Rivers of London: Not all Magic and Laughter (or dice)
The reason I am doing this small series on the Rivers of London is motivated by the existence and quality of the RPG, of course, but it is also about the real moments of truly beautiful writing which present moments of profundity in what could otherwise be taken as an yet another urban fantasy or police procedural. Looking at a book cover or hearing a description is more likely to be reductive or simply comparative. Those moments, secreted throughout the series, deserve better.
Chaosium’s Basic Roleplaying
…BRP hits a precise point where it makes a clear and resonant kind of sense. It is grounded in the experience of being human and the underpinning logic of the imaginative worlds we create. It surges with brutal magic and the even more brutal harm people can inflict upon each other – and receive in turn. It finds ways to make risk easy to run yet pleasantly agonizing to choose. It has a lot to say about who the characters we play are, yet has the room to listen to our ideas as well. It is incredibly responsive to the ongoing events of play… It has a boldness about how it limits characters to a human mold, yet expects better of them. Anyone can be a hero, the pages of BRP whisper, they just have to act…
Rectify, by Hansor Publishing
We often examine games. It’s not often that one examines us back, or at least, not with such an intense hunger.
On Starter Sets and Beginner Boxes
I am a little more than halfway through my 39th year as a roleplayer. In that time, which yes seems both long and short to me, I have never really had a full starter set of any game to enjoy. I have had a few incomplete sets, mostly back in my early days as a … Continue reading
PDF and the Mobile Gamer
For a year or so I lived a lie. I didn’t know it was a lie while I was living it. It was that strange sense of change that comes with a lot of energy and conviction, stays long enough to leave scars, but vanishes in a moment and without warning. People shrug, and remark … Continue reading
