When I'm creating a campaign for Swords & Wizardry one of the first steps in my process are to define the groups that exist in the setting. I start with very broad strokes and ideas. In the beginning...there is swirling Chaos that becomes more clear as I make progress. My process for creating a campaign …
Category: design theory
What Is “The Game” of Dungeons & Dragons?
Conceptual Model + Mechanical Apparatus + Player Choice + Game Master Adjudication = A Role Playing Game
Why Is This Monster Here?
Why tells you What and How for everything in your game.
What are Hit Points?
I enjoy tinkering with games. I like borrowing and ideas from other referees to modify and insert into my games. For me, modding games is at least as much of the hobby as playing. Hit points, damage and healing is one of those areas where I have borrowed from other bloggers and modified the rules. …
Old School is a Mindset, Not a Ruleset.
Today I am celebrating post number 300 on the Grumpy Wizard blog. Since it is a special occasion I decided to do something different. This is an essay I sent out to my email list back in April. Some readers thought it deserved a wider distribution and so here it is. If you enjoy the …
“Realism”
There is a claim that it is silly to appeal to realism in a fantasy role-playing game where there are elves and dragons. I disagree. Designers who say "realism" in games is garbage don't actually believe that. Every role-playing game has some degree of "realism" that varies depending on the game and what the experience the players of that game want to have.
How I Incorporated Theme Into My Sandbox Game
In RPG's generally and sandbox games especially, theme can be very hard for the game master to create. I do not control or attempt to control the actions of the player characters in the game. If the player characters are the protagonists of their own story and game master has little to no control over what the characters attempt, then how do they become the embodiment of the theme?
Grumpy Wizard 