This quick encounter has a fast set-up and can be dropped into place in any Monster Hunters campaign. The players come across information that an actual Nephilim grave (giants who roamed the earth before the Biblical Flood) has been found. After some quick research they realize that the ancient creature has been bound to its […]
Continue readingDesigner’s Notes: What’s In a Lair?
I haven’t exactly kept it a secret that I dislike the current rules for bases in GURPS Supers. The concept overall is sound – which is why I kept some elements of it – I dislike the idea of paying points for gear generally, but I especially dislike it in this instance because in just about […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: A Novel Approach to GMing, Part III: Here’s the Plan
Guest Post by Scott “Rocketman” Rochat It’s the heart of a hundred novels and screenplays: the team of experts, moving like a well-oiled machine. With wit and muscle, they work their way past every obstacle, thanks to their intricate and well-rehearsed plan. But there’s a reason audiences don’t watch a rehearsal. Put it at the […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Dungeon Fantasy Loot Rolls
“Loot! Loot! GIVE US THE LOOT!” cries the players around your table. But dang it! You forgot to roll some loot for your adventure last night because you were too busy designing some traps and custom monsters with which to foil your players. Well guess what? I got you covered. Not only do I have […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: A Novel Approach to GMing, Part II: Do I Feel A Draft?
Guest Post by Scott “Rocketman” Rochat “…I do like to take a story and reorder it, put things in different places. This allows me to see things in a new and sometimes surprising way.” –Carol Windley, Boston Globe interview Revise. Revise. Revise again. Few words are hated more by an author. And few might seem […]
Continue readingDesigner’s Notes: The Perky L33t
My second Appendix Z, “The Perk L33t” was actually one of the first things I wrote after my debut article “It’s Pure Chemistry!” I’d just read W.A. Frick’s “Console Cowboys and Cyberspace Kung Fu” and I thought “Wow, this is amazing – how the heck did he come up with such a perfect application of BAD […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: A Novel Approach to GMing, Part 1: The Plot Thickens
Guest Post by Scott “Rocketman” Rochat “You’re a GM, not an author. Don’t railroad!” Sound familiar? Sooner or later, it seems every guide to gamemastering includes that little gem, a reminder that this is a collaborative hobby, where everyone’s imagination counts. Don’t lock the players into a restrictive plot, we’re told, don’t predetermine your ending, […]
Continue readingGURPS101: Lens for Bard – The Warsinger
When I was starting to run Dungeon Fantasy for the first time I decided that I’d make a bunch of options that I knew my players would like or use. I did this both to fill out my handout a little more and to be able to use the content later on in a publication […]
Continue readingGURPS101: Tactfully Tactical – More Uses For Tactics
So +Douglas Cole talks about a few more uses for the Tactics skill in a recent blog post. I’ve already covered Evaluate as a skill. But the idea of Tactics doing is certainly a great springboard. So what would I do? Well, like always, I have a few ideas at hand. More Tactical EffectsBesides its Basic Set uses, […]
Continue readingBoil and Bubble: Money On My Magic and Magic On My Money
So Matt Riggsby’s “GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Treasures: Glittering Prizes” came out recently (I was one of the playtesters) and it’s useful for worldbuilders in general, not just those who play Dungeon Fantasy. (See here for Matt’s Designer’s Notes.) One of the things he included there was a cool little throwaway line: “For example, if mystical techniques […]
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