We played Mausritter last night and it really felt like, well, playing. Setting matters, even implied setting, and it affects the kinds of stories we can tell.
Mausritter Musings
Tag: Dungeons and Dragons
Christian Mythology in gaming
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
Marking some posts private
After some reflection, I have decided to mark some posts private and thereby make them unavailable. In the interests of transparency, I want to document the reasons why. Photo by Pierre Bamin on Unsplash First, I have removed access to my list of free D&D 5e adventures. The traffic to that one post overwhelms everything … Continue reading Marking some posts private
Implied setting
Photo by Christopher Burns on Unsplash ‪The podcast "Fear of a Black Dragon" does the thing that yields my highest praise in gaming media: it makes me want to stop listening and go play a game! The episode on "Times That Fry Men's Souls" is especially good, in large part due to the deep discussion … Continue reading Implied setting
Let’s Read: Dirge of Urazya
"Dirge of Urazya" is a zine from Jack Shear (author of "Krevborna" and several other system-neutral setting books). I've given this no more than five seconds of flipping through before writing this post, so this is my initial read-through. You can read his blog posts on it as well. First Impressions Jack has produced what … Continue reading Let’s Read: Dirge of Urazya
Forbidden Level of the Creedhall Library
In Gothic Brunch a few weeks ago, the group determined they wanted to go do some research at a library. Now, what kind of a game would I be running if the library didn't have a secret basement with forbidden tomes and unspeakable secrets? For this map, I once again depended on Elven Tower. This … Continue reading Forbidden Level of the Creedhall Library
D&D Essentials Kit: the Disappointment of Icespire Peak
The rulebook and accessories are pretty good. Otherwise "Dragon of Icespire Peak" stands on its own about as well as the DM screen in the same box: it doesn't, really.
Create the content you want to see in the world
Lately, I've been thinking about whether I should start publishing more stuff beyond my musings here and my game sessions. I wouldn't do this for the income stream ("monetize your hobby and make it a job" doesn't appeal to me) but rather for the fun of seeing other people use what I've made and hopefully … Continue reading Create the content you want to see in the world
Thoughts on Dungeon of the Mad Mage
We've done it. We've finished Undermountain. The rest of this post contains some mild spoilers for the dungeon, but honestly not a lot. Instead, I want to talk about what I learned about D&D and communities. For context, Variant Roles ran the entire book as a community project, with different groups exploring different levels. I … Continue reading Thoughts on Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Thinking about low-level monsters
What low-level monsters are both interesting and not problematic? The pendulum swing between tiers of play means that we occasionally want to focus on those early levels, as Matt Colville has talked about. And in D&D, that usually means undead, orcs, goblins, and kobolds. I won't worry about undead too much here; the major problem … Continue reading Thinking about low-level monsters
Technoskald's Forge 