Category: #RPG
-
Big Sword: Graves & Groves, a review
Big Sword: Graves & Groves By W. Gage Berry, Phillip du Plessis, and Jeremy Shuman c2023 Price $10.00 USD Some games cultivate a very particular aesthetic and Dungeon Crawl Classics is one of them. Products such as the zine Big Sword: Graves & Groves by Toxins & Tonics fit the style of DCC perfectly. In…
-
Language and hobby gaming
*This article is only about tabletop role-playing games. Board games, for example, are a completely different entity. All of the content on this site is in English but isn’t the only language I speak. This bilingualism leads to a lot of reflection on the preponderance of materials published primarily in English. It’s an even more…
-
What is the difference between a good review and a bad review?
There is an oft-used, extremely cliché phrase, “everyone is a critic”. That’s not my opinion. Criticizing something isn’t offering critique. The question that has to be answered is, “What is critique?” I consider myself to be knowledgeable on this topic, and qualified to offer an informed opinion. I’ve studied how critical writing and strive to…
-
New D&D movie, new attitude in the press
Dungeons & Dragons isn’t a new phenomenon that people have never heard of before. It’s been around for decades. The game is older than I am, and not by just a few months. Yet, with the movie, Honor Among Thieves, coming out this weekend (31 March 2023) there are (predictably) articles inviting people to the…
-
I, Strahd, A review
*Not to readers: I’m presenting this review as spoiler-free as I’m able. Few things conjure up the fantasy genre quite like Dungeons & Dragons. The game has had a number of best-selling novels, and a few selections have (debatably) made their way into the canon of genre fiction. Yet, there’s more than dragons and elves…
-
Everyone appears set on abandoning D&D 5e, even WotC
The OGL is on its way out or will be mutating into a form that no one recognizes anymore. The army of 3rd party publishers and content creators began separating themselves from D&D once it became clear that the rumoured OGL changes were actually real. What happens next for all of those people that were…
-
ZineQuest 5, or “Goodbye bank account!”
It is once again ZineQuest on Kickstarter, and I am not let down. It’s probable that I say something like this every year. However, there really is a fantastic collection of stuff I’m excited about. ZineQuest is great for multiple reasons. Before I begin, I hope this isn’t interpreted as me being opposed to larger…
-
Infinity Deck Locations, review
This was originally written for The British Fantasy Society. Role-playing games always have locations; stories need settings. Sometimes situations arise that mean a little extra help is needed if a game heads in a direction that maybe wasn’t planned for. To that end, Modiphius has published a deck of locations to help ease the anxiety that comes…
-
Do games have elements that they absolutely need?
There are books upon books upon books written about writing. Whether it’s fiction, non-fiction, or pretty much anything a person can think of. Someone somewhere wrote a text about proper writing. Those same books don’t necessarily apply to tabletop roleplaying, or do they? Yes, grammar is essential. Yes, style matters. And good gravy, please make…
-
Dishonored RPG, review
This was originally written for The British Fantasy Society. When first released as a video game, Dishonored was lauded for its open-world gameplay. Now, Dishonored has transitioned from screen to tabletop, and Modiphius has published this new iteration of the game using its 2d20 system. What initially stands out is how much the setting and tone of the…
Pulp Culture Museum 