Tag Archives: gaming

Story Gaming, or Gaming by Numbers

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So the other day, I commented against this post on d20 Radio’s forums. And then I realized I had a bit more to say about the subject, so here we are!

I think the d20 revolution is over. There’s this huge push, in practically every corner of the RPG industry, towards “story-focused” systems. Deadlands, Cortex+, Star Wars Edge of the Empire, FATE, Numenera, etc. Games where the burden of the story rests on both the GM’s and the players’ shoulders. The burden of the mechanics also ends up split, and the results are extremely open-ended.

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Being a parent is making me a better GM

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It’s true. RPG players are like kids. Hear me out.

You never know what they’re going to do next. You want them to have fun just as much as they do, but they’ll do everything they can to belie that. The best way to do this is to control them, without them knowing they’re being controlled. When they get frustrated, distract them with something to hold their attention. And? They’re both smarter than you can imagine, and dumber than you can believe.

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Tips for table speed

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This is really just me copying another article on Campaign Mastery, with some of my own thoughts. Rewriting I’ve found is the best way to remember things, so that next time I’m running a face-to-face game I can implement some of this. Also, perhaps my D&D 3.5e DM and other players will read this – it’s not really the DM’s fault, but that game can shudder to a halt due to out-of-game distractions.

This is mostly geared towards speeding up combat, specifically in tactical-style games such as D&D 3.5e and 4e – but a lot of it is applicable to any play style. There’s what looks to be a much more comprehensive guide to faster combat behind a paywall, but I think their chapter headings are a decent enough guide to start with.
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Thoughts on Gaming in General

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I’ve started listening to the Haste podcast, and in one of the first episodes, they talked about how the D&D bloggers should distill the experiences of their readers. And to help focus the discussion towards positive change, they should figure out for themselves what makes a good game and what makes a bad game.

Now, I don’t consider myself a “D&D blogger”. Or, really, a blogger at all, since I have, what, five posts since I started again? (btw, don’t look at my LJ – omg the angst)

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GameStorm – Disappointed.

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So I went to my very first GameStorm this weekend. I have to say that I was sorely disappointed. In an effort to be completely fair with that assessment, it should be clear that the convention was awesome in many ways. Just not any that I went there for.

It’s been over six years since I attended my last gaming convention. I used to go to DunDraCon, ConQuest, and KublaCon regularly, when I lived in the Bay Area. I loved those conventions, and had a blast every single time I went! I would play in multiple RPGs, pick up dice and books in the dealers’ room, maybe drop in on CCGs or wargaming.

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DnD Next Twitter Backlash

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More than 140 chars is sometimes necessary.

So for those of you who went to DDXP: I don’t think this is violating any NDA, since the devs have already pointed out that the core game with no modules was presented at DDXP… How was that? Did you have fun? Would you have more fun with the theoretical optional modules?
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