Diary of a Failed Game Designer

Back when I was in Jr high school I wrote a "RPG" about pro wrestling, which I creatively titled "The wrestling game." I don't remember exactly when. I know it was before High school, before being able to drive, and all the distractions that come from that sort of thing. We would get together at one of our homes and play D&D, Car wars, Star fleet battles, or whatever was on deck. Since we were relying on rides from others, we would never all arrived at the same time. So I wrote the wrestling game to fill those minutes before the group had fully convened. We played it a few times. I think we enjoyed it. I guess that's when I got the game design bug. I realized I could makes something my friends and I could share and enjoy. Since then I have always held a soft spot for pro wrestling games. Not that there have been a ton of them, but there have been a few. Here's a quick list of some of the Wrestling games I've read through in the years since I wrot...

This post is just for fun. Use it at your own risk. Enjoy. Modern, post apocalypse, undercity dwelling, odd ball NPC's Chart 1: NPC is 1d6: 1-2 Male 3-4 Female 5-6 Given their present state and manner of dress it's impossible to tell. Chart: 2 Stature Roll 1d6: on a roll of 1 to 4 the person is of average stature on a roll of 5 or 6 roll on the chart below. Person is hunched over, drags a leg when they walk. Hard to tell a true height. Person is extremely tall, over 6 foot 5 inches, thin as a rail. Person is  very small. just about  4 foot tall. Person Morbidly obese. Person is of average height and very muscular. Strikingly statuesque and hansom. This person is below average in height  and heavy set, wears large platform shoes for a bit of extra lift. This person is tall well over 6 foot and heavy set, a human wall. This person wears super baggy clothing that dragon on the floor behind them, impossible to gage height or weight. This person is small and frail. Chart 3: ...

My applogies for the reduced posting frequency . It will likely pick up again after the  US holidays. Rather this is about the idea of Murder in D&D. Murder most foul. The players in our group kill all the time. I mean it's kind of their thing. Still it has been a rare occurrence when they outright murder someone. in one of our recent games Limura a ranger dropped two sailors in broad daylight. Mind you the sailors were working for "the bad guys" and Limura was covering the back of a fellow party member .. still. Murder in the streets. Naturally people screamed women fainted, guards were called. In the end the party had to flee the city as attempts to arrest them intensified. Having a boat that flies helped them greatly in that escape. On the other side of that messengers will have been sent out letting it be known that the persons involved are wanted in the city of Torin, for Murder.  That's an albatross hanging around their necks that will be difficult to cut lo...

Part 1: When I work on a project be it a whole game,  a setting, or even an adventure I like to have images around for inspiration. About a month ago I started a folder on my computer I just called "cool images." Into this folder I would save images from the net that I thought were interesting or evocative. I follow a lot of art collections and groups on G+. I have a slight obsession with  large scale street art for it's scope, and small scale street art for it's energy and immediacy. I also have  strange love for  70's pulp novel covers and science fiction illustrations. I soon found  my folder filling up with  images from those influences among others. I also noticed that while thinking about my games I browsed and saved some interesting pictures. Here is the  premise I have been going with for the  past few weeks. While I'm thinking about working on a game I will  occasionally which is my habit anyway  pour through google image search...

I wrote a game called AAIE. It was recently run at a Con by one of my friends and one piece of feedback he received was, "I think it should be more like D&D." I Believe in all feedback is good feedback, but that was just a bit errr .... vague. In the name of transparency and good faith I give you, this post. Things in AAIE that are not like D&D which I don't plan to fix. (Everything else is totally up for debate.) OR... (If ever asked "how is AAIE different from D&D?"  ROLL D12 on the chart below) If D&D lets you play Erol Flynn in "The adventures of Robin Hood" then AAIE lets you play Lou Costello from "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein." The Magic system in AAIE is not based on pre written spells as it is in D&D. There is also a chance your character will grow a third useless arm out of his or her back or go insane if they cast too much. So there's that. Most times you expect your character in D&D to survive ...

Sorry for not posting all that much this month. It has been a busy  period for me outside the confines of gaming. This might be of use to someone. It might not. What will follow is just a raw list of  things I do  and don't when running games. The list will be in no particular order I'll just list things as I think of them.  This post in no way represents what I think the reader should be doing. This is a collection of things that work for me. there are no miracle "tips or tricks" in the post below, just seeds for thought or discussion. I try to avoid the cliches as much as possible, while still skirting them.  If I do drift into the  land of cliches I try to always use "this ..and" to make things more interesting.  The person the party just rescued turning out to be a prince is a cliche. That same person being a prince and also the master of thieves guild, is more interesting. (If still a bit cliche.) Live at the table I don't use a GM's screen. I l...

Known as the mega forests of  Cul Tur in my game world. Just East of the second dwarven  stronghold, nestled between the  mountains and the coast. Once home to loosely united Rakasta tribes, now just shadowy jungles left unexplored. No one has ever gone there in game, I doubt anyone will. I guess it's safe to blog about my thoughts on one of the least talked about biomes in fantasy RPG's. Lets Jungle.... The Forest Canopy: When it comes to  real life biodiversity  the Jungle canopies are some of the most biodiverse place s on earth. Keeping this in mind, it's easy to extrapolate that in a magical fantasy setting the canopy perched high above the floor of a jungle could be home to just about anything. Native vs Non-Naitve: One recurring theme in this blog will be that of native Jungle dwellers Vs visiting  travelers. The Native populations will have EVERY ADVANTAGE in this territory with the possible exception of technology. Most native societies in jungle ...