I’m Looking Forward To A Glut of Sword-And-Sorcery

Recently, two writers that I admire, Jason Carney and Brian Murphy, have posted essays on their respective blogs that there is more sword-and-sorcery fiction being published than they can keep up with. The crux of the discussion is that we may have a glut. My opinion is that there is no glut. Not yet. There …

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How Good Players Play In A Sandbox Campaign

One of the most puzzling criticisms of sandbox campaigns I've seen is that players don't engage with the hooks and their characters hang out in town. A large part of that is on the referee. The game master may need to create better hooks, create interesting adventure locations, and reward players who go exploring by …

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Experience Points are a Proxy for What Players Want

“People don’t want a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole in the wall.” Theodore Levitt XP is far less of an incentive than many game masters and designers think it is. Experience points are a proxy for what players want not the thing that players actually want. The myth of Experience Points as primary …

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