Cypher System
Sometimes life is stranger than fiction. Just when I finished writing my post about generic rules systems, I stumbled upon the news that Monte Cook Games has announced the Cyper System Rulebook. The...
November 11, 2014
RPG
Generic RPGs: Do we really need those?
Yes, the caption is meant to be controversial. If it works for big media, why not for me? But in all seriousness, what is the big deal with generic rules systems like GURPS,...
November 11, 2014
NaGaDeMon: It’s Full Of Stars!
One thing which makes NaGaDeMon so hard for me is that I tend to read a lot of roleplaying games especially the ones I like while I should be focusing on writing stuff...
November 7, 2014
NaGaDeMon: So, what am I working on?
Yesterday I wrote that it was still a bit too early to talk about my projects. Today I think it’s already time to reveal at least some details to you, my dear readers....
November 4, 2014
It’s THIS time of the year again: NaGaDeMon!!!
November is a special month for all budding game designers. It’s the NaGaDeMon, the National (or rather interNational) Game Design Month. A couple of years ago, Nathan Russell had the awesome idea to...
November 3, 2014
The Times They Are a-Changin’
This blog has existed for over 6 years now. Back in August 2008 the RPG blog community has looked quite different from today. Blogs were nothing new – even back then – but...
October 29, 2014
Loot: More Traveller Stuff
This morning I had three books that I ordered from DriveThruRPG a while ago in the mail. Initially I tried to order these books from a local shop, but it seems most German...
October 29, 2014
My Two Cents on #Gamergate
I actually didn’t want to write about this subject on the blog. But there’s a saying that the evil ones can only prevail if the good guys do nothing. And since I consider...
October 28, 2014
I’m Back–Let’s talk about gaming!
The last two weeks were pretty relaxing. I managed to recharge my batteries, spend some quality time with my girlfriend, and played a couple of exciting new games. So without further ado, let’s...
October 27, 2014
Taking a few days off
I’m currently enjoying a couple of days off work. I’m pretty busy meeting friends, playing games, sleeping till noon, and various other activities, so I decided to take a short break from blogging,...
October 15, 2014
Freebie: Secrets of the Ancients for Traveller
While reading up on the Ancients on various Traveller forums and wikis I discovered that Mongoose Publishing is giving away the whole “Secrets of the Ancients” campaign for free. The 202-paged PDF contains...
October 10, 2014
I’ve Got Traveller On My Mind
For years I wanted to run a proper SciFi game. I’ve made plans for Stars Without Number, but the project never made it to the game table. I tried to write a complete...
October 8, 2014
First Look: Corporia
Today I was contacted by Mark Plemmons, designer of the urban fantasy RPG Corporia. He’s a fan of my blog and wanted me to have a complimentary copy of his game. As an...
October 7, 2014
1st Kellercon in Limburg
Yesterday the first Kellercon has taken place in Limburg, Germany. We chose the name Kellercon because the location was the Villa Konthor, a local whisky pub, which has an excellent vaulted cellar we...
October 6, 2014
My thoughts on “Chess is not an RPG”
Today I stumbled upon a blog post by John Wick about game balance, social skills, weapon lists etc. If you haven’t read it yet, please check it out and come back afterwards. You’ve...
October 2, 2014
Traveller without Aliens?
I am not sure if I already wrote on the blog about it, but I have been playing Traveller for several months now. Initially my GM wanted to run a face-to-face game but...
October 2, 2014
More Thoughts on the Cypher System
Over the last few weeks I have posted several times about Numenera and praised the so-called Cypher system which powers the game. The same rules have also been used in The Strange, Monte...
October 1, 2014
Advice / Call of Cthulhu / Gumshoe System / Improve Your Game / Other Systems / Random musings / RPG
Mental Health in Roleplaying Games
Because of my personal and professional experience I know quite a lot about mental health issues. As you may well know I suffer from depression and anxiety disorder myself and since I work...
September 26, 2014
Why do we play Roleplaying Games?
If you’ve followed discussions between roleplayers, read blogs, and played in different groups over the years, you’ve probably noticed that there are various approaches to roleplaying. In some cases you might even wonder if...
September 24, 2014
How to deal with “That Guy” or do we need a Social Contract?
During the years I have been active in the RPG scene (offline and online) the topic of “social contracts” has come up from time to time. In the light of recent events I’ve...
September 19, 2014