Campaign Mastery

Snakes & Spiders in RPGs tend to one-size-fits-all construction. Use reality to make them exceptional! I got curious this morning. Australia is well-known around the world for the number and variety of deadly fauna we live alongside. The likelihood of your home being robbed drops by a ratio of between 100-1000 times if you live […]

Lots of die configurations can substitute for a d20, or for 3d6. This article looks at some of the most unusual. Part 3 of 3. There’s something indescribably appropriate about writing the first words of this post on Halloween – after all, many of these rolls are monsters unfit for gentle company. At the same […]

Lots of die configurations can substitute for a d20, or for 3d6. This article looks at some of the more unusual. Part 2 of 3. Progress on writing this post has been a lot slower per word than I was expecting. That’s partly down to the attention to detail, partly it’s the complexity of the […]

There are lots of dice configurations that can substitute for a d20, or sometimes for a 3d6. This 2-part article looks deeply at some. Not all RPG players and GMs are Geeks, it has to be said, but many of us can spend hours noodling over dice and probability curves and other Geeky dice-related subjects, […]

Iteration is one of the most useful campaign planning tools I can think of. This article demonstrates the technique and why it should be your favorite, too. It’s been a while since I wrote about iteration and how to use it – in fact, the last time it was the focus of attention was, (I […]

We all have expectations when we belly up to the game table. Sometimes, the GM delivers on promises both real and implied, and sometimes those expectations were never realistic in the first place. After struggling with the most recent installment of the Topologia game setting (it really should have been three parts, maybe 4, but […]

Today, Part 4b of the Topologia campaign completes exploration of the Ironbarb Crags and their many wonders. The Ironbarb Crags (Volcanic Wasteland) – (continued) The base image is colorful-grand-prismatic-spring-3864377.jpg by Mike Goad. I replaced the trees in the original with extracts from the Bryce Canyon photo that I used in the previous post, by Pexels […]

Can thoughts pass from one dimension or reality to another? In the real world, no, so far as we know, but the realities our games create have no such limitations – so let’s examine the concept further. Certainly, it can seem that way when a radical concept floats into your head, seemingly from nowhere. In […]

Today, Part 4a of the Topologia campaign explores the wonders – and terrors – of the Ironbarb Crags (part 1 of 2). Having bought myself an extra week to get it finished, I’ve decided that I really need to split this in two so that I’ve got the second part in my pocket. Why? Because […]

A rant about Auto-updating software leads into a discussion about how updates to source material and game systems impacts RPGs at various levels. I hate Auto-update I hate auto-update. There, I’ve said it. The reasons are many, and I’ll look into them individually below, but for me, it’s a colossal pain in the backside with […]

With the economic foundations sorted, this part gets back to the distribution of fortifications, defensive networks, and Inns. Table Of Contents In part 1: 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 mention 5.2 Terrain 5.2.0 Terrain […]

A quick post today about GMs seeking validation plus one or more bonus topics, number depending on time. 1. Keep Your Ace Up Your Sleeve What’s the biggest metagaming mistake you’ve ever made outside of anything approaching a plot train? Let me tell you mine. The scenario was over, and it hadn’t gone according to […]