Adept Play
Adept Play
Category: Game Master
This is a legacy term (also, Dungeon Master, Referee, Guide, and others) which should not be mistaken for a fixed concept or role in play for all roleplaying. Different game designs present different ways to concentrate authorities and to conduct systemic tasks. It makes more sense to speak of “game mastering” in terms of this variety, in the understanding that the concentration varies in its extent and specific feaures.
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Bearing the Torch for Everyone Else
After finding the book in my local game store, and having the game recommended by an acquaintance, I got inspired, recently decided to set up a Torchbearer campaign with IRL friends. I got quite hyped (part of the problem, maybe) about the game and put quite a bit of effort into preparing it, going to…
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I flinched.
So we played Worlds Without Number for about 13 months, twice monthly with some small breaks and one or two large ones; probably 15-20 sessions in all. The game ended on a logical stopping point: after spending a few sessions somewhat aimlessly (i.e. with no strong goals) wandering around the Maze of the Blue Medusa,…
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Slaying the The is harder than it looks
The last three and a half months have been full of funny, heartbreaking and just plain fun roleplaying (D&D 4e, Marvel Super Heroes, S/lay w/Me, and Sorcerer). I regret not having the bandwidth to post about these games in detail at present, because I owe so much of the quality of my recent roleplaying to…
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Some vague memories of player Amber Diceless Roleplaying
Amber was mentioned on the Discord today. I played a lot of Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game (1991) right after it was released. It was our favorite and most played game for two years, and even after that we would look back to those sessions as the high points of our gaming from this era (our…
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I’m Becoming Predictable
After a few months on hiatus my D&D 5e group started out into the uncharted territory of Tier 3 play (levels beyond 10). They’re traveling to a cave that will allow them passage through the mountains to a desert land beyond. For context I prepare travel portions of the game by doing two things: Every…
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The Witch, the Wardrobe and the Crappy GM
This game has lasted for a while now – at least two and a half-year, with considerable breaks due to the pandemic situation, but still probably 60 sessions or more, overall. If you're unfortunate enough to have read my rants on Discord, you may know I do not consider it a particularly successfull experience. In…
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Made You Flinch… or not.
In addition to my long running D&D game I am also running a Burning Wheel game. The game is heavily influenced by the Netflix animated series Castlevania. I have absolutely no love or even knowledge of the video game series the show is based on and had been largely ignoring it. When I decided to…
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I’m a terrible player sometimes, and I need to get over myself….
I HAVE A CONFESSION! … I’m Sometimes a Bit of a Troll The Covid lockdown has allowed me to do a lot of navel-gazing and self-reflection as a human. Keeping this game related allowed me to look at my habits as a player versus my habits as a game master. I realize I’m not a…
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Arbitrary Advancement and an example of a GM lost in the murk
Our Forge: Out of Chaos game continues. We decided to wave a magic wand and advance the characters to what seems like a reasonable “next tier” of effectiveness, giving Robbie’s magic-using character Cyir Level 3 with his Magic skill and Sean’s roguish/scoutish Wrosk improvement throughout his repertoire of skills. We made this decision after coming…