The continuing adventures of that eternal man of mystery…
You Think Survival Is Scarcity. It Isn’t. This is part of my ongoing series on system structure and pressure models—see my previous: Heroic Fantasy TTRPGs: The Real Test (And So Many Games Fail It) You think you know what a survival game is: tracking rations, counting torches, rationing ammo, worrying about encumbrance. So if a … Read more
Heroic Fantasy TTRPGs: You Think It’s About Dragons. It Isn’t. This is part of my ongoing series on system structure and pressure models—see also: Grimdark TTRPGs: The Real Test (And Why Most Games Fail It) You think you know what heroic fantasy means. Any game where you fight dragons and save kingdoms, right? D&D, Pathfinder? … Read more
Trump Venezuela Intervention: When Executive Action Exceeds Constitutional Authority President Trump has said the United States will “run the country” in Venezuela until a “safe, proper and judicious transition,” and that Venezuela’s oil sector will be opened to American companies, with U.S. firms prioritized in future production. The administration describes this not as war, but … Read more
Grimdark TTRPGs: You Think You Know What Grimdark Means (But You Don’t) You think you know what grimdark means: dark atmosphere, high lethality, morally grey characters in a brutal world. So Shadow of the Demon Lord is grimdark, right? Shadowdark? Call of Cthulhu? No. In TTRPG talk, grimdark often gets used as a label for … Read more
The Most Complete One-Book TTRPGs The best one-book TTRPGs give you everything you need to run a full campaign without buying a single supplement. No three-book treadmill, no “optional but mandatory” expansions, just a complete game in one volume. That means robust character creation and progression, GM tools that actually support play, and enough content … Read more