The OTHER three best spells in Harry Potter
mood music I previously argued that the three best spells in Harry Potter are: Here are the other three best spells in Harry Potter. The Unbreakable Vow It’s a magically-binding promise from one wizard/witch to another, witnessed by a third. If you break the vow you die. It’s not clear from the fiction exactly why … Continue reading The OTHER three best spells in Harry Potter
My first experience with Matrix Games
What is a Matrix Game? Essentially, a Matrix Game combines the tactical infinity of role-playing games with control of an ‘actor’ – a faction, organisation or entity – as would be expected in a strategy game. They align with the play worlds, not rules philosophy of the Free Kriegspiel Revival movement, meaning that setting, and … Continue reading My first experience with Matrix Games
LOTR: Many Meetings and Council of Elrond
Mood music – Song of Eärendil or Eärendil was a mariner I wanted to re-read The Fellowship of The Ring, specifically the Council of Elrond chapter, as I’ve been thinking about making a game where the players are at a council. Council of Elrond, Game of Throne’s small council, Congress of Vienna – that kind … Continue reading LOTR: Many Meetings and Council of Elrond
Designing magic: Make casting the magic more engaging
(This is part 2 of a 3 part series about designing magic for tabletop roleplaying games. Part 1 is available here.) Once again I’ll be referencing Harry Potter a lot, as well as D&D 5e. Harry Potter remains the best cultural touchstone when discussing learning magic, whilst D&D 5e is the big ttrpg. When I … Continue reading Designing magic: Make casting the magic more engaging
Designing magic: Make learning the magic more engaging
(This is part 1 of a 3 part series about designing magic for tabletop roleplaying games. Get part 2 here. I’ll link part 3 when it’s finished.) Unfortunately, Harry Potter remains the best cultural touchstone when discussing learning magic. This is unfortunate for several reasons, but the one I’m focusing on today is that the … Continue reading Designing magic: Make learning the magic more engaging
Using linguistic false friends in your games
In linguistics there are sometimes words in two different languages which sound like their meaning will be obvious, but actually they aren’t. Some false friends have very separate meanings. The English embarrassed and the Spanish embarazada (pregnant). They might cause some miscommunications, but most of the time it will be obvious that an error has … Continue reading Using linguistic false friends in your games
Laser Monks in Outer Space is released! Free on itch!
Laser Monks is an ultralight tabletop roleplaying game where you play as space-paladins with Laserblades and superpowers. The core of the game is about adhering too, or rejecting, the Laser Monk creed, known as The Path. The Path is Peace The Path is Compassion The Path is Moderation You can get it for free on itch.io … Continue reading Laser Monks in Outer Space is released! Free on itch!
Coppers and Boars First Blog-iversary
It’s been a year since I made my first post, which was about Character progression in games. The blog started out as a way to crystallise my vague roleplay game thoughts into coherent and communicable ideas. The majority of my posts are game design theory, tips or insight. I think the best three are Play … Continue reading Coppers and Boars First Blog-iversary
What does ‘balanced’ mean?
This causes many disagreements and misunderstandings. Here’s a list of some of the things that balance can mean in games. Lots of the examples are 5e, mostly because its a good lingua franca. I’ve written each explanation from the point of view of somebody who agrees with that concept of balance. Balance in Character Creation … Continue reading What does ‘balanced’ mean?
What D&D class would Robin Hood be?
What does Robin Hood do and how does he do it? My understanding of Robin Hood comes mostly from three sources – listed in the order I first saw them. Disney’s Robin Hood (the furry one) Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (the Kevin Costner one) Robin Hood (the British TV series one) Amalgamating these sources … Continue reading What D&D class would Robin Hood be?
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