The seeming absence of HR in RPGs
A lot of stories rely on people being in the right place at the right time. While I like that structurally, and enjoy making use of it in various ways and to varying degrees in the games that I play, it really only works once in any given setting… unless you are playing Mage and … Continue reading
Corruption: the other white meat
Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven; Whiles, like a puff’d and reckless libertine, Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads, And recks not his own rede. -Hamlet Stirred, not shaken Temptation to the point of corruption is not something which I consider to be easy … Continue reading
Game for the Holidays
I have just gotten back from a week away. Setting scheduled posts through WordPress before I left meant that for the entire time I was away, I didn’t have to spare a thought for gaming or related issues. Now that I am back, trying to clear the dust off that part of my brain, I … Continue reading
Getting in your own way
A game, when it is going well, has a certain flow to it, almost a cadence. Unlike a scripted tale, however, story beats are not always, or at least not entirely in your hands. I have purchased but not yet read the inimitable Robin Laws’ renowned treatise on this issue, Hamlet’s Hit Points, and wish … Continue reading
Rewards of Risk
While reading a post on Compromise and Conceit about acting in-character, a question of the nature of risk in roleplaying games was raised, namely that of character mortality. As one of those who feels that a lack of risk and challenge obviates the purpose of playing, I was initially surprised to see the assumed correlation … Continue reading
