue reading Smoke, mirrors, and satisfaction →