rpg
An RPG rundown; recommendations and reviews of the best role-playing games on the market.
Character Growth
Last year, I was invited to join a Dungeon and Dragons campaign that my friend DMed. It seemed like fun and a way to stretch my imagination, perhaps even learn a new skill (or genre in this case). After agreeing, my friend patiently worked with me on creating a character, but that was not necessary as I ended up taking over one that had already been established. After a couple of months, I joined a new campaign and created my own character for the first time. It was a rush, even for a writer who produces more than 3,000 words a day! After a recent session, it finally dawned on me, I am no longer terrible at role-playing.
By Edward Anderson7 years ago in Gamers
5 Tips For Playing Better Gnomes
Gnomes tend to be thought of as a mixture of irritating tricksters and half-mad inventors, with a hefty dash of poor impulse control just for spice. However, there is a lot going on with gnomes just beneath the surface. For players looking to step outside the stereotypes of this inherently magical race, there are all sorts of wild possibilities for who (and what) you could become.
By Neal Litherland7 years ago in Gamers
Writer Create Thy Self
"You have such great characterization." That's a compliment I get a lot for my novels and short stories. Part of that is because going into a story, I know who the characters are, and their complete backgrounds. Recently I signed up for a new RPG with a friend of a friend, and the DM sent out the character sheets. My first thought was why is this in a foreign language. My next thought was that my friend had better be prepared to help me. He was and did. And I still messed up.
By Edward Anderson7 years ago in Gamers
Blacklich: A New Tool for Dungeon Masters
With the rapid rise of D&D, many are finding themselves in the role of Dungeon Master (or DM). As they are discovering, being a DM is a challenge. While the players only have to concentrate on their own characters, the DM needs to play the entire world. Where this challenge really becomes evident is in combat encounters. You often see DMs with multiple pages bookmarked across several reference guides so that they can flip between monster stats and abilities, ready to quickly cross reference spells and conditions, all while rolling dice, doing the math and keeping track of initiatives. It’s pretty crazy. Worst of all, what should be the most fast paced part of the game, gets bogged down and tedious.
By Alex Panagides7 years ago in Gamers
10 Unique Prompts for Your Next Campaign
Being a dungeon master is not an easy task. You have to build the world, create the plot, remember the names of all the important characters, chronicle the adventure, and figure out how to deal with any and all unexpected happenings (read, player actions) that come your way.
By Neal Litherland7 years ago in Gamers
5 Tips for Playing Better Halflings
With their short stature and sometimes reckless natures, halflings are often thought of as the odd-folk-out when it comes to adventuring parties. However, if you're looking to make a halfling that doesn't fit the stereotypical mold for this race (or if you just want to dig a little deeper than the Tolkien-esque surface these characters often get stuck with), then here are a few tips to get you started.
By Neal Litherland7 years ago in Gamers
'Dragon Quest XI'
Dragon Quest XI, what could one say about one of the best games in the franchise other than the fact that it is the longest in the entire history of the Dragon Quest-verse. However, I can say that I clearly underestimated how long this game was which, if we’re being honest here, is a big mistake to any gamer considering that every Dragon Quest game is long.
By Rodney McGill7 years ago in Gamers
10 Questions to Put on Your Character Creation Document
If you're a dungeon master, then you need all the information you can get about the player characters at your table. If you've noticed that getting meaty details out of your players feels like pulling teeth, though, then what you need might be a character creation document.
By Neal Litherland7 years ago in Gamers
5 Pokemon Gimmicks That Didn't Stick
A lot of people don't realize, but the Pokemon franchise was actually revolutionary when it first made waves in the gaming industry, not necessarily in sales (though those were pretty good, I suppose), but in the way it used technology and developed the mechanics of RPGs. Through the ways that players could exchange Pokemon across link cable, the link cable, and multiplayer in general, saw new uses as more than a way to experience co-op gameplay. Also, the sheer number of playable characters that players had at their disposal, in the form of Pokemon, set Pokemon apart from many other RPG franchises of its era.
By Gannon Kendrick7 years ago in Gamers
