ttrpg
2023
Quote: Monte Cook on Designer Anxiety
·145 words·1 min
Quotes
ttrpg
game design
A great post from Monte Cook on anxiety for first-time designers.
Remember that product that gamers love that includes A, B, and C? A lot of designers will look at that, put A, B, and C in their own product, and then figure they’re done.
Weeknotes for 2023-01-13
·534 words·3 mins
Weeknotes
personal
explorers wanted
obsidian
books
movies
d&d
ttrpg
horror
assorted geekery
This week I’ve been in the Netherlands for work, so between jet lag and meetings I’ve been pretty wiped out. Still, I’ve managed to get a few non-work related things done as well.
New Arrivals Jan 2023
·453 words·3 mins
Articles
ttrpg
books
horror
art
workbooks
I try to post cool new arrivals from Kickstarters and pre-orders when they arrive, usually to my Mastodon account,1 but with the business at work and with the podcast it slipped past me.
Quote: Gizmodo's Scoop on New WotC License
·375 words·2 mins
Quotes
d&d
ttrpg
The new version of the license is “over 9,000 words long”, and, well, it sounds pretty bad.
2022
Weeknotes for 2022-11-01
·231 words·2 mins
Weeknotes
python
comics
tv
dice
explorers wanted
podcast
ttrpg
I realize it’s actually Tuesday, but it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these weeknotes, so here we go!
Over the course of the last week:
Finished watching Brand New Cherry Flavor on Netflix, which was an outstanding horror miniseries.
Running Monster Care Squad
··2086 words·10 mins
Articles
reviews
gm tips
ttrpg
I wrote recently about receiving my backer copy of Monster Care Squad, which is a Ghibli-inspired RPG about the people caring for the magical monsters that once protected their communities from a terrible illness.
2021
Nine Tips for a Legendary Campaign
··3991 words·19 mins
Articles
ttrpg
gaming
gm tips
writing
So you’re getting ready to kick off a campaign for your gaming group? Before you even get started, ask yourself: are you looking to create a campaign that will simply be fun, or one that your players will be talking about for years to come?
2020
Introducing Explorers Wanted
·375 words·2 mins
Articles
announcements
personal
projects
podcasts
ttrpg
numenera
explorers wanted
It isn’t news to anyone that I’m a big fan of Numenera. It is my favorite game to run and I will shamelessly hype for it to anyone who will listen.
2019
Running Invisible Sun: The Shadows of Her Eyes
·1624 words·8 mins
Articles
gaming
ttrpg
invisible sun
Last Tuesday, I wrapped up a two-month introductory adventure for Invisible Sun. It was my first time running the game, and all my players were new to it as well. One other had also backed the original Kickstarter, but this was his first opportunity to play.
2018
Numenera Discovery and Destiny: Lightning Round Review
·792 words·4 mins
Articles
gaming
ttrpg
numenera
Numenera Discovery and Destiny in their slipcase cover Numenera Discovery and Destiny are here, and they do not disappoint. As always, Monte Cook Games nails the production quality, with some beautiful volumes filled with incredible art.
Saddle Up! We're on our way to the Ninth World.
·369 words·2 mins
Articles
gaming
ttrpg
numenera
geeklycon
This July, I’ll be running my first convention game of an RPG at GeeklyCon. I’ve been a DM for many years, but my focus has been running long term campaigns for my friends.
2015
Five Room Dungeons
·156 words·1 min
Articles
gaming
d&d
ttrpg
This article from Strolen’s Citadel is easily the best piece of practical advice for a DM that I’ve found. Dungeon design is difficult to get right. Despite what the swollen published modules may lead you to believe, shorter crawls are almost always better.
2013
The Strange: Monte Cook Keeps It Weird With New RPG
·424 words·2 mins
Articles
numenera
ttrpg
monte cook
kickstarter
gaming
I’ve recently written about Monte Cook’s game Numerera, and by all accounts, the game appears to be enjoying some success, or at least significant buzz. Many creators would be content with that and simply double-down on that product.
Exploring the Ninth World: A Few Thoughts on Numenera
·1281 words·7 mins
Articles
numenera
ttrpg
gaming
reviews
monte cook
Welcome to the Ninth World As I’ve been running my D&D campaign, I’ve become interested in the alternative role-playing systems that came about after my initial foray into gaming. It all started because I was looking for inspiration for fun rule tweaks I could incorporate into my games that would foster more role-play and streamline combat.
The DM’s Adventuring Kit
·2627 words·13 mins
Articles
gaming
featured
reviews
d&d
ttrpg
I recently wrote about my return to Dungeons and Dragons, and promised another post where I would share what tools our group is using to facilitate our long-distance games. It’s really critical to make sure that game groups are well organized, or many campaigns will fizzle out due to the amount of work involved.
Rolling Them Bones Again
·3838 words·19 mins
Articles
gaming
personal
ttrpg
I’ve been playing Dungeons & Dragons again for the first time in over ten years. It’s been a lot of fun, and challenging as well. When I started playing again, I elected to start by being the DM for my group, which is quite a bit of work, but very rewarding.