There are parallels between Perspective, as used by artists, and how players and PCs will perceive plotlines in an RPG Campaign. Wow, but this turned out to be bigger than I expected. I expected to be able to post it Monday, instead it’s going up today – early Sunday morning in my neck of the […]

How to create and implement new tech into an RPG campaign. This half focuses on sci-fi and the more realistic types of innovation. Fantasy to follow! Strange Tech: Sci-Fi / Superhero I’ve divided this question into two halves, one for Sci-Fi and related genres and one for Fantasy. I’m going to try and put them […]

Some secrets are worth killing for, and it can be highly effective to build a campaign, and a campaign world, around that premise. It can be very satisfying to build a campaign, or a campaign arc, around the Big Lie, but it can be harder work than expected. This article will lay out a blueprint […]

Most systems keep skill & stat checks simple, but there can be rewards for a more aggressive approach. A cavalcade of minor medical issues have impact the delivery of this article, causing delays. So expect another short fill-in article next week as I try and wrestle the schedule back into position. That should buy me […]

Colors are often associated with emotional states. Remapping them can create uniqueness for non-human races and cultures. This is something of a filler article. The one that I’ve been working on all week on Futuristic and Alien tech is around the 10K words already but isn’t quite going to be ready in time. I thought […]

World-building through an exotic cuisine technique, it’s easier than you might think – AND more effective. This post is one of those ideas that comes to you out of nowhere but, as you’ll see, as a technique, it’s worth sharing. One of the hardest things to do is to convey a sense of the action […]

In this post, a tool for integrating a character’s evolving personality into their past and backstory. Works in all genres. Wow, but this post is late. The main reason for that is the Worksheets that I’ve linked to later in the article – the article itself was 90% complete last Sunday Night. These took four […]

A question so obvious I don’t think I’ve ever answered it before: Why does a game physics matter? I give 7 reasons. I was working on a future post detailing a speculative (real-world) physics – it’s good stuff, coming soon – when it struck me that I don’t think I’ve ever addressed this fairly fundamental […]

A process for designing & constructing big or complex things, from spells to magic items, castles to space stations, industrial processes to political campaigns, new chemistries to better TVs and AC systems, using something every RPG already has. The real world caught up with me somewhat in the course of writing this article – I […]

A ‘Power Skill’ measures how adept a character is at pushing an ability beyond its normal limits. These are rules for handling them, from my Zenith-3 System, and adapting them to other game systems, permitting their application to D&D class abilities and Feats and so on. Useful in any genre with unusual abilities. What Is […]