In this post I want to share the “Random Encounters and Vistas” house rules that we use in my ongoing D&D campaign. This set of rules has crossed game editions from OD&D (using the Rules Cyclopedia) through 2nd Edition AD&D and into today’s 5th Edition D&D incarnation of this campaign. Before you say it, yes,…
Author’s Note, May 2016: I wrote this post before going to Gamestorm last year, but something caught it up accidentally in a pending state and frankly I’m not sure what happened. I haven’t really touched this blog much since then, but I just this morning found it chilling out in my draft queue, and figured…
The first post laid out the tools of the game, now this one sets down the adventure flow, with specific focus on the meta-game that the DM commands. The Goal of HAMMERCRAWL! The characters’ main purpose is to venture out into the depths of a dungeon, kill monsters and gain loot, and then make it…
(This post has turned into something much larger than expected, so I’m breaking it up into multiple posts) Last year at Gamestorm 2014, a few conversations on “roguelike” gaming experiences led me to come up with an on-the-fly method for character-grinding adventure gaming. With but a single simple Chessex d12 Dungeon Die, a handful of…
Last night I found an ancient (in internet years, at least) picture dump that I had until now thought I had lost forever. It contained all the photos from our LARP days at the Streetwise game, at Dragoncon (2001-2004). This one picture is by far my favorite of the entire bunch. It sums up everything…
As a gamer, I’ve never been a fan of “casual failure” in any test mechanics. It just isn’t fun. Failure in an exciting story should have purpose and effect, and should be just as interesting and – dare I say it – rewarding as success. I am certainly not the first gamer to tread upon…