video games
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Lessons from Inuyasha: Earning Big Moves in TTRPG Combat
I’ve been watching Inuyasha for the last few months. And like I’ve tweeted, I’m learning a lot about ttrpg combat and encounter design from watching the show. Inuyasha follows the story of a pretty well-balanced RPG adventuring party: a half-demon fighter, a cursed monk, a demon-slaying ranger and her creature companion, a tricky bard, and…
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GM Notes: My Encounter for New D&D Players
I thought I’d try something different and share a short encounter. This is my “I have two sessions to sell you on playing D&D” design. I’ve run this encounter for both of my long-running professional groups. I think it’s a rather fun introduction to my playstyle and a game like D&D. Dungeons & Dragons can…
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Writing a Better D&D Backstory
Just like anything written for the purposes of playing a great game of D&D, the backstory is a tool. Players use their backstory to inform their character’s decisions moving forward. DMs use that same backstory to craft encounters that draw the attention of the character. Backstories help both parties learn what kinds of stories the…
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Combat Design: Beyond the Gate of Win or Die
For a while now I’ve felt like my combat encounter design has grown stagnant. I’ve been running my very first long-term entirely homebrew campaign for about a year. Now that my players are entering the higher tiers, it’s a struggle to create something that poses a serious threat. If my players don’t immediately crush something…
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In New Jersey, a Happy Ending
When writing Reap and Sow, my adventure for the Book of Seasons: Equinoxes, I wanted to capture a lot of complex feelings at once. I wanted to capture the wonder of living in such a unique and unforgiving environment. The simple pleasure of sharing a meal with friends. The loyalty of those friends. The frustration…
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Homestuck on Player Death — Heroic or Just?
CW: death mention In D&D, death is more than a possibility. It’s safe to say that in a game with hit points and deadly weapons and spells like power word kill, someone is probably going to die. It might be an arch-villain. It might be a couple of slimes lurking in a dungeon. Sometimes, it…