I have been thinking on how to include Christian mythology (used in the sense of "sacred stories", not in the sense of "false stories"). I have an extremely complicated relationship with Christianity, certainly, but I also want to treat people's belief systems with respect. My thoughts very much do not turn in the direction of … Continue reading Christian Mythology in gaming
For "Gates of Despair", I designed a simple mechanic to represent the influence of the Unseeable God on the minds of the folks there. So as to keep things extremely straightforward, the mechanic is just a track of conditions as you go down it. After discussing it in the Mothership Discord, somebody pointed out that … Continue reading Indoctrination and Sanity in Mothership
For the Enceladus Research Facility in Gates of Despair Session 6, I didn't want to pre-populate with NPCs. One of the players had already established that their character knew several people there, and I wanted them to have some creative control over that. Additionally, the facility had lots of places and it made more sense … Continue reading Mothership NPC Generation
I originally wrote this while preparing for a Mothership game, but it has no game statistics whatsoever. Feel free to use it in whatever science fiction game you're playing! Photo by Matt Benson on Unsplash Micrometeoroids. Think like particles of dust or smaller, not large objects that could destroy the ship. These may cause oxygen … Continue reading 1d10 Realistic Space Hazards
As I’ve previously noted, my Blades in the Dark games require low amounts of preparation. One of the reasons that can work is that I try to have reusable prep. When a score comes up, or when free play gets dangerous, I need to have a list of dangers (complications, consequences, etc.) already handy. These … Continue reading Dangers and complications for Blades in the Dark
This is a ritual I created together with my friend Jessie, a player in my Blades in the Dark campaign, for her Whisper character "Aleizabel" ("Eyes"). "White Ghosts Walk in a Row" by Florence Harrison 1. What does the ritual do and how is it weird? The ritual wards the caster and someone else from … Continue reading Ritual: Ghost Ward
Emmessi Tome by Craig J Spearing For an upcoming campaign focused on hunting monsters, I started putting together a list of variant or house rules I'd like to use. Some of these are "official variants" directly from the books; others come from friends; and others are things I just wanted to include. The current version … Continue reading Draft of variant rules for a new campaign
I recently learned about Harlem Unbound, a RPG by Chris Spivey (Darker Hue Studios) that looks at the Cthulhu Mythos through the lens of 1920s Harlem, especially from the black perspective. This is a game that is as much about racism as it is about otherworldly horror. It's especially paramount when dealing with a genre … Continue reading Unbinding Harlem
A year ago, I ran a module in which the adventurers needed to get into a city unseen. They received a message to meet at a particular location outside the city; when they arrived, no contact or obvious hideout awaited them. The adventure text told the DM to have the players make a Perception roll: … Continue reading Avoiding boring failures
My next D&D campaign will definitely port over more Dungeon World moves (rules) and other concepts, and I plan to write more about them as that happens. One that has been on my mind for a bit is the move for travelling through hostile territory to a known place, called Undertake a Perilous Journey: When you travel through hostile territory, … Continue reading Undertake a Perilous Journey in D&D
