Step Out of your GM Shoes
Sometimes we lose track of why we GM. We judge our own performance at the game table by criteria that hardly represents our original goals. Did the group have fun? Good question, but the ‘metrics’ we...
View ArticleGamers of the Caribbean
Editor’s Note: Justin posted this article for Ed who is on a cruise ship and cannot get online to post himself. It’s Friday morning and (I expect, because in reality I am writing this on Monday...
View ArticleSetting the Scene with a Sitar
A really good roleplaying session evokes emotions – your characters are in jeopardy, your victory over the orcs who killed your parents brings elation, the utter devastation of the capitol city...
View ArticleGames Unplayed vol 1
Welcome, troubleshooter! Your service to the computer is rewarded! Congratulations! You are now of red security clearance. That is evidence of the computer’s love and trust in you. You are assigned to...
View ArticleKeep ‘em On Their Toes
A couple of nights ago I joined Ron and Veronica for a one-shot game and, predictably, we had a good time. There were five pre-gens to choose from with the usual spread of pre-generated character...
View ArticleTitans, Go!
My eight year old daughter is a huge fan of the Teen Titans cartoon. Raven is her favorite, which is unsurprising to me because Katie inherited 100% of my sarcasm and 100% of her mother’s sarcasm....
View ArticleSticking it to Those Guys
On this Friday morning, when most of us are finishing up our work week and looking forward to a long holiday weekend and – I hope – you are all planning to play at least one game, I thought it …...
View ArticleGamer Envy
On the eve of RoleplayDNA’s first Game Day (at Total Escape Games in Broomfield, CO), I thought it would be appropriate to air some thoughts on gamer envy and how to overcome it. In particular, that...
View ArticleRoleplayDNA Game Day Report
Well it happened. The game day has come and gone. Was it successful? Oh, yes. Let me have my cohorts talk about the experience in their own words first, after that I will offer my thoughts: Vern:...
View ArticleScent of a Gamer
Wait, wait! This post isn’t what you think it is! If you found yourself thinking of that particular odeur that hangs in the air of so many gamer events, then rest assured, this post is not about that....
View ArticleA Character With No Voice
Help, Help, My Character Has No Voice! Several of us have been playing a Dresden Files game GM’d by our friend the very talented Ryan Macklin. As contemporary magic & supernatural settings go, it’s...
View ArticleAin’t No Rest for the Wicked
”It seems most people agree: The wicked have a strong work ethic.” -me As a gamemaster, one of the best things I get to do is come up with and portray ‘The Villain’ for my games. What a treat! Ask …...
View ArticleHappy 4th of July
To all of our listeners and readers of this page, we wanted to wish you all a happy and safe 4th of July. To our international fans, we apologize there is no content other than this post you are...
View ArticleGamer’s Choice and Other Traditions
One of my favorite things to talk about in this blog is gamer traditions. Every ‘table’ of gamers has their own practices, house rules, and etiquette; When a group games together often enough or long...
View ArticleIn Defense of Hack ‘n Slash
In my gaming circles (those people I play RPGs with), a premium is placed upon roleplay. A typical game session has a balance of skills challenges/social challenges, characterization, and combat. I...
View ArticlePut Yourself into Your Game
Run what you know, to paraphrase a famous piece of writing advice. When you are running a game you can really bring a setting or theme to life if it’s something you’ve actually lived. You bring your...
View ArticleReinventing Your Game
We are never satisfied. We’re proud of a successful game that our players enjoy and sometimes we take that game and reinvent it – perhaps for a new audience, perhaps with a new system. Often, we don’t...
View ArticleRules or Robotics?
Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer tells a story about dealing cards in a casual poker game. She was shocked at the protest of the other players when she skipped a person on the deal and later dealt...
View ArticleOlympic Interlude
There I was, half-dozing in my chair at one o’clock in the morning watching Misty May and Kerri Walsh putting the younger American beach volleyball duo in their place. I found myself doing that mental...
View ArticleTake Me Down to Paradigm City
First, a huge congratulatory shout out to Ron and Veronica and their family. Your son is beautiful! Second, another congratulations to Clint Black on the well-deserved ENnie win, and a huge thank-you...
View ArticleBuying a Stairway to Heaven
“He’s a level sheventy-sheven halfling warmage…” continued the pimpled stereotype working the cash register at the convenience store. “I’ve been playing him for thirteen yearsh. He has two hundred...
View ArticleKnock on Wood
“I want to play a native American woman, but I don’t want her to be a shaman…” (or words to that effect) said Veronica with furrowed brow some weeks back when creating her new Deadlands character. The...
View ArticleIf You Want Something Visual…
Here at RoleplayDNA, we’re looking forward to our upcoming “ThanksGaming 2012″ gameday on November 3rd at Total Escape Games in Broomfield, CO. Proceeds will benefit a local charity that feeds the...
View ArticleWherein I Pretend to Talk About Gaming But Really I’m Talking About a...
Come join us and the rest of the P5 Productions lineup at our upcoming gaming event ThanksGaming 2012! November 3rd at Total Escape Games in Broomfield, CO. Your cost is $3 per game, and all proceeds...
View ArticleMake Gamers of Your Friends, or Make Friends of Your Gamers
Ron and I recently had the opportunity to bring a new player into the realm of tabletop roleplaying games. I always look forward to playing a game with someone new to me because roleplaying is, before...
View ArticleWe Tell Our Tales Around a Table, Not a Fire
Tomorrow night at ten PM I’ll be joining Ron, Justin, Lee, and a pack of new and old roleplaying friends at Total Escape Games in Broomfield, Colorado for the Last Call Horror Crawl. Click the link for...
View ArticleSelling Your Ideas in the 21st Century
I hope to see a lot of you at ThanksGaming tomorrow at Total Escape Games in Broomfield, Colorado. We’re going to have a lot of fun and raise some money for a worthy charity. Welcome to 2012, the age...
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