Category: RPG Articles
Gamer Friendly Venues in Edinburgh
The recent fire at the Meadow Bar has got me thinking: are there any pubs left in Edinburgh with free function rooms? Given the credit crunch, I’d suspect that there may be fewer centrally – although further out of town there may be more! So far I’ve got a list of the following pubs/cafes that…
Joining the Dark Side
The shadows just got a little darker. Evan “Diamondback” Hogan is a Shadowrunner in the Bangkok of the future. He’s what they call a Street Samurai in the Shadowrun RPG, a cyborg that makes their living as hired muscle and enforcers for Shadowruns. They usually have a lot of cool upgrades, such as cybernetic limbs,…
PC groups – how PCs meet in RPGs
A human thief, dwarf fighter, and an elven mage walk into a bar. The barman goes: “What the hell is this – a cliché?” I was recently asked by an ORC member about how I thought groups of PCs (Player Characters) should get together. To be honest, it is a lot easier than people think.…
Designing a fantasy city
Designing a fantasy city for an RPG setting is quite a challenge, even for those GMs that have been running games for years! While I’ve described much of a mediaeval-style city or settlement, the ideas here can easily be applied to any setting. Defences This is the easiest place to start for many GMs. Depending…
RPGing on a budget
With everything that’s going on at the moment, we’re all feeling the pinch financially: so here’s some suggestions to help you save some cash when it comes to RPGs: RPGing on a budget! In the suggestions below, many involve the internet: if you are using mobile broadband, you may want to check your mobile broadband…
How to GM without going insane
I’ve been running RPGs for a long time. Without sounding too pompous, over time you begin to appreciate that there’s a certain way to running games and preparing for them. So here’s my thoughts on running a campaign or even just a one-shot game. Although this is a sort of “How to GM” article, there’s…
The World is not enough: RPG Settings
Author’s Note: This article also appears in an edited format within the inaugural Tabletop Scotland 2018 programme – Bill, 26th December 2018. Planning for the new Against the Odds D&D setting got me thinking: I’ve created so many RPG settings now that I’d like to think that I’d developed a certain flair for it. It’s pretty…
Writing a Script – a new skill set
Writing a Script is an article originally part of a presentation I made years ago at Stevenson College: most of it holds true today, when I do writing projects of any kind. Introduction Every programme needs a script, even if it is a simple animation with no speech at all. The script is the basic…