Diary of a Failed Game Designer

First off a few things to get out of the way: I don't work for or know anyone  at Osprey Publishing. I paid for the book I'm going to talk about. This "review" was not solicited. In-fact the good folks at Osprey will probably never know it exists. On with the fun. TLDR version: It's good, the text is a bit dry, but SUPER COMPACT AND FUNCTIONAL. It's right in my wheel house, and  I heartily recommend the game. I'm not sure how I first stumbled on Osprey Publishing . This time I was looking for  a small book about Roman naval vessels. Since I own their " Fighting Sail ," a book about fighting ships Circ 1775 to 1815, I thought they might have more like it for other time periods. (they do.) However being  of short attention span I noticed and  jumped on a section I did not previously know existed. The Osprey Wargames series . What I learned is Osprey seems to have a small traditional style war game for every occasion. With the books ranging in price

From the prow of your ship you see the island comes into view. At first it is nothing but a glint on the horizon, then a shining sphere.. a glare in the sun, rainbows, refracted and distorted views of the horizon beyond. The island covers approx 93 miles (the surface area of a 6 mile per side hexagon): The  island is conical moving from pure white beach to a 500 foot peak at it's tallest point. The island is covered  in heavy, jungle like vegetation. Birds can be seen flitting about the trees. It is encased in a sphere of the  purest glass. The  sphere is half full of water. The craggy pointed bottom of the island can be clearly seen through the  glass. Mid way up the  underwater section of the island several cave entrances can be seen. Holes dark against grey grey of the islands base. The underwater portion of the island is encrusted with corals and plants. There are no debris or any silt at the bottom of the sphere. The water is a deep blue green, there are fish visible in the wa

Players fall quite often, because heroes are constantly leaping off things. TLDR Version: Here is how I do it. I give heroes the first 10 feet for free.. Nice of me right? I figure Urkuk the 12th level fighter has learned how to tuck and roll.  After 10 Feet, Every additional 10 feet causes 1d12 damage up to 8d12 at 90 feet.  After 90 feet each additional 10 feet of falling simply adds 10 points of damage. (100 feet is 8d12 +10 for example) After 90 feet the character still takes the damage and also has to save vs Death, or make a Constitution save ( adapt this to whatever edition of D&D floats your boat.) Modify the save with +1 difficulty for every 10 feet of fall beyond 90 feet. ( again  adapt this to whatever edition of D&D you are using.) If they fail the save they straight up die. You fall 500 feet in one 6 second round. The first 90 feet as described above assumes falling onto a hard surface, and the character not landing on their head. The DM can modify damage up 90 fee

A bit of click bait title, but fitting. In fact I never had an Old school Card. Though at 41 I have certainly been around the hobby long enough to be considered old. These days being "old school" does'nt  mean having been round to play the original car wars, or knowing that a war-hammer with flamers is a hot-hammer. No to be really old school a person needs to ascribe to a certain gaming aesthetic, one rooted in play-styles from days past. Which is cool. My favorite D&D is 2nd edition, I can still figure THAC0 in my head, and I carry bat guano for my fire balls. I'm still not old school however. Here's why. I have written a few games for my friends * and I to play. My favorite of all of them is not any of the Classic format RPG's we have kicked around. My favorite is a story game. Plain and simple. That game is getting closer and closer now to celebrating it's (hold on guys) TEN YEAR anniversary no less. How is that a thing? It kind of depends on how

Here use these three charts to make a stupid place. Terrain at present location: Rocky: This is a hard scrabble place, covered in boulders rock and shale. Tufts of hard grass cling to meager soil wherever they can. Move like the  goats. Verdant Meadows: Rolling hills dappled with sunlight. Good grazing, lush  grasses. Occasionally  violent storms lash the hills Deciduous forests: Tall Trees which  lose   their  leaves  over the  winter. A  thick  layer of  old leaves covers the ground making worn  trails   easier  to see. Fungal Grotto: A vast cave system featuring an underground lake,  water   system . Large tree like  fungus are the  dominant flora. A vast city scape. Dark, Cramped, Old, Overpopulated. Deep sewers, tall spires, rats, and refuse. Built on the ruins of it's own past the  homeless and the  hungry sleep in the superstructure of  brickwork bridges. Jungle: Soaring canopy, dark undergrowth, vines everywhere. Monkeys and birds chatter from all directions. It seems