One of my gaming groups plays a mashed up game with three genres: Highschool, Swashbuckling, and Urban Fantasy. We call it Children of the Shroud. In the game we play high school kids in a hidden magic world. As part of our magical learning we are part of the Junior Guardians club. It’s a club for...
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I am in between campaigns, having just wrapped an amazing arc of Masks, and with a bit of downtime before my Things From the Flood campaign starts (We are taking time off while one of the players in the group has their second child). As we kicked around ideas of what to play, the suggestion was...
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January is the time of the year when I am often learning a new game to run for my home group. This time around, we are gearing up for Spire by Grant Howitt & Chris Taylor. When it comes to learning a new game, especially a bigger game, I have a method for how to learn it. It’s not really a...
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There is no such thing as a Strict or Lax GM. Whoa . . . before you jump to the comments section to yell at me, let me explain. The idea of a strict or a lax GM is an oversimplification. GMing is way more complicated than that. There are too many facets of GMing to simply have the needle buried in...
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They are a necessary part of most games, and as GM’s something that we frequently have to deal with, either to address a shortcoming, plug a hole, or meet an unforeseen need. While a great many GMs are skilled behind the screen, that does not necessarily translate to their being adept at system...
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Who put their card game in my RPG? It may not be a question you’re asking yourself today but it could be a question you’re asking yourself a year from now. The “deck building RPG,” Genesis Aspyrias, is currently in development and puts a new twist on the evolution of RPG mechanics. Previously...
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At Marcon this year, aside from making $100 dollars for charity the hard way, I played in a playtest of a game called curse the darkness (lowercase, as if it were being whispered). It is being created by Matt McFarland and you can find more info about it on the curse the darkness homepage or its...
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Legend is a reimplementation of the d20 System core rules from Rule of Cool — a d20 fantasy RPG that does things differently. It’s as much of a change from core d20 as d20 Modern was from D&D 3.0. Through January 14, 2012, it’s available for a pay-what-you-like donation to...
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Last month, one of our readers, bonao94 made a suggestion: A round-up of awesome and/or innovative indie RPGs from the last few years that people who are trying to broaden their role-playing horizons should try out.  Being the most System Promiscuous Gnome in the Stew, I thought I would pick a...
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Every gaming system handles magic a little differently, but one thing holds true in any gaming system that has a magical component. At some point it is going to be used to move the narrative along. When magic becomes a McGuffin, it’s going to break the rules. “I’m sorry Vansha. While you can...
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