For those of us playing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons back in the early 1980s, the Expedition to the Barrier Peaks module was a big surprise. Our intrepid adventurers disovered a crashed starship and, after defeating strange monsters and robots, came out with interesting loot. During the next few adventures, it was not uncommon for a paladin to be toting a laser pistol or a fighter wearing power armor. That ...

Tori sat at the head of the table behind her GM's Screen. Today was the start of her new post-apocalyptic campaign and the group would start by generating characters. Tori: Okay, what are you guys thinking of playing? Marc: I want to play a scavenger that kitbashes vehicles and equipment. Gina: I'm going to play a merchant with leadership skills. Brandon: My guy is going to be a gladiator that fights ...

Hi all! I have to say that my sophomore Gen Con experience was not only better than my first but also far exceeded my expectations, both as a gamer and as an RPG freelancer. It's always great to put faces with the names in the industry, as well as the opportunity to meet them. I also got a chance to meet a few fellow gnomies (I apologize for Saturday, ...

I finally got a chance to playtest "Dead Man's Hand," the Victoriana game I'm running at GenCon. The adventure was designed as a sequel to last year's "Lost Luggage," using the same characters and background. Since the 2nd Edition of Victoriana is only now getting a full print run, I decided to run this adventure as an "introductory scenario" (which saved me from having to update the characters). Since "Dead ...

I apologize for the almost exclusively "D&D-ish" nature of today's Hot Button, but I think it definitely deserves addressing. It's a question that also comes up in other games that have similar distinctions (such as Palladium's alignment system or Star Wars Light Side/Dark Side distinctions). Do you allow evil player characters in your standard campaigns? I mention "standard" because I'm sure all of us old-timers can recall at least one ...

How many times have you been party to some variant of the following? Sammie invites you into her new D&D campaign. Since you've been out of the loop, you inquire into what the others are playing so that you can decide what to play. "Sure," she smiles. "Danny is playing a dwarven cleric, Shiela is playing an elven wizard, and I'm bringing in a halfling rogue." There are many reasons why ...

When I ran my first 7th Sea campaign I introduced each adventure with a short piece of fiction. This was often a cut scene that gave the players a little metagame knowledge as to the focus of the adventure. For those of you unfamiliar with 7th Sea, it was a swashbuckling RPG based on a fictional world that strongly resembled 17th century Europe lightly flavored with magic. One PC in ...

In addition to my hats as Game Master and Gnomish scribe, I am also an RPG freelancer. One of the companies I'm contracted with is Cubicle 7, which produces the second edition of the Victoriana game. When I decided to use Victoriana as my monthly game, I asked Cubicle 7 if they had any interest in using my group as playtesters for upcoming products. I was excited when they agreed, ...

Several years ago, a GM that I was acquainted with organized his weekly group into a club. Everyone paid a fee and the GM would ostensibly use this money to purchase gaming materials that he would keep after use. A few years later (but still several years ago...darn I feel old!), I was discussing this arrangement with a fellow gamer buddy. He had a rather heated reaction against it, ...

I am about to start a new campaign. The game itself is unimportant, save that no one in my group has played it before and as far as I know I am the only one that owns a copy. This is unfortunately typical of most new games I run. I am the "gamer geek" in my circle and as such I tend to be the only one that buys new ...

While Martin covered this topic before, no "hot button" column worth its salt wouldn't tackle this question: Do you thin it's appropriate to fudge dice rolls or consequences?  For those of you not up on the clean-shaven Keebler forest gnome lingo (oh, come on...they're way too short to be elves! And if it's fudgy and delicious, it was obviously made by gnomes!), fudging is whenever the GM covertly breaks the ...

Whenever I start a new campaign, I try to run a "pilot adventure." In television, a potential television series shoots a pilot to convince broadcasters to carry it. Pilot episodes are usually a little rough around the edges and certain elements are smoothed out, removed, or changed prior to the series proper. A good pilot adventure can set the tone for the campaign and give the players a good idea ...

You've spent the week preparing for your session and you eagerly pull up to the house hosting the game. You're excited, not only because you've got great plans in mind for tonight's adventure but also because one of your players, the host, is making his signature chicken curry. Your mouth waters as you exit the car, enter the house and say "hi" to the host working his magic on the stove. You walk ...

A few years ago, I found myself with a quandry. I was running a game of 7th Sea on a week night with four players in what we futily hoped would be a three hour session (I'd soon be happy with two hours). I knew that everyone would be coming from work or school and want dinner, so I needed a technique to make every moment count. What I ...

Heh, that title alone should probably spawn 50 comments :-) In the early days of RPG when AD&D was king, my groups eventually crawled out of the dungeons and started running more soap opera style games. Rather than clear out an orc infestation, we were more likely to be found courting maidens (or men, if one of us were in "drag"), running fiefs, and forging alliances. This being AD&D ...