Tabletop RPGs have been a huge part of pop culture since the release of Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 (Noland, 2021). Players formed clubs and organized events. Even teachers used the games as part of education programs (Lancaster, 2004). But there has also been many misconceptions about these games over the decades (Hawkes-Robinson, 2014). ThereContinue reading “Tabletop RPGs and the Satanic Panic”
Category Archives: blog
Exalted: Planning Your First Game
It is often said that Exalted is a game where you, as the Storyteller, can’t plan for your players’ shenanigans. It is said that the player characters are too powerful to be contained within some kind of planned narrative. This is an exaggeration. Exalted is a very different game to storytell compared to many otherContinue reading “Exalted: Planning Your First Game”
Cyberpunk Red: Themes & Presentation
HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE While technology and transhumanism are huge selling points for the Cyberpunk franchise, another one is the underdog who barks at its master; the urchin who challenges the king. One of the core tenets of the genre has always been “high tech, low life,” and its depictions of the streets have beenContinue reading “Cyberpunk Red: Themes & Presentation”
Machineborn Preview: Timeline
The Modern Era: Until Early 21st Century The Modern Era was a time when people could communicate instantly across the globe and soar through the sky like gods in bewinged machines. With technology changing the ways people lived their lives from year to year, the early 21st century was an amazing time for many—though thatContinue reading “Machineborn Preview: Timeline”
Machineborn Preview: Setting Overview 2
The Nanite Matrix After Primary Order seized control over civilization, it laid the foundation for countless breakthroughs in science and engineering. One such breakthrough was the design for a microscopic device small enough to integrate with living cells and replicate with them. Primary Order released these devices into the atmosphere so that they could naturallyContinue reading “Machineborn Preview: Setting Overview 2”
Machineborn Preview: Setting Overview
Civilization Several centuries ago, the artificial intelligence Primary Order governed over civilization with the purpose of seeing to everyone’s prosperity. While many were satisfied living under the authority of this machine, others felt restricted and belittled, seeing themselves as enslaved by the tyranny of inhumanity. To avoid an uprising against its rule, Primary Order createdContinue reading “Machineborn Preview: Setting Overview”
Exalted: What Is It and Why Should You Play It?
Exalted is a tale of a forgotten mythic age, a time when spirits walked openly among men, the world was flat and floated atop a sea of chaos, and the restless dead roamed on moonless nights. Heroes granted power by the mightiest gods war and intrigue against one another for the fate of the Realm.Continue reading “Exalted: What Is It and Why Should You Play It?”
Session Zero and Safety Tools
There have always been divisive topics within the tabletop roleplaying game hobby: Tactical battle maps versus theater of the mind; XP or milestone progression; Should you fudge dice rolls? But none of these topics come even close to how riled up some people get about the mention of Sessions Zero and safety tools. I wouldContinue reading “Session Zero and Safety Tools”
Vampire: the Masquerade and the Attraction to Evil
Back in the 1990s, every college campus across America had groups of young men and women meeting in public locations while dressed like vampires. This wasn’t for cosplay conventions or Halloween parties, though. No, these people engaged in live action roleplaying (LARP). Mind’s Eye Theatre, the live action version of the roleplaying game Vampire: theContinue reading “Vampire: the Masquerade and the Attraction to Evil”
Creating Your Own Setting
A setting is the time and place used to define a narrative. It adds context and atmosphere to a story but also acts as a stage the characters can inhabit and interact with. The setting is one of the pillars of a roleplaying game, but a good setting is also like a character in itself.Continue reading “Creating Your Own Setting”
Ekorren 