Chris Strahm (aka One Man and His Dice)

RPGaDAY 2025: Day 2 – Prompt Gary Gygax never told me to use a GM screen, but he showed me how to use it well. From the filing cabinet ‘judge’s screen’ of his early playtests, I learned it could be more than cardboard. It could be drama, mystique, and a tool for immersion.

Day 2 of #RPGaDAY2025 : Prompt. Gary Gygax never told me to use a GM screen; he showed me how to own it. From filing cabinet fortresses to cardboard battlements, the right screen is more than a shield, it’s a stage.

RPG a DAY 2025 – Better Late Than Never In 1982, my older sister Tammy introduced me to the Moldvay Basic Set and unknowingly changed the course of my life. My first adventure in the Caves of Chaos involved kobold disguises, wild sack-swinging, and the moment I found my true home in tabletop roleplaying.

Day 1 of #RPGaDAY2025 : Patron. Mine wasn’t a noble or a wizard. It was my older sister Tammy, who gifted me the Moldvay Basic Set in 1982. From kobold disguises to wild sack-swinging, my first adventure was pure magic.

Savage Frontiers: The Pulp Roots of RPG Storytelling (Part VII) In pulp, treasure is never just gold – it’s a debt waiting to be paid. Every crown, every gem, every bloodstained coin carries a curse. The best RPGs know this: the treasure whispers, it watches, and it weighs. And when you count your winnings, something always counts you back.

Savage Frontiers: The Pulp Roots of RPG Storytelling (Part VII)

In pulp, treasure is never just gold – it’s a debt waiting to be paid. Every crown, every gem, every bloodstained coin carries a curse. The best RPGs know this: the treasure whispers, it watches, and it weighs. And when you count your…

Savage Frontiers: The Pulp Roots of RPG Storytelling (Part VI) There’s always another door, another depth, another hell. In pulp, the otherworld isn’t a place on a map – it’s a trap sprung by guilt, sin, or bad luck. Step through, and reality twists: the landscape mocks you, the air stinks of your secrets, and something is always watching from the throne.

There’s always a deeper pit, another door, another hell. Part VI of my dungeon deep dive explores the otherworlds of pulp fantasy – realms that twist reality, mock the soul, and never let you leave clean. Step lightly. Something’s watching.

Before Discord servers and hashtags, we found fellow adventurers by post – letters, maps, and house rules typed on creaky typewriters. My latest piece reflects on the corkboard of the mind, where names of strangers once meant friendship. Come pin yours beside mine.

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Savage Frontiers: The Pulp Roots of RPG Storytelling (Part V) The pulp hero doesn’t fight because it’s noble. They fight because the world leaves them no choice. Every swing of the sword is a pact with death – the only prize worth winning. Victory comes steeped in blood, and the cost is always a piece of your soul left behind.

In pulp, you fight because there’s no other way. Every battle costs you – blood, pride, pieces of your soul. Part V of my dungeon deep dive is up now: Death is the Prize. Bring a blade, but don’t expect to come out clean.

Tears of the Feathered Serpent A serpent god weeps in the jungle, and the sun teeters on the edge of its final descent. Tears of the Feathered Serpent is a one-page zine for OSR/NuSR games, packed with jungle ruin prompts, a doom-cycle generator, and lore fragments to fuel your next mythic crawl. Whether your players are chasing prophecies, fleeing katun’s end, or waking something best left buried, this zine delivers ancient vibes with teeth.

Unearthed from a serpent-haunted jungle: Tears of the Feathered Serpent – a zine for OSR/NuSR play. Doom-cycles, weeping gods, and temples that remember your name. Free to steal. Free to bleed. #ttrpg #OSR #zine #mythicfantasy #indierpg #hexcrawl

At What Price, Glory?

It was suggested that I start posting some of my stuff to Reddit, so I gave it a go. Threw a test post up on r/rpg. Granted, not my finest choice of material, and I’m very glad it was anonymous, because it got pounced on almost immediately. Are there any threads or subreddits…

Savage Frontiers: The Pulp Roots of RPG Storytelling (Part IV) The dungeon is not a place. It is a process. A descent, a devouring, a revelation. In the dark beneath the world, rooms are organs, corridors are bowels, and every step digs deeper into something alive – and hungry. No one leaves unchanged. Some don’t leave at all.

What if your dungeon wasn’t just a place, but a living thing? A wound in the world that swallows you whole and spits you back changed – if you’re lucky. Part IV of my dungeon deep dive is up now. Bring a torch.

Conclusion: The Descent into the Forsaken Maw Deep in the bowels of the Forsaken Maw, our hapless adventurers finally reach the end of their perilous crawl – only to find the prize already claimed. Between bureaucrats, owlbears, and one very smug gelatinous cube, the real treasure might just be surviving the loop to try again.

Our adventurers delve deep into the Forsaken Maw – traps, owlbears, mimes, and all – only to find the real prize was... paperwork? Read the latest chaotic chapter now! #FantasyFiction #DungeonCrawl #OneManAndHisDice

Savage Frontiers: The Pulp Roots of RPG Storytelling (Part III) In the blood-drenched pages of pulp fantasy, magic is not a science – it’s a sin. Every spell is a theft from the natural order, paid in flesh, madness, or soul. The sorcerer is no sage but a butcher of reality, trading humanity for power in a bargain the gods themselves refuse to honour.

Savage Frontiers: The Pulp Roots of RPG Storytelling (Part III)

In the blood-drenched pages of pulp fantasy, magic is not a science – it’s a sin. Every spell is a theft from the natural order, paid in flesh, madness, or soul. The sorcerer is no sage but a butcher of reality, trading humanity for…

Savage Frontiers: The Pulp Roots of RPG Storytelling (Part II) She waits where shadow meets flame – a woman of smoke, teeth, and peril. A snare. In the pulp tradition, she is the Night-Woman: power disguised in beauty, a question of death in the shape of desire. Cross her path, and you'll bleed one way or another.

New on the blog: we lift the veil on the Night-Woman archetype – that shadowy blend of ghost, lover, and doom. A pivot point in every sword & sorcery tale. Read now... if you dare. #SwordAndSorcery #OSR #TTRPG

Savage Frontiers: The Pulp Roots of RPG Storytelling (Part I) There are stories that don't just whisper from the past – they come roaring, sword in hand, drunk on wine and blood. This is the raw marrow of sword-and-sorcery: where mercenaries bleed, magic is a curse, and every dungeon is a reckoning, not a game.

Sharpen your blades and watch the shadows – they’re watching you back. In Part I of In the Wake of the Sword, we drag pulp fantasy from the abyss and remind ourselves why adventurers aren’t heroes – they’re survivors. Read now, if you dare.

The Dungeon as Proving Ground What if the dungeon wasn’t a story, but a test? A brutal, unyielding gauntlet where every choice is a wager and every wrong turn is paid in blood. Forget the bard’s tales – this is the dungeon as proving ground, where the only narrative is the one you earn.

What if dungeons weren’t stories, but arenas? I’ve written about the dungeon as proving ground – where player skill, not backstory, determines who survives. Ready to test your mettle? Read on. #OSR #TTRPG #DungeonsAndDragons

The Revenant of Blackglass Keep The Keep loomed, a crown of charred stone gnawed by ivy and shadow. Garran’s boots cracked the brittle bones of dead leaves as he crossed its threshold, war-axe ready, hunger forgotten. He had no patience for ruins or riddles, but the crone’s prophecy rode him like a curse. Then he heard a scuffle and a muffled cry. Masked men dragged a woman like carrion across the courtyard. She kicked and cursed, wild as a cornered fox. Garran might have passed them by, but the wind tasted of omen. His axe was thirsty.

Steel against sorcery, shadows without masters, and the price of one’s soul – my latest tale of grim fantasy is live. Step into the ruins of Blackglass Keep… if you dare.

Your players think every chest is just loot? Prove them wrong. I’ve cooked up a d12 Chest Trap Table to make sure every treasure comes with a side of pain, panic, or poison. Use it. Abuse it. Watch them sweat.

The Dungeon is a Predator Dungeons aren’t architecture – they’re appetite. They lure, they trick, they punish hesitation and reward recklessness. They are the true predators of fantasy gaming: cunning, cruel, and always changing shape. Here’s how to design them like you mean it.

What if your dungeon wasn’t a place – but a predator? I’ve written about designing dungeons that lure, confound, and bite back. If your players come out scarred and confused, you’ve done it right. Read on:

Johnny Nine-Fingers and the Bandits of the Black Hart In this latest bout of drunken fate, Johnny Nine-Fingers wakes among brigands, endears himself with wit and wine, and earns a place in the Band of the Black Hart – a company of rogues, rebels, and reprobates with a fondness for drink, and dubious morals.

Johnny Nine-Fingers is back! This time, he's drunk, lost, and accidentally recruited into a band of charming outlaws. Join him at the Inn of the Split Tree for wine and bad decisions. #OSRFiction #BorderlandsTales #JohnnyNineFingers

Thanks for that. It’s easy to forget sometimes that the reason I started the blog in the first place was too have a means of airing my thoughts, ideas and opinions — to no one in particular! I suppose as long as I keep doing it for me, who cares, right? 😉

OSR Monk Promotion Duel In the OSR tradition, mastery isn’t given — it’s earned. Step into the circle, bow to your ancestors, and test your fists and spirit in ritual combat. This monk’s duel brings honour and stories your table won’t forget.

Face your master. Bow to your ancestors. Prove your worth with fists and spirit alone. I’ve brewed up a lean OSR monk duel for your table. Who says level-ups come easy? #OSR #TTRPG #OneManAndHisDice

Dear Reader, Are You Even Out There? Is anyone out there? Or am I just shouting into the void while scribbling hex maps and crafting cursed artifacts? Let’s make this a conversation — tell me what you want from One Man and His Dice. Otherwise, it’s just me, Johnny Nine-Fingers, and a growing pile of random tables.

Is this thing on? One Man and His Dice wants to hear from you. Tell me what you want to see: fiction, hacks, solo tools, cursed fungi? Or should I just keep shouting into the void with Johnny Nine-Fingers at my side? #OSR #ttrpg #blog

Day 2 at UKGE got off to a late start after Johnny brought a travelling circus back to our room. There was booze, a fez-wearing otter, and a triple TPK in Tomb of Horrors. Hotel management was... less impressed. Read the full misadventure now! #UKGE2025 #OMaHD #RPGChaos

A Brief Dispatch from Across the Pond

Just a quick note to say that I’m currently Stateside for a couple of weeks, wandering the wilds of America (well, visiting family — but let’s not ruin the image). Internet access is patchy at best, so blog updates will be on hold for the duration. My…

UKGE 2025 Day 1 Round-Up Day 1 of UKGE 2025 saw Johnny Nine-Fingers and me diving headfirst into gaming madness — from chaotic cosplay zones to questionable Bring & Buy antics. Join us for pint-fuelled tales, bardic pirates, and a side of enamel-pin smuggling.

Better late than never… Day 1 of UKGE 2025 is up! Join me and Johnny Nine-Fingers as we navigate bargain bins, bardic pirates, and Bring & Buy chaos — with a pen, a pint, and only mild disruption. #UKGE2025 #TTRPG #JohnnyNineFingers #OneManAndHisDice

Johnny Nine-Fingers at UK Games Expo 2025 Johnny Nine-Fingers joins me for a chaotic romp through UK Games Expo 2025 — a sprawl of dice, demos, and dubious decisions. From dodging Imperial Troopers to offending Viking shield-maidens, our first impressions are as irreverent as they are enthusiastic. Welcome to the Expo, Johnny-style.

Just survived Day One of UKGE 2025 with Johnny Nine-Fingers in tow. We dodged troopers, offended Vikings, and barely escaped the Bring & Buy queue. Full tale of chaos, dice, and convention madness now up on One Man and His Dice! #UKGE2025 #TTRPG #JohnnyNineFingers #OMaHD

Johnny Nine-Fingers and the Tournament of Virtue Summoned to Camelot for the Tournament of Virtue, Johnny Nine-Fingers faces trials of Courage, Courtesy, and Chastity – only one of which he passes with anything resembling dignity. Between jousts, jests, and mishaps, our ‘scout’ stumbles ever closer to legend... or at least infamy.

Johnny rides to Camelot for the Tournament of Virtue – faces a boar, offends the Queen, and utterly fails at Chastity. But hey, he got a pewter goblet! Read his gloriously awkward rise to almost-knighthood now! #PendragonRPG #JohnnyNineFingers #SoloRPG #OneManAndHisDice

Just landed at UK Games Expo 2025 — badge around my neck, lucky d12 in my pocket. If there’s anything you want me to poke, prod, play, or pass judgement on for One Man and His Dice, give me a shout. OSR oddities, NuSR novelties, or anything in between.

#UKGE2025 #TTRPG #OSR #OneManAndHisDice

Johnny Nine-Fingers and the Bleeding Saint of Branscombe Seeking penance – or at least a better reputation – Johnny Nine-Fingers joins a pilgrimage to Branscombe Abbey, where relics bleed, fish fly, and visions blur the line between the sacred and the slightly surreal. Faith is tested, miracles misfire, and the mead is definitely doing something unholy.

Johnny takes a pilgrimage to Branscombe Abbey, but when relics start bleeding and fish go flying, things get… complicated. Faith, folly, and a vision of a rabbit with a flaming sword. Read the strangest tale yet! #PendragonRPG #JohnnyNineFingers #OneManAndHisDice #SoloRPG

Johnny Nine-Fingers and the Widow of the Moat When Johnny Nine-Fingers woos a grieving noblewoman with a haunted moat and a murderous falcon, romance takes a Pendragon twist. Between spectral waters and barbed flirtation, our ‘scout’ discovers that love in Logres is rarely simple – and often damp.

Johnny Nine-Fingers meets a widow, a haunted moat, and a falcon with anger issues. What could possibly go wrong? Dive into his latest misadventure in Pendragon – where love is perilous, and the water bites back. #PendragonRPG #JohnnyNineFingers #OneManAndHisDice