After making a string of phone calls where I needed to spell things for the person on the other end of the line, I decided it was finally time to learn the NATO phonetic alphabet so I could stop doing this: Okay, it’s five, P as in pork chop [shit, now I’m hungry], six, three, […]
The D&D phonetic alphabet Read More »
This Adventure Time dice bag rides in my gaming bag every day, just in case. What’s inside? Why, it’s a big ol’ pile of Rory’s Story Cubes (paid link)! I carry these to every game because they’re one of the most useful improv tools in my GMing toolkit. Here’s my full assortment: That spread includes the
Rory’s Story Cubes are one of my favorite improv GMing tools Read More »
I have a container fetish. Not a problem, mind you,[1] a fetish. Browsing in office supply stores is dangerous for me. When we moved to Seattle, and everything I owned became, at some point, another fucking thing to haul across the country, I threw out a box full of smaller boxes.[2] I own more dice
At Go Play NW, I played a session of Love in the Time of Seið that I would rank among my top five gaming sessions of all time. Designed by Matthijs Holter and Jason Morningstar, Love in the Time of Seið (the “ð” is pronounced like the “th” in “them,” as I understand it) is
Love in the Time of Seið is intimate and intense Read More »
Lesserton and Mor (paid link), written by Joel and Jeff Sparks of Faster Monkey Games, is a product that I don’t think has received its due. It’s a fantastic, unique, flavorful, and versatile sourcebook for a premade city and its neighboring open-air megadungeon, and it’s incredibly cool. (Update: And it’s now free in PDF!) For starters,
An overlooked OSR gem: Lesserton and Mor Read More »
Nathan D. Paoletta‘s World Wide Wrestling (paid link) RPG reminds me of Action Movie World (paid link), another tight-premise PbtA game, not because they share a premise but because WWW 100% delivers on its premise (just like AMW). Wrasslin’ My last contact with professional wrestling was in the 1980s, when I used to occasionally watch it
World Wide Wrestling is an over-the-top delight Read More »
I buy a lot of gaming books on Lulu (here’s my list of 85+ recommendations), and I can’t remember the last time I didn’t use a coupon code. Like Steam, Lulu has taught me to never buy anything unless there’s a sale. I don’t know if it’s the healthiest business model, but there’s always a
I play a lot of PbtA games these days, so when I’m eyeing new dice I’m generally thinking about pairs of six-siders.[1] And I’m a sucker for pretty dice. These puppies stopped me in my tracks — they’re anodized titanium dice from Flytanium, combining one of my favorite metals with one of my favorite colors:
Flytanium anodized titanium dice Read More »
Attending Go Play NW prompted me to rebuild my “go folder” — the games I can run on zero notice, either by grabbing the book (and having everything else in the folder) or because the whole game is in the folder. All of them are self-contained, require no prep from anyone, can be played in
My “go folder” of zero-prep, zero-notice RPGs Read More »
John Aegard has produced some really cool stuff, including two resources that jumped out at me: Jedi Blackbird, a Star Wars hack of Lady Blackbird, and a collection of tips for running a Dungeon World one-shot. Jedi Blackbird Jedi Blackbird is more structured than its inspiration, but only a little. That’s a good thing: Lady
Mapping with index cards, and Jedi Blackbird Read More »
