Characters. Worldbuilding. Story.
If you want things the play out exactly as you planned them, write a novel. As a collaborative creative activity, a tabletop roleplaying game is a living thing. It’s organic, and messy, and in spite of what the rules lawyers and “system matters” folks will try to tell you, largely improvisational. It’s not a matter…
Here’s the thing about tabletop roleplaying games: You get to revisit your lost opportunities. Any plot element that didn’t land can be reworked and tried again in another adventure. The encounter you planned that the characters somehow managed to avoid can be recycled. Even tactics that you attempted that failed because the dice weren’t with…
Hypothesis: What drives the majority of new players to Dungeons & Dragons isn’t just it’s popularity. Yes, they’ve heard of it, they know where to get it, and they have an easier time finding people to play it. That’s a given. The factor that people ignore, in my opinion, is the paradox of choice. When…
This is going to be a strange post, even for me, so buckle up. In Buddhism there are Four Noble Truths. They go roughly like this: 1) Suffering exists, 2) the reason it exists is because we want things, 3) the way out of suffering is to let of wanting those things, and 4) there’s…
If you want a truly terrifying roleplaying-related experience, try doing this full-time. Making a living at this is scary. I’ve been fortunate enough to pay the bills doing this, and this alone, for over three years now. It hasn’t been easy. Most of the time it’s not fun. Like any sort of entrepreneurship or freelancing,…
Truth be told, I’m bored with fantasy. Do we really need another fantasy game that’s 99% identical to the hundreds of other fantasy games that already exist? Another game that, if we’re being honest with ourselves, is just someone’s personal hot take on D&D or Game of Thrones or whatever series of novels is hot…
We talk about the RPG community as if it’s a singular thing that exists. As if we’re all united by the concept of tabletop roleplaying, regardless of genre preferences, styles of play, and types of mechanics. We all know that it’s a myth, but it’s such a lovely idea, a beautiful dream, that we pretend.…
Starlight Manifesto is a space opera story game. As Peacekeepers of the Starlight Union, you have sworn an oath to protect, maintain, and restore peace in the universe. This is done through exploration and discovery, the spreading of diplomacy and education, and as a last resort, through direct military intervention. Service aboard a Peacekeeping vessel tends to…
What’s my game design dream? To be part of the overall conversation about what roleplaying is, and what it can be. That seems simple, but it’s not. There is a strange orthodoxy among roleplayers. In less than 50 years many people have decided that things have to be done a certain way. A game has…
You come across a door. What’s behind it is a mystery. It could be trapped, or ornately carved, or clearly intended to keep people out. There might be sounds coming from the other side, or light from under the door or through a keyhole. Beyond the door could be what you’re looking for: treasure, the…