Origins 2025 Convention Report

On June 26, 2025June 26, 2025 By Travis MillerIn conventions, game business, travel

I went to Origins 2025 and had a great time.

Five Lessons About the TTRPG Business From Mike Mearls

On February 27, 2025March 17, 2025 By Travis MillerIn 5E, assumption busters, game business

Mike Mearls, the chief architect of the Fifth Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, has recently spoken to some podcasters and YouTubers about the current state of 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons and the tabletop role-playing game business. This conversation with Ben of Questing Beast was very revealing. In it, Mike talks about how 5E came …

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A Grumpy Musing About “supporting the community”

On October 10, 2024December 11, 2024 By Travis MillerIn art, assumption busters, crowd funding, game business, musings2 Comments

The people who believe they deserve "support" from "the community" purely on the basis of being part of "the community" irritate me.

Tolkien’s Elves, Dwarves, and Hobbits Don’t Belong in Dungeons & Dragons

On April 18, 2024April 18, 2024 By Travis MillerIn game business, inspiration, musings, sword-and-sorcery27 Comments

I don't like elves, dwarves, and halflings in Dungeons & Dragons. We all know the way they look and feel in D&D was lifted out of Lord of the Rings. The inclusion of elves, dwarves, hobbits, orcs, ents, and balrogs (don't get me started on balrogs) into Dungeons & Dragons was a design mistake in …

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Politics Is Not Fun

On December 7, 2023August 28, 2025 By Travis MillerIn game business, musings24 Comments

Some gamers incorporate their political views into their tabletop roleplaying game hobby. I don't like it. It ruins the fun. Even worse, it ruins the possibility of fun.

A Lesson Not Learned By the Gaming Industry

On May 11, 2023December 4, 2024 By Travis MillerIn assumption busters, crowd funding, game business, musings18 Comments

At some point in the 80's, someone at a game company called TSR noticed that there were more players than game masters. They came up with a hypothesis: If you make books for players instead of game masters, you can sell more books. That seems obvious but it turns out that this is not a very good long term strategy.

Analysis of Amber Diceless Role-Playing: Part 1

On February 9, 2023February 9, 2023 By Travis MillerIn amber, design theory, game business, recommended, Review

I played in a few campaigns of Amber Diceless Role-play in the mid-1990s. The experience was formative. It opened my eyes to the incredible possibilities that role-playing games hold. The many roads of my thinking about role-playing games lead back to Amber.