A great playtesting opportunity: Devil’s Staircase

Devil's Staircase is a diceless tabletop roleplaying game with a really cool system that uses playing cards to build characters and resolve actions. It's set in the Wild West era, which makes it even cooler. Right now it's open for public playtesting -- and the core rules are available for free during the testing period....

Another gaming thing I got totally wrong

Digging into the excellent Emperor's Notepad blog, I came across this post: You are (probably) doing it wrong: Hit points, literature, and D&D. Oh, really? You're going to defend hit points? Bring it on! Good luck, because I have NOT been doing it wrong, and... Oh. Well, you've got a pretty good point there. Well, yes, as it...

What gives a roleplaying game “staying power”?

Apparently August is the annual RPG-a-Day month, where bloggers post their thoughts about a specifice tabletop roleplaying each day, a different question/prompt every day. Of course I'm only finding out that this is a thing at the END of August...but hey, at least I found it. The Geeklife Balance blog had a great, brief response...

Streamlining RPG rules: A modified Warcholak guide

Have you ever heard of the Warcholak Guide? No? (Yes? Well, too bad, I'm going to tell you what it is anyway!) Basically, it's a simple rule-testing rubric invented by a guy with the last name of Warcholak who develops war games for Academy Games. (With a last name like Warcholak, of course he does.)...

I’ve been doing it wrong

After a few months of following some diehard OSR bloggers, I've come to the conclusion that they're right: I've been doing tabletop roleplaying wrong. So I'm changing course with the FAR System and FAR Western. From here on out, I follow in the hallowed footsteps of Saint Gygax. No more percentile dice or fancy critical...

The Kickstarter’s Dream

A few months ago, I bookmarked the Kickstarters for a couple of Western RPGs that looked really cool. I was a wee bit jealous because there they were succeeding at something I wanted to do but didn't yet know how, and also felt like I missed out because they were funded before I even knew...

What if your character dies?

The Mixed GM recently posted I cannot keep my character alive...and that's okay. But I'm not so sure about that. He makes a good case, but I'm not fully convinced. True, it's exciting when you know the next move could be your character's last. Your heart starts pounding and you sit trembling on the edge...

Game first, story second

I just now realized that I've been in grave danger of falling prey to the insidious sin of trying to turn roleplaying games into story vehicles. *Crosses self. Out, damned spot!* For all that I talk about telling stories and playing characters in a story, I'm not building a container for stories or even a...

Pastiche roleplaying: the system

A post by the Mixed GM got me thinking about what I'm trying to do with the FAR System and FAR Western -- in essence, what I've been doing is trying to mix RPG game styles that I like. But not simply as a pastiche. I could probably slap together Pastiche: The System and have...