I’m excited, thankful, and sad to report that I am leaving @paizo to join @Wizards of the Coast as a Senior Designer on Dungeons & Dragons. @Wizards_DnD#WOTCstaff
If you want to know more, follow along: 1/7
I’m so incredibly grateful to everyone at Paizo, including those no longer there, who gave me incredible opportunities, mentored me, and were patient with my mistakes as I climbed the learning curve. More important, these people have become my friends. 2/7
Paizo makes important games. So many players from all backgrounds have found themselves represented in Starfinder and Pathfinder, and I’m honored to have had a small part in that. I’m especially proud of my very small role in the formation of @PaizoWorkers 3/7
It’s easy to buy into the notion that we need to accomplish our goals when we’re young, and if you don’t you’re some kind of failure. Folks, I’m 53. Four years ago I was unemployed, humiliated, and alone, starting over from scratch. 4/7
But I’ve been playing D&D since the Holmes Basic Set when I was 11. I’ve played and DM’d every edition of the game, and joining the D&D team is like coming home. This will transform my life; @ChelseaDMielke and I will be able to buy a house, start a family. 5/7
And because Wizards has a very strict non-compete clause, my days as a freelance RPG author are over. That means I won’t be spending nights and weekends on a second job. The next game I run, I can run for fun, not as a playtest for a future published work. Can you imagine? 6/7
To thank everyone who helped me along the way would be to thank virtually everyone I know. This has been a very humbling experience. I’ve reached out to many of you already, privately. If I haven’t yet, I sincerely apologize. Now let’s make some great games. 7/7
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Let’s talk about the ways in which tabletop RPGs use cards. Suggestions welcome, but I may decide they’re just new examples of a use case I’ve already listed. A thread.
1: Substitute for Dice. In Castle Falkenstein, you have a hand of cards. Activities are tied to suits. (Clubs=Physical). When you stab Rupert of Hentzau, you play a card and add its value to your Fencing ability. If you play a club, you get the full value, otherwise you get +2.
2: Plot Twists. In TORG, you can play cards from your hand to let the bad guy get away, prompt an NPC to fall in love with you, or make someone run out of bullets. Many other games use this as an optional “Whimsy Card” system.
Thanks to everyone who spoke up and shared and liked my request for questions and comments. I can’t promise to address everyone, but I’ve really benefited from the conversation. So:
Why don’t sci-fi RPGs get more attention and
What can we do about it?
Many of you suggested reasons why SF might somehow be harder for players to get into, in particular the idea there’s a generic fantasy genre, but SF is split up into subgenres dominated by IPs such as Star Wars or Star Trek.
This creates an expectation failure. Players coming to a fantasy game know what to expect: dwarves, elves, dragons, magic swords. People coming to a SF game don’t know if they’re getting Vulcans or Sith, phasers or lightsabers.
Owen and Beru raise their infant nephew, whose inner thoughts are monologued by @HamillHimself. Uncontrolled force shenanigans. Ben is the cool guy who takes the kid on joyrides. Coming to Disney+, it’s LUKE WHO’S TALKING.
This tweet is the fault of @ChelseaDMielke, who laughs at her own jokes.
It has been pointed out to me that the voice of Baby Luke would actually be provided by the Rock, and I cannot dispute this.
I’m finally sitting down to read KINDLED MAGIC, volume 1 of the Strength of Thousands Adventure Path for Pathfinder 2nd edition, by Alexandria Bustion (whom I can’t find on Twitter) and @Izsisu. Follow along! SPOILERS AHEAD 🧵
Let’s establish at the beginning I am a sucker for a good magic school. The best one in ttrpg until now has been Redhurst Academy of Magic, for 3.5, by @mforbeck (2003).
The map of the campus on the inside cover is evocative and lovely, but I wish we did more isometric views in our APs.
Let’s say you’ve been accused of a long list of stuff, some of which is patently untrue and even a bit ridiculous, some of which, well, isn’t. You need to write a response. 2/7
You have a lot of body paragraphs in this essay but let’s simplify it to 3:
#1 is something you announce you intend to do to address the issue. It sounds good. 3/7
I have been thinking a lot about superhero RPGs lately. Now, I’m no Steve Kenson or Rodney Thompson, but I have written for many of these games, GMd them, and played them over the years. So come with me and let’s talk about what the genre is missing... 1/13
Superhero RPGs consistently embrace comics as a reference point. Since MSH, at least, they’ve described character actions as panels, a round of play as a comic page, one session as an issue. Spectaculars is a straight up comic book simulation game, and not the first. 2/13
But comics are not how most Americans experience superheroes. Not today, and not for a long time. Cinema, the television miniseries, and animation are the entry points for most Americans. You may accept this as a given, but one example may suffice: 3/13