The Hollows and Hobgoblins Blog

Tag: fiction

  • Starting Star Trek Adventures

    I’m happy to say I’ve started a new group and we’re going to be trying our hand at Star Trek Adventures. Here is a prologue:

    Star Trek Adventures: Prologue

    The door slid open with a chime. A tall, dark-skinned man wearing a Starfleet uniform and Captain’s insignia on the collar walked in. “Captain Thabo Mbeki, reporting as ordered.” He saluted and stood upright in a stiff, formal posture.

    Admiral Hicks stood up from his desk and smiled, the gesture making him look much younger than his graying hair would indicate. He waved off the salute. “At ease, Thabo. You’re not even officially on duty yet. Please, have a seat.”

    Mbeki paused for a moment, looking uncertain. “I was given to understand…that is, I thought – “

    Hicks nodded in understanding. “You are wondering about your medical evaluation. Well, don’t. You’ve been cleared for duty. And we have a new posting for you.”

    Mbeki took a deep breath, visibly relaxing. The admiral motioned towards the chair in front of him, and Mbeki let himself relax into it. “It’s taken so long, Adam. I thought Starfleet was through with me.”

    “We’d all be fools if we were,” Hicks replied, “considering your knowledge and experience… and what you went through, for the good of the Federation.” The Admiral’s gaze scanned Mbeki. Starfleet’s surgeons had done an excellent job, but if you looked close enough you could see the scars on his face and head.

    A sad smile came over the Captain’s visage. “Thank you for saying that. With the investigation, the months of interrogations, I was sure they were looking for any excuse to get rid of me.”

    “Oh, some of them were. But I watched them like a hawk. Anyone attempting to cast doubt on your loyalty I gave chapter and verse to. Still, it was a near thing: I was the deciding vote on the commission. After what happened, some people are always going to have doubts. I know it’s unfair. But that’s just how it is.”

    Mbeki looked down for a moment. “Yes,” he sighed, “the world is imperfect.”

    Hicks gazed at his friend for a while, then reached under his desk, bringing out a bottle of blue liquid. He poured two shots, and slid one glass to Mbeki. “Medicinal purposes.”

    The Captain studied the blue concoction, raising an eyebrow. “Is this…?”

    “Yes,” Hicks smiled, “Romulan ale. Don’t ask me how I got it.” He downed his shot, the fiery liquid exploding in his mouth and down his throat. Mbeki shrugged, then followed suit.

    After the tears cleared from his eyes, Hicks said, “Listen, the admiralty is not what it’s cracked up to be. You deserve a promotion. But given the -“

    Mbeki waved him off. “I don’t care. I don’t want a promotion. I don’t want to command from a desk. I want to be out there, on the deck of my own ship, working on behalf of the Federation.”

    Hicks stared at him for a beat. “You are sure that’s what you want? I get not wanting to become an admiral. And I know what the medical evaluation said. But tell me, man to man, are you ready to get back in the saddle?”

    Captain Mbeki straightened up and looked the admiral straight in the eye. “Yes”, was all he said.

    Hicks gazed at him, then nodded. “Very well. Then I am officially placing you back on duty. You will take command of the USS Venture, effective immediately.”

    Mbeki’s eyebrows went up. “The Venture? So…the rumors are true?”

    “Unfortunately yes. The incident claimed the lives of a good portion of the crew, including Captain Kulak and most of the command staff. The ship has been repaired, and awaits in the shipyard.”

    Mbeki looked thoughtful. “A challenging situation. It will take time for the new crew to learn to work together as a team.”

    “Unfortunately, time is a luxury you don’t have.” Hicks passed a tablet to his friend. “You have a mission. Here are your new directives.”

    Mbeki frowned as he read, then looked up sharply. “Is this correct? A potential first contact, in the Epsilon Hydra system?”

    Hicks nodded. “Clear FTL waves were detected from the borders of the system by Deep Space Six, near the neutral zone. There’s a lot of subspace interference in that region, so we don’t know how long that species has had the technology. We know nothing about them at all, in fact. But now that we know they’re there, and have the requisite level of technology, we’ve got to make contact before the Romulans do. And of course invite them into the Federation. So there’s no time to waste.”

    “I understand.” Mbeki rose to his feet. “Thanks for everything you have done for me, Adam. I will not let you down.”

    Hicks clasped hands with Mbeki. “I know you won’t. But be careful – the Romulans cannot be trusted. Godspeed, Thabo.”

    As the Captain left the room, Admiral Hicks sighed, and poured himself another shot of Romulan ale. He paused for a moment before partaking. He couldn’t help but wonder if he had really done his friend any favor at all.

    The adventure continues…

  • The Basics of Roleplaying, Part Four: Approaches to Gamemastering

    In the last three parts of this series, I’ve covered what roleplaying is, why we enjoy roleplaying games, and how to be a good player. Now we turn to part four: how to GM.

    There are so many aspects to gamemastering that no single blog post could cover them all. This is simply an introduction to the basic approaches, and I encourage you to explore the many other resources available.

    When it comes to gamemastering, in my opinion there are basically three approaches: (1) prepare a railroad for the players; (2) prepare a situation; or (3) improvise on the spot.

    Railroading

    The term “railroad” is often seen as pejorative, but I don’t mean it that way. Similar terms include “linear adventure.” What I mean by railroad is that you, as the GM, have prepared specific encounters in particular locations that will occur in sequence, from the opening scene to the final scene of a session (or even a campaign).

    Many people react negatively to this approach. A common criticism is that it reduces player agency—the idea that player choices should meaningfully impact the game world. If you have player agency, that means had you made different choices, the shared fiction would have developed differently.

    Although there’s some truth to this, I’ve noticed that some people have a limited notion of player agency. For example, some argue that a dungeon with only one entrance is railroading because players must use that entrance, while multiple entrances provide meaningful choice. This view is quite narrow. What significant difference does it make if there are multiple entrances when players have no choice but to enter the dungeon? And what if, regardless of which entrance they choose, they’ll encounter the same group of goblins because that’s what the GM planned as their first encounter?

    While railroading isn’t my preferred approach, it can work well for some groups. Players still have choices in how they deal with each encounter, so they still have some agency – their choices matter in terms of what happens in that particular scene. Whether this level of choice is satisfying enough depends on player preferences. So I wouldn’t declare railroading inherently flawed—it’s simply a matter of preference.

    If railroading appeals to you, plenty of resources are available online. Most mainstream GM advice, particularly for Dungeons & Dragons, focuses on this approach. Check popular YouTube channels about being a good Dungeon Master, and you’ll find they’re primarily discussing railroading techniques.

    But a word of caution: ask yourself: do you enjoy GMing this way?

    Here’s where railroading often encounters problems: you’ve planned a series of encounters based on your own logic, but your players may think differently. Typically, players draw unexpected conclusions from encounters and head in directions you haven’t prepared for. This creates pressure to get them “back on track,” forcing them toward encounters you’ve prepared rather than where they want to go. This can frustrate players and diminish their enjoyment.

    This is why I personally don’t recommend railroading.

    Preparing a Situation

    Another approach is what I call “preparing a situation.” This means creating a fictional scenario with inherent, dynamic tension that engages players with something meaningful to their characters. Essential elements of a situation usually include several NPCs with conflicting motivations and goals, that create friction with each other and with the player characters. It’s also a good idea to include a few interesting locations, items or objects, innocents who need saving, or other people or things the players are likely to care about.

    With this style of gamemastering, the next essential element is to prepare an opening scene that informs players about the situation—just enough to get them started and see what’s at stake for them. After establishing this opening, you simply have your NPCs and the world respond naturally to player actions. Players will react to these responses, and the NPCs and other elements will respond to this reaction, and so on, creating a cycle of action and reaction. There’s no preplanned climax or encounters beyond the opening scene; outcomes are determined organically through play. Eventually a climax emerges naturally, rather than being planned in advance.

    In this style, you focus on playing your NPCs and the setting rather than trying to manage the actions of players. I’ve written in detail about this approach (including with fleshed-out examples) in a document you can download for free:

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Lf–HTDeQ7o2SgNuiSeQazuH-eRKd-Bq/view?usp=drivesdk

    Improvisation

    Finally, there’s on-the-spot improvisation, where you prepare nothing and make everything up as you go. This might seem entirely different from the other approaches, but I’m not entirely convinced. Even when improvising, our ideas come from somewhere—setting concepts, NPCs, etc.

    We may think we’re creating everything spontaneously, but if we have a specific endpoint in mind—like a climactic confrontation with a villain at a particular location—then it’s still a kind of railroad, just without predetermined steps. Conversely, if we’re simply playing NPCs responding to events and player actions without a planned endpoint, that’s essentially the “situation” approach described earlier. Is pure improvisation truly its own method?

    Regardless, if you do want to GM improvisationally without preparation, having some resources for inspiration helps tremendously. Random tables, computer-generated settings, NPCs with motivations, random taverns, towns, dungeons, treasures, and monsters can all provide elements to riff off of.

    Over to You

    These are my brief thoughts on the basic approaches to gamemastering. There’s much more to say about running specific encounters, making combat exciting, and other topics—much of which depends on your specific game system. Many people have already written extensively on these subjects.

    So, what do you think? Are there other basic approaches to gamemastering I’ve missed? What approach do you use? What tools or resources have you found helpful? Are there other topics worth covering in this basic series? I welcome your comments.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

  • Thoughts about AI in RPGs

    I’m not trying to write a big, all-encompassing essay on the subject here, just a few thoughts based on one experiment I did. I briefly mentioned this on one discussion group, but met so much hostility I thought I’d post here instead.

    So I am working on a novel that involves traveling to parallel worlds, as well as an RPG on the same theme. I wanted some inspiration for a world the characters jump to. I remembered Traveler’s random system and planet generation, which is a lot of fun, and wondered how I might modify it to fit. I went to one of the AI bots and asked if it knew the game; it did. It also knew the planet generation system, and was able to generate several planets in seconds.

    So far this is not much different than running any online generator especially designed for the purpose. But here is the interesting part: I used this as a starting point. I engaged in a dialogue with the AI, telling it what I wanted to do and asking it to modify the planet generation procedure accordingly. After a bit of back and forth, I got something useful.

    The original method involved using predetermined lists, and rolling dice to select from it. When it comes to AI, there is no need to have a list of limited choices, so that went away. Anyway I’m putting the end result and an example of its output, below.

    One of the objections I got was that the use of AI harms creativity. IMO this is a good example of why that’s not true. The AI’s output gives me something to work from, a springboard for me to be creative with.

    If I were going to use the output below to prep for a game, for example, I’d flesh out the conflict between the Boundarians and Explorers a bit more, and lay the seeds for a situation where the PCs are involved in an incident at a research station – perhaps they are blamed for sabotage, and have to prove their innocence. A Boundarian faction wants to frame them and use them as propaganda, while an Explorer group wants to help them, but one of them is secretly working for the Others. At this point, I’d use AI again, to come up with NPCs (especially names) and stat them, and perhaps to detail a map or two. That’d be fodder for at least a session or two, done very quickly, and the process would be fun for me. And for my novel, of course this is great stuff I can modify and use as I like.

    Now could I have done all this without AI? Sure. But it would have taken hours instead of minutes. For me, this is a fun process that saves time. I might even include the procedure in the GM section of the game itself, maybe with some alternative tables for those who prefer to roll for themselves.

    I don’t get the hate for AI in this context, but I’m open to persuasion if someone has some cogent arguments on why using AI this way is bad.

    Anyway your comments are welcome!

    Have you used AI in your games or fiction, and if so, how?

    Here is the procedure the AI and I came up with:

    Parallel World Creation Procedure

    First keep in mind what kind of world the characters just jumped from. Unless they jump “far”, in interdimensional terms, the world they jump to should be similar to the world they just jumped from, in most respects. The closer a world is to another one in interdimensional space, the more similar they tend to be.

    Dimensional Distance Metric – a scale (1-10) where each increment represents exponentially greater divergence potential. Level 1-3 jumps show minor variations, 4-6 moderate differences, and 7-10 radical departures from the original world.

    Natural History – Determine when this parallel Earth (that the characters just arrived on) diverged from our own in terms of natural history (including geology), if it did at all, and whether that changed things like the shape of the continents or sea levels.

    Physical Laws Variation – Determine if fundamental physical constants differ slightly in this world. Even minor variations could lead to fascinating technological implications.

    Temporal Offset – Consider whether time flows at the same rate across all parallel worlds. Some might be “ahead” or “behind” your characters’ original timeline, even with similar historical paths.

    Local Terrain – What is the local terrain like where the characters appear?

    Interdimensional Scars/Features – Identify places where the boundaries between worlds are thinner or have been damaged, creating unique phenomena (strange weather, gravitational anomalies, aurora-like effects, etc.) that might appear in the local terrain.

    Dominant Species or species – Determine whether the indigenous sentient inhabitants of this parallel Earth are human, or if some other species evolved instead (if so, what did they evolve from and what are they like physically). Determine whether there is more than one such species.

    Biological Compatibility – Determine whether food, microbes, and other biological elements from one world are compatible with visitors from another. This could create interesting survival challenges or health concerns for the characters.

    Historical divergence – Determine how the history of the inhabitants’ civilization differed or diverged from ours, and to what extent.

    Dimensional Echoes – Decide if parallel versions of your characters exist in this world, and if so, what happened to them. Meeting one’s parallel self could create fascinating plot points or complications.

    Trust Level – Determine how welcoming or distrustful the inhabitants are to strangers.

    Interdimensional Awareness – Determine if the inhabitants know about parallel worlds, how common this knowledge is, and whether they have tried (successfully or not) to reach them. This might affect how they respond to your characters.

    Tech level – Determine the level of technology the inhabitants have developed.

    Habitations – Decide how large the groups are that the inhabitants dwell in: solitary, or nomadic clans, small villages, cities, etc.

    Clothing – Determine the style and type of clothing the inhabitants wear.

    Culture – Come up with some unique aspects of their culture.

    Conflicts – to what extent do the indigenous inhabitants live in harmony with each other? Are there large-scale conflicts, more local conflicts only, or none? What other threats do they face?

    There is an evil force of interdimensional beings known as the Others, who try to destroy and corrupt the worlds they come across. Determine whether this parallel world has been at all affected by the Others, and if so to what extent.

    Others’ Signature Effects – Create a consistent set of telltale signs that the Others have influenced a world (specific environmental damage, behavioral changes in inhabitants, technological corruptions, strange symbols or structures).

    Dimensional Return Mechanics – Establish whether some worlds are easier to leave than others, perhaps based on how corrupted they are by the Others or other interdimensional factors that might trap or free your characters.

    Here is one result:

    Parallel World: The Nebelwelt

    Dimensional Distance: 5/10 (Moderate divergence)

    Natural History

    This world diverged approximately 65 million years ago when the Chicxulub asteroid impact was significantly less severe. While still devastating, it didn’t cause the complete extinction of large dinosaurs. As a result, some theropod dinosaurs survived alongside early mammals, leading to co-evolution. The continental layout is recognizable but with higher sea levels (+40m compared to our Earth), creating large inland seas in North America and Central Asia.

    Physical Laws Variation

    The electromagnetic constant is 0.5% stronger, resulting in slightly more efficient electrical conduction. This has led to unique technological developments around electricity and magnetism, including advanced magnetic propulsion systems that emerged earlier than electrical combustion in this world’s technological timeline.

    Temporal Offset

    Time flows 1.2x faster in this world compared to the characters’ origin world. The year is equivalent to what we would call 2087, though their calendar system is entirely different.

    Local Terrain

    The characters materialize in a temperate rainforest where massive, ancient redwood-like trees tower overhead. The forest floor is surprisingly clear—maintained by the local inhabitants. Nearby flows a wide, slow-moving river with unusual blue-green phosphorescence. In the distance, the ruins of what appears to be a modern city peek through the canopy.

    Interdimensional Scars

    The area where they arrive features vertical “light pillars” that occasionally shimmer through the forest—a natural thinning of dimensional boundaries. During certain lunar phases, these pillars intensify and objects placed within them temporarily phase between visible and invisible states.

    Dominant Species

    Two intelligent species co-evolved: humans (very similar to Earth humans but with slightly denser bone structure and enhanced night vision) and the Saurians—descendants of surviving theropod dinosaurs. Saurians stand 1.5-1.8 meters tall with feathered crests, scaled skin, and four-fingered hands. Their society is technologically sophisticated and they possess natural electromagnetic sensitivity organs along their spines.

    Biological Compatibility

    Food from this world is mostly compatible with human visitors, though some fruits contain compounds that create mild euphoric effects. The local microbiome is different enough that visitors initially experience heightened allergic responses that subside after approximately one week of exposure. The characters may need to seek medical attention from the locals to manage this transition.

    Historical Divergence

    Human civilization developed later and in partnership with Saurian culture rather than as the sole dominant species. Major historical events include the Great Communion (first formal alliance between species in 5000 BCE), the Age of Magnetic Sciences (4th-10th century CE), and most recently, the Retreat (the gradual abandonment of megacities due to climatic shifts and resource depletion).

    Dimensional Echoes

    Parallel versions of the characters exist, but their lives took dramatically different paths. One character’s echo became a respected diplomat between human and Saurian nations; another’s echo died young in a dimensional experiment; a third’s echo never exists because their ancestor married a different person after meeting a Saurian diplomat.

    Trust Level

    The inhabitants are cautiously welcoming of strangers but have developed sophisticated methods to detect “dimensional corruption.” Newcomers are subjected to a ritual involving exposure to specific magnetic fields that reveal signs of Others’ influence. Those who pass are welcomed and offered guidance; those who fail are isolated and studied.

    Interdimensional Awareness

    Both species have known about parallel worlds for approximately 150 years. A joint scientific body called the Boundary Commission actively studies interdimensional physics. Intentional travel remains rare and dangerous, but they have developed technology to detect incursions and communicate across dimensional boundaries in limited circumstances.

    Tech Level

    Technology is advanced in some areas and deliberately restrained in others. They’ve mastered fusion power, magnetic transportation networks, and biological engineering, but have strictly limited AI development and nanotech after early disasters. Their computers are organic-electronic hybrids with living components, and most cities are designed to integrate with rather than dominate the natural environment.

    Habitations

    Society is organized around “nexus communities” of 5,000-10,000 individuals (mixed human and Saurian) connected by efficient magnetic rail systems. These communities blend seemlessly with surrounding ecosystems, with buildings constructed within and around natural features rather than replacing them. The largest city, Concordia, houses approximately 300,000 people.

    Clothing

    Humans wear adaptable garments made from engineered fibers that change properties based on environmental conditions and the wearer’s physiological state. Saurians wear minimal clothing but adorn their natural scales and feathers with bioluminescent patterns that indicate social role, emotional state, and personal achievements. Both species wear ceremonial magnetic jewelry that serves both decorative and practical functions.

    Culture

    Society operates on a “contribution recognition” system rather than monetary exchange. Both species practice a form of shared dreaming facilitated by ceremonial gatherings where participants consume a native fungus. Music is predominantly percussive among Saurians and vocal among humans, creating a unique complementary art form when performed together. Major cultural values include ecological harmony, knowledge preservation, and dimensional responsibility.

    Conflicts

    The main societal conflict is philosophical rather than military—a deep division between “Boundarians” who believe dimensional boundaries should remain strictly regulated and “Explorers” who advocate for more active interdimensional engagement. This conflict occasionally flares into sabotage of research facilities or unauthorized travel attempts. Additionally, both species are dealing with fertility challenges, with birth rates declining for unknown reasons over the past 50 years.

    Others’ Influence

    This world has experienced limited contact with the Others. Approximately 35 years ago, an incursion occurred in what was once northern Europe, creating a “dead zone” where technology fails and living things develop unusual mutations. The area is quarantined, but researchers study it from secure observatories. The inhabitants have developed early warning systems for detecting Others’ energy signatures.

    Others’ Signature Effects

    When the Others influence an area, plant life develops metallic properties, water bodies emit a subtle hum at 17.8Hz, and electronic signals contain embedded fractal patterns visible when analyzed. Affected individuals report shared dreams featuring geometric structures that shouldn’t be mathematically possible, and develop an aversion to certain sound frequencies.

    Dimensional Return Mechanics

    The magnetic anomalies that pervade this world make dimensional travel unpredictable. The characters will discover that their return mechanism functions at only 60% efficiency, requiring them to either locate a naturally occurring dimensional thin point or seek help from the Boundary Commission, who may demand knowledge exchange as payment for assistance

  • Monsterhearts, A Clue or Two

    A letter from Benjamin Gilbert

     The whole history of the fire we published in the Times was a lie, of course. The fire had nothing to do with that foolish Swede in the wood shop, we just used him as a convenient scapegoat. It was all because of the vampires. 

     Hunters from the east were on their trail, and had been for awhile – one of the creatures they called “Jonathan” was particularly disruptive, hardly bothering to cover his tracks as he left a trail of destruction, broken lives and broken families from New York to Oregon. He ravaged Seattle for weeks before we finally trapped him and his henchmen in the wood shop. The owner, may he Rest In Peace, was part of the plot, and invited them in so they would be unable to harm innocents when we confronted them. The vampire Jonathan – an exceptionally tall man, with dark hair, striking blue eyes, and an ugly scar down the right side of his neck – tried to compel us with that curious mental power they have, but we’d taken precautions – the standard herbal remedy from the old country proved effective. But we were unprepared for his extraordinary speed and power, and that of his companions. 

     DeMarigny took out two of the bloodsuckers with stakes, and I wounded one with my silver knife, but failed to slay it. Grossman’s bullets proved entirely ineffective, and Jonathan snapped his neck in the blink of an eye. DeMarigny and the other hunters fought like lions, but the vampires were just too fast. Jonathan knocked the knife out of my grasp and pinned me to the wall with an insane strength. He forced me to watch, helpless, as they drained DeMarigny of his life.

     Gloating, the evil vampire looked into my eyes. “Now that your friends are dead or dying, I think we’ll take our time with you. You organized this hunt, and are worthy of special interest.” 

     Although my heart quailed within my breast, I put on a brave face. “Do your worst!” I cried, “I go to meet my maker with a clear conscience!”

     Jonathan’s grin grew wider. “No, you won’t,” he crowed, “because I will turn you. You will join us, and I will personally supervise your transition as you feed on the innocent and helpless. You will receive a punishment beyond death.” With these words, fangs sprouted from his mouth and he bit down, piercing my neck. I am not ashamed to say I cried out then, in greater despair and horror than I had ever known. 

     When I was weak and dizzy from blood loss, he opened a vein in his arm and forced me to swallow some of his blood. “You will die soon now,” the vampire said, “and when you wake up, you will be one of us.” I was too weak to move or respond, and lay slumped against the doorframe. The exit was inches to my right, but may as well have been on another continent. The creatures turned to begin feeding on those wounded hunters they hadn’t yet killed, and tears fell from my eyes as I heard their cries of despair and pain. 

     It was then that she appeared. Beautiful, with a face showing traces of an ancestry from the east, and dark hair that fell in curls onto her shoulders. Kneeling down, she looked at me, and I thought I saw pity in her eyes, combined with a steely determination. I struggled to rise, entreating her to flee, to save herself, but she shook her head. “Invite me in,” she whispered, “and I will help you. This I promise.” 

     It was then I knew she was another creature of the night. My first instinct was to refuse her, but then, what did I have to lose? My fate was already sealed. “Come in,” I managed to croak. 

     Instantly she entered, followed by companions of her own. They were like a storm, unleashing a savagery upon Jonathan and his faction that words cannot describe. It was in this struggle that the fire started. I managed to crawl out of the burning building, and watched as the battle between the vampires continued, first onto the roof of the woodshop and then onto neighboring rooftops. The conflagration spread, as burning vampires set nearby buildings alight as they screamed and died. And so the Great Seattle Fire began. This was the truth we dared not print in the paper. 

     I died at some point during the night. Ling found me later, and cared for me, showing me how to feed. She had her own reasons for wanting Jonathan dead, but of these she forbids me to speak. She believes that monster perished in the fire, but I am not so sanguine. It is this Jonathan’s fault that I now walk as a creature of the night, condemned to darkness and to feed on the living for as long as my foul existence continues. And I make it my only goal to take vengeance upon this villain, and all those like him, who prey on the innocent with cruelty and malice. 

     I write this so that those on the inner council may know the truth, and be warned, and so take appropriate action. In my next note I will confirm for you the best and most reliable methods for warding against and destroying vampires. I urge you to employ these methods and protections throughout the region, using whatever excuses as may seem fit to the council. 

    I am most sincerely,

    Benjamin Gilbert

    A vampire

  • Cry of the Wilders: My Game for Game Chef 2014

    The theme for 2014 was “There is No Book”, so I used the opportunity to explore the use of audio to explain a game. I wanted to emulate what happens in actual face-to-face sessions – usually only one person has read the game’s book, and then they teach it to the other players. So why not skip the book entirely and get to that core stuff?  That’s what my humble attempt here was about.

    The game comes in three files, one audio drama that presents the game’s setting, one play sheet with a summary of the rules, and another audio file of me explaining the rules to some friends.  Here are the links:

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9Pwq-FbdThtYWFCeTJ0U0ZoRW8/view?usp=sharing – this is a shorter version of the audio drama that introduces the setting of the game.  Yes, it’s a bit choppy and amateurish, but it was all a labor of love done under a short time constraint; it gets the job done, I hope.  Everyone who acted in it volunteered and gave generously of their time, my deep gratitude to them.

    (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9Pwq-FbdThtNUM4Q3phM0ZBWWs/edit?usp=sharing – this is the longer audio intro; skip it, it’s a bit too long)

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9Pwq-FbdThtRlU4MzkwdzBRRHc/edit?usp=sharing – two-sided play sheet with a summary of the rules

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9Pwq-FbdThtek9meDNMQ1NFQms/view?usp=sharing – audio explanation of the rules with Q&A from my play group. Listen to this while looking at the play summary sheet, above.

    The audio files are mp3s, the play sheet is a Word document.  Let me know your impressions – do you like the setting? Does the game system seem like something you’d like to try? I’d love to hear whatever you’d like to share!

  • Game Chef 2013

    I’ve submitted a game, called Finding Haven, here, for Game Chef 2013.  It’s a sci-fi role-playing game inspired by stories like Logan’s Run and alien invasions like V combined.  I’m grateful for any feedback you have, please leave a comment here or on Praxis.  Thanks!