Role Playing
Understanding the Backpack
As Narrators we can take clues from a classic Christmas movie to understand how we should expire tags in a hero’s backpack.
The Book
Early in his escapades, the protagonist in my novel hires a cook from Bombay, now known as Mumbai, who has been enjoying a short holiday in Calton Prison owing to friction after his cooking disagreed with his employer’s digestion. Dean Mahomed opened the first restaurant dedicated to serving Indian
The Book
Long before my story begins, the Dutch were a maritime power with trading concerns taking them all over the world. Those of you who value your morning cup of coffee know no matter how brightly the sun shines, there’s a pall on the day that doesn’t begin with
The Book
Yesterday I emailed eight lovely humans inviting them to read and provide feedback on the second draft my novel. This is critical for me, because humans represent the core demographic I’m targeting with this novel. I tested my teaser on each of our cats: James is overdue delivering his
Role Playing
We recently moved to The Hague, Netherlands where there is a roleplaying group that meets once a month for one-shot adventures. I volunteered to run a game of Legend in the Mist as a way to meet some new people. Because I didn't have enough to do,
The Book
I’m about half-way complete with the second draft of my work in progress. I’ve worked all the notes from the first draft into this draft, and although I found it more complicated than necessary, I generated an ePub from the manuscript which I loaded onto my iPad.
Role Playing
I grew up in a small town on Long Island, about ninety miles east of New York City. Out where I lived, we had cows and an enormous glacially deposited boulder (Patriots’ Rock) where we played cops and robbers, aliens and cowboys, or, if we weren’t feeling inspired, chucked
The Book
I love a good historical fiction novel. There’s nothing better than feeling the sense of place long gone, getting to know people who strode this planet long before I did, all while reading a captivating tale. I still recall reading a book that took place in the thirteenth century,
Role Playing
A great breakdown of combat in the Mythras RPG system appeared in the Legend in the Mist Discord a few weeks ago. The author did a remarkable job detailing how the combat system of that RPG worked. I'm not sure I'd want to play it, but
The Book
As the population of Edinburgh expanded within the picturesque medieval city, well-travelled Britons and immigrants expected more from their capital. As the Enlightenment dawned, wealthy and middle-class residents were no longer satisfied living cheek-by-jowl with the poor. Nor did they relish walking through streets literally flowing
Role Playing
It’s no secret that I love telling a good story. Maybe you heard I’m writing a book? I believe roleplaying campaigns are an opportunity for a group of people to tell a good story together. Sure, as the narrator or game master, I have a lot of opportunities
Role Playing
The loops you encounter while playing define the feel of every roleplaying game. Consider the combat loop in Dungeons and Dragons. After rolling initiative, everyone — players and opponents alike — takes turns choosing actions to resolve the battle. If the action is crowded, this may be an exhausting process, but it’
I’ve been a nerd for as long as I can remember. When I was ten years old, my parents bought me my first computer — a Commodore Vic20 — but I started playing Dungeons and Dragons with my neighbour around the same time. That was also around the time I started
The Book
Although today it has as many tourists as rats, Old Town caught my attention the moment I started researching Edinburgh. As you explore Old Town — or in my case, get lost — it’s not uncommon to walk past what appear to be four-story buildings built in the sixteen or
Role Playing
There are few more iconic foes in roleplaying than an undying wizard possessing remarkable cunning, access to a vast library of forbidden lore, and control over a web of allies the likes of which you’ve never seen. Of course, we’re talking about the Lich. Below is a quick
Role Playing
I recently started a new campaign using the Legend in the Mist system. This system is completely new for my players. I've run one campaign using it before, but if I'm honest, I don't feel the experience was super successful because none of us
The Book
We moved to Edinburgh from Seattle in September 2024 and settled into a lovely Georgian townhouse on Danube Street in Stockbridge. Eventually, a forty-foot long shipping container would arrive with everything we owned. But for a short while, Caitlin, I, and our five cats spread out over three stories
The Book
Until the middle of the nineteenth century, the lucky literate few got their news, gossip, and entertainment from broadsides. Publishers printed these large, single sheets of cheap paper on only one side, perfect for spreading flat or tacking up in public places, and then throwing away. Just as the Internet