Author Archives: Brent

About Brent

21st Century Renaissance Man. My gamer resume: http://brentnewhall.com/rpg/doku.php?id=brent_s_gamer_resume

Random Idea: The Man of Mode

This is part of a series of RPG characters, creatures, items, adventure ideas, and locations inspired by random entries from Wikipedia. The material I create may grow distant from its roots. Today we have The Man of Mode, a comedic play about a libertine trying to win over one young woman while disentangling himself from another. … Continue reading »

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New Troubles, a simple RPG that thinks (a little) beyond success/failure

In an earlier post, I designed a simple RPG in which players can choose an Easy roll for a good chance at success, or a Hard roll for a low chance plus a coupon for automatic success later. But success and failure are boring. Let’s re-think success and failure in the context of a tabletop … Continue reading »

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How curved distributions can drive you mad

Let me tell you the story of a tabletop RPG designer…a designer driven mad. This designer, let’s call him “Chris,” was tired of the standard RPG mechanic of rolling a die, adding or subtracting a few modifiers, and comparing it to a single target difficulty number. He didn’t like how swingy it is. He didn’t like … Continue reading »

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Slimpunk, a simple cyberpunk tabletop RPG

Joshua Kubli on Google+ wrote, “I keep thinking I want to run Shadowrun, and then my enthusiasm tapers during planning. [The art below] is basically what I want from Shadowrun. Less near-future spy stuff, more punk and urban shamanism/modern magic stuff.” I hear you! So here’s a simple system for that: If attempting something risky, like jimmying open … Continue reading »

Categories: Game Design Hour, Prescriptions | 5 Comments

758 Open Licensed Designs for Minis You Can 3D Print

This page links to 3D miniature designs that you can download and print on any desktop 3D printer. You can use 3D Hubs to find someone local who owns a 3D printer, or send your files to Shapeways and they’ll print it and ship it to you. I’ve focused on files that are provided with … Continue reading »

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The Dungeon Delvers card contest

A few months ago, I published Dungeon Delvers, a retroclone that simplifies classic D&D down to just ability scores and a single d6 roll. The system is so straightforward, in fact, that I’ve put it onto a deck of cards. There’s a card for each class, each condition (stunned, immobilized, constitution drain, etc.), and spell. There … Continue reading »

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A generic RPG system based on ability scores

This is a simple RPG system based on the classic D&D ability scores. The Basics To resolve a difficult action, roll 2d6 and add the relevant ability score modifier. Roll Result 2 or less Disastrous failure 3-5 Regular failure 6-8 Failure with a benefit 9-11 Regular success 12 or more Spectacular success To determine an … Continue reading »

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An indie tabletop RPG maker’s finances for 2013

In the spirit of openness, here are my sales for 2013. I hope this will be useful to others who are interested in selling tabletop games. I sell nearly all my games and products on DriveThruRPG. I take a scattershot approach: I make many different games and books, then sell them and see how they … Continue reading »

Categories: Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Random Idea: Adil Giray

This is part of a series of RPG characters, creatures, items, adventure ideas, and locations inspired by random entries from Wikipedia. The material I create may grow distant from its roots. Today we have Adil Giray, the khan of the Crimean Khanate in the 1600’s and a big supporter of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, an early … Continue reading »

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Random Idea: Bloom County

This is part of a series of RPG characters, creatures, items, adventure ideas, and locations inspired by random entries from Wikipedia. The material I create may grow distant from its roots. Today we have Bloom County, the 1980’s comic strip by Berkeley Breathed. Bloom County gained fame by lampooning politics, elections, and controversial celebrities like … Continue reading »

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