Author Archives: Brent
Get the OSR Handbook in hardback form (contest complete)
And the Old School Renaissance Handbook is now out in hardcover! Head over to Lulu to buy your copy today for only US$19.99 plus S&H. Congratulations to Lord Mohr for winning the giveaway, and thanks to the 87 other people who signed up for the contest. The hardback is the version that includes interviews with Kirin Robinson, James Raggi, Jason … Continue reading
Pushing a Noir Story Forward
When telling a story collaboratively–as in a tabletop role-playing game–how do you know when to move on? Particularly if you’re running the game, how do you know when to push clues towards the players, and when to have two thugs with guns burst through the doors? I’ve been playtesting a new noir game, The Coin’s Hard Edge, recently. While the mechanics work beautifully, it can be hard to know where one is … Continue reading
The Places of Pyre: The Depths
This is part of my “Pyre” world. The Depths One reaches The Depths through long, steep stairways (once escalators) called Descenders. These reveal a city-within-a-city of elegant, tall buildings, full of swooping arches and high buttresses. At the center of the Depths lies two towers, as though competing for attention. The largest and slightly smaller … Continue reading
The Places of Pyre: The Unmentionables’ District
This is part of my “Pyre” world. The Unmentionables’ District Common Enemies: Zombies These poor wretches worked to keep the gleaming city functioning. Born full-grown in vats beneath the Depths, they toiled to keep the more mundane machinery of Pyre working smoothly. This section of the city is utter chaos. There are no central buildings. … Continue reading
The Places of Pyre: The Priest-Mechanics’ District
This is part of my “Pyre” world. The Priest-Mechanics’ District Common Enemies: Oriforged Constructs, Entrapment Orbs, and Doms While the shamans conjured all manner of wonders, it was more difficult to keep these wonders running. Enter the Priest-Mechanics. The Priest-Mechanics were themselves actually a separate order of shaman. Instead of relying on carved runes, they … Continue reading
A Solo D6 Wargame: Tabletop Conquest
Here’s a wargame that you can play yourself with a little paper and pencil and a D6. In Tabletop Conquest, you command a medieval army that’s conquering a foreign land. You begin by apportioning your forces. On every turn, you move to an adjacent territory (its composition determined randomly). Each territory type increases your forces in … Continue reading
50 Games in 50 Weeks: Houses of the Blooded
I’m building an “RPG Tour,” a set of RPGs that, if played, will give one a broad appreciation for different approaches to tabletop gaming. The list includes Dread, Fiasco, Old School Hack, and Dungeon World. I ran my second session of Houses of the Blooded last night, and I’m adding it to the list. Houses is a game of high court intrigue. The players are all powerful nobles struggling to get their way in a complex society. In many ways, it’s … Continue reading