Author Archives: Brent
Monster Monday: Flesh-Eating Darkshade
This carnivorous plant (about 3 meters/yards tall at full height) disguises itself as a normal tuberous plant, typically growing in the wilderness and occasionally in overgrown dungeon environments. When prey nears, it reaches out with its “arms,” which secretes a numbing poison (and can swallow tiny creatures whole). Then its large, serrated mouth lowers onto … Continue reading
Faction Friday: The Wild Ones (Sasquatch)
Deep in the woods live a reclusive race of humanoids. Large and very hairy, they wear no clothes and live simple, peaceful hunter/gatherer lives. But these are not simple creatures. They are as intelligent as any human, and just as capable of speech and thought. They deliberately live “in harmony with nature,” as they put … Continue reading
Star Wars Risus Post-Mortem
This week, only 2 of my players showed up, so we ran a Star Wars one-shot using the Risus rules. We had a blast, and these are a few recommendations if you want to do something similar. (For those not familiar with Risus, in brief: your character is made up of a few short, descriptive phrases called … Continue reading
200 Word RPG of the Week: Go On Without Me
Some games are silly. Some games have hidden depths. Some games do both. Such is the case with Wyrdsmith‘s 200 Word RPG Go On Without Me. Three or more players play characters in a stereotypical action/horror movie who are trying to sacrifice themselves. Each player identifies his/her character’s strengths and weaknesses (plus a dark secret, of course). A … Continue reading
200 Word RPG of the Week: Laughter or a Lit Flame
Jonathan Cook’s Laughter or a Lit Flame is a haiku game. Apparently, games centered on writing haikus are relatively common within the microgame scene, but whenever I’d come across the concept in the past, the game basically just told you to write haiku. Laughter or a Lit Flame provides structure to those haiku, but in an intriguingly non-competitive … Continue reading
Game Design Hour: How to Incorporate Play Test Feedback
Once you’ve completed play test, you’ll have all sorts of suggestions and advice gathered from play testers. Some of it wil be helpful; some of it won’t. However, how much of your play test feedback will actually improve your game? In other words, play testers sometimes give the wrong advice. So how do you sort that … Continue reading
Monster Monday: Gaxxog the Incorrigible
Some monsters are simply beasts — strange, perhaps, but fundamentally no different than a panther or hyena. Gaxxog is an abberant creature, a thing seemingly escaped from the depths of the hells. Those who encounter Gaxxog and live to tell of it describe Gaxxog as an alternately lethargic and savage creature. It often curls up and … Continue reading
Faction Friday: The Desert Crypt of the Goblins
Some days, you want a complex, multi-faceted faction. Instead, today we have a classic force of what appear to be bad guys, but you can twist into good guys if desired. Caravans traveling through the region complain of goblins skulking around their camps. They’ve been easy to identify because each goblin wears a black headband. While they … Continue reading
200 Word RPG of the Week: Normaleware
A lot of 200 Word RPGs lack useful randomization mechanics. You may roll a die, but even there, the result is a normal pass/fail. Today’s RPG, Nathan Knaack‘s Normaleware, is an exception. To start, I love that this game about androids infiltrating humanity not only includes Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, but it condenses them while keeping their clarity. … Continue reading
Semi-Monthly Map: The Secret Storerooms
This shrine buried deep in the jungle once held a secret, long since revealed by looters after the shrine was abandoned in a war some decades ago. Until then, most only knew of the two chambers that made up the shrine itself: the foyer where worshippers lit incense in small alcoves on either side — … Continue reading