My involvement in this article was mostly as a format checker and “crunch” meister. Though I did help J. hammer out some of the details. I spent maybe 10 hours total, with 0.5 hours writing, 5 hours editing/format-checking, 0 hours for research, and maybe another 4.5 hours of revision. I had a blast working with […]
Continue readingCategory Archives: Designer’s Notes
Designer’s Notes: Impulse Control
FNORD. SO MUCH FNORD. I was lucky enough to be asked to be part of the issue and even more lucky to end up on the cover of the 100th issue of the third iteration of Pyramid. Truly, the Secret Masters have put their blessing upon me. On a personal note, my first article “It’s […]
Continue readingDesigner’s Notes: Necro-Psi
I’ve done a lot of work creating new powers for GURPS Psionic Powers one of my biggest regrets was not getting credit on that book (I playtested it – but got no credit). I think my love for the system PK put together as much as my regret in not earning that credit has driven me […]
Continue readingDesigner’s Notes: The Monstrous Monstroum
Being one of those who was in on the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game was a huge honor – the system itself is rather amazing and Sean Punch did a wonderful job streamlining GURPS into this lean, mean, gaming machine. When I was asked to contribute to Welcome to Dungeon Fantasy I knew what I wanted to do immediately: […]
Continue readingDesigner’s Notes: Mask of Humanity
“The Mask of Humanity” began as “Parting the Veil.” It spent almost 4 years on my harddrive (longer than any other “finished and submitted” but unpublished articles I currently have) collecting dust. I’ve hinted at its existence on the forums dozens of times since then. It contains lots of little gems people asked for many […]
Continue readingDesigner’s Notes: Low-Tech Transportation
First, let me preface this with the following: Steven Marsh was even more of a freaking hero than normal. That man is the Patron Saint of Long-Suffering Editorial Work. Seriously, we need to get him canonized or something. I turned in a draft that could have been better, but the timeline just wouldn’t allow it. […]
Continue readingDesigner’s Notes: Above the Law
This article was something rather interesting to write – it came from a kernel of an idea from my Aeon supers campaign: how do powers and the law interact? There is a tiny section in GURPS Basic Set about Spell Legality – but that’s it. So I got to thinking, how could I expand it? […]
Continue readingGURPS101: Dungeon Fantasy Styles – Zodiac Styles
(Note: This was inspired by my work, but not written by me. The author would be +Hal Battywho graciously offered it to me to use however I like. Thank you again, Hal.) “Eastern Adventures” in Pyramid #3/89: Alternate Dungeons II has a box called “Martial-ArtsStyles and Power-Ups” that alludes to the possibility of a simplified […]
Continue readingDesigner’s Notes: Codex Duello
Codex Duello was one of those things that came out of a “I wonder if I could…” after a conversation that started in Pyramid Write Club and degenerated into a off-list email conversation with +Douglas Cole. Doug thought that Control Points from GURPS Martial Arts: Technical Grappling might be more broadly applicable elsewhere. I just happened to […]
Continue readingDesigner’s Notes: Survival at the End
“Survival at the End” was something I’d conceived pretty much on the fly. I had a tight deadline and I knew I’d need to use at least half the time I’d been allotted to let my revisors chew on it. Luckily, one of the the things I’m knowledgeable in is various hunting and survival techniques. […]
Continue reading