Player Agency
Player Agency in TTRPGs is one of the most important factors that separates role-playing games from other storytelling media. At its core, agency is about the ability to make meaningful choices and see those choices shape the outcome of the game. A few weeks ago, my...
Dangerous Encounters
Sometimes, it can be hard to adjust encounters, which can make them a challenge for the player characters. What do you do when the player characters have attained such power that they seem able to tackle whatever you throw at them? Here are a few ideas on how to make...
Introduction to Adventure
One of the most important parts of any role-playing module is the hook and the introduction to adventure. How you get your characters and players invested and interested in your narrative is a subtle art, unfortunately, often reliant on tired tropes. A few days ago, I...
Strange things you do in D&D
If you take a closer and more critical look at what your character is doing in-game, you might find that much of it both defies common sense and decency. Are you guilty of any of these “sins� For years I have been conditioned to do certains things when I play...
Is that a +2 laptop? RPG’s in the job market
Now, I know from experience that role-playing groups are quite common in workplaces - and not just where you'd expect them. For example, there was a fairly active group in the bank head office where I used to work and a friend of mine ran a group with fellow...
When is Canon constricting?
I have a complicated relationship with games set in established universes. On the one hand I yearn to experience further some of my favorite stories but on the other hand these types of things often have elements that work very well in a book or movie form but heavily...
Breaking the chain – Race and Class in D&D
There’s a correlation between race and class in D&D and has been for years. Many players let their choice of race determine their choice of class or vice-versa. Is this correlation a bane or a blessing? If you’re playing D&D 5E there’s more than small...
Where have all the good rpg stores gone?
Publishing and distribution of RPG material has become a whole lot easier in the recent years, especially because of the Internet. Though this is in many ways great for roleplayers, it has some downsides. Where have all the good rpg stores gone? When I was growing up...
Narratives and popular roleplaying games
Why are some roleplaying games more popular than others? Why do some games seem to have an ongoing and steadily growing base of fans while other games, just as interesting, seem to never grow beyond being indie games? I've often wondered why some games are more...
Babies with Knives play Trudvang Chronicles
Babies with Knives is a Youtube channel dedicated to exploring roleplaying games and run by Alice Peng. Recently she and her co-host Brandon decided to take a look at Trudvang Chronicles. Our very own, Thorsteinn Mar, ran a short module for them, from his upcoming...
Top five RPG books in 2018 – The Year of the Swedes
2018 has been quite interesting rpg-wise. I played many different games and fell in love with some of them. Most of the games I loved playing came from Sweden. Therefore, I think 2018 is the Year of the Swedes in roleplaying games. There were so many great games...
Roleplayers – a diverse community
Last few weeks have been quite revealing and shed light on some problems in the gamer society. Has the empowerment of social media magnified these problems or have they always been there? Are we a diverse community or divided? I think it's fair to say that the last...
What makes 5th edition great
The 5th edition of Dungeons and Dragons was published in August 2014 and has been a huge success. Many fans believe the 5th edition to be the best edition ever published. But what makes this edition great? I still remember when I bought my first D&D player's...
New on Kickstarter: Black Void – Under Nebulous Skies
Under Nebulous Skies is a new sourcebook for the Black Void rpg, a dark esoteric roleplaying game, which is on Kickstarter at the moment. The Black Void RPG, designed by Christoffer Sevaldsen, revolves around the fall and subsequent resurgence of Humanity after...
Twilight: 2000 by Frian Ligan
A new edition of the classic roleplaying game Twilight: 2000 was announced today by Free League Publishing, makers of the ALIEN RPG, in partnership with Game Designers’ Workshop and Amargosa Press. The new edition goes back to the roots of the franchise with a boxed...
Trudvang Adventures – new setting for 5e
Riotminds has just released an announcement that Trudvang Chronicles will be updated for 5e and will be called Trudvang Adventures. This is something many fans of Trudvang have been waiting for. Trudvang Chronicles has served thousands of players worldwide for more...
