When we design something with the goal of perfect symmetry in mind, we invariably sacrifice one form of aesthetics in favour of another. A sphere is the same regardless of which direction you view it from, and is the most perfectly symmetrical three-dimensional shape you can achieve. Is a sphere elegant? Or merely uninteresting?
I have always been a fan of historic roleplaying and gritty down to earth campaigns with low magic, so I decided to run one again. This was the background of that campaign, set in George R.R. Martin's world of Westeros.
Recently, events in my life have conspired to bring my schedule from incorporating gaming several times each week to running only one weekly game. This was a tough adjustment at first, but rather paradoxically I've found that gaming less has heightened my appreciation for and interest in my long-time hobby. I'd love to hear your reflections on this topic now that I'm sharing my own.
Numerous sources now indicate that Wizards of the Coast has undergone a round of layoffs in what is unfortunately becoming an annual holiday event. According to sources approximately 24 people were laid off, out of a staff of 100.
According to various sources, an official Letter of Intent for the Purchase of the Assets of Gen Con LLC Chapter 11 was filed on November 20, 2008 with the bankruptcy court. The Letter of Intent contained a summary of the terms and conditions of a potential Gen Con purchase by one "Gen Con Acquisition Group.” However, the offer was rejected.
I’ve sometimes had a challenging experience getting players to “buy in” to a setting or campaign as deeply as I’d like them to. No amount of handouts, props, lighting, or otherwise could get them out of the gaming room and into the experience. Then I realized I could use their foul addictions against them.
The Topps Company announced today that WizKids will immediately cease operations and discontinue its product lines.
It’s easy sometimes to get stuck in the rut of thinking you know what your players want; but what if they don’t even really know what they want anymore? When long time GMs run long term campaigns for the same group, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that what really matters is the building blocks of good story telling.
My name is Joanna Winters; this is the first of a number of articles that will take my real-life experiences and tweak them for your tabletop sessions. Don't think, however, that I've led some illustrious career, some monumental history that sends me enduring the mounts of Everest. I don't work for Discovery or Natgeo: I merely find answers for what I and others find puzzling. Often times, these answers are far more mundane than their circumstances lie.
The ability of players to affect events in a game is one of the crucial components that makes an RPG what it is. It's also one of the aspects of GMing that's easiest to mess up. I'll talk about why player choice is so important in RPGs and offer a few suggestions for how to uphold it in your games.
