I heard a story on public radio several years ago that NASCAR had surpassed hockey as the fourth most watched “sporting event” in American television viewership. The commentator theorized that this trend might stem from a shift in American values from team sports to individual sports. Now, leaving aside… that public radio news commentators might…
Tag Archives: Character Creation
Guided by a firm belief that the books are just the beginning, we here at Intwischa are pleased to present “Play By The Rules”, an ongoing series that will provide custom mechanics for your favorite RPGs! These posts will strive to give players and storytellers alike original, creative, game-ready ways to add spice and texture…
My name is Charlie. I’m a mechanoholic. It’s true. My disease compels me to pursue the best mechanical benefit in any situation, regardless of whether my character would actually do the thing or not. I can resist mechanics-driven impulses when playing games like FATE or old-school D&D knockoffs, but when I start playing 4E, all fiddly…
For a RPG geek, there’s an undefinable allure to game systems. There’s just something about understanding the rules, how the mechanics fit together, and the consequences they have upon play. As Charlie has mentioned, however, there’s no silver bullet. He has written about how FATE is great for story, but not so effective for detailed…
Guided by a firm belief that the books are just the beginning, we here at Intwischa are pleased to present “Play By The Rules”, an ongoing series that will provide custom mechanics for your favorite RPGs! These posts will strive to give players and storytellers alike original, creative, game-ready ways to add spice and texture…
It all started when I drew a slip of paper from a hat. The words written on it would decide from what caste my next character would come. As it turned out, I drew the “slave” caste. Being a fan of history, I decided to blatantly steal a concept from the past. I created a…
Like any good team, most parties in a game of D&D have their different positions. Everything from AD&D to Golden Axe to The Lord of the Rings has an ideal blend of several specialized classes, what some gamers would call a “balanced party.” In this current age of 4E, it sounds something like Controller/Defender/Leader/Striker. It’s…
There are two ways to play any game, and that includes a role-playing game: You can play to win, or you can play to have fun. Unless you’re getting paid, you should be playing to have fun. If you’re playing any role-playing game, especially D&D, there’s no such thing as “winning”- unless you count not…
Looking back over the many games I’ve played over the years, I find that the ones I remember best have very little to do with the character I was playing. Neither do they center around the coolness of the plot, the inventiveness either the challenges or the solutions, or even what game we were playing…