Campaign Mastery

There can be huge benefits to undertaking measures that will improve the delivery of languages (real or alien) and accents at the game table. The article below contains a lot of advice for the delivery of foreign-language speech and accented speech at the game table. You don’t have to adopt all of it – find […]

How to create and implement new tech into an RPG campaign. This half focuses on sci-fi and the more realistic types of innovation. Fantasy to follow! Strange Tech: Sci-Fi / Superhero I’ve divided this question into two halves, one for Sci-Fi and related genres and one for Fantasy. I’m going to try and put them […]

World-building through an exotic cuisine technique, it’s easier than you might think – AND more effective. This post is one of those ideas that comes to you out of nowhere but, as you’ll see, as a technique, it’s worth sharing. One of the hardest things to do is to convey a sense of the action […]

In this post, a tool for integrating a character’s evolving personality into their past and backstory. Works in all genres. Wow, but this post is late. The main reason for that is the Worksheets that I’ve linked to later in the article – the article itself was 90% complete last Sunday Night. These took four […]

A question so obvious I don’t think I’ve ever answered it before: Why does a game physics matter? I give 7 reasons. I was working on a future post detailing a speculative (real-world) physics – it’s good stuff, coming soon – when it struck me that I don’t think I’ve ever addressed this fairly fundamental […]

A process for designing & constructing big or complex things, from spells to magic items, castles to space stations, industrial processes to political campaigns, new chemistries to better TVs and AC systems, using something every RPG already has. The real world caught up with me somewhat in the course of writing this article – I […]

A simplified mechanism for the simulation of trade in an RPG where it is not to be the focal point. Background A confluence of thoughts from different sources came together the other day relating to how we assess profit from selling something. I’m not sure it was strong enough to count as a revelation, but […]

Ripple plotlines use domino chains that feed back to the main plotline while cascading out to trigger other plotlines in a chain reaction. They can start from the most apparently inconsequential act or decision and grow until whole Kingdoms hang from them like Christmas baubles. Today (as I write this) is Australia Day, our equivalent […]

This post continues the text of Part 5 of Chapter 5. Its content has been added to the parent post here and the Table of contents updated. 5.8.1.5 Blended Models In general, the rule is one zone, one model. In fact, as a general rule, your goal should be one Kingdom, one model – that […]

This post continues the text of Part 5 of Chapter 5. Its content has been added to the parent post here and the Table of contents updated. I have decided at the last minute to let the featured image (but not the head image) evolve with each post. 5.8.1 Villages The village is the fundamental […]

We’ve used the economy to distribute fortifications, and used those to locate inns. Now let’s wrap some communities around them. Table Of Contents In parts 1-3 of this chapter: Chapter 5: Land Transport 5.1 Distance, Time, & Detriments 5.1.1 Time Vs Distance 5.1.2 Defining a terrain / region / locality      5.1.2.1 Road Quality: An introductory […]

This post is a review of Once We Were Heroes by Fool Moon Productions, which uses art that’s AI-Generated. So I’ve had to set some ground rules. This post features AI-generated art. If you object to that art or its use, you can click on This Link to read a plaintext version of the article. […]