Tag: roleplaying
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Nostalgia, Music, and Computers
It turns out that I get nostalgic about technology in the same way as I get nostalgic about music. Here's some things that take me right back to being nine, eleven, thirteen and fifteen years old.
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D&D 5e is not for everyone
Kai Koehler reminds us that D&D 5e is far from the only TTRPG, with a tight dissection of its specific characteristics so that they can be compared to other, perhaps more roleplay-heavy, games and systems. They include some suggested ideas for other games, too, a couple of which I'm strongly-inclined to try out!
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Y'all seemed to enjoy the "overworld" map I shared the other day, so here's another "feelie" from my kids' ongoing D&D campaign.
The party has just arranged for passage aboard a pioneering (and experimental) Elvish airship. Here's a deck plan (only needs a "you are here" dot!) to help them get their bearings.
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In the style of a passenger ferry, a floorplan for a dirigible, weighted down by polyhedral dice. Fantasy world quirks like bilingual text in Common and Elvish and the emergency exit sign depicting a fleeing witch complete the effect.
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In preparation for Family D&D Night (and with thanks to my earlier guide to splicing maps together!), I've finally completed an expanded "overworld" map for our game world. So far, the kids have mostly hung around on the North coast of the Central Sea, but they're picked up a hook that may take them all the way across to the other side... and beyond?
Banana for scale.
(If your GMing for kids, you probably already know this, but "feelies" go a long way. All the maps. All the scrolls. Maybe even some props. Go all in. They love it.)
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On a dining table lies a old-style map comprised of 12 sheets of A4 paper, sellotaped together. The map shows the 'Central Sea', an inlet from the 'Terminic Ocean', around which various settlements, forests, mountain ranges, and swamps can be found. An underripe banana sits in one corner of the map, weighing it down.
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My Ball
One of my dog's favourite games is 'My Ball', in which my role is to want the toy that she is guarding. It's all about the motivation, you see! Which is like some of the games I used to play with our eldest, when she was a toddler, I realise.
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D20 with Advantage
D&D players spend a lot of time rolling D20s. Sometimes they 'roll with advantage' - that is, roll two dice and take the largest. Last night I dreamed I derived the probability matrix for such rolls, and it got me thinking... could you construct a single die that rolls 'D20 with Advantage'?
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Multi-Phase Maps in FoundryVTT
Using FoundryVTT's powerful API and a little bit of JavaScript code, we can easily produce a battlemap that changes through a series of phases as the adventure progresses. Here's how...
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Let Your Players Lead The Way
In gradually becoming a better RPG gamemaster, the toughest lesson for me has been how to surrender control to my players. Here's the story of the importance of that lesson, and some of the mistakes I've made along the way.
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[Bloganuary] Playtime
Do I get to "play" in my daily life? Absolutely. For this Bloganuary prompt, I'm looking at the ways in which I play.
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Bramble
Fresh D&D campaign! I'm playing a Harengon Barbarian.
I'm a fierce bunny rabbit! -
Easy FoundryVTT Cloud Hosting
People keep asking for a quick-and-easy guide to setting up a cloud hosted FoundryVTT server. So I wrote one.
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Short-Term Blogging
Next time you've got something to share or a personal project, why not start a blog?
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Nightmares & Noggins
I had a nightmare last night in which I was underprepared for an upcoming D&D session. Because I am underprepared, I guess, but mostly because I was ill and sleeping badly anyway!
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Hasbro Alignment Chart
Hasbro seem to be rolling up a new character. Maybe this'll help them.
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Printing Maps from Dungeondraft
Tips on using Dungeondraft to make RPG maps you can print for tabletop use.