DM David Hartlage

I just learned @themonstersknow.com has a blog for topics outside monster tactics.

I relished his thought provoking post on the mix of magic and mundane in fantasy and how D&D keeps steering to more unreal worlds. www.onefootinfairyland.com/a-wizard-cre...

Given the niche subject, I’m astonished that The Comic Book History of Roleplaying Games got made. I know the story, but I’m still loving the retelling.

No superpowers or slugfests so far.

Will Gary battle Dave over AD&D royalties in the sky above Lake Geneva?

I’m with you in preferring art that looks like an adventure scene. Your IG pose comparison gave me a laugh

Thanks to living 1 hour from the University of Wisconsin Parkside and another era's low standards for leaving kids unattended, my first Gen Con was in 1981. I saved the program. dmdavid.com/Gen_Con_XIV_...

The subclass options in Cthulhu by Torchlight such as a shadow rogue, a book-themed wizard, and a commanding fighter would work brilliantly in any D&D campaign.

These seem more like the subclass ideas @mearls.bsky.social has had since 2014 than PCs for a Cthulhu-D&D game, and I'm happy with that.

I always wished WotC would bring in character optimization experts to help develop their character options.

Well, the lead designer of 2014 5E @mearls.bsky.social did this on behalf of Chaosium by bringing in @treantmonk.bsky.social to help make Cthulhu by Torchlight outstanding.

Great list!

One way to approach some of these (if you dare) is to consider and clearly frame the scenario's "positive outcome".

The default positive outcome is "we win by beating the bad guys."

A loss scenario can be more palatably presented as "we win by getting to the portal and escaping."

This is partly covered by loss of gear, but I think deserves its own category also: loss of powers.

Some of the best most compelling moments in fiction is when Wolverine loses his healing factor, or Superman is rendered limp by kryptonite.

In d&d these tend to just be frustrating.

5 Tropes that Make Exciting Stories But Ruin D&D Games Stories like those in movies and books thrive on setbacks. Everyone relishes a tale where disaster complicates the heroes’ predicament, leaving them facing seemingly impossible odds. Perhaps a trus…

Stories thrive on setbacks, but trying to create some of the twists that work brilliantly in a book or movie just makes players angry in a D&D game. dmdavid.com/tag/5-tropes...

While polishing up a post for tomorrow, I mused about how my posts differ from something an LLM might create.

Like AI: I use em-dashes and verbs like "mused."

Not like AI: I do low-probability things like using behind-the-scenes stories from the making of Star Wars to make a point about D&D.

Mordenkainen and allies gather to face a looming threat.

Thank you, Gary.
#GaryGygaxDay

I love reading about the history of roleplaying games, so I relished Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in Ground.

Experience Points is a slim pamphlet of outtakes cut for space

At $15 it’s a bad value compared to the hardcover, but a good value considering I’ve spent more on a drink I enjoyed much less

I’m excited to talk to Chris. He always has smart insights into the game

I bought this 175-page, full-color Ultimate Random Encounters Book for under $12 and I’m charmed by it.

Most of the encounters are very evocative adventure hooks. Some are more goofy than anything I would use, but they all fire my imagination.

dmdavid.com/tag/meet-the...

If Pixar made a Forgotten Realms movie, it would look like these covers.

(I’m unbothered by that)

The new VP of franchise for for D&D, Dan Ayoub, talks about moving D&D to a "full franchise model", but his predecessor, Jess Lanzillo was also "VP of Franchise", so just how new is this focus on franchise?

Name something that works well in stories, but badly when set up to happen in an RPG. Example: Trusted characters who betray the heroes.

I’m curious. What class features or spells have you backed away from because they interfere with game flow?

Am I the only player who avoids some character features because they interfere with game flow?

For example, I fell out of love with familiars because all the help actions seem to slow play with extra conversation and the scouting can turn the game into a lengthy 1-on-1 sideshow.

Heroic Sacrifice Heroics She fought like a demon. She saved us all. Trigger You are reduced to O Hits. Requirement Spend 1 or more Heroics up to the number you currently possess. Effect For a limited time you are not considered dying, and can continue to take actions. You gain as many actions as the number of Heroics you spent on this reaction. You can no longer use Heroic talents, you are vulnerable, and as long as you have the actions to spend, you must spend at least two actions on each of your turns. Until all the actions granted by this talent are taken, you stay alive and you can take an unlimited amount of damage, though effects may otherwise harm or debilitate you. When all the actions are spent, you fall permanently dead. A permanently dead creature cannot be resurrected, but they can become undead.

I’m fascinated by the death mechanics in D&D-adjacent games like Draw Steel and Dggerheart that let PCs die in glorious sacrifice.

Perhaps my favorite appears in the unreleased Delve RPG by @delvesrm.bsky.social. I still want to see that game.

I just learned my 20-year-old failed to appreciate the brilliance of Big Trouble in Little China.

New parents, eventually your kids will turn into different people too.

I didn’t know success could sting like this

Some recent D&D adventures left me wondering if Wizards had lost everyone who knew how to translate ideas and lore into a scenario that plays well at the table.

But my first look at Dragon Delves and its back-to-basics approach leaves me impressed. It looks excellent!

Lately I’ve been full nerd reading The Meints Index to Glorantha and This is Free Trader Beowulf - A System History of Traveller.

The vast history of 3rd party stuff for Runequest & Traveller astonished me. Despite being an early fan, I had zero idea any of it existed.

My 20-year-old and her friends are at the dining table playing a diceless RPG called Tactiquest, which somehow I have never heard of.

Seems real, even though Tactiquest sounds like the 80s RPG that an AI might hallucinate

Daggerheart's reaction rolls take the place of saving throws.

"Other characters can't help you with reaction rolls."

This helps make reaction rolls feel sudden and avoids a lull where player look for boons they can send to other PCs.

How would a similar restriction on saves play in a 5E game?

New RuneQuest? The cat is out of the bag! Mike Mearls, Jason Durall, and I have been secretly working on refining and streamlining the RuneQuest rules for the better part of a year! The rules are in final playtes…

Perhaps you missed wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/new-runequest/ and wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/runequest-fa... ?

Please share pictures of you in your 3d-printed, popcorn-filled Galactus helmet.

And make it for sale on etsy. I want one too

Chaosium appoints new CEO and new Executive Producer for RPGs, among other new staffing appointments We're pleased to announce some new staffing changes: Neil Robinson, Chaosium’s chief operating officer (COO) has stepped up to the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), a new position in the com...

Chaosium announced some staffing changes, including that Mike Mearls is leaving for Asmodee, but will still contribute to a new edition of RuneQuest currently in development.

I look quizzically at my 2018 slipcase of a newish Runequest.

Did I miss an announcement or did Chaosium bury the the lede?

In Daggerheart, players select cards to represent their characters main spells and powers.

I like that you can have at most 5 cards active at a time. I've played some high-power games lately where all the player options result in some decision paralysis.