Diary of a Failed Game Designer

"Phase Ball as told by by Sid Hoofnaggler, former Phase ball conference commissioner:  First ye need to know yer field. It's grass, usually  low cut and tightly gown, so the ball can move about.  Tis called the field, or the  sand box, depending on how rural you are. Some dwarves play on  gravel or stone, but  they are as a rule, crazy.  To start each team takes a ball and  bowls it from the bonus ring. Whichever team bowls closest, starts with the ball. Players can run whit the  ball. but they can also get tackled. when a player with the ball is brought down play stops, all players stand where they are. A tackled player may pass the ball but only to a player behind the  bonus ring and the ball my not cross the restricted zone. In effect once a tackled player stands up he may  only throw the ball behind or to his left or right, not forward. If the tackled player can not pass the  ball he must had it over to his tackler who may ...

"The creature of smoke and shadow unseated sir percival from his steed, and  in that moment Percival knew he was weak, knew he was not worthy of his title, and he wept."                                                                                                                         *Wrote nobody   Background: In my  D&D campaign there is a Druid. Capital D because he is the only, the last druid. One of the threads the group is currently tugging on  involves the Druid seeking out magical energy and using it to re establish the  system of ley lines that was destroyed many years ago. (Many years in game and in  real life.)   One of his tool is a seed...

The Southeastern Moor: Population density and distribution: Sparse up to  20 per square mile, but concentrated in small family groups. Humanoid groups: Gnolls (rare) Goblins (rare) Imports: live stock, wood, finished products, any and all mettle goods. Exports: few, their wool is well regraded as is their  knitted goods. Medicinal mushrooms. crafts : Area is known for their fine antler and horn carvings. Travel: A party would be wise to hire a guide to use the skills of a ranger, the  moors are dangerous to travel  when ill prepared. Government: Uncontrolled / tribal Lying due south of Torin, just east of the old dwarf trade road lies a vast moor. This area of broken and sodden ground stretches for miles to into the south and east, nearly to the southerner most boarder where the  land slowly drys out becomes arid. interior of a large hill temple and home, Credit below * Very few live within the  borders of the moor, those who do live in isolated cl...

Magic item time. System agnostic. This was inspired by the call for  magic items to be used in the   Lamentations of the  Flame Princess. I'm not entering a magic item because I have no idea at all about the aesthetic of LotFP.  I don't own the game, I have not read it. I have only seen the incredible art in bits and pieces around the web. while I kind of get the idea, I don't think I get it well enough to waste anyone's time. Point being I don't think about magic items all that much, but it got me thinking. Gloves of Memories Lost: Rarity: Unique.   http://www.strangelove.net/~kieser/Medieval/Knitting/knittingnotes.html Appearance: Red cloth, medium length, worn finish, embroidered with a gold string around the cuff. Old. Dusty. Blood stained. These gloves were commissioned by an underworld figure that had become obsessed with knowing others secrets. They served him for several years, then at the time of his death were lost. The  enchanter who made the ...

In this post I'm going to share with every one The most recent handout or "player info page" ( It's all computerized now days, I host this stuff on another blog. ) from my fantasy style game. ( Usually run in  D&D , but has been run in several flavors over the years ) I'm posting it just to point a few things out that are probably not helpful. First off there are implied hooks in the text but, but nothing overt, no jump out and grab the player things going on, it's all very  vanilla. I limit the description to things that the character's might know when arriving in the area. Why? I need room to breath. If the  players go off to do something I never even gave a thought to  I will have enough room to fill in the blanks, also if I have a lightning bolt idea for an adventure hook I can place it with out having to contradict or overwrite some hook I already had in place. Why so much odd ball information about population and what these  towns sell? These are...

This post was inspired by this post  from the "Disoriented Ranger" blog. Go read that post it's interesting So your  players are working their way through some caverns and you feel they are not yet at one with the inherent danger of life below ground. It's time to throw a random natural hazard their way. Natural hazards are defined by being non-fantastic. A field of giant sentient mushrooms that puff out rainbow colored rot spores are cool. They are not a natural hazard. The entries on this chart are things that could be in any hallway of any cave and don't necessarily require their own map entries. I will include notes about equipment that may be needed to  traverse the obstacle, however I will not include details like die checks, saves, or, damage values as they are system dependent. I will try to word these details in ways that are system agnostic. I will place equipment that might be used up or needed and  possible threats in (brackets) at the end of the entri...

Out with one in with another: So last night after a quick game on roll 20 the group I game with decided that it would be fun to convert their characters from my long standing campaign over to Dungeon World. So what does this mean for my relationship with AD&D 2nd edition? I think it's pretty much over. Breaking up is hard I know.. It's not you it's me... I'll pay for a cab. Over course of time my campaign has been run in, BX D&D (red box) Rules compendium D&D Advanced D&D Second edition AD&D Third edition D&D Phase Abandon (home brew) I might be forgetting something , but lets face it one more game system wont make a difference. I have nothing against the various flavors of D&D. I still have this pipe dream to return to basic D&D at some point. I would love taking the Basic D&D rules compendium that's slowly turning yellow in my attic for one final spin. Though I think the chance of that happening is shrinking fast at this ...

Aleria Fluff. Guild of Rangers: The lands once known as the Alarian Empire are now a loose confederacy of feudal holdings being ruled by lords and clans. Each of these territorial rulers still pays tribute to the Emperor in Dairhouse, while ruling his or her lands as they say fit. The power of the old empire is rarely felt in the outlining highlands, the concerns of an oncoming winter weigh much heavier on a citizens mind than do the opinions of a distant king's court. News moves though the kingdom in the form of rangers, hardy outdoors-men who move from town to town, disseminating the latest news from Dairhouse. For many in a small town the rangers are the only contact they may have with a larger world around them. Each Ranger has his or her own towns that they service. The reappearance of a ranger at the town hall or near the jarl's hearth is a welcome sight and a reason for many to gather, Drink, feast, and listen to the news of the land.     Lately however, in the cit...