RPG Mainframe

Get your pen and paper ready for this one. I propose a method to marry the opposing forces of GM prep and true player agency. No easy love affair, but with a few 'blobs and fingers,' I think I have an answer.

As I faced the uncertainty of running a new cyberpunk campaign, I discovered a useful dichotomy in my thinking: working toward moments of feeling versus moments of revelation. Join me for another critical look at how we create.

Take some time to analyze your own pushing and pulling behaviors as a GM. A dynamic balance of assertive and passive components will make your game, like any good conversation, feel good to all present.

I go into some cognitive research on using pen and paper over digital tools. Let's get all sciencey, and reinforce what I see as the absolute CORE of what we do (yes, even moreso than DICE!) ... writing.

25 days of crazy work to create my system-free play world: Bearcats. Here's the play by play on the hurdles and triumphs. 

Join me for a talk about confronting what you're 'currently struggling with' and the three methods I've working on to improve my NPC game at the table.

I take some time to sit and talk about how we can find more mental energy for our games by releasing our prep, expectations, and concerns when we're at the table. I've only got so much brain power, so I need it HERE! NOW!

A creepy ghost story, and a discussion of implementing deadliness, lethal defenses and other fast-kill methods into your boss designs.

Three clutch criteria for deciding whether or not new, created or assimilated mechanics matter in your game. 

Just a straight gab on dice, where they came from, why we love 'em, what brands are my favorites, and how they get used in RPG's! No big theory here, just chewin' the fat.