In the beginning: Chaos
Before the Courts of Chaos, before Amber, before Shadows, there was Chaos. I’ve been thinking a lot about what Chaos was like before the Pattern sparked...
Season of the Witches
Lately, I've been thinking about this game about witches. It doesn't have a name yet because I've been noodling around with it in my head. The concept is...
04/19/24: Hack Hack Hack
My friend David and I went to ForgeMidwest a couple weekends ago and had a good time, though it was cut short a day for Nox related reasons. IYNYN That isn’t...
12/29/22: Time-travel Shennanigans
I’ve been listening to a new podcast lately: Ludonarrative Dissidents. It’s three guys around my age talking about a different game each episode. I enjoy...
12/24/22: Two Hands
I have two competing instincts when it comes to roleplaying games: On one hand, I love systems and mechanics. I like seeing how different games use, or don’t...
Making the world larger without doing too much Prep
Focusing on one thing is hard for me, even when I really want to work on something. A writer whose blog I used to read (I would link but I don’t remember...
03/27/22: Staging the World
I’ve had this idea for an ensemble (roleplaying) game for a while now. Haven’t put a ton of thought into it but this weekend I’ve been sick (test says not...
03/14/22: Hacking d20 Fantasy Combat
13th Age has been going well, I think. This week, the players leveled up to 2nd and one of them gained their first magic item. (Hi, Kevin!) Jade Avalanche is...
02/03/22: Out of the Darkness
I recently started a 13th Age game on Sundays with some vaccinated folks. For those unfamiliar, 13th Age is off-brand D&D. There are a lot of off-brand Ds&Ds...
01/01/22 Dramasystem Procedural Scene Resolution
Recently, I was asked by my friend David for my thoughts on an alternative procedural resolution system for Hillfolk (a game also often referred to as...
09/10/21: More Murder in Winterhaven
I’ve been all over the place the last couple weeks. I’m trying to get into a habit of writing first thing in the morning before breakfast because, when I do,...
08/29/21: Library Cards are Cool
TLDR Update: New semester, job interview, back to virtual gaming E/C/B: Looking for new menu items Listening: Throughline about Octavia Butler End Notes: You...
08/20/21: Murder in Winterhaven
A while back I promised my Brindlewood Bay players that I would write a different game that was also a cozy murder mystery game but didn't make the mystery a...
08/13/21: Immersion vs mechanics
I’ve been struggling with Blood of Meridian lately, I may have mentioned. When I set out to work on it, my goal was to create a game that let me play...
07/30/21: Product are our dreams realized (and monetized)
Everything is discombobulated. I realized around bedtime last night that I had not written a newsletter update, nor had I done one last week. Realizing that...
07/09/21: Making progress on a Blood of Meridian ashcan
This week I’ve been pretty heads down working on an ashcan for Blood of Meridian. My friend David has challenged me to get the ashcan and play materials up...
06/25/21: Where do I go from here?
I’m feeling two things, this week: first, working on Blood of Meridian feels like a constant tempo of two steps forward and one step back and, second, I’m...
06/18/21: Festival Wrap-up
This week I’ve been sitting with the feedback I received from the Magpie Game Design Festival and figuring out my path forward on the game I designing, Blood...
06/10/21: Playtesting with the MGDF
This week I got my feedback on Blood of Meridian from the Magpie Game Design Festival. The good news: I was accepted for play-testing! I hope that means that...
05/28/21: Design Festival Submission
I spent most of this week working on my Amber-inspired Powered by the Apocalypse game, Blood of Meridian. The folks over at Magpie games are having a Design...