Oren is a grumpy old man whose physical age hasn’t quite caught up with him, at least that’s what the kids who won’t get off his lawn keep saying. He’s been into roleplaying games since he was knee-high to a d10, and into prose writing for nearly as long. He loves stories and games that push the envelope of storytelling, like the Discworld series and the RPG Primetime Adventures. He’s also a huge Star Trek fan, though his rants on the mistakes of Voyager and Enterprise might make you think otherwise.
The Mouse Guard roleplaying game is based on a comic book series of the same name by David Peterson. The basic premise is mice with human level intelligence trying to protect their fragile civilization from all that threatens it. I have never read the comics. But I love this game. Read more »
Mur Lafferty joins Oren, Mike, and Chris to talk about classic creatures. They revisit the long history of werewolves, vampires and zombies, share their favorite depictions of monsters in stories, and question whether it’s better to use existing creatures or make up new ones. Read more »
The party leader is the Captain Kirk, Malcom Reynolds, or Gandalf (maybe Aragorn, depending on when you are in the wizard resurrection cycle) of your group. They are at least nominally in charge and the one who provides direction. They often end up making decisions … read more »
Oren, Mike and Chris discuss the difficulty in recreating popular storytelling tropes like main characters, mentors, and prophecies in roleplaying. They highlight TV shows with tropes that make them feel like tabletop campaigns, and swap stories about how resourceful and willful players can be. Read more »
Oren, Mike and Chris philosophize on the origins and meaning of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other speculative fiction genres. They discuss stories that cross genres, and sow confusion about the definition of “punk” and “orthogonal.” Read more »
When designers sit down to create the character generation section of a roleplaying game, they must decide where on the scale of structured to free form they want to fall. The question is a difficult one with no obvious answer. At one extreme are systems … read more »
The Mythcreants discuss their favorite and least favorite characters, episodes, and romances in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They compare the show to its spinoff, Angel, and complain about oversights in the Buffyverse. Read more »
In gaming, an ability is defined as overpowered if it is more powerful than it should be. How you decide that can be tricky, but it usually boils down to an ability being stronger than other powers of the same cost or level. Three ranks in … read more »
Chris, Mike and Oren discuss making dialogue sound natural but not too natural, speculate on rules for good dialogue, and rave about their favorite dialogues and monologues from TV shows. Read more »
The idea of a campaign that takes place almost entirely in one area is a strange one to many game masters. A stationary story presents a list of new demands on the GM, but it also creates new opportunities. It allows the players to really … read more »
