In my Kalador campaign, the group lost the player who ran the wizard to real life issues. It quickly became clear to the players that they needed a wizard in the group. I offered several options and what we came to was a player character would become a dual classed fighter/magic user. Because Swords & …
The Positive Impact of D&D In My Life
2024 is the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons. I've spent a lot of time thinking about why D&D has lasted so long, been so successful, and continued to gather new fans throughout that time. The answer I've come up with is that it is not just one thing. The reason D&D is such a …
Book Recommendation: Laughing Shall I Die: Lives and Deaths of the Great Vikings
Tom Shippey's Laughing Shall I Die is an examination of the viking attitudes about death and how they lived knowing that they would almost certainly come to a violent end. It's a book worth reading if you are interested in the vikings or how the stories about vikings influenced the sword-and-sorcery genre. Tom Shippey has …
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Book Recommendation: Experience Design: A Participatory Manifesto
Experience Design: A Participatory Manifesto provides some valuable insights and principles that agree with many ideas I've written about on this blog while challenging me to be more rigorous in their application. Who is it for? One of the reasons I've hesitated about recommending this book is that I'm not entirely sure who it's for. …
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On the Passing of Jennell Jaquays
Jennell Jaquays, one of the great designers and artists of tabletop role-playing games, died yesterday, January 10, 2024. A lot of old schoolers gush about the The Caverns of Thracia and Dark Tower. Those are good adventures but some of Jennell's other works have been far more important to me.
The Dumbest Question in Dungeons & Dragons Fandom
There is a particularly dumb question that has caused more fights in Dungeons & Dragons fandom than any other. I do have an answer to the question but it's probably not the answer most querents expect.
A Few Thoughts About the 20th Anniversary of Return of the King
It's been 20 years since the release of The Return of the King. Like a lot of fans, I have recently commemorated the event by re-watching all three films of the Lord of the Rings. As a work of cinema art in the genre of epic fantasy, they were an achievement that no one has …
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