The rules from the writing
So, I’ve been getting back into Exalted recently. Exalted is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. Normally, I don’t traffic in guilt. I think it’s a rather useless emotion, especially in contexts of finding joy in things. And Exalted is definitely something I find joy in. But, like I said – guiltily. It’s…
Who signs their name? RPGs and authorship
Roleplaying is a creative exercise. I forget this, sometimes. Pretty continuously, as a matter of fact. I play a lot of roleplaying games on a regular basis in my life, and I also do creative work outside of them. Every so often, I find myself frustrated at a lack of creative energy, and I try…
Winning and losing in the games you can’t win
I’ve been doing some reading on GNS lately. (Please don’t leave, I haven’t even gotten to the bad part yet.) More specifically, I encountered this post by the irreplaceable Vincent Baker, which is a retrospective in some dimensions and a reinterpretation in others. And if you’ve never heard of GNS before, I think it can…
The weight of the world, or, On GMing
Have you ever GMed before? …This is a blog post, I can’t hear your answer. I don’t know why you bothered. To some degree, the GM is just a role like any other. Plenty of games have clearly defined roles of several types, several have no delineation and keep all players as equal, some have…
Smoke, mirrors, and satisfaction
I don’t like dying very much. (For clarity, this is a post about RPGs. My thoughts regarding death in real life are a matter for another time.) I get attached to characters easily, and, often, some of the most fun I have in games involves slowly exploring the nuances of their personality and what riles…
Stunting, fictional positioning, and the tyranny of human intuition
There’s a mechanic that I hate, whenever I see it. It goes something like this: “When a player narrates their action in a cool or exciting way, they gain [insert bonus].” Or, even worse, if it’s paired with: “If they narrate their action in a repetitive or uninteresting way, they lose [insert penalty].” Now, on…
A callout post, I suppose
…Ugh. I do not enjoy this. So, a disclaimer. I am a rather negative person, in demeanor in general, but especially in critique. I try to make a point of reining that in when in public. On this blog, and on other public platforms I show up on, I have a policy to focus on…
The Ghost Engine, or, shoving the infinitely-complex peg of human imagination into a square hole
I like to talk about games as engines. [Engine] is a term you’ll find here and there in RPG spaces, usually describing specific systems and mechanics – like, ‘running on the PbtA engine’ if a game uses a bunch of specifically-codified moves to shape the progression of play, say. The idea behind that usage is,…
New Year’s Resolution Mechanics
(Inspired by this post: https://www.prismaticwasteland.com/blog/new-years-resolution-mechanic) In my recent ponderings on ttrpg design, failure stakes, and resolution mechanics, I’ve come to what in retrospect seems like a fairly obvious realization – what you choose to put in focus for an uncertain resolution is what you, as a game designer, declare is important to have a chance…
Keywords, games-as-languages, and engines of meaning
For the sake of demonstration, let us construct a hypothetical game. (Don’t worry, in this case, “hypothetical” means it won’t be a whole thing, and by “us” I mean me. You don’t have to lift a finger.) This game contains, among many other components, the following snippet of rulestext: “When you activate an Action, suffer…
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Ru's Roleplay Rants 