No Planning Challenge, Part 2
To challenge yourself is a good thing. Especially if it is for a no planning challenge! As you saw in the last post, I set a challenge for myself: To not prep at all, with… Read More »No Planning Challenge, Part 2
Gamemasters
No Planning Challenge, Part 1
I am not sure how many people do this regularly, but this week I set a challenge for myself: Allow myself no preparation at all and only use the pages of my Kavallor Almanac for… Read More »No Planning Challenge, Part 1
The Strength of Banter
Words. They can make or break a character. They can define or destroy relationships. They can set the tone for the most innocuous-sounding encounter that blows up to something enormous. Without them, I’ve never seen… Read More »The Strength of Banter
Revisiting the Past: Spells — Slow and Haste
Apologies for the longer post today, but I think it’s an important topic for rules design and combat. Recently we had a group playtest one of our upcoming adventures for Mazes & Perils and Bill,… Read More »Revisiting the Past: Spells — Slow and Haste
Alternate Cantrips in 5th edition (Guest post by William C. Pfaff)
My man Brian Fitzpatrick is seeking some balance between 5E (and 4E’s) at-will damaging cantrips and the poor wizard of yesteryear who would cast sleep and then beg the party to do the same so… Read More »Alternate Cantrips in 5th edition (Guest post by William C. Pfaff)
Revisiting the Past: Trap Detection, Part 2
Last time we talked about three different approaches to detecting traps in a gaming scenario. The Bull in the China Shop, Analysis Paralysis, and the Middle Ground. You can read that post here… In this… Read More »Revisiting the Past: Trap Detection, Part 2
Revisiting the Past: Trap Detection, Part 1
As I’ve gone through the process of revisiting my Old School gaming roots with D&D through Mazes & Perils, I have had to re-examine the art of trap detection. And yes, there is an art… Read More »Revisiting the Past: Trap Detection, Part 1
Revisiting the Past: Insight Checks in OSR
Anybody used to playing older versions of D&D (pre-4e) is probably wondering what the heck an Insight check is. Imagine for a moment that your PC is interacting with a NPC and you want to… Read More »Revisiting the Past: Insight Checks in OSR
Revisiting the Past: Squishy Wizards
Apparently my last post struck a nerve with some folks. I had a great conversation on Facebook with a bunch of folks with comments like: “It’s a different world. The sooner you come to grips… Read More »Revisiting the Past: Squishy Wizards
Revisiting the Past: Why Cantrips Bug Me in 5e
Way back when the world was flat and I was playing 1e AD&D in the mid 1980s, a book came out that threw a number of monkey wrenches into our nice, ordered existence… Unearthed Arcana.… Read More »Revisiting the Past: Why Cantrips Bug Me in 5e
