40 Years a Gamer: The Classics I Missed (and the Ones I Didn’t)
Preamble: This post is closely tied to a post I wrote during RPG a Day this year, for day 21, Unexpected. It inspired me to dig deeper into adventures I’ve run as a...
Preamble: This post is closely tied to a post I wrote during RPG a Day this year, for day 21, Unexpected. It inspired me to dig deeper into adventures I’ve run as a...
Hello friends! Welcome back. Continuing my celebration of 40 years in this hobby, today I want to move from the “proto-history” I wrote about in my last post to the actual history. The...
Stop me if you’ve heard (read really) say this before! I am a lucky gamer. I have been playing role-playing games for going on four decades. Our gaming group has been meeting every...
Next to last post for RPG a Day 2025, and the prompt for today is Experience. So, allow me to discuss the experience mechanic in role-playing games, albeit somewhat incoherently, just some random...
Suspense can be particularly challenging to convey effectively in a tabletop RPG. It requires the right mix of player buy-in, effective GM presentation, and a collaboration between all parties. Today’s topic for RPG...
Day 26 of RPG a Day 2025 proposes Nemesis as the topic. And all I can say is: Cobra, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! The first thing that came to mind...
Dear reader, I hope you are having a relaxed Sunday. And now for your reading enjoyment, here is an RPG a Day 2025 post. The prompt for today, the 24th, is Reveal. The...
For today’s prompt, Unexpected, I’ll welcome you with a statement you don’t expect from me: “I’ve found an adventure I want to run!” If you know me or have read my posts over...
Sunday funday! Today’s prompt is Renew, and I’ve been thinking about how to approach the topic. Renew is a verb that means to resume (an activity) after an interruption. I have historically run...
Well, we’ve reached the midpoint of RPG a Day 2025. Technically, the midpoint will be noon today, but you get the idea. The topic for today is Deceive. So, when is it ok...
As far as RPG a Day 2025 goes, this has been a very musical year for me. So many prompts immediately make me think of music. The prompt for today is Darkness, and...
Here is my first catch-up post for RPG a Day 2025, day 9. The prompt is Inspire. Let me share with you what inspires me as a Dungeon Master (DM) / Game Master...
When I finished writing yesterday’s post, I peeked at the prompt for day 7. Upon reading Journey, I thought, comically, What about writing a post about using the music of the band Journey...
In the last few months I really got excited about D&D 4th Edition again. I actually wrote a post about this a couple of weeks ago. After not having run anything for quite...
This seems to be an absurd notion. Why should the most influential and highly successful roleplaying game which is at the height of its popularity be doomed? The reason has – at least...
I have a soft spot for the Old School Renaissance. Even though I never played original D&D or owned one of the Basic D&D boxes I have some quasi-nostalgic feelings toward this era...
James M. Spahn is currently raising money on Kickstarter for White Box: Cyclopedia, which could easily be THE definitive book if you are into fantasy roleplaying inspired by the original D&D (also known...