Author: Kurt "Telas" Schneider

…and even if they can, they’ll just ignore them. Have you ever watched a movie while it’s being made, especially one laden with special effects? It looks nothing like the finished product, even though you’re watching the raw material. Actors and actresses look badass as they go through their choreographed routines, but the scene is betrayed by the wire-fu cables, chroma-key screen, and the fact that their punches and kicks are inches from hitting anything. (The picture links to its originating article.) Have you ever…

Have you ever had your knowledge of reality interfere with your acceptance of genre conventions? Gamers are usually pretty nerdy, and tend to know quite a bit about gamer-ish topics, sometimes down to a very granular level. RPGs usually emulate genres better than they emulate reality. A GM’s detailed knowledge of reality can conflict with a game that is based on a genre that may only barely resemble reality. Take the Katana (please!) In reality, the katana was the best sword that could be made…

Or, The Saga of UFO Joe Situation Skipping as much of the stereotypical “in my campaign” braggadocio as possible, I had an unusual NPC in my 1980s monster hunter campaign. He would regularly call in to Art Bell’s “Coast to Coast AM” radio show under different names, but always had a frighteningly accurate synopsis of what the party had just done, and then veer off into crazy UFO conspiracy theories. The party came to call him ‘UFO Joe’. UFO Joe was actually the subconscious conscience…

DNAPhil has covered the disadvantages and downsides of published adventures in a separate article. I do not wholly disagree with his assessment; it’s one Gnome’s valid opinion. But more than one of us felt that a counterpoint article should be written, and my compulsion to volunteer led me here, to defend the published adventure. (Don’t worry, Phil; I’m technically unarmed.) Published adventures (or, as we old farts called them, modules) are often seen as GM’s training wheels or the mark of an amateur, but there…

In commemorating Memorial Day, any article I attempt to write becomes a dim echo of this one. At work, at play, abroad, at home, whatever your views, please take a moment today to remember the men and women who have paid the ultimate price. May our lives be worthy of their sacrifice, Kurt “Telas” Schneider ***** (First posted in 2010) “The old myths, the old gods, the old heroes have never died. They are only sleeping at the bottom of our minds, waiting for our…

Some time ago, I was playing in a Savage Worlds convention game, and our party hit a major decision point in the scenario. Before the discussion/argument over what to do could really get rolling, the GM (whose name I have sadly forgotten) made a very important point. Instead of analyzing our Skills and Edges to decide what to do, we should look at our Hindrances, because they define the personality of our characters. (In addition, we’d get Bennies for following our Hindrances.) Savage Worlds almost…

In many legal systems (particularly Anglo-American ones), a jury’s job is to answer questions of fact, while a judge’s job is to answer questions of law. This distinction is important, especially when a case is vague, convoluted, or has conflicting testimony and evidence. The lawyers build their cases (and tear down each other’s), and the jury uses the evidence to determine the facts of the case. (If you’ve had some experience with the legal system, you already know this. Oh, and my apologies for your…