One of the most powerful storytelling tools I’ve encountered this year is also one of the simplest: dramatic poles.
Deeper character creation: dramatic poles revisited
13th Age: The Best RPG I’ve Never Played (Review)
Back in January, there was an exceptionally good-value Megabundle for 13th Age where I picked up 19 PDFs for less than $40 (£34). It’s a game I’ve known about (and admired) for some time but never really devoted much attention to. Following the OGL debacle, I’ve been keen to diversify the RPGs I play and … Continue reading 13th Age: The Best RPG I’ve Never Played (Review)
How To Make A Compelling Backstory
Do you need a character backstory? Here are the questions that are worth answering.
What does your favourite character look like?
One of the most popular articles I wrote last year was a bit of a surprise. Inspired by Legend of the Five Rings, I came up with 20 questions for deeper character creation. A year later, it is the most-read page on my site! The first question in the article is ‘What do you look … Continue reading What does your favourite character look like?
Everyday Heroes: a great new RPG for modern adventuring
d20 Modern was one of my favourite games of the 3rd edition era. Everyday Heroes is its spiritual successor – and it's great!
How to run low fantasy D&D
Low fantasy is gritty, grounded, and high stakes. How can we make that work in 5th edition D&D?
The One Ring, 2nd edition: a charming and visually stunning love letter to Middle Earth
A few weeks ago, the fine folks at Free League very kindly sent me a review copy of The One Ring: the core rulebook, the DM screen, and the starter set. Regular readers will know that I rarely review things I haven’t paid for, so I have tried not to let this influence me too … Continue reading The One Ring, 2nd edition: a charming and visually stunning love letter to Middle Earth
Deeper character creation: the game of 20 questions
Some players strive to be more than just another elven wizard. The game of 20 questions is a neat concept for building richer, deeper characters.
How to run a session zero
Want to start a new campaign? Run a session zero first. Here's how!
Inspiration: new race-class combos to liven up your game
There are some D&D characters that are absolute classics. Elven rangers. Dwarven fighters. Halfling rogues. They’re classic for a reason. Iconic, even. And hey, as I’ve said on this blog before, there’s nothing wrong with a human fighter. But when you’ve been playing D&D for a few years, these character choices can start to feel … Continue reading Inspiration: new race-class combos to liven up your game