7th Sea Players Guide
Since the dawn of RPGs, publishers have tried to produce a viable swashbuckling-themed RPG. GDW's En Garde was one of the first post-D&D RPGs to hit the market. 7th Sea aims to succeed where others have failed.
A Cthulhu Mythos: Bibliography & Concordance
This isn't a contest, where all the 'cool kids' own the book - if you need the Concordance, you'll know it.
Abduction
The subject of Abduction is unique and somewhat droll - players step in to the role of victims - specifically, hapless victims of alien abduction.
All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Halloween has just passed, so I thought I'd drop a line into the good people at Eden Studios and see if I could find out more about their upcoming game All Flesh Must Be Eaten.
All Used Up
The co-author of the Unknown Armies RPG takes a look at the originality of new game ideas and when it's time to move on from an over used genre.
Another Nail in the Coffin
Wizards of the Coast's big announcement about online retailers has the potential to do real damage to the future of the gaming industry.
Archmage
Rarely has a game been as schizophrenic than ARCHMAGE, a strange licensee RPG that has evolved from the online battle sensation of the same name. It would appear that in light of the new movement toward license-driven…
Banging on the Walls
The GW legions are on the march again. What can be done to stop their advance?
Beyond Pigeon-Holing Gamers
Youve been there before. Youre role-playing with a group of friends and you love to get into combat but either the DM doesnt like combat or the rest of the party tries to avoid it. Or it may be the other way around, but…
Building a Better Mousetrap
With so many games out there and so many different systems, it only makes sense to consolidate. Our editor looks into the principles of system licensing.
Button Men
Button Men is one of those rare birds: a game that looks extremely simpleminded on the surface but in reality demands cunning and foresight. A game of Button Men is a lot like a game of chess. The basic rules are…
Column 1: Inspiration to Perspiration
Welcome to 'Game Design: Step by Step.' This is the first in a series of articles that will act as a journal of the process of designing a game from the ground up. It will hopefully offer insight into the workings of…
Column 2: Comin' wit da Nifties
As promised, in this second installment, I will talk about the development of the concepts and features that will drive Underworld forward. I'll be honest--when I sit down to design a game, I look to include what I have…
Column 3: Concepts Continued
This week we continue with an examination of the concepts that I hope to include in UnderWorld. Last week we took a look at the basic rules mechanic (the use of Tokens in what has now been termed the "Head Count",…
Column 4: Character is what you are in the Dark
Those of you who recognize the title of this week's installment as a quote from the inestimable Doctor Emilio Lizardo may give yourselves one gold star. What did the good doctor mean?
Column 5: Forces of Occupation
This weeks column is devoted to the second factor contributing to the definition of characters in UnderWorld. As I discussed last week, characters will be defined within the "who/what" paradigm-who they are, and what…
Column 6: Forces of Occupation, Part II
Last week's introduction of the Guilds ran a little longer than I had anticipated, and so this week, we finish up our look at the occupational groupings of the UnderWorld. We have three more Guilds to cover-and the…
Conspiracy X
Conspiracy X, a roleplaying game that makes the X-Files look like the Teletubbies. Why? Because in the world of Conspiracy X, the Greys are just the tip of the iceberg.
Continuum
Time travel is one of those tasty subjects for science fiction games that never seems quite to ferment. Between Grandfather Paradoxes, missing time, meeting yourself and endless causality problems, it seems like the…
David Williams
The person being shot at could have responded all sorts of ways to justify his continued existence - 'Bounced off my Titanium Armor', or 'You can't see me, I'm invisible' or even 'The bullet goes right through this…
Delta Green: COUNTDOWN
Listen to me: this book is 432 pages long. This redefines 'supplement' as 'gigantic opus full of more material than some game lines release in 5 products'. It's a third longer than the core Delta Green book it came…
Devil Bunny Needs a Ham
With a backstory so delightfully inane, I was certain that the game would need special help for testing, so my fiancee and I with some friends drank Jagermeister shots for about an hour, to see what would happen to our…
Diskwars
So I was pretty impressed that Fantasy Flight, the company that released Twilight Imperium and its many high priced add-on sets, has now released a series of very reasonably priced, pseudo-miniature style wargames…
Elemental
I jump at a chance to review microgames and microgame-like products; there's a certain Zen-like beauty in a game that is complete unto itself, done in a small format.
Episode 10: Even More Trouble (or, What Snaps Your Disbelief Suspenders?)
This week, I’m getting in Trouble. You see, this week, we’re going to talk about women. And whenever you talk about women, there’s Trouble a brewin’.
Episode 11: A Potpourri of Goodies
A quick note before we get started. I’d like to spend just a moment or two talking about the White Wolf "publicity stunt". Those of you who don’t think that this has anything to do with game design, go stick your heads…
Episode 13: You Are What You Eat
I decided to link up the subject matter of this column with the symbolism of the number thirteen. You know, Bad Luck. But nothing was coming out of that, so I thought about other meanings that latch on to ol’ #13 and…
Episode 14: The Secret is in the Crust, Part One
And it got me thinking. Thinking about geography, plate tectonics, water deposits, river ways, forests, deserts, winter wastelands and soon enough, I had forgotten all about my beloved half-mad Ork Shamen and had my…
Episode 16: Just Three Letters: "S. E. X."
This week, we're gonna talk about sex. Specifically, we're gonna talk about the problems with addressing… Thingie… in your homebrewed roleplaying game. There's a lot of them. A whole lot of them. It's a big topic, so…
Episode 1: So You Wanna Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star?
Welcome to the first installment of what I hope to be a long and prosperous relationship. My name is John and I'm one of those rare breeds who can't quite sum up his profession in one neat, little package.