I've heard a lot of scepticism about the standard fantasy notion of 'racial languages' - i.e. languages tied to a particular race. But since they're such a useful tool, I'd like to offer a different way to view them, and a different solution.

I have a heavy suspicion that people who think that languages divided across …

Read More

Chekov's gun poses a real threat to some games.

If a group playing Vampire: The Masquerade ('VtM') encounter a Ravnos, spinning illusions, and confusing mortals, then the next time they hear about unusual events, they will assume that the Ravnos did this. Clearly - the Ravnos is part of the plot! After all, VtM draws …

Read More

They say you have to playtest, but they forget that I'm a lazy man, so when it came to travel rules, I didn't feel like simulating a bunch of journeys. So it's time to get the computer to do the work for me.

Setup

An encounter roll occurs every 1D6 intervals in BIND (where an interval = 'one quarter of the day' = '6 …

Read More

A random RPG mechanic popped fully-formed into my head, so now it will pop into yours.

The player first states what the character will do:

• I cut the heads off three goblins.

• I stab him in the neck.

...and the opponent makes a counter-proposal.

• I shoulder-barge a bandit, and throw him into the river.
  • Or he could …

Read More

My character was an elvish paladin. Coming from the ancient world of A,D&D, with its racial alignments, I still thought of D&D elves as 'Chaotic Good'. The unusual image of a law-focussed elf made me wonder how someone would approach a law-abiding philosophy if they came from a society of well-meant maniacs, …
Read More

Fancy a game of football on Saturdays? I mean all Saturdays. Every one, for the next few months. We need you to join a pivotal part of the game.

This is you. This is how you sound when you ask people to play D&D.

You can't miss one game, or we'll have to call the whole thing off for that week and no-one will be …

Read More

It's hard to remember all those little things mid-game, so I'm thinking of making a LaTeX footnote for stories, which mentions a random very-normal-thing.

• Three young students, complaining about the mosquitoes.
• Retired accountant, walking his dog at 5am because he cannot sleep.
• Traffic jam made by two German tourists …

Read More

In some sense, you don't care about your washing machine. You have no clue where that powder comes from, or where those particles go after the wash. But you care a great deal when your washing machine breaks down.

In the same sense, everyone playing RPGs cares about what the chosen system does, because that's where the …

Read More

I love the notion of OSR books - the bare minimalism, the daring reinvention and questioning of schemas and tropes. So here are my musings on some OSR-style mechanics.¹

Goals

• like old D&D
• don't fill the character sheet with 1,000 special skills
• short rules
• lethal game-play, forcing players to be clever

Why HP?

If …

Read More

I sometimes feel that collections can imply something shameful, and it's especially potent in RPGs. It has something to do with wanting to horde, rather than use; to own rather than do. I can't fully articulate the feeling, but it has something to do with one thing coming from on high as the 'definitive' idea, the …
Read More