Boosting the signal: "Transgender representation in OSR cyberpunk games," by Evlyn M

7 Jul 2019

First, if you're somehow reading my blog and aren't already following Evlyn M at Le Chaudron Chromatique, you should be. Her artwork is some of the most beautiful and original on the RPG scene right now, her writing is bursting with fresh ideas, and her work ethic is enviable and inspiring.

The Recursive Encounter Calculator: for checking encounters over many turns

17 Jun 2019

Peter's recent post on the enduring difficulty of running travel in RPGs has motivated me to make a little tool I'd been thinking about for a while. It is not a complete solution to his problem, but I hope it can at be helpful to a few GMs out there. I'll explain further, but first, the tool:

Latest Frankenrules

26 Apr 2019

It's come to my attention that in the Year of Our Lord 2019 someone is linking to this - which is flattering and also fine, however not exactly representative of how I'm running my D&D games nowadays. So I figure it's time for an update on that front.

These are the rules I've been using over the past year+ in my ongoing Red & Pleasant Land campaign. Two major sources pillaged are the LotFP playtest rules in Eldritch Cock, and Evey Lockhart's Broken Wilds setting.

There's maybe room for reflection here on how my approach to running D&D has evolved since I wrote up those older houserules in 2014. However it is already past my bedtime, so those thoughts will have to wait.

A-here we go:

Do I Miss Google Plus? The Answer May Surprise You

25 Apr 2019

Patrick has asked about how people are taking the demise of G+. I'm writing this post partially because it seems too long to dump in his comment section, but also because an accidental button

The Conch Tower (30-Minute Dungeon)

2 Mar 2019

Tristan Tanner has created a really compelling 30-minute Dungeon Challenge. This is both an attempt to make one of those, and to flesh out part of a sort-of-secret project I'm trying not to promise too much about.


This took me well over 30 minutes. In fact, it took me several hours, but Tristan's template (in the link above) was really helpful keeping me on track. The dungeon is rough around the edges, but I'm going to post it now or I'll second guess myself and it will never see the light of day. Hopefully I will get around to cleaning it up and throwing together in the coming days. I would also like to write some brief reflections on making this thing, but that's another post.

Without further ado, here is the dungeon:

THE CONCH TOWER

Max Ernst, Europe After the Rain II, c. 1940 - 1942



new post 2019

17 Feb 2019

GLOG Class: Muse

11 Oct 2018

G+ is shutting down, so I've been spending more time on the OSR Discord. The OSR Discord is big on the GLOG, and has got me thinking about this weird little class I wrote up for that system a while back and never shared. Another effect of the G+ Endtimes is a tentative return to the blogosphere. In the spirit of these developments, here's...

So They've Split The Party

15 Mar 2018

My last D&D session ended with the party split three ways. Usually I try to discourage that sort of thing but they're up to some sneak subterfuge and it made sense to let it happen. However, I did call the session early because I simply didn't feel prepared to deal with that kind of complexity.

In preparation for the next session, I put together a one-page procedure for dealing with parties acting in multiple areas simultaneously. The idea was to figure out a consistent way of dealing with these situations without having to do too much handwaving in terms of timing or positioning. The full procedure is below the break. It fits nicely on a single page of Letter or A4 paper.

N.B. This procedure assumes a) an OD&D-style turn structure where one turn represents about ten minutes; b) fairly structured social interaction procedures as per Courtney Campbell's On the Non-Player Character.


Search Checks and Torches

11 Nov 2017

Search checks and torches are different approaches to the same problem.

Two Short Treatises on Bala-Basam

27 Feb 2017

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