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I ran City of Mist for my AP crew. While I enjoyed the game, I felt like sometimes the PbtA influences and the Fate influences were pushing against each other. One of them had to go and Otherscape shows that getting rid of moves for the most part is the right call. Reading this reminded me of...

“Old School” fantasy tends to refer to games tinged with elements of sword and sorcery fiction. These are your games with Conan-like vagabonds and dangerous magic. However, time moves every forward, and for many, old school fantasy now refers to films like Willow or Ladyhawke where magic can...

Dungeon crawler games look to expand with new classes, new loot and new stuff for the players to acquire. Heart is no different, with a new expansion full of fresh ideas currently crowdfunding called Ways And Means. I spoke with the head of the project about what fans can expect from the...

The best way to keep an evil or antihero campaign on track is to supply the players with bigger villains to go after. It’s a joy to see the thieves from Leverage or the symbiotes from Marvel use their dastardly knowhow or vicious powers to take on bad guys that deserve the worst. The Sickest...

Exploration is a vital part of many role playing games. It often takes a back seat to other aspects such as the big battle at the end of the dungeon or the tidy profit for a space smuggler crew. Mappa Mundi, from Three Sails Studios, puts exploration front and center in a game where players are...

Ideas for game designs spring from unlikely places. In the case of Raptor Ruckus, the new role playing game crowdfunding in August, it came from a designer being told what not to do. We spoke with Zac Goins of Snapback Studios about what he hopes to build with his dino-centric RPG. “Oddly...

Yes, there are some traditional monsters in the mix.

Characters in dungeon crawls tend to be on the light side. This happens for a variety of reasons, whether you’re talking about developing storylines through or because characters tend to be disposable and easily replaced. There’s a fine line walked by this style of game in thrilling players by...

The SHIVER series from Parable Games takes a broad approach to horror. Each expansion looks at a different subgenre, such as slasher movies or Gothic horror. Their upcoming crowdfunder for SHIVER: Corporate takes on a popular new genre that combines the dread of hunting monsters with knowing...

It’s hard to believe Munchkin, the classic card game from Steve Jackson Games, is old enough to drink (in America). Heck, it’s almost old enough to rent a car. What started out as a lampoon of a certain style of Dungeons & Dragons where gaining loot and breaking the rules wins out over...

There have been a few. I almost did one for an article but then COVID hit. The race car driving school comparison is apt. Plenty of nerds have money to burn on trips like this. There's also one where you can play D&D not just in a castle but Dracula's Castle. A couple of years ago organizers...

Splitting a core book is a calculated risk. What information do the players need? What information is most important to the GM. In the case of Cthulhu By Gaslight Keeper’s Guide, the split focus on things like NPC stats for historical figures, information on Mythos beasties and forbidden tomes...