Recently, my RPG group switched to the Old School Essentials RPG (OSE), published by Necrotic Gnome. For those unfamiliar, OSE is essentially a superbly organised and rewritten version of Tom Moldvay's Basic D&D boxed set from the early 80s. I actually started out with Mentzer's red box Basic D&D set, but I can understand why …
Race as Class in D&D – Flavour, Species & Science
I started my D&D journey with Mentzer's red box Basic Set in the mid-80s. By this time, D&D had become quite sanitised, and the quasi-medieval setting had taken over from the early gonzo-rich Sword & Sorcery stylings. In this set, the idea of separate race and class was nowhere to be found. It had been …
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Cultures of Play in RPGs – My Thoughts
Recently, I hastily posted about the drawing power of 5th Edition D&D in the context of trying to attract players to my monthly OSR game. Happily, I admit that the post was not exactly well-researched, as I am neither gaming guru nor blessed with oodles of time. Still, it served as a precursor to more …
The Strong Pull of D&D 5th Edition
Upfront: I've never played D&D 5th edition, so take all these as general observations without much evidential backing! In my current quest to rebuild a gaming group, I've encountered a problem: people who play D&D 5th edition exclusively are wary of playing any other version of D&D. As soon as I tell them that I …
Escaping & Unlearning: Finding the Joy in Art
Like many children, I drew all kinds of things that fired my imagination: monsters, overly muscled heroes, armoured warriors, spaceships, alien landscapes, and so on. Like my goggle-eyed bunch of boyhood peers in primary school, I enjoyed the process without too much self-criticism or judgement. I certainly don't remember caring too much about the result, …
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Reflections on Cultural Change in Role-Playing Games
I was part of the so-called second wave of people who jumped onboard the role-playing hobby, best characterised by the ever-popular Dungeons & Dragons game. Growing up in Australia, my introduction was, by necessity of geography and limited marketing, through the ET movie. That iconic scene, where the teens were busy playing D&D and eating …
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Are You a Good Judge of Character? What does that Really Mean?
Daily writing promptAre you a good judge of character?View all responses This is an interesting Daily Writing Prompt. As always, I like to expand on such questions. In this context, then, what is the question really asking? Humans have evolved to be prosocial creatures for the purposes of survival of the species. In an environment …
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A Slime Generator for your RPG sessions
Referees and Dungeon Masters of TTRPGs do a lot of work at the gaming table. Sometimes, a monster needs to be generated quickly during a sweaty session. And if it's a slimy thing or an ooze you're looking for, you can use this Slime Generator to quickly roll up a jelly, ooze, or other squishy beast to throw …
A Zombie Generator for your RPG session
We all love a good zombie, but sometimes a Games Master/Dungeon Master/Referee just needs an easy way to generate a description for undead minions! Tired of generic zombies groaning and lurching? Do your players press for details whenever they encounter the undead in your TTRPG sessions? If this sounds familiar, this one-page Zombie Generator is …
My First Encounter with D&D
When ET, the movie, was released to cinemas, I saw it along with many youngsters of my generation. As much as I enjoyed the movie, one scene really caught my imagination: the group of them playing a fantasy game with dice, miniatures, pencils, and paper at the kitchen table while waiting for pizza. That movie …
The Moody Warlock's Tentacled Tower 