Gygax's Seven Principals of the DM's Function
There has been some online complaints made by dungeon
masters who feel that they had already played their best game. This thought is
one that I do not find acceptable; in fact, by entertaining thoughts like that
we are allowing ourselves to become complacent. If this happens, than it is
probably time to sit on the other side of the screen for a while. The DM has
many many functions, and it is his duty to never stop working on improving his
ability to become better; true mastery, I feel, is unattainable. If we lose the
ability to critique our work, we cannot grow. We must be critical of ourselves,
but what is it exactly that we actually do? According to the games co-creator,
Gary Gygax, he identified seven principal functions which we are responsiblefor; while it is very easy to become good at each, a true level of mastery is
not actually possible, we can always improve our skills.
Tuesday, November 29, 2016 | Labels: Miscellany, rants | 1 Comments
2121 Tome of Magic review
*EDIT: The Tome of Magic introduces the Wild Mage as a playable character, the concept of Wild Magic was introduced in Forgotten Realms Adventures
Wednesday, November 23, 2016 | Labels: priest spells, Reviews, Treasure, wizard spells | 2 Comments
Gothic Earth Episode 3, The Playthings of the Devil
SPOILER WARNING: If you are playing or plan to play Bleak House, don't read this. This is my tables play-notes for events which took place during last game session.
Wednesday, November 16, 2016 | Labels: Ripper's Gaming Sessions | 0 Comments
1060 Ruins of Undermountain review
* Google+ user Mike Wilson told me that Ruins of Undermountain is no longer the largest dungeon ever printed, that honor goes to "The World's Largest Dungeon" which he doesn't recommend buying, but it is technically larger! Thanks Mike, and you do have a point about Bigger isn't always better.
Also, our good friend Jens D. of The Disoriented Ranger fame suggests that we check out this awesome blog post at DM David called Megadungeons in Print and On The Web. DM David quickly reviews other Megadungeons out there, and offers an excellent read!
Tuesday, November 15, 2016 | Labels: Reviews | 4 Comments
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My Blog List
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On Emotion in the Creative Process - I have written a lot in this blog about AI and machine learning, and have probably established my credentials as a sceptic. It is not 'intelligence' and ...13 hours ago
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Avanzamento e Punti Ferita in Original D&D - Cari Tutti, Ogni tanto capita di leggere un articolo su qualche blog che, anche dopo tanti anni, fa riflettere su come alcune meccaniche consolidate pot...3 days ago
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Protect your Gamemasters (and don't call it "fudging") - *November last year I went to check out X. I had heard lots of promissing things about the changes there, and the possibilities that come with them. Gott...2 weeks ago
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New edition of Starmada! Huzzah! - So Daniel Kast's *Starmada* has a new, 30th anniversary edition out. You can get the pdf from WargameVault (the wargame store of the DriveThru people) or...2 weeks ago
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Attronarch's Athenaeum - Over at the forum El Borak mentioned Attronarch in his thread Hirelings, loyalty, and morale which you should take a look at. Attronarch has a website Att...3 weeks ago
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Greyhawk With Allan “grodog” Grohe – Episode 274 – 2/29/2024 - Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #274 – 2/29/2024 Despite what you might think from its famous box art, Greyhawk (the first D&D setting published by TSR) is...4 weeks ago
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Corkboards & Curiosities: a New Angle on DMing - Here's a new YouTube channel that's absolutely worth your time. There's some clever ideas in this video I will absolutely be implementing in my campaign...5 weeks ago
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Xandering, Jaquaysing, or Arneson-ing the Dungeon? - Yet another gamer firestorm arose shortly after the passing of Janelle Jaquays when it was noted that Justin Alexander had changed a rather well known p...5 weeks ago
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From B1 to Pinebrook: Every D&D Adventure That Includes DM Advice and What They Taught - Over the 50-year history of Dungeons & Dragons, the game has changed enough that some gamers prefer the early versions of the rules to duplicate the play s...1 month ago
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Last move - to self-hosting! - As my vote regarding Substack in the “marketplace of ideas”, I’m moving to self-hosting. I’m now at (and hopefully staying for a long time at) Blog: ht...2 months ago
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Sex-Crazed Falling Stars, Free Weather Magic, and Adventures: News of the Hill Cantons - *Grandma Gaya, the Rav-Witch of High Kezmarok*, seeks the stout of limb and humble of mind in the *obtaining of fallen stars* from an upcoming prophesied ...2 months ago
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Thanks for your comments, friends! - Dear friends and followers of the blog, Thanks for all your comments over the years. When Google+ opened, I decided to jump on board. Everything got coupl...7 months ago
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GUARDIANS OSR Superhero RPG- DC Heroics House Rules - It's been a rough year with sickness. But here I am. Let's go. Guardians is a fun little game from Night Owl Workshop games. They have a lot of fun OS...9 months ago
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Coming Fast! 50th Anniversary of OD&D January 2024 (OGL comments) (& how Wizbro is stupid) - The 50th Anniversary, the 50th Birthday of OD&D is approaching and will be here in January 2024. Wizards of the Coast, instead of preparing for something s...1 year ago
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Original Dungeons & Dragons Has Its 50th Anniversary In January 2024 (Feb 2023) - The countdown to the 50th Anniversary of the Original Dungeons and Dragons in January 2024 continues. Give the drama with Wizards during January 2023, it...1 year ago
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I'm In!! The monthly posting challenge leadup to the 50th Anniversary of OD&D in 2024 - I am inspired by this post found here, to be part of the monthly posting during 2023 and 2024 to highlight the 50th Anniversary of OD&D. We were challeng...1 year ago
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It's been a decade, now... - This is a tough time of year for me. So, with your indulgence, here's this link to a post I did a decade ago... EDIT: I have no idea why it didn't take. S...2 years ago
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This Blog is now on Indefinite Hiatus - Greetings, I haven’t been able to post except sporadically for a while. I just found out I will need to find a new place to live within the next few months...2 years ago
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Ind of the Year - The Colors of Magic - On December 1st, there will be a nice bundle of small, indie itch RPGs from around the world called the *Ind of the Year Bundle 2020* that includes *The Co...3 years ago
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Be The DM, 1 - OK, I've run plenty of games and I've talked with and read the thoughts of many other DM's. One thing is certain; No two DM's are the same. I have seen ...3 years ago
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The Crowning of King Harold - Here is a spooky story that comes from my latest novel, Lions Red and Gold, available now in digital and dead tree only on Amazon. I post it here in ho...3 years ago
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MIDLANDS CHARACTER GENERATION - Character development (of Player via imagined formative experiences) in my dog in DMing. Placyer character development is a huge part of my sandbox. I use ...3 years ago
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Lake Geneva Original RPG Campaign: Merlynd the Magician: A Remembrance of Don Kaye, ... - Lake Geneva Original RPG Campaign: Merlynd the Magician: A Remembrance of Don Kaye, ...: LINK to Description and Ordering: https://www.tlbgames.com/colle...4 years ago
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Character Concepts: Planescape pt 3 - Part 1 Part 2 Continuing my series on oddball Planescape Faction Personalities... Harmonium Sidby the Stick (LG/halfling/fighter) - Sidby's a good enough b...4 years ago
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D&D Sling Damage vs. Large Targets - In many early editions of D&D, weapons were assigned two damage values: one for small/medium targets (i.e. man-sized) and one for large targets (giants and...4 years ago
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Announcing the Contest Winner! (Plus Some Interesting US Coin Facts) - The third semi-annual Save Versus All Wands contest - What is the Value of this Coin Hoard - is over. $1,000 was the winning guess, only a bit below the ...5 years ago
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