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. The creative impetus of …
Category: design theory
“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?
Map Heresy
Most of the advice I see about creating a campaign setting starts with making a map. I used to start with a map but I don't anymore. “I wisely started with a map, and made the story fit (generally with meticulous care for distances). The other way about lands one in confusions and impossibilities, and …
Where the Shift from Old School Play Came From, As I See It
Brian from Death Trap Games put up a good post the other day about how D&D shifted away from old school play. I'm in broad agreement with his thesis and recommend that you go check out what he has to say. There was another shift that I find most relevant to my personal tastes in …
Continue reading Where the Shift from Old School Play Came From, As I See It
Is Game Design…Art?
Designers solve problems.
Great Game Masters Don’t Tell the Player Character’s Story
As a game master, you don't have to be a highly skilled story teller to get a good story out of your game.
Grumpy Wizard 
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