Rule One-Half A Rule Zero conversation is where you establish the rules before the rules. The table rules, lines, limits, and things that will get in the way of fun. While the term likely originated with tabletop RPGs it’s also […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Shuffled Unassisted As I mentioned a couple weeks back, with the new D&D themed set, I decided to try Magic the Gathering, buying my first cards since 1994. I bought a Bundle and a box of boosters. More than enough […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Praise Be To RNGesus In video games and virtual tabletops, randomness is handled by specialized programs called a “random number generator” that are designed to create numbers with the illusion of true randomness, in a way that can’t be manipulated. […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
The Gift that Keeps on Giving I’m running an online game at the moment, but am thinking ahead the three or four months until I start a new in-person campaign. Because that’s the DM way: don’t be satisfied with what […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Them’s the Breaks The binding of D&D books is notoriously bad. With the change to case binding in Candlekeep Adventures, it seems like Wizards of the Coast is finally trying to correct the problems that come with perfect binding—when the […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Triggerflake Whenever I hear someone complaining about the idea of a fellow gamer being upset by something occurring at the table, I think the above. “That person is someone who has never lost anything of real importance in their life. […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Backed Story Backstory is a finicky, variable thing. I’ve had players show up with a small novel, with most of it focusing on their family and several past generations and almost no attention on the character themselves, let alone why […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Dumped On Alternate Caption: “I think we should roll dice with other people.” Had to do this a couple times. It’s not fun. I’ve had a few discussions online with people asking how to let someone go from their gaming […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Dirty Images Y’know, I don’t think I’ve every drawn a penis before… It was also tricky trying to get the right amount of pixelation. I wanted it to be obvious, but not too lewd. Just in case the viewer isn’t […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Lancing Dragons Let’s get this out of the way: I love Dragonlance. Love it! I read the novels in junior high and binged through as many of the series as I could. I must have read four or five dozen […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Guess Who’s Back Yes, this is a comic about resuming games as I resume this webcomic after several months of unexpected hiatus. Meta. It’s been hard to laugh over the past few months. And while 2020 has been rough on […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Management Style You want to give players spotlights from time to time. Moments when their character is the focus of the story as someone engages them in single combat or a lengthier roleplaying moment relevant to their character arc and […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
